The countdown is on for us for Magnolia Square – 11 more sleeps until we open at the brand new venue of St Kilda Town Hall.
One of the things we love about being part of Magnolia Square is running storytime. We’ve been thinking that we need some comfy floor cushions for these sessions. Buoyed by the successful completion of these beauties I’m attempting some more invisible zips, and may even try to extend my skills to something new in the design of these cushions… Stay tuned!
A while ago Rowan started asking us to read him a ’story with our hands’. This means using our hands to make a book shape and making a story up. He usually requests ‘only three’ stories which is sometimes a bit taxing for the cogs of my imagination…
At three and a half, Rowan has loved hearing our made-up stories, something I remember loving when I was little too. What’s even nicer is hearing him make up the occasional story with his hands too.
This development has also coincided with Rowan’s new enthusiasm for exploring the breadth of his bookshelf. Not so long ago I remember the phase when Rowan wanted the same few books over and over every night. Now he requests a book he’s never had before, or one we haven’t read for ages. Scary as it is, it isn’t difficult for us to find several new books on Rowan’s shelf that we’ve never read together before. Proof of how much I’ve spent on picture books over the years…
‘Stories with our hands’ are quite convenient when out and about, like at a cafe. Rowan has realised, however, that my hands are otherwise occupied when I’m driving. When we are in the car the request from the back seat is ‘Please can we have a story with your brain, Mama?’
Would love to hear how ‘made-up’ stories are/were told in your house…
We’re celebrating all these lovely new books with a giveaway. Spend $50 (excluding postage) in the We Heart Books store from now until the 14th of March and get a gorgeous Maisy apron free (value $16.95). Quote MAISY APRON in the comments to qualify.
We’re very excited that We Heart Books was mentioned on Romona Koval’s The Book Show on Radio National on Monday…
Romona was discussing with Gideon Haigh and Andrew Wilkins (Director of Wilkins Farago Publishing) the standard of literary reviewing in Australia. Gideon Haigh has recently been published in the new journal Kill Your Darlings, which claims that the book pages of Australian newspapers and magazines have become ‘hodgepodges of conventional wisdom and middlebrow advertorial.’ They discussed the future of reviewing and the role that blogs may have…
Here’s what Andrew had to say:
The positive thing from my point of view is that there are now communities of people saying this isn’t enough and we can actually set up our own thing… The cost of setting up anything on the internet [means] you can actually produce a vibrant, interesting, blog – I’m thinking of Inside a Dog which does Young Adult fiction for example, We Heart Books, which does kids’ literature. These are people with no budgets, negative budgets, and yet they’re able to get good quality material out online and build a community of people who actually care about similar things.
We’re quite chuffed! You can listen to the whole interview with Gideon and Andrew here.
Some of his wall decorations have a book connection…
A Penguin poster…
My friend Lisa gave me these cards from Chronicle, and I framed four of them. They are hung next to Otto’s change table and he loves staring at the contrasting colours. Nice to think he is staring at such loving images too….
Board books don’t really belong on a shelf like this one but until Otto is ready to hold them himself, I like seeing them lined up like this. Rowan helps to choose some books from this shelf for us to read with Otto each night.Any of your favourites missing from our shelf??
We are definitely in the midst of the ‘Why?’ phase with Rowan. Seems like it has already been going on for a while and friends tell me that it keeps going for a lot longer again… I know it’s healthy, but sometimes I just like to get through a page of a book at bedtime without five questions about the story and the illustrations.
So last night I could hardly believe it when Rowan sat absolutely absorbed and completely silent as I read him for the first time A Story for Bear by Dennis Haseley and illustrated by Jim La Marche.
The book tells the story of a friendship between a bear and a woman who lives for a time in a woodland cabin. The bear stumbles upon the cabin and sees the woman reading. He is very curious about the square object that she holds, which at times makes her laugh, and at others afraid or pensive. Day by day the bear gathers courage until he is able to lie close to the woman. For the shortening days of summer, and until the leaves change colour, she reads to him. And although the bear can’t understand her words, he feels the emotions conveyed through her voice. Her words make a story: a story for her bear.
I’m not sure which aspect of the story was so captivating for Rowan – it could have been the idea of a wild bear meeting a human for the first time, or perhaps the bear’s perspective, learning about the existence of books and the power of storytelling. Whatever the reason, it was wonderful for me to share a book with him that is very special to me – it was Lou who gave me my copy and I think it is such a beautiful story about the wonders of reading.
I also love Jim La Marche’s illustrations – I reviewed another beautiful book of his, Albert, here. He has such a talent for illustrating light and shadow, and this is done so beautifully again for the woodland scenes in A Story for Bear.
Jeremy Holmes’ gorgeously quirky version of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is now in stock in our store.
Such a macabre rhyme and beautifully executed by Holmes. Since we first saw the book in early December, we haven’t got tired of turning to the closing page to see the old lady’s eyes closing for the final line, ‘She died, of course.‘
As I have mentioned before in ‘When We Were Little’ posts (here and here) we lived for a time in England when I was little. Rupert the bear was another of the English characters that is indelibly linked to my memories of our time there. I still have a copy of a Daily Express Rupert Annual, which I think was given to me one Christmas.
Having now done some research into the Rupert story, I am blown away by the endurance of this ever-so-English little bear.
Rupert Bear first appeared in 1920 in the Daily Express comic strips by Mary Courtel. In an incredible feat of longevity for the world of the print media, the Rupert Bear strips continue to this day. The artist has changed several times, and one of the most significant storytellers and artists responsible for Rupert was Alfred Bestall, who held the reins from 1935 to 1974. Each year, a Rupert Annual is published, and my copy is the 1981 hardcover edition.
One of the most distinctive aspects of the Rupert stories is the story-telling format. This is not a regular cartoon comprising pictures and speech bubbles. A complete Rupert story is told over several pages of an Annual. Each page consists of a simple heading and four or five illustrations, and the illustrations are captioned by four pairs of verse. At the bottom of each page, a paragraph of prose repeats the story again, which means that the story can actually be read on four levels.
As a reader, it’s a slightly unnerving format, and the verse is often slightly ‘off’. But it is interesting – and means that children of different ages can enjoy the story. These days the first thing I think of is what a nightmare this must be to copywrite and edit – how restrictive must those word limits for each written element be…
Rupert himself is said to epitomise traditional British public school values. He lives in an idyllic English village and, with his friend Bill the Badger, has a series of unexpected magical adventures. With their gorgeously distinctive outfits and occasionally their leather rucksacks, Rupert and Bill always get home safely to Mrs Bear, who never seems the slightest bit perturbed by their adventures.
Clearly, the character of a newspaper comic who has been around for nearly ninety years is iconic. Paul McCartney’s inspiration for the song ‘We All Stand Together’ (the ‘Frog Song’) was apparently his realisation that something he loved so much as a child was also a favourite with his own children. The clip includes animation of Rupert Bear. Deservedly Rupert has a fervent fan group, the Followers of Rupert Bear, and there is also a Rupert and the Frog Song website…
Our Christmas tree this year is not a perfect specimen. It is asymmetrical, slightly bushier on one side, and has a decidedly wonky top. But I love it because it is an Eco Christmas Tree! It is a real living tree in a pot, and we have hired it for December. I though this concept was brilliant as soon as I heard about it – with tree delivery and collection included, you also get the satisfaction of knowing that a healthy tree continues to grow and thrive all year round.
When I was growing up we always had our Christmas tree in a pot. My mum and dad bought a small living Christmas tree for my first Christmas as a baby and every year for 20 years we continued to bring the same tree into the house. In the end it was so tall that it touched the ceiling. I really loved thinking of the tree and I growing alongside each other.
When Rowan was born, I intended to create a similar tradition for our household. But I soon learnt that my mum is a better gardener than I because I was unable to keep our little tree alive for the year… But Eco Christmas Trees provides the perfect service for someone like me. They even offer to deliver the same Christmas tree to you next year!
I do love Christmas tree traditions, and one of the Christmas stories Rowan and I are enjoying at the moment is Mr Willowby’s Christmas Treeby Robert Barry.
The story starts with the delivery of a very tall Christmas tree to Mr Willowby’s grand house. The tree is the biggest he’s ever seen – so big that it can’t stand up straight in his parlour! Mr Willowby asks his butler to chop off the top of the tree so that it will fit better. The butler cuts the top, but instead of throwing it away, he decides to offer the cutting to Miss Adelaide, the upstairs maid. Miss Adelaide gratefully accepts her ‘tree’, but discovers the tree-top is too tall for her attic room, so she too trims off the top… And so the story continues, and the tree-top is gradually shortened and shared with smaller and smaller animals.
I love the idea that a tree can become lots of mini-trees, as well as the wonderful sense of sharing in this book. The final illustration of Mr Willowby with his tree in the foreground, with the detail of a tiny mouse-hole and the mice and their miniature tree is so lovely.
What about everyone else? What Christmas books are you enjoying at the moment?
Phew – a busy three days at Magnolia Square. It was great fun – we had lots of beautiful new books to share and had so many lovely chats with customers. And we always love catching up with fellow Magnolia retailers who have become firm friends.
Four days off and we’ll be doing it again at Brighton Town Hall – we’d love to see anyone who is in the neighbourhood!
