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When Jonas the lighthouse-keeper is rescued from the stormy sea by a whale, they become friends. But soon Blue the whale is in great danger too, and now he needs help from Jonas. This touching love story from world-renowned picture book creator, Barroux, beautifully highlights the urgency of saving our whales and our oceans.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery's timeless tale, reissued in a beautiful clothbound edition designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith. Antoine de Saint-Exupery first published The Little Prince in 1943, only a year before his plane vanished over the Mediterranean during a reconnaissance mission. Nearly eighty years later, this fable of love and loneliness has lost none of its power. The narrator is a downed pilot in the Sahara Desert, frantically trying to repair his wrecked plane. His efforts are interrupted one day by the apparition of a little prince, who asks him to draw a sheep. In the face of an overpowering mystery, you don't dare disobey, the narrator recalls. Absurd as it seemed, a thousand miles from all inhabited regions and in danger of death, I took a scrap of paper and a pen out of my pocket. And so begins their dialogue, which stretches the narrator's imagination in all sorts of surprising, childlike directions.
November 2021 Debut of the Month | Fairies Verity and her best friend Celeste live in Fairy Tale Kingdom, where all your favourite fairytale adventures take place. In this story, Tatiana, the Queen of the Fairies, puts Verity in charge of the party the human king and queen are throwing for their new baby daughter. When Verity accidentally on purpose leaves out Nissa, the grumpy fairy places that curse on the baby. Fortunately, with Celeste’s help, Verity can put things right, not just for the royal family, but with Nissa too. As with other titles in this series, this puts a sweet new twist on a much-loved story and little children will be very taken by Verity and Celeste. With lots of illustrations and short chapters, it’s good for newly independent readers and a useful glossary will help them understand and remember new vocabulary.
November 2021 Book of the Month | Fairies Verity and her best friend Celeste live in Fairy Tale Kingdom, where all your favourite fairytale adventures take place. In this story, Tatiana, the Queen of the Fairies, puts Verity in charge of the party the human king and queen are throwing for their new baby daughter. When Verity accidentally on purpose leaves out Nissa, the grumpy fairy places that curse on the baby. Fortunately, with Celeste’s help, Verity can put things right, not just for the royal family, but with Nissa too. As with other titles in this series, this puts a sweet new twist on a much-loved story and little children will be very taken by Verity and Celeste. With lots of illustrations and short chapters, it’s good for newly independent readers and a useful glossary will help them understand and remember new vocabulary.
Combining the talents of a Carnegie medal winning author and a thrice winning Greenaway medal winning illustrator, this highly anticipated book was always going to be very special indeed and with its lavish production it proves to have exceeded expectations. Every single page is illustrated, most frequently in full colour, from dramatic full-page scenes to delicate vignettes breathing life into the characters of legend. In his introduction the author talks about the hundreds and hundreds of stories and poems spread across the western world that feature King Arthur and makes the point that the longevity of their appeal is down to their very human nature. Although suffused with magic these are stories of human aspiration to be the very best that we can be and the yearning for a Golden Age of truth, justice and chivalry and also the resilience that allows us to bear the very human frailties and limitations that continually thwart these ambitions. Apart from the sheer beauty of the language used, these stories offer the complete cycle of Arthur’s life from his magically assisted birth to his passing onwards to Avalon. These are full bloodied retellings too with real medieval gore and lasciviousness making them most suitable for upper primary and secondary readers, but also giving greater depth and understanding of the life, loves, triumphs and tragedies of the Knights of the Round Table and the rich tapestry of magic and monsters with which they grapple. They make a compelling read ensuring that Arthur will indeed always be the King of our literary landscape. A really worthwhile investment.
The magic of the Cinderella story is timeless, but this version is particularly captivating. Lotte works in a mill all day making and drying paper, while her horrible sisters lie around, issuing orders. Her only friends are the paper puppets she snips by the light of the moon. When the invitation arrives to the palace ball, not only do her sisters leave Lotte behind, but they destroy her puppets too. It’s then that Lotte realises that if she wants her happy ending, she’s going to have to make it herself and starts snipping a dress. It all plays out the way it always does – hoorah – Lotte’s skill with her scissors entrancing the prince. Laura Barrett makes wonderful use of silhouettes in her illustrations and there’s a magical gatefold too with peep through cut-out windows. An author’s note explains that the book is inspired by the life and work of Charlotte ‘Lotte’ Reiniger, one of the world’s first film animators, and her fascination with silhouette puppetry and it’s a perfect tribute to Reiniger both in style and in its determined, creative central character.
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month November 2021 | Sumptuously produced and overflowing with wonderful illustrations, this book focuses on the amazing landscapes that have shaped some of the best-loved traditional tales. Lucille Clerc’s illustrations are incredibly detailed. She captures the watery depths of an underground kingdom, the dangers of a tropical island, the tempting sweets on the witch’s gingerbread house and much more. Each of these richly imagined environments enhances the best loved stories and their characters that are included in this collection including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz and many more.
From an original story by Hans Christian Andersen | Deep in the forest, a beautiful little fir tree is unhappy with his lot. He wants to be big and tall like the other trees, and then to become a sturdy cabin or a ship sailing across the sea. So busy is he wishing his life away that he doesn’t notice all he has – the precious moments in the beautiful forest with his friends, the birds, flowers and butterflies. When at last he is tall and beautiful, he is cut down and taken to be a Christmas tree in a family home. It doesn’t end there however, and there are more twists in the story, more sorrow for the little tree which prompts him to reconsider what’s really important. Christopher Corr allows the little tree a happy ending and there’s much in his version of the classic story for children to think about. The illustrations are bright and bold, full of vibrant colours, their folk-art style perfect for this story which is both simple and reflective.
Book Band: Grey (Ideal for ages 8+) | This is a modern twist on a lesser-known Irish folktale. A story of realised dreams and the perseverance of one little Shepherd boy. It tells the story of Setanta who wants to be a Red Branch Knight. The young warriors are great hurlers and Setanta knows his skills are every bit as good as theirs. The early chapters are set in the home with Setanta’s parents, where his dreams are not recognised. His mother thinks they are too poor and lowly for their son to be recognised by the King and his Knights, and when Setanta wants to travel with his father to the town of Emain Macha, to try his luck with the trainee warriors, his father produces a plethora of reasons why not. (A lot like many parents faced with a pleading child.) However, he not only wins over his father, but also the King who witnesses his skills and finally the warriors, who after much bullying and rejection of an interloper to their group, recognise both his ability but also his bravery. Throughout the book there is a feeling of hope of success, but there are also some exciting twists and encounters. This is an exciting adventure story, but also a story with some important themes and areas for discussion: Setanta’s pride and belief in himself, bullying and its consequences, and the bravery and determination, in one so young.
Of all Hans Christian Andersen’s tales, the Emperor’s New Clothes is the one that feels the most relevant, and naughty. In Peter Bentley’s retelling, King Albert-Horatio-Otto the Third is a dandy with a passion for the most outrageous outfits, changing them throughout the day – he even changes outfits to go to the loo. His obsession and his vanity leave him wide open to being conned by the two ‘fashion designers’ who turn up to make a special suit for his birthday, one so special that only the wisest and cleverest can see it. Whether you are familiar with the story or not, it’s hilarious and oh so satisfying to see the king exposed to all in his birthday suit. Bentley’s rhyming text is as smooth as the king’s bottom, and Claire Powell has great fun illustrating the designers and the king’s courtiers and staff, not to mention those fabulous clothes. This will have everyone in stitches.
Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Award 2022 ages 11-14 | Shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2022 | 15-year-old Yūki Hara Jones is only ¼ Japanese, but she has a deep bond with the country and her beloved grandpa there. Suffering badly from anxiety she feels she will be helped by a visit to see him. Her grandpa, a renowned Manga artist, feels she can be helped by rediscovering the small girl who loved to draw, but just as they are opening her old albums, the earthquake hits and although she survives he does not. Trying to recuperate back in England she can still feel there is unfinished business in Japan and is determined to try to understand it. Helped by her friend Taka, who has also lost everything in the disaster and has his own demons to follow, they take their quest illegally back into the disaster zone. This is an incredibly intense and atmospheric read- the prose descriptions of the disaster and its aftermath are breathtakingly powerful. But it is also a story suffused with Japanese legend and modern-day ghost stories. Manga is an important theme throughout the book - Yūki’s recovery is bound up with the creation of her own manga story and manga is so important to the character of her grandpa and her own love of Japan and so it is entirely appropriate that manga is used to tell the story. The superb drawings seamlessly reveal the other worldly and spiritual nature of Yūki and Taka’s story and the multi-layered whole becomes a truly immersive and compulsive reading experience that will linger long in a reader’s thoughts. Highly recommended.
December 2020 Book of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month November 2020 | In the best traditions of mythology, The Three Wishes is a tough but ultimately lyrical version of the story that explains how Father Christmas can visit so many children in one night and why he has a red coat. Set long ago in a country that is far off in the frozen north where there is a strong community of families who live by hunting and foraging while their children look after the reindeer, it tells how a young boy, lost in deep snow in the forest, is saved from death by finding a mysterious cave full of magic and wonder from another world. Once a year the boy returns to his own world, checking on his family and taking them presents. One year, he arrives on a magical flying sleigh and his family give him a beautiful red outfit all lined with fun. From that day on, on one night of the year he rides around the world taking gifts to children everywhere. Evocative, timeless illustrations bring this imaginative story vividly to life. You can find more wintry & festive stories in our Best Books for Kids this Christmas collection!
