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When Night Didn't Come, by Poly Bernatene, Meadowside Children's Books, ISBN 9781845394929

 

This fascinating wordless book provides children with a rich source of discussion. One evening, as the sun sets, the moon and stars are nowhere to be seen. The reader discovers that these are controlled by a series of cogs and levers which are not working because a group of children has been playing with them. So it’s all hands on deck, to solve the problem and make night come so that peace and darkness can be restored.

 

The illustrations are complex and a range of picture book strategies has been used to pace and tell the story. Although the book is confusing to adults and children alike at the first reading, all the children in four classes across the Primary age range who devoured it were so fascinated with the detailed illustrations and what might be happening that they persisted until they had created a narrative with satisfactory meaning. But not all of these constructed narratives were the same, which became a source of further intriguing discussion.

 

Even young children demonstrated sophisticated skills when reading this book, referring forward and back through the images to create meaning from confusion, spotting inter-textual references and assigning roles to the different characters. It is rare that a book provokes so many questions or draws in even the most reluctant readers with such determination to interrogate the images until answers are found.

 

Grow Your Own Monsters, by Nicola Davies, Simon Hickmott and Scoular Anderson, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, ISBN 9781845078330

 

Have you ever been tempted to grow a monster?  If so, this is the book for you.  It contains eight projects to grow weird and wonderful plants from a squirting cucumber to a voodoo lily or a cabbage that becomes a walking stick.  After a comprehensive introduction to growing plants which covers compost, pots, water, light, habitats, pricking out and collecting seed, the projects are described.

 

Each double page spread is clearly laid out with information about the plant, text boxes explaining how to grow it and pictures showing you what the plant will look like when it grows.  Sketches and cartoon pictures add to the high visual appeal of the book.

The book concludes with a glossary and a list of contacts from which the more unusual seeds can be obtained. This is definitely a book for patient and inquisitive young horticulturalists.

 

Help Me!, by Paul Geraghty, Andersen Press, ISBN 9781842709795

 

Help Me! is a tale about survival and unlikely kindness set on the plains of East Africa.  Paul Geraghty’s poetic language reads aloud beautifully.  The story follows a tiny turtle on its journey to the water hole, observing the behaviour of the other animals on the way.  The narrative’s resolution is unexpected and optimistic and could spark discussion with readers about the hazards of the natural world. 

The finely observed watercolour illustrations allow the young reader to identify with the animals and add to the tenderness of the story.  Set against dramatic landscapes, the use of colour evokes atmosphere and creates tension. 

Germs!, by Martin Howard and Colin Stimpson, Pavilion Children's Books, ISBN 9781843651192

 

Germs! An Epic Tale on a Tiny Scale tells the story of Sam, a Viral Germ who is reluctant to join the Germ Army which inhabits a toilet.  He is press ganged into a training programme to prepare for an infection of Ben, the boy in green and black pyjamas who uses the toilet every morning.  One day, when Ben forgets to wash his hands, the Germ Army invades.  War breaks out when the Antibodees leap to Ben’s defence.

 

In the heat of battle, Sam meets Ella the Antibodee, falls in love, converts to the good side and plays a key part in defeating the Germ Army.  As Sam and Ella get married, the moral of the story is finally spelt out – Wash Your Hands.

 

This amusing text will entertain young readers whilst reinforcing a hygiene message.  The images, font size, fold out pages and text layout are captivating and reinforce the humour inherent in the narrative.  The cover cut out highlights the non-conformist Sam as the central character and the endpapers encapsulate the central theme of good versus bad. This is definitely a book to be talked about, revisited, read aloud and shared.

 

I See the Moon, by Jacqueline Mitton and Erika Pal, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, ISBN9781845076338

 

This picture book for younger children is an interesting mix of both fact and fiction. Different night time animals are written about in story language. While children who want to find things out will be fascinated by the detailed facts given about the Moon at different stages of its cycle, they will be learning without realising it.

 

The simplicity of the language is appealing. It is written in the present tense and children can identify with the wealth of adjectives and descriptive phrases used to portray the animal settings and the Moon. There are plenty of opportunities to ask and answer questions on the text. Why does the Moon change colour? Why is it sometimes called a harvest moon? It doesn’t matter where in the world the animals are; they are shown to be aware of the moonlight. The Moon is also compared with Planet Earth as seen from the surface of the Moon.

 

The book culminates in two pages of information and facts. It provides the answers to many of the questions raised in the text. It is good that children can read the information for themselves without having to find another book. The text is also ideal for boys, as the language is short and precise. Younger children will enjoy the illustrations. This is a good non-fiction book with a story element to it.

 

The Ice Bear, by Jackie Morris, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, ISBN 978184507968X

 

Looking directly at us from the cover, with a strong, intelligent gaze, is the Ice Bear of the title.  Lay the book flat and compare this face with the parka-clad boy on the back cover.  How are the two linked?  What is their story?  The endpapers confirm the setting as the snowy wastes of the Arctic, with the title page showing the polar bear in all its majesty.

The book tells the stories of two mothers, one the eponymous Ice Bear, one the wife of a native hunter.  Flamboyant water-colours perfectly complement the lyrical language as the inter-twining stories unfold.  Rhythmically crafted text creates an atmosphere that is both magical and mysterious whilst echoing tradition and a deep respect for the natural world.

After a long, dark Arctic winter, two bear cubs are born but Raven steals one, leaving the grieving Ice Bear mother with just one cub to raise.  But is Raven as evil as he seems?  This talismanic, shape-shifting bird is next seen near the hunter, and what is that in his claws?  The hunter scoops up the furry bundle and the next we know, he and his wife have their longed-for child.  They care for him for seven years, teaching him the traditions and ways of his land, whilst Raven watches until, one day when he is out on the ice alone, the boys finds and follows a trail of amber.  Raven seems to be enticing him away and eventually he becomes lost.  A pack of polar bears finds him and his initial fears are quickly banished with ‘an echo of a memory’ and he rides off with his new family.

There is a happy ending for all however, as the hunter finally finds the boy who, wishing to share the lives of both families, bear and human, shows the wisdom of Solomon by choosing to live as a bear through the winter and with the people in the summer.

As the book concludes, the key message is that it is possible for us to live as ’One spirit, one heart, one soul, one people’.

 

Jackie Morris has created a truly beautiful book that is asking to be shared, and will give older readers much to think and talk about.

 

Cloud Tea Monkeys, by Mal Peet, Elspeth Graham and Juan Wijngaard, Walker Books, ISBN 9781406300925

In these days of a post-modern approach to many illustrated books, it can be refreshing to see a return to a more traditional approach, with a rich use of patterned language and painstaking care taken with illustrations that both support and extend the written text.  Such a style is that which we enjoy in Cloud Tea Monkeys.

The intriguing title gives us an indication of the journey we are about to take to the exotic land of India.  But not the tourist version that perhaps comes to mind, with elephants, temples and saris.  Instead we see a different face of this huge country as we visit a tea plantation in the hilly countryside and steal a look into the world of Tashi and her mother who work as tea pickers under the watchful eye of a bad-tempered overseer. Vividly descriptive language transports us to an unfamiliar life and environment, imbued with a heady magic and yet tempered with the harsh realities of wresting a living from the land.

When Tashi’s mother becomes too ill to work, with a cough that ‘was hard and sharp like a stick breaking’, Tashi tries but fails to do the back-breaking work herself.  In the past, Tashi had befriended a troop of monkeys, who arrived daily to plague the workers and it is now that they come to her rescue.  They take her huge basket up into the high mountains, above the clouds, where the finest tea is to be found, and return with it full of the rare, fragrant leaves.  When Tashi’s basket is inspected it is found to be of the highest quality, as the visiting Royal Tea-Taster confirms.  He pays handsomely for Tashi’s load, promising to come back every year for another batch of tea that will be drunk only by the Empress herself.  The money pays for Tashi’s mother to be restored to health and her continuing friendship with the Cloud Tea Monkeys of the title, ensures their future fortunes.

The use of similes and alliteration add to the quality of the writing, such as ‘Within an hour, the sun had sucked the mist up out of the valleys and hung it like a great grey curtain over the tops of the mountains’.

Juan Wijngaard has given us, in rich detail, atmospheric scenes and vistas along with particularly fine portraits, showing a wide range of emotions and widely differing characters, leaving us in no doubt of the hierarchy of plantation life. The rich colour plates, with evocative use of light showing the gradual dawning of the day, speckled sunlight or accentuating meaningful facial emotions are supplemented by judiciously placed vignettes that support the text, adding to our enjoyment of the story.

 

As well as being an absorbing and unusual story, the book is physical pleasure to handle, due to its proportions, paper quality and subtle page framing. It is a book that readers will return to again and again.

 

The Django, by Levi Pinfold, Templar, ISBN 9781840111590

 

This is Levi Pinfold’s debut picturebook, and it leaves us wanting more. He gives an insight into a world unfamiliar to most of us through an intriguing story told with a clever use of language and detailed illustrations.  But what exactly is a Django? We’re told it’s ‘A kind of cozzler that can easily find trouble’.  And find trouble it certainly does when it moves into little Jean’s Romany caravan home.

First it breaks Papa’s banjo, then it scares Wilfred the horse.  Next it puts ‘horrible nicknames’ into Jean’s mouth and forces him to call them out right in the middle of town.  It makes him dance on the tractor, and creates havoc at Cousin Phillipe’s party.  But no-one seems to realise that the Django is the culprit, so poor little Jean gets the blame.  Tired of the trouble, Jean sends the Django away but suddenly life becomes much less fun.  That’s when Papa comes to the rescue. He gives Jean his own banjo and begins to teach him how to play so together they write a song about the mischievous creature.  So – did the Django really exist? That’s one to talk about!

Pinfold’s playful use of language entertains, making us smile.  Here’s an example: ‘There were braces buttoned at bizarre angles, laces like spaghetti tangles, necktie, thumb and finger mangles and complex coat-tail ankle strangles.’  Each of the realistic and detailed  illustrations, which repay a long and careful looking, cavorts across the page in exuberant fashion telling a story of its own, whilst cleverly created images representing old photos and cards add to the mix.  (And if you know a little French, there’s an extra joke or two waiting to be found!)

Illustration and text combine so that we can almost hear the music lifting off the page – no mean achievement  - but in a story based on one of the world’s leading jazz musicians, Django Reinhardt, it can be argued that this is a necessity.

Oh – and don’t be misled by the endpapers – your copy of the book isn’t really falling to pieces – it’s probably another trick being played by the Django!

All in all, Levi Pinfold is a name to look out for in the future. 

 

Tortoise vs Hare: the Rematch, by Preston Rutt and Ben Redlich, Meadowside Children's Books, ISBN 9781845394189

 

This story is a fun play on Aesop’s fable, The Tortoise and the Hare.  Retold as a television broadcast ‘The Scramble in the Bramble’ the commentator, Jonny Fox lures young readers into this contest between Harry ‘The Hurricane’ Hare, who has a tendency to rap, and ‘Steady’ Eddie Tortoise, a character of few words.  There are no surprises about the ending but the excitement of the chase is shared by an interesting narrator using the language of sports’ commentary.

The design with its varied typeface emphasises the tension and drama of the competition.  The quirky and detailed illustrations add to the fun for the reader.  This would make an ideal shared story with plenty to keep the reader amused.

What Goes On In My Head?, by Robert Winston, Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 9781405353731

 

'It looks like a bit of yellowish, rubbery fungus...yet the human brain is the most complicated object in the universe'.

 

This quotation from the introduction to the book is one example of its use of imagery to explain challenging facts and processes to young readers. Invitingly written, it covers all aspects of the human brain , and uses the metaphor of a computer (hardly original but effective nevertheless) to help  explain its workings. It is the seat of our thinking, learning and feeling and controls the entire body; sections include Brain and Body, Thinking and Feeling and Brain Power. There is sound input on how the brain functions in people of different ages and on the importance of sleep. The history of our understanding of how the human brain works is also covered well with illuminating summaries of the work of such innovators as Sigmund Freud and Paul Broca. But most of all, this rich and interesting book deserves its place on the shortlist because of the range and power of the many illustrations used to complement, explain and extend the written text. There are annotated diagrams to show what we know about perception, language , reasoning  and the working of the memory.

Retrieval devices are impeccable - we would expect nothing less of this publisher. How might the book be best used? Pupils and teachers would certainly find it a sound reference book to have in the library. Some older, abler children at the key stage 2 stage would manage it independently. And it would read very well aloud. This would help children recognise the 'tune' of the information genre - as the Centre for Literacy in Education team often remind us. It also helps children's developing visual literacy and shows how exciting science can be.