2008 April

In a Blue Room

20 April 2008 by Lou · Leave a Comment

Design Mom has posted a lovely review of the picture book In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck and beautifully illustrated by Tricia Tusa. The books main character is little Alice, which has always been my most favorite girls name and doesn’t she just look like an Alice?

Tricia also illustrated the lovely picture book The Magic Hat by renowned Australian author Mem Fox and the stunning Fred Stays with me (written by Nancy Coffelt) about a little girl dividing her time between two divorced parents houses but whose dog, Fred, travels everywhere with her.

Check out the children’s lit posts on Design Mom as she chooses some really funky and interesting books to personally review.

Filed Under: Age 3+, Authors, Illustrators, Picture books

Thanks to all commenters!

16 April 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment

Our official launch competition closed yesterday, and thanks to everyone who entered by including a comment on the site. Lou and I really appreciated the feedback people left, with suggestions for new books and affirmation that the concept of this site is a good one.

Winners will be announced shortly… And stay tuned for other competitions and prizes over the coming months!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Varmints

15 April 2008 by Katie · 3 Comments

I came across this beautiful new book the other day, by Helen Ward and Marc Craste. This book is one that straddles the border between picture book and graphic novel, and is no doubt intended for an older audience than the traditional picture book.(This genre is also being explored with great success by Australian author and illustrator, Shaun Tan, whose book The Arrival has won a host of awards here and overseas.)

The illustrations in Varmints are incredibly evocative, and have been done by film-maker Marc Craste, whose debut short film, Jo Jo in the Stars won the 2004 BAFTA Best Animated Short Film. Marc lends Varmints a wonderfully cinematic feel: the use of tracing paper and even the elements of gloss on the cover give it a feeling of movement, and there is an amazing sense of filmic perspective on the angles taken in the illos.

The text is lyrical and poignant, and works perfectly alongside the images.

Varmints tackles the theme of environmental degradation, and it reminds me a bit of both Dr Seuss’s The Lorax (the ultimate greenie book for kids written long before eco-matters were a daily news item) and Graeme Base’s Uno’s Garden (reviewed by me here).

This is a beautiful book for collectors, and I couldn’t resist it. (I had in mind that I might give it to someone, but by the time I got it home, couldn’t imagine who it would suit better than, well, me!)

Filed Under: Age 8+, Environment, Illustrators, Picture books

Classic children’s books in translation

10 April 2008 by Katie · 1 Comment

Further to my recent post on Gecko Press and publishing children’s picture books in translation, here is a list of five of my favourite classic children’s books in translation. Like with Nicholas, the transition from the original language into English (and into different English-speaking markets) hasn’t always been straight-forward…
1. The Story of Babar (Jean de Brunhoff)

The appeal of this French elephant was recognised immediately by publishers across the Channel and the Atlantic – first published in France in 1931, it was published in both the UK and the US by 1933. There have been criticisms of the colonialist overtones of the Babar story (Babar’s return causes his elephant community to wear western-style clothing). But this is a delightful series, and it’s easy to become immersed in the utterly believable world created and beautifully illustrated by de Brunhoff. I’m a big fan of the vintage-styled hardback edition, which you can still buy, complete with the cursive script from the original. It makes a beautiful gift. Age 2+
2. Miffy (Dick de Bruna)

Adopted enthusiastically by the Japanese, Miffy is of course Dutch, and was originally called Nijntje, which is the word young people use for ‘bunny’ in Dutch. Her books, created by author Dick Bruna, appeared in the UK and Australia soon after original publication in Holland in 1963. However she wasn’t successfully introduced into the US market until 2003. At that time, her broad appeal to children all over the world earnt her the role of New York City’s Family Tourism Ambassador, in an effort to lure family travellers from Europe and Japan. Despite considerable wealth and success, Dick Bruna continues to work as he always has done, perfecting the deceptively simple outlines and colours of Miffy’s books in his studio in Utrecht, Holland. Age 0+

3. Finn Family Moomintroll (Tove Jansson)

All things Scandinavian seem to be à la mode at the moment. The beautiful sparse aesthetic of Scandanavian interior design in particular… I love it, and I find myself swooning over things here and here. There also seems to have been a resurgent interest in Tove Jannsson’s Moomintroll series from Finland, and in 2006, the author’s comic strip series was published for the first time in North America. This highly imaginative and fantastical series centres on a series of characters, each with a distinctive personality. Funny, poignant and strange, but very appealing for young people and adults alike. Age 8+

4. The Thief Lord (Cornelia Funke)

An established author in Germany, Funke was seeking a publishing opportunity in the UK, when she was approached by Barry Cunningham, the publisher who first realised the potential of J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter. Apparently, the book was brought to the attention of Cunningham by a bilingual German/English reader, who couldn’t understand why her favourite German author wasn’t available in English. Upon publication in the UK it sold out within 10 days, and in the US, it went on to become a New York Times bestseller. Funke’s picture books (Pirate Girl, Princess Pigsty and The Princess Knight) are less well known, and all handle the theme of strong and fiesty female characters. A movie based on her book Inkheart will be released in January 2009. The trailer and cast look pretty amazing!
5. Pippi Longstocking (Astrid Lindgren)

Re-issued in 2007 with illustrations by the fabulous Lauren Child, see Lou’s previous post for a review of this delight.

Filed Under: World

A new book about chooks

8 April 2008 by Katie · 1 Comment

Following my previous post on our favourite books about chooks, I learnt about a brand new book by Australian author Diana Lawrenson, and illustrated by Dee Huxley.

Paraphernalia’s Present tells the story of Dottie Devine, who lives by herself, and never has any visitors. Nobody has time to even say hello. But she has a chook, called Paraphernalia, who is her great friend and companion. One day, Dottie and Paraphenalia’s normal routines are disturbed, which causes some unexpected and happy outcomes. It’s a lovely story about friendship of different kinds.
You can tell this book has been well-researched, as the author subtly weaves in factual details of chook behaviour, and there is a nice fact sheet included on the last page of the book. Dee Huxley’s pastel illustrations are expressive and expansive.

For Melbournians, the author is appearing this Saturday 12 April at 10.30am at Readings Hawthorn for a reading ‘with props and charm’. We’re going to try to get along.

Meanwhile, our Lottie (not to be confused with Dottie) is doing brilliantly. Her eye is almost completely healed, and one of the only things she needs to worry about now is Rowan, who has taken to squatting next to her with arms outstretched, demanding a ‘Ug!’