James Joyce, Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, Mary Shelly, Leo Tolstoy and Oscar Wilde.
THINK… think of a time when both war and peace abound; a time when Dorian Gray meets with Frankenstein and Huckleberry Finn under a lighthouse to discuss the portrait of an artist as a young man whilst listening to the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock…
Such a time is bullsh*t… or perhaps the makings of an M. Night Shyamalan horror film… thing. Read the rest of this entry »
A children’s book for grown-ups
Let’s not kid; sleep deprivation is hellish. One of the sacrifices demanded by parenthood is the pleasure of a good night’s sleep. Whether it’s midnight feedings, distressed cries or the worry of late night escapades, our children plan on keeping us awake for a good 18 years, and probably long after.
With this in mind, California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach has written a foul-mouthed, tongue-in-cheek bedtime book for parents who live in the real world. Go the Fuck to Sleep tells it like it is; that a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don’t always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. Read the rest of this entry »
Seven British children’s writers are in the Top 10 most borrowed Authors in UK libraries. They are:
• (2nd) Daisy Meadows (Rainbow Magic)
• (4th) Jacqueline Wilson
• (5th) Francesca Simon (Horrid Henry)
• (6th) Mick Inkpen
• (7th) Julia Donaldson
• (9th) Lauren Child
• (10th) Terry Deary (Horrible Histories) Read the rest of this entry »
A book about a crazy dude living on the moon was always going to appeal to my sense of humour. So let me share the love…
Loon on the Moon is a story about a Loon who lives on the Moon (go figure) and is responsible for sucking up all the dreams that leak from children’s ears, which are used to fuel an engine that makes the Moon light up. But what happens when all the dreams dry up? Poor Moon-Loon has to find a way to keep the Moon aglow. And that’s where the adventure starts! Moon-Loon visits the Moptops from Mercury, the Noodles from Neptune, the Vimtingles from Venus, Yoohoos from Uranus, the Sindings from Saturn, the Minimoos from Mars, the Jiffles from Jupiter and the Pollywollyplumpkins from Pluto, for an answer. Can someone help Moon-Loon? Perhaps? Perhaps not? Read the rest of this entry »
I don’t think that anyone on this planet needs an introduction to Roald Dahl, and his genius certainly needs no substantiation. The man was blessed with the gift of the gab and I know for certain that his marvellous stories are like medicine for the soul – enriching and uplifting. So, I am starting my Roald Dahl indoctrination project as of yesterday. For thirteen months, our daughter has been gazing up at a Roald Dahl book box set that sits patiently on the top of her bookshelf. In the meantime, I pique her curiosity with the hilarity of Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts. Read the rest of this entry »
I have it in my head that alphabet books are an essential for small children. Teaching letters in association with words forms the groundwork for learning to read, and rhyming words are a great tool for helping children learn the art of speech. My 13-month-old currently has two alphabet books on her shelf and both are equally awesome. Read the rest of this entry »
I am a fan of the absurd. And Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussycat is right up my alley. The tale of an Owl and a Pussycat who set sail at sea in a beautiful pea-green boat is a rhyme that I rattled off as a child without considering what exactly I was rattling off. I recently acquired a copy of Louise Voce’s illustrated version of ‘The Owl’ and as I read it to my one-year-old daughter for the first time, I chuckled most of the way through. Lance is famous for his nonsense rhymes and The Owl and the Pussycat is surely his best known story. It goes like this: Read the rest of this entry »
Care Bears: Lucky Day is so retro that it defines the meaning of retro. Why have I chosen to review this specific Care Bears book? Because it is the only one I own. I scouted it out at a Charity shop and paid a staggering 49p for a trip down memory lane.
As a toddler growing up in the ’80s, I definitely watched Care Bears on television but I didn’t have any Care Bears books. So now that I have my own daughter I get to relive my childhood through her – the possibilities are endless.
Care Bears: Lucky Day is a cute story about a teddybears’ picnic. The pictures are cartoonishly cute and the message is cute. In other words, not a genius work of children’s fiction but it is a Care Bears book and so can be forgiven for a bit of sentimentality. Read the rest of this entry »
Smelly Bill reminds me of a one of my brother’s childhood friends. My bro told me that one day when he was visiting this friend, said friend’s mom asked him to have a bath and friend replied “but mom, I swam last week.” For my brother, who wasn’t a big fan of bathing, to notice that this lack of cleanliness was a tad out of the ordinary… well, it says a great deal.
Every time I pick up Daniel Postgate’s Smelly Bill Stinks Again I can’t help but chuckle to myself as I remember the boy who bathed in the pool. Smelly Bill Stinks Again is the hilarious story of a stinky dog: Read the rest of this entry »
Anthony Browne is an award winning author and illustrator who has written more than forty books. Inherent in Browne’s illustrations is a sensitivity and empathy that oozes from the colours of his magnificently detailed, photo realistic pictures, which enhance the fantastical nature of his beautifully written narratives. I own two of Anthony Browne’s books; Gorilla and The Tunnel and my daughter adores them. Amelia’s 11 month old mind is utterly mesmerised by the faces of the gorillas and other primates that appear in Gorilla. She will turn the pages of the book and draw her face as close to the image on the page as she possibly can – often her nose ends up touching the page as she contemplates what she sees in front of her. It is very funny but quite beautiful at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »
