JUDITH KERR'S CREATURES - reviewed by Emma Barnes

“Once there was a little girl called Sophie, and she was having tea with her mummy in the kitchen...”

So begins Judith’s Kerr’s classic picture book The Tiger Who Came to Tea. Without ever setting out to learn it, I know the whole text off by heart. I doubt that I’m alone. When I went to see Judith Kerr at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival, not only was the huge marquee packed to capacity with fans of all ages, but the Chair, Lindsay Fraser, revealed that when she worked in a bookshop, Kerr’s Tiger was the most stolen book. The reason – small children coming into the bookshop would immediately recognise it, and feel that this familiar and much loved story must belong to them.

Judith Kerr is ninety this year. She is the author of many fantastic and classic children’s books – from Mog the Forgetful Cat and its successors, to lightly fictionalised accounts for older children of her childhood as a refugee from Nazi Germany (When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and its sequels).

The Festival session marked the publication of Judith Kerr’s Creatures, a memoir of her life produced in glorious hardbook, packed with illustrations and other artwork. Kerr herself was immensely charming and gently funny, as she read a passage which celebrated her late husband, the television writer Nigel Kneale. It’s a cliché that behind every great man lies a great woman: and it was lovely (and moving) to hear this tribute to a husband who always supported his wife’s gifts, from encouraging her to take her first writing job, at the BBC, to providing vital help with the plot of Mog the Forgetful Cat. “Have her catch a burglar,” he suggested, when Judith said she needed an exciting finale for her book – and the rest is history.

There’s lots of fascinating material in the book, from the tale of how her father, theatre critic Alfred Kerr, was on Hitler’s blacklist, and fled Germany after a tip-off in 1933, to be followed by his family, to Judith Kerr’s experiences in war-time London, to her pioneering approach to her first picture books. (Inspired by Dr Seuss, she aimed to use only a limited vocabulary, and to never to have anything in the text that was already clear from the pictures.)

All of this is accompanied by marvellous images, from family photos, to childhood paintings, to the work she produced as an art student – even her designs for wallpaper.

For anyone interested in writing or illustrating children’s books this book is particularly special – and useful. For it includes the manuscript stories, roughs, and complete spreads for many of Judith’s books. It’s wonderful to see Mog, somehow completely herself, even in an early manuscript squiggle. But it is also a rare chance to actually understand how a picture book is constructed - how this creation of words and images really works.

It’s a wonderful book, one to dip into, treasure and keep close by you on the shelf.

Published by HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks ( 2013)

Review by Emma Barnes
www.emmabarnes.info

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WHAT’S UP WITH JODY BARTON – by Hayley Long

Reviewed by Jackie Marchant

This is a story about living above a café with your twin sister, a soppy dad and glamorous mother, having to help in the café whether you like it or not, until the day Liam Mackie walks in and you fall instantly and hopelessly in love.  And so does your twin sister.

It’s about watching your twin sister flirt outrageously in a ridiculously short skirt with the boy you’ve fallen for, about having to answer her endless questions about whether or not you think he’s fit, until you make the ultimate sacrifice and hand her the mobile phone he left in the café, so she can be the one who gives it back to him. 

But why does Jody make this sacrifice, when Jolene has ditched dozens of boyfriends, after declaring each one of them ‘the one’?   How can Jody bear to watch them together in the café?

Because Jody has a secret. 

And when the secret comes out, this book changes from a lively, fun read into something a lot more serious – but no less fun and lively.  Having let Liam into the secret, Jody now has a terrible time agonising over whether or how to explain why it has led to a horrible row between Liam and Jolene that has left Jolene inconsolable.  But Liam is not going to keep quiet about the secret and, once Jolene finds out, the happy balance within the while family is threatened.

It’s difficult to say more without revealing the secret, which came as a complete surprise to me.  But the aftermath is beautifully handled in the same light, highly readable way.   Jody is such an engaging character that we are desperate to keep turning the pages to make sure everything works out in the end. 

This is a highly engaging, enjoyable read.

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Writing Children's Fiction, by Yvonne Coppard and Linda Newbery, reviewed by Pippa Goodhart

 

Unusually for a ‘how to’ book, this book makes a very enjoyable, as well as interesting read, whether or not you are looking for specific information.  Written, back and forth in short chunks, between the two authors and referencing numerous others, its style is lively and fun at the same time as being highly informative, clear, and full of wisdom.  Those bite-sized chunks make this very much a ‘just one more’ sort of a read, and you find yourself gobbling it up far faster than you intended! 

The two authors tell their own personal tales of reading and writing and being published.  But this is no self-indulgent wallow.  It is a highly practical book, well indexed and referenced in ways which enable you to go straight to any particular point you may be after.  And it is really up-to-date with the politics and developments in the current children’s book market. 

The book falls into three sections.  The first section is discussing children’s books.  It tells you why and how children’s books are important, but also how they can offer a wonderful opportunity to writers who want to explore story in ways that writing for adults simply doesn’t allow.  It tells how it is very hard to write for children, but also how fun and how powerful it can be.  That’s exciting. 

The second section gives short accounts by a range of important children’s authors who talk about their own, very different, experiences of writing.  A wonderful, amusing, account of the very strong family stuff that set Jennifer Donnelly writing historical fiction.  Read how Frank Cottrell-Boyce likes to write with no ending in mind but the promise that a ‘flash of lightning’ will arrive at the end of a narrative to show how to make sense of it all.  Mal Peet tells us to ‘be wary of research.  It’s like a helpful passenger with the dangerous habit of trying to grab the wheel’.  And Andy Stanton writes funny-seriously about the importance of writing funny books.  And much more.

In the third section we get practical advice about each stage of writing and submitting.   

This book even tells which sort of children’s book is most sought after by publishers at the moment.  But if you want to know what that is, you’ll have to read the book!

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The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale, reviewed by C.J. Busby


The Bone Dragon is an extraordinary book - strong, delicate, magical and matter of fact all at once. It's beautifully written, and will, I'm sure, be deservedly feted by prize committees. It's also gripping, and funny, and very original.

The main protagonist, Evie, is a young teenager who is adopted, and gradually recovering from childhood abuse. At the start of the book she has had a number of shattered ribs removed, and the remnants of one of them is carved into a dragon, to keep by her bedside. The piece of broken rib, symbol of her helplessness against the violence she's suffered, is transformed into a symbol of strength and endurance. But it is soon clear that it is more than just a symbol -  the bone dragon comes to life, becomes a kind of protector spirit and guide. In a number of strange, magical interludes, the dragon takes Evie on a slow journey of healing, their night-time adventures exploring the moonlit fens around her house gradually helping to dissolve some of the anger and the strong defenses that have partially shut Evie off from her new friends and adopted family. Casales makes it clear that the dragon does not exist just in Evie's imagination - there is real mud on her clothes in the morning, and real consequences of some of the dragon's acts: this is magic. But it's a strange, wayward magic that is woven into an otherwise very straightforward narrative of Evie's life and recovery. We learn about her ups and downs with her new family, the process by which they themselves are gradually coming to terms with the death of their son and their brother's wife in a car accident, Evie's troubles at school, her relationship with a teacher who also becomes her counsellor, and the physical complications of her rib operation. Magic and matter-of-fact events mingle, as night follows day, each equally gripping.

It's the counterpoint of these two elements that makes the book so unusual, especially in children's literature, where books are generally either fantasy or 'real-life'. Casales is even more unusual in weaving this thread of magic into a book that deals with the very contemporary and troubling issues of domestic violence and abuse, and particularly in producing a book that deals with those issues obliquely, delicately, without the least bit of sensationalism or easy emotional tugs on the reader. What Evie suffered at the hands of her birth family is never specified, although it can be inferred - she herself, as the narrator, avoids giving it words, cleverly deflecting the probes of her teacher/counsellor, and indeed avoids even thinking about it except in sideways, partial glimpses. We feel the weight of its horror at moments, but always counterbalanced by the warmth, love and understanding Evie is surrounded with from her adopted family. Similarly, the bullying she suffers at school is painful, but always balanced by the support she gets from her two best friends. And ultimately, the anger and fear she still feels about her birth family is balanced by the steadfast, if elliptical, promise of the dragon.

The bone dragon acts as a kind of counterpart to the trauma Evie has suffered - as if the outrageous wrongness of what happened to her has called forth an equally outrageous and irrational magic in response, to rebalance the world. And there is indeed a kind of rebalancing in what the bone dragon achieves - a measure of peace for Evie and a measure of justice in the world. Along the way Casales offers us some wonderful characters and some extremely moving, funny, true-to-life interactions between them - I particularly love Evie's adopted Uncle Ben (everyone should have an Uncle Ben - where can I get one?). I've read reviews that carp slightly about how lovely Evie's adopted family are, as if Casales makes it all too easy. I don't think she does - I think what she shows is just how scarring this kind of experience is for any child, even when they get the best possible second chance, but also, just how much difference such a second chance can make. Personally, I mistrust books that pile on the misery, and one of the things I loved most about this book is precisely that Evie gets the love and security she deserves, and the help she needs, whether from her new family or from the magical bone dragon.

At the end of the book, Casales informs us that she herself, like Evie, has a piece of rib in a pot, and notes that potential critics should beware: it is just waiting to become a dragon. This, I assume, explains the incredibly assured and vivid descriptions she gives of the pain and feeling of shattered ribs. But since this is a nice review, she (hopefully) won't be needing that dragon to protect her!


C.J. Busby is the author of a knockabout magical fantasy series for children aged 7-9, Frogspell and sequels (see www.frogpell.co.uk)
Twitter: @ceciliabusby

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LAST TRAIN FROM KUMMERSDORF by Leslie Wilson. Reviewed by Ann Turnbull.

Germany in 1945 was a nation in defeat, broken by war and lost illusions.  This powerful novel, shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 2004, is a story of two 14 year olds trying to find their way home across their war-torn country.  Hanno is a young soldier drafted into the Home Guard.  He has just seen his twin brother killed in action.  Effi has no one left except her father, who is in the US Army.  They are without food, shelter or help.  All that keeps them going is the natural optimism of youth.

These two children tentatively reach out, form a bond, and experience the beginnings of love.  But both are damaged by their experiences and are unwilling, at first, to reveal to each other the extent of their pain.

They meet up with a group of refugees and continue their journey with them, dogged by hunger, exhaustion and constant danger.  All the refugees have experienced horrors.  And yet the narrative is far from grim.  There is humour and kindness in the interaction between people - and in the middle of the book there is a delightful, almost surreal section in which the refugees discover an abandoned train full of luxurious goodies intended for Nazi officials.

Hanno and Effi seem so real you feel you know them.  Their youthful love for each other is tender and heartbreaking in the midst of so much evil, and the climax of their story is perfectly judged and unsentimental.

It's rare to find a novel about World War II written from a German perspective, and for that reason, as well as its fine writing and gripping story, this book should be widely read.

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Amber, by Julie Sykes: reviewed by Sue Purkiss

What if a girl survives a terrible car accident which results in the death of the driver of the car in which she was a passenger - but finds she has completely lost her memory? What if, although she still remembers nothing, she finds there is something she can do which no-one else on Earth can? What if...?

Well, I can't tell you much else because it would spoil the story. That's always a problem with a review, but it's much more of an issue with this one because it develops in such unexpected directions. To begin with it seems as if it's going to be about the girl's search to discover her identity - and you soon realise there's going to be some romance along the way. But then it darts off in an unexpected direction - and then, very swiftly, in an even more unexpected direction. At first I wasn't sure if this was going to work. But it did. The book opens up like a flower and reveals all sorts of extraordinary things - and makes you think about some very important ideas: loyalty, trust, the relationship of the individual to society - not to mention the future of the planet.

But as well as all these things it's about a charismatic girl - the Amber of the title - and about first love. You want things to work out for her and for Dan, the boy she meets in her new life; but there comes a point where you can't see how they can. And at this point it becomes very difficult to stop reading.

There was only one little bit of it that I found a bit difficult to believe, and it wasn't any of the bits you might expect it to be. I wish I could discuss it, but I don't want to spoil the story - so you'll just have to read it  and then we can compare notes!

This book is an excellent, thought-provoking read - beautifully written as well - and I think teenage girls will love it. Will there be a sequel? There certainly could be!

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AFTER THE SNOW by S.D.Crockett. Reviewed by Pauline Chandler.

Not another dystopia story! Not another tale about a hopeless future, after we’ve destroyed the planet!  Yes, “After the Snow” is set in a harsh future, but don’t miss it:  it’s a deceptively simple adventure story, highly enjoyable as a quest story, which yet highlights deeper issues about types of government, survival skills, trade, barter, money, justice, as well as fundamental human relationships.  

Told in the distinctive voice – part boy, part primitive hunter - of the main character, Willo, the story follows Willo’s quest to find his family, who have been taken away, by harsh government forces. Kidnap and death are commonplace, in this snow-covered world, and Willo is frightened, but, with great courage and resourcefulness, he sets out to find them.  “After the Snow” is really the story of Willo’s coming-of-age on this quest.

Born after ‘the sea stop working and the snow fall and fall and fall’, Willo doesn’t know much about the world ‘Before.’ His skills are making fire, storing food, trapping animals and, especially, in making fur clothes, something which stands him in very good stead on his quest.  I always enjoy scenes where people are working and using their hands to make things, so this part especially appealed to me.

I also loved Willo’s character, his resilience and also his very human doubts, that make him so appealing. Early on in his quest he comes across two abandoned children, who will certainly die without his help. His head tells him that he will have to leave them behind. He doesn’t have enough food to share and they will hold him back on the trail, so he moves on, but his heart makes him go back for them. By this time the younger one is dead and the older one, a girl, has difficulty leaving him. These are harrowing scenes, but the author handles them with fine sensitivity.

There are other scenes in the book, also not for the fainthearted. At one point Willo is thrown into prison, cruelly treated and made to witness an execution, but the emphasis is on Willo’s refusal to give in to tyranny, a strength he needs to fight the regime.

Willo’s father appears only in memories and words in the book. Willo remembers that his dad called him a ‘beacon of hope’. It’s not until the surprising ending to the story that Willo, and the reader, knows why.  

A thought-provoking and exciting story, which gripped me from the start. 

‘After The Snow’ – S.D. Crockett     Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2013-09-22

Recommended for able readers aged 10+

Pauline Chandler  

www.paulinechandler.com 

 

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THE QUIETNESS by Alison Rattle - reviewed by Dawn McNiff

THE QUIETNESS  by Alison Rattle

Reviewed by Dawn McNiff

An historical YA novel, published by Hot Key Books in 2013.

This grippingly-told story is set in Victorian London in 1870, and like Jamila Gavin's Coram Boy, its subject is harrowing and shocking - the underground, murderous baby-trading of centuries past.

So unsurprisingly, there are some pretty adult themes in this book - prostitution, child-birth and infanticide. It's full-on, but without being graphic. An affecting but unsentimental depiction of life back then.

And the novel is all the more compelling because it's based on a true story. Alison was inspired by an actual court record taken at the trial of two 19th century baby-killers. Here she came across a first-person account by the accused women's 15 year old assistant, and this became the voice of Queenie, one of book's main characters.

So the novel is a troubling read at times. A scene when a newborn is taken from its mother against her will made me go cold and goose-bumpy - you really feel the girl's wild, desperate panic. Ugh, so chilling. Such misery. But VERY well-done.

The story told from perspective of two teen girls - Ellen and Queenie - as dual narrators in alternate chapters. I think this works very well to keep the reader guessing until the stories finally converge. I did see a few of the twists and turns coming, but not many (and definitely not the ending) And I didn't get into the book straight away, but before long I was whipping through the pages, hungry for the story.

There are some well-used, story motifs in this novel - rich girl/poor girl; reversal of fortunes; characters unknowingly sharing a secret past. But Alison's direct, unblinking style, vivid scene-setting, and compelling voices means the novel feels fresh.

And it leaves us with some serious questions - about the responsibility of minors and by-standers. I think it's a clever study of denial, and also shows us how extreme adversity can sit us on the sharp point of difficult, moral choices.

But there is a dose of hope too, and some happier themes- family loyalty, forgiveness, friendship and transcending love.

It is in essence a story about women - and their struggles and deep bonds. The men in the book don't get great press. They are nearly all cruel, self-serving and manipulative. The best of the bunch are Queenie's brother, who's a decent sort, if only briefly sketched at the end; and Queenie's father, who is flaky in the extreme, but affable and big-hearted.

And the ending?... Well, I threw myself back on my pillow with a wail...it's not a happy-ever-after for everyone.

This is Alison's debut as a YA author, and I say - hats off and hurrah. Looking forward to many more.

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Twisty Tales - Damian Harvey

Books for young readers seem to get very little attention in the media despite the important role they play in a child's reading development, confidence and enjoyment of reading. Books often fall into a few small categories - picture books for the very young, school reading schemes and then they make a leap ahead into longer books - often leaving children with little to go at for pleasure. The Franklin Watts Hopscotch series are extremely popular in libraries as they provide a nice little skip and a jump across some of these gaps. It's a pity they aren't more widely available in shops, nevertheless, their appearance on the library shelves is very welcome and the books are greatly borrowed and eagerly read.

One of the more recent additions to the Hopscotch Range - which spans Adventures and Fairy Tales etc - is the Twisty Tales series. Simply told stories with twists on existing and familiar tales...

Sleeping Beauty - 100 Years Later by Laura North and illustrated by Gary Northfield is, as you would rightly guess, a twist on the tale of Sleeping Beauty. The story begins in the familiar way with the Beautiful Princess pricking her needle on a spinning wheel and falling into a deep, 100 year sleep - only to be awoken by the kiss of a prince. Then 'One hundred years later,  Prince wearing sunglasses drove up to the castle.' Rather than the old Prince Charming of the familiar story, this prince talks on his mobile phone, listens to music in his headphones and wears jeans. A lot has changed since the princess fell asleep. Prince Harry asks the sleeping beauty out on a date and off they zoom in his car. He sweeps her of her feet at the fair and gives her a single red rose... but when the Princess pricks her finger on a thorn she worries that she will fall asleep for another 100 years - Can Prince Harry help? Of course he can... but I'm not telling you how.

The Emperor's New Kit by Maureen Haselhurst and illustrated by Kelly Kennedy  is a delightful twist on The Emperors New Clothes and will instantly attract young boys with its football theme. Enrico Empery is the ace footballing captain of Bootsville United. He is so good that 'his fans nicknamed him "The Emperor".' As with famous footballers today, Enrico loves clothes almost as much as he loves football. His jealous teammate - Frankie Foulo decides to teach The Emperor a lesson and gives the vain Enrico a special football kit for the final... a kit that will be invisible to everyone except the 'top football players'. Will the vain Enrico get his just desserts or will there be an extra twist to this twisty tale (yes there will)... A great little twisty tale with delightfully modern illustrations that will instantly appeal to boys.

Rumpled Stilton Skin - written and illustrated by Daniel Postgate gives a funny twist on the familiar tale of Rumplestiltskin. This story tells the tale of a young girl that owns a cheese shop....She loves all sorts of cheese - even Stilton with its strong smell. The only thing she hates is the thick bit of skin on a Silton cheese... she gives this to her much loved dog. In Cinderella fashion, the girl receives an invite to a party. She can't go of course as she just doesn't look the part. Luckily for her... up pops a strange little man that can help her prepare for the grand party. He will ask for payment later of course. After a wonder party the little man returns and demands payment... Refusing the Prince's offer of land, horses and the like, the little man asks for the girls dog. Yum, yum he says... rubbing his tummy... unless you can guess my name of course. The girl tries in vain to guess his name then lose her temper and declares that he is worse than a piece of Rumpled Stilton Skin. You'll have to read the book to see if she's right... A delightful little Twisty Tale...

It's interesting to see the different approaches that authors have made in creating these Twisted Tales - some give them a slight twist by bringing them into the modern day like Sleeping Beauty 100 Years Later, and Rapunzel and the Prince of Pop (not reviewed here) which readers will love and instantly recognise the Simon Cowell link, others are firmly placed in the modern day like The Emperors New Kit, and others keep their more traditional settings like Penny Dolan's delightful twist on The Ugly Duckling in which all of the ducklings are born a little bit strange - except one that's called Beauty...

All a must for young and developing readers that want to visit the library and get a book they can enjoy on their own... 

Damian Harvey - www.damianharvey.co.uk

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