The Places You Will Go

Christmas Magic All Year Round

From Tots to Teens, StarMag

THERE are those who like to buy Christmas-themed books as Christmas gifts. Many of these books involve snow because ... Christmas means snow. Doesn't it? Well, actually, it doesn't - it's just one thing Malaysians have been brainwashed into believing. Christmas is celebrated in December and, in countries in the northern hemisphere, winter starts around about the final month of the year. Of course, as we read mostly British and American books and watch mostly Britsh and American television and movies, the way we celebrate Christmas is very much influenced by the way the people in those countries celebrate it.

Even if we aren't Christian, we exchange gifts, we listen to Christmas songs like Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Winter Wonderland, and we put up trees that we might even decorate with cotton wool and polystyrene!

I've been told that some Australians throw parties with a Christmas theme in July - because in Australia summer falls in December and that's, you know, so un-Christmassy! Perhaps we would do the same given the chance. My own children dream about a white Christmas and they haven't even been introduced to the Bing Crosby song!

I don't, as a rule, like Christmas-themed picture books because I feel they lose their appeal out of season. However, I think this is a personal niggle that, as far as I can tell, doesn't bother most people. Christmas-themed books may feature any or all of the following: the first Christmas, ie the birth of Jesus; snow; snow men; toys; candy canes and the other paraphernalia of the season; robin redbreasts; Santa Claus (with or without his reindeer).

Christmas choice of children's books | Book reviews | Books | The Guardian

From Shapeshifters by Adrian Mitchell, illustated by Alan Lee

Julia Eccleshare's picks in The Guardian:

Who Wants to Be a Poodle I Don't, by Lauren Child (Puffin, £10.99). Age: 4+

A pampered poodle's determination to escape the confines of her sheltered life to become a real dog is brilliantly captured in Lauren Child's clever words and finely matched pictures. Shaped by her anxious owner, Trixie Twinkle Toes's life is devoid of risk or danger or even untidiness. But she longs to catch sticks, roll in the mud and, above all, to step in puddles! Influenced by the Performing Poodle Sisters, who show her how daring, dazzling and dangerous a poodle can be, Trixie Twinkle Toes gets a grip, jumps in a puddle, rescues a dog and finds liberation as a new life of wind and rain unfolds before her. A hymn to freedom: for dogs read children.

The Chicken Thief, by Béatrice Rodriguez (Gecko Press, £9.99). Age: 4+

An unusual love story unfolds across visually captivating spreads, with the pictures perfectly capturing every detail of the high drama at the heart of this stunning, wordless story. On an instant, a fox snatches the chicken from under the noses of her friends. The kidnap is shocking and the chicken's friends immediately give chase but the mood and tempo change as the chicken falls in love with the fox and the two establish a peaceful and benign rapport. The chase over, all ends happily, despite the disbelief of the others, when the chicken and the fox declare their love for one another.

A Feast of Ghost Stories

From Tots to Teens, StarMag

IT’S not a Malaysian tradition to tell ghost stories at Christmas, but it used to be quite the done thing in Britain to gather around the fire place at Christmas and swap spooky tales.

I suspect that the practice was greatly encouraged by the cold weather at that time of the year in Britain – ideal for huddling in front of a blazing fire. Christmas is also when the family gets together, so there’s a crowd listening together, and maybe even more than one storyteller. Of course, now that there’s television, and DVDs and such, no one wants to hear grandma tell how she met the devil in the churchyard one freezing winter’s night.

Christmas time also coincides with the Celtic midwinter or winter solstice, supposedly the second most haunted time of the year (the first, for the Celts, is Samhain, celebrated at the end of October to mark the transition from “lighter” summer to “darker” autumn), and that must be another reason why ghost stories are told during the season.

For the Chinese, the most haunted time of the year is during the month of the hungry ghosts. This is when the spirits of those who died hungry, prematurely or unjustly are allowed back into the world of the living. They come seeking revenge and are mollified with offerings of food.

In the small town in Malaysia where I grew up, the hungry ghost festival was marked with displays of food in the marketplace. I loved the spectacle of rows and rows of tables heavily laden with delicious edibles. Most eye-catching were the whole pigs, several in their pink skins, several more roasted a crisp golden brown, all with apples or peaches in their mouths.

More Things Wild (Wacky and Mysterious) from Sendak

By DAPHNE LEE

Tots to Teens

MAURICE Sendak is about to become a household name in Malaysia, thanks to the movie, by Spike Jonze, of his picture book Where the Wild Things Are. If I had to pick just one favourite children's book, this would be it, but I love many of Sendak's other books and think they make great gifts for children of all ages. Here's my top picks ...

Puss in the Woods

By DAPHNE LEE

From Tots to Teens, StarMag

I LOVE cats, but even if you're not partial to flesh-blood-and-fur felines, you may find it hard to resist the charms of Dayan.

He is the creation of Japanese author/illustrator Akiko Ikeda and is the main character in four books translated and published by Dark Horse (best known as a publisher of comics). If you look at Ikeda's website (www.wachifield.com) it seems that there are more books, including picture books and novels, featuring the cat and his friends. However, they're in Japanese. The four titles thus far available in English are a little larger than Ladybird books, with the same hard covers, and fully-illustrated with the most charming and interesting watercolours. 

Dayan has grey and red-gold stripes, a white stomach and four white feet. He has huge slanted amber eyes - and in fact, Ikeda's characters are all notable for their large lustrous eyes.

Dayan lives in Wachifield, an imaginary world dominated by woodland and streams, and populated by the usual forest creatures like rabbits, frogs, foxes, otters and squirrels. There is an alligator though - his rather incongruous presence isn't explained, and that's one of the things I like about the way Ikeda writes. She doesn't overtell the story - there's no exposition at all, and characters and events appear in the books without introduction, but as if Ikeda is telling stories of creatures the reader already knows well. If you want every detail provided for you, then you may not like Ikeda's style, but I find it very fresh and light. The reader is free to be a co-creator with Ikeda - he may suppose and imagine whatever he wishes when contemplating the world of Wachifield.

New Children's Fiction

This is very late but you know what they say ...

Anyway, Reavers by Emily Diamand was announced the winner of inaugural Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition winner, in March (!).

Over 2000 entries were received and Reavers was finally picked from five shortlisted works of fiction.

You can read more about the shortlist and the winner here and here.

Picture Book of the Month: We're Going on a Bear Hunt

August 2009
WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT
By Michael Rosen
Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
Publisher: Walker Books, 40 pages

This is one of my favourite books for storytelling sessions. The repetition in every verse -  "We're going on a bear hunt, we're going to catch a big one! What a beautiful day - we're not scared!" and then "We can't go over it, we can't go under it, we've got to go through it!" - encourages children to join in, and it's even better if you put the book aside and act the whole thing out.

Of course, Oxenbury's pictures are always worth sharing too. At a conference in Australia, she pointed out that she added a postscript to the story by drawing the bear walking away, rather despondently, at the end of the book. Read what you will into that picture. I wonder if the bear really just wanted a chat and not to eat the children.

CILIP Kate Greenaway and Carnegie Medal Winners Announced

The CILIP Kate Greenaway winner is Harris Finds His Feet by Catherine Rayner.

The CILIP Carnegie winner is Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd.

Read more and watch the videos of the awards ceremony at the official website.

Kate Greenaway winner announcement video.

Carnegie winner annoouncement video.

Wise and Wonderful

From Tots to Teens, StarMag

JUNIPER, Wise Child and Colman. To look at the covers of the Random House editions of Monica Furlong's books is to love them immediately and deeply. They are the work of Leo and Dianne Dillon, the husband-and-wife team also responsible for the covers of the Eos editions of Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy, as well as many other popular and critically-acclaimed books including the Caldecott Medal winners Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears (1976) and Ashanti To Zulu: African Traditions (1977).

When I read Nix's and Furlong's books it was easy to accept the Dillons' depiction of the books' main characters. It's evident that these illustrators pay close attention to the authors' descriptions of the characters' physical features, as well as their clothes. What's interesting is although the style doesn't change, and every character has a superficially similar look, each one is still distinct, as though the Dillons have managed to capture not just the outer shell of facial features, but also the inner spirit of each one. If only the the books were fully illustrated.

Anyway, I thought that I would highlight Furlong's series this week - because it's so wonderful and comforting, and not at all well-known. Furlong wrote and published them in this order: Wise Child, Juniper and Colman. Here's a little about the books in reading order:

Hot Men of Children's Literature V: Markus Zusak

Just when you thought this category should be called Hot Short-Sighted Men of  Children's Literature ...

Markus Zusak.

His books so far:
Bridge of Clay (2009), The Book Thief (2006),  When Dogs Cry (2002), The Messenger (2002), Fighting Ruben Wolfe (2001) and The Underdog (1999).