Ernest the moose, with his friend the chipmunk, from Catherine Rayner's picturebook
Jim, by Hilaire Belloc and Mini Grey (Cape, £12.99). Age: 4+
It may not be wise to draw attention to Hillaire Belloc's Jim "who ran away from his Nurse and was eaten by a LION" since today's parents seem to be quite anxious enough already. But for those who won't use it as another reason to keep children indoors, this, like all Belloc's cautionary tales, is a deliciously terrifying story. Jim has everything a boy could desire – his parents give him cakes and chocolate, they give him a trike to ride, they read him stories and they even send him off to the zoo accompanied by his nurse . . . But Jim's special foible is running away whenever he is able. When nurse is distracted by a suitor, Jim is off and the end is fateful. Mini Grey's dramatic paper-folding illustrations add an extra dimension to Belloc's original. Her fold-out plan of the zoo, complete with warnings and comments, is witty and charming while also standing as an incisive warning about a world in which health and safety has become a make-believe all of its own.
Emily Brown and the Elephant Emergency, by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton (Orchard, £10.99). Age: 4+
Anxious parents who are too quick to reach for their mobiles are warned off over-protectiveness by the intrepid characters in this delicious fantastical adventure. Emily Brown, who in a previous story has already famously seen off the Queen herself, sets off on an exploration with her toy rabbit Stanley and Matilda the elephant. They white-water raft down the Zambezi river and follow mysterious footsteps in their search for a new species of dinosaurs. But wherever they are and whatever they are doing, Matilda's anxious mother is just a phone call behind them. Busy spreads show the delights of freedom while the phone is portrayed as the tyrant.
Ernest, by Catherine Rayner (Macmillan, £10.99). Age: 4+
Catherine Rayner's warm-hearted but spare illustrations have a light touch that makes both the ridiculous conceit of this books and its witty resolution a delight. Ernest is a large moose with a very big problem – he can't fit into his own book. Here a leg, there a bottom; bits of moose are easy to show but all of Ernest on one page seems to be impossible despite the best efforts of Ernest and his friend the chipmunk. Obviously the book is just too small. But Ernest is not one to give up easily and neither is his friend. After gathering in the necessary materials, they come up with the creative solution of an enormous foldout page. Now all of Ernest can be shown in one piece. Rayner's expressive illustrations tell readers all they need to know.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
CBC News - Books - Residential school story wins $25K kids' book award
Shin-chi's Canoe is written by Nicola I. Campbell and illustrated by Kim LaFave. (Groundwood Books)
Shin-chi's Canoe, a picture book about a little boy leaving home for a residential school, has won the $25,000 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award.
It was one of four children's books awarded prizes Thursday night at the Children's Book Centre in Toronto.
Shin-chi's Canoe, written by Nicola I. Campbell of Vancouver and illustrated by Kim LaFave of Roberts Creek, B.C., is one of the first picture books to explore the story of the impact of Canada's residential schools on children.
The six-year-old boy Shin-Chi leaves home with his older sister Shi-shi-etko, who explains to him that it will be many months before he is allowed to go home. The book captures the emotions of the two children as they miss family and the natural environment where they grew up.
The Bite of the Mango was written by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland. (Annick Press)
"Understated text with emotional truth hovering beneath the lines.... The complementary softness of the illustrations seems to make the overwhelming sadness and loss the children experience more poignant," the jury said in its citation.
The $20,000 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award was awarded to Mattland, a picture book that celebrates new friendship and imaginative childhood play.
It was written by Hazel Hutchins of Canmore, Alta., and Gail Herbert of Cambridge, Ont., and illustrated by Dusan Petricic of Toronto.
The other winners.
- The $10,000 Norma Fleck Award for Children's Non-Fiction: The Bite of the Mango, about a young girl surviving the war in Sierra Leone, written by Mariatu Kamara of Pickering, Ont. with Susan McClelland of Toronto.
- The $5,000 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction: The Landing, a young adult novel set in Muskoka, Ont., during the Depression, written by John Ibbitson of Ottawa.
Ibbitson, a Globe and Mail writer, won the Governor General's Literary Award last year for The Landing.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Read Roger: One question or two?
One question or two?
So, what does it mean--if anything--that Phillip Hoose's National Book Award winning Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice is ineligible for the Coretta Scott King Award (because Hoose is white) and Jerry Pinkney's Lion & the Mouse is in the same position because it isn't about black people? Does it not matter, or have the CSK awards painted themselves into a corner?Labels: Awards, Intercultural understanding
posted by Roger Sutton at 8:10 AM
I'm paying close attention because I've been discussing (with the National Book Council Development of Singapore) the possibility of creating a regional award for children's literature. The question of criteria will be something we have to think long and hard about. Deciding on what books/authors/illustrators will qualify will be a real challenge.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Sale?
The Big Bad Book Sale (organised by Big Bad Wolf Books) will be on from
26 November to 2 December 2009
The sale will feature more than 200,000 books and magazines at at prices ranging from RM3 to RM20.
The books on sale will be brand new and include many current and popular titles.
The Big Bad Book Sale
Date: 26 November – 2 December 2009
Venue: Level 3, Amcorp Mall (former cinema lot)
Time: 10am – 9pm
P.S. I'm very afraid as I have no willpower where books are concerned.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Making Sense of the High Cost of Books
From Tots to Teens, StarMag
Monday, November 02, 2009
No Waiting Required
From Tots to Teens, StarMag
DON'T you love it when you "discover" a series that has already been written and published? If you love the first book, the second, third and so on are ready to be read. No waiting until the author completes the next instalment, and then for the paperback edition to be released (I'm cheap that way - I only buy hardbacks if they're remaindered or hugely discounted).
There have been times when a publisher or distributor gives me a review copy of the first book in a series but the other books, when they're published, are not sent for review and I've been (once again) too cheap to buy them. Or, I forget to look out for the sequels. That happened with Hilari Bell's Shield, Sword, and Crown trilogy. I enjoyed Shield of Stars (2007), but missed the release of Sword of Waters (2008). Crown of Earth (2009) was released this October.
Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games was so good that waiting for the sequel, Catching Fire, was sheer agony. And now that it's been published and I've read it, I have to wait until sometime next year (so I've heard) to read the final book in the trilogy. Woe is me!
Recently, my friend, Kit (the best book merchandiser in the universe) introduced me to Megan Whalen Turner's The Queen's Thief series. Three books are available (The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia) and a fourth (A Conspiracy of Kings) is due out in 2010. The books are mainly about the intrigues of royal courts of three neighbouring countries - Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia.
In the The Thief, a thief called Gen is taken from his jail cell by the magus of the King of Sounis. The magus wants Gen (who boasts that he can steal anything) to help find Hamiathes’s Gift, a stone of legend, said to be the gift of a goddess. According to tradition, he who owns the stone has the right to rule over Eddis. The magus wishes to use the stone to force the present Queen of Eddis into a political marriage with Sounis.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Picture Book of the Month: The Little Stone Lion
Nov 2009
Author: Kim Xiong
Illustrator: Kim Xiong
Publisher: Heryin Books, 40 pages
Year: 2006
Chinese lions are usually created in male-and-female pairs, but the stone lion in this book is a village's "only stone lion" - "smaller than a cat". older than the "oldest village elder", friendly champion of small children, loved by everyone, a comforting constant in a changing world. Gentle words and soft colours capture the dignity and mystery of this ancient symbol of truth and protector against evils - a truly magical way of introducing old traditions to a new generation.
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