Picturebook Reviews
A Home Is A Nest
Emma Carlisle, pub. Big Picture Press
Emma Carlisle’s A Home is a Nest is a beautiful celebration of spring and new life – both human and animal, specifically birds. The life of a bird couple and their new baby chick is mirrored with the life inside a nearby nest beginning with when the parents carry the baby to their house for the first time just as a blackbird’s eggs are cracking. Surrounded by other animals and their young the sentiments written on the page are felt by the human family, the various animal families including deer, hedgehogs, rabbits, and all sorts of birds, and those reading the story itself.
The text reads as a lullaby calming a young child reinforcing the love, safety, and comfort of their home and family. There is also a mindfulness to the book which can be used to encourage children to pay attention to the world outside their houses, teaching them about different types of British garden birds and also about animal’s homes.
As the year progresses and the seasons change the child gets older and different animals appear – robins in winter, butterflies in summer. The text celebrates the child’s journey, what they have achieved in their first year and what is still to come whilst reinforcing the fact that their home and family, and the nature surrounding them will always be there.
Carlisle’s illustrations are beautiful, there is so much depth and detail to the richly coloured realistic scenes, and the text is a gentle, simple, non-rhyming lyrical verse. Full of warmth, life, and sentiment this would make a lovely gift for a new child.
Natalie McChrystal Plimmer
Danny McGee Drinks the Sea
Andy Stanton, illus. Neal Layton, pub. Faber
As you might expect from the author of the Mr Gum stories and other zany books, this picture book is very silly.
Danny, he of the title, makes a bet with his sister, Frannie, and she fetches ‘a straw that was longer than she.’ This means the events that happen can indeed happen! He not only drinks up the sea but consumes lots of other things: a cat who was drinking some tea; a man who was learning to ski; the weather girl on the TV - all gleefully and colourfully illustrated by Neal Layton. Then there’s a real picture of Andy Stanton: ‘he swallowed the people and that includes me, and I’m writing this book inside Danny McGee’- such fun!
And no, Danny doesn’t burst unlike Tiddalik the greedy frog or Monty Python’s Mr Creosote, nothing bad happens. Danny goes on to swallow America, land of the free, and London, chim chim cheree! Then he boasts that he has swallowed everything in the world, but Frannie points out that ‘you didn’t get me’ - and (spoiler alert!) she swallows him! That is a great twist, and children should be highly amused. The rhyme and rhythm all through this book are good for building vocabulary and make it good to read aloud and share.
Both Andy Stanton and Neal Layton are well experienced in what works well with children, and this is great fun.
Diana Barnes
Letters To A Monster
Patricia Forde, illus. Sarah Warburton, pub. Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Sophie has finally had enough of the monster who hides under her bed. She decides to write him a letter making it very clear that he is not welcome there! To her surprise, the monster responds with a letter of his own, very much denying that he does indeed live under Sophie’s bed. A marvellous starting point for a brilliant story which is most definitely for bedtimes and even more definitely filled with laughter.
What follows is a series of letters between the two which carry the story and it is lovely to see their relationship grow from a cagey one to a strong friendship. There is a wonderful turning point in the book where Sophie is told that there is actually a gorilla under her bed and the monster helps her to write a letter to him. With a shared interest and purpose, the two team up to try and persuade the gorilla to move out from under Sophie’s bed.
This is a terrific tale which is creatively written – a lovely story to share with a young one before bedtime!
Tom Joy
Lulu is a Rhinoceros
Jason Flom, Allison Flom, illus. Sophie Corrigan, pub. Greystone Kids
mirror and how others see her, she knows inside that she is not a dog at all, but a rhinoceros. No matter that she has fuzzy fur, a nub of a tail and a small button nose, in her mind she knows who she is.
The only thing that she doesn’t have and really wants, is a horn. Maybe that would show everyone who the real Lulu is. She tries unsuccessfully to fashion a horn from an ice-cream cone (too cold), a traffic cone (too big) and an old sock (too smelly). Could a banana skin be the answer?
Despite a bullying pigeon who insists that Lulu is just a bulldog with a banana skin on her nose, Lulu eventually finds herself inside the rhinoceros enclosure at the zoo. Here she finds kindness in the form of a tickbird and the two become inseparable. Lulu finally finds validation and a friend.
Lulu has an important message for her readers about self-expression, individuality and acceptance, which is gently told through this sweet story and adorable, vibrant illustrations. Sometimes being yourself is a difficult road to travel, but when judgment is replaced with curiosity and kindness, the world becomes a better place. This wonderful picture book embraces what makes us all unique and I look forward to reading about more of Lulu’s exploits in further books in this series.
Janet Ling
No One Is Home
Mikolaj Pa, illus. Gosia Herba, trans. Scotia Gilroy, pub. Greystone Kids
Leo remembers that it is his friend Kimbo’s birthday and decides to surprise him with a visit and a fun day out together. But on the way all kinds of events get in the way, starting with a host of frogs playing hide and seek in the hallway, and when he finally gets to his destination, he finds that Kimbo is not at home! He phones his friend, only to discover that he is at Leo’s house, having had the same idea. Luckily, they are able to agree when and where to meet up and they have a great time together.
This is a delightfully amusing story of what can go wrong when you try and spring a surprise on someone. However, it is also something that has happened to many of us in the past, especially before the advent of the mobile phone.
What provides an added dimension to this story is the game of seek the frogs’ which is going on throughout the book. If you have readers who enjoy books such as Where’s Wally they will also love this; especially as there are variable numbers of frogs on each page and they are doing a range of activities. The extremely bright and quirky illustrations really add a sense of fun to the book as well as increasing the pace of the story.
I highly recommended this book as the perfect read for children of nursery age and beyond.
Margaret Pemberton
Once I Was A Tree
A Book (with help from Eoin McLaughlin), illus. Guilherme Karsten, pub. Nosy Crow
Did you know that paper is made from trees? Books are of course made from paper which means there are a lot of books in homes, libraries, schools, bookshops, so very many places, that all used to be a tree! Well maybe they were all different trees but I am sure you get my meaning.
Now, I ought to confess that I am one of those people who is more than certain that trees have stories to tell us. How can they not, they stand tall and strong, watching the world around them. Once I Was A Tree simply supports my feelings on this. This is a book, a story, about a tree, told by the book which used to be the tree which I am quite certain means trees have stories to tell. There is more. It is not just this review, or this reviewer which may seem madcap and a little zany, the book is too… I mean, have you ever read an autobiographical account by a book? Nope, my first time too!
First things first, we meet the tall and handsome pine tree that Book once was. To continue you’ll have to turn the book around, well he did say he was tall… Next you will need to make sure your brain can cope with long time periods and a little bit of evolution for a squirrel, an acorn and its bottom come next. His name was Derek, make sure to say hello for he is important in this story, as is Barbara the beetle. Book, who was once a tree, had a wonderful life but when they came and chopped him down he was fuming. Now. Well now he feels better for now that he is a book he knows that books are magic for they are full of stories which go on forever.
Make sure to treasure this, and every book, remember it is waiting for you!
Louise Ellis-Barrett
The One and Only You
Shane Hegarty, illus. Ben Mantle, pub. Hachette Children’s Books
This delightful story is a confidence boosting and historical romp through time. It is a true celebration of the uniqueness that makes each person special. While we may be compared to others or look similar, our unique look, personality, views and opinions meld together to make us individual.
So much has changed through time from the creation of the world, through to dinosaurs and then humans- space and galaxies, oceans and earth splitting! However, there has never been anyone exactly the same as anyone else. Ben Mantle’s exuberant illustrations really take the reader on a journey through time and allow them a brilliant opportunity to embrace themselves and be proud of who they are. There are whales singing songs that carry across the oceans, mice scurrying around doing what mice do, insects who buzz about being bust, dinosaurs big and small, hot air balloons with character, wherever the reader looks there is something exciting happening, all described with a sparkling sense of humour and Shane Hegarty’s fantastic use of imagery with his words.
What an amazing story to gift or read aloud to a group of children. They can then shout about how special they truly are.
Erin Hamilton
Our Tree
Jessica Meserve, pub. Little Tiger
On a warm day, Tree feels the patter of little feet as Little Red scampers up their trunk and proclaims, “This tree is all for me.” However, Little Red soon realises he is not alone when behind him he sees a tiny caterpillar chomping on a leaf. Soon they are joined by a swift who thanks Tree for such splendid branches for resting on. “Resting is boring” says Little Red, shortly before Tree is filled with swift’s friends all trilling and piping in unison.
Later, animals of all shapes and sizes visit the tree, much to the annoyance of Little Red who doesn’t want to share and sets off to find a new tree that he can keep for himself. But a trip and a slip and Little Red almost comes to a sticky end when he lands on a leopard who roars hungrily that “the tree is just for me and so are all the animals in it!” However, the leopard is no match for the animals all working together and Little Red finally realises the value of friends and the power of teamwork.
The very detailed illustrations provide lots to look at while the reader absorbs the message of the story about the importance of sharing and the power of community. A joyous celebration of tolerance and togetherness.
Janet Ling
We are Definitely Human
X. Fang, pub. Pushkin Children’s Books
This is a wonderful book about kindness and helping others.
A perfectly normal Mr and Mrs Li, live in a perfectly normal town in a perfectly normal house, when they are visited by some perfectly abnormal beings, who claim that they are ‘definitely human’, even though it is so obvious that they are not. These ‘definitely human’ beings are depicted, on the front cover, in vibrant neon pink, against a black background. It is so eye catching and the first inkling that we are going to meet some very unusual characters, as we turn the pages of the book. These mysterious creatures are ‘definitely human’, after all they make business, play sportsball and wear hats. All very human things to do, aren’t they?
They enter Mr and Mrs Li’s life, explaining that their ‘car’ has broken down, not expecting that Mr Li and the community will all pull together to help fix it. And even though there is something very strange about these creatures, not one of the community mentions anything about them – they welcome them and help them as if they are one of their own. The topic is simple – show kindness to all and accept differences and the narrative is simple and engaging.
The illustrations are bold and colourful. The ‘definitely human’ beings are so bright against the muted colours of the earthly background, really exaggerating the contrast between the two sets of beings. It’s such a clever technique.
I read this to my class, and they absolutely loved it – the illustrations, the language, the story, and its message. It was a big hit, and I am sure it will be loved by all who read it!
Claire Webb