yellowbrickreads

Pottermore Update

2012-03-08T10:15:00.001-08:00

Pottermore insider, the official blog for J. K. Rowling's Pottermore have announced that the site will be officially opened to all in early April. For a full account click here.

Collection of 500 New Fairy Tales discovered in Germany

2012-03-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

King Golden Hair, one of the
newly-discovered fairytales

A treasure trove of 500 new fairy tales has been discovered in Germany. The tales form part of Franz Xaver von Schonwerth's collection, which has been locked away in an archive for over 150 years. Von Schonwerth, a contemporary of the Grimm brothers, spent decades gathering his immense collection of fairy tales, fables and myths in the Bavarian region of Oberpfalz. In 1885 Jacob Grimm would pay Von Schonwerth the compliment that, "Nowhere in the wole of Germany is anyone collecting [folklore] so accurately, thoroughly and with such a sensitive ear." Unlike the Grimm collections, Von Schonwerth's stories are recorded faithfully, with no attempt to add his own literary style. The resultant tales are unrefined and all the more authentic for it. Working through Von Schonwerth's immense collection, Oberpfalz curator Erika Eichenseer came across more than 500 fairy tales. Many of these have never before appeared in any European fairy tale collection. A more detailed account of the discovery is available here. In the meantime, why not sit back and enjoy one of the newly discovered tales. For your reading pleasure, here is "The Turnip Princess".

The Turnip Princess

A young prince lost his way in the forest and came to a cave. He passed the night there, and when he awoke there stood next to him an old woman with a bear and a dog. The old witch seemed very beautiful and wished that the prince would stay with her and marry her. He could not endure her, yet could not leave that place.

One day, the bear was alone with him and spoke to the prince: "Pull the rusty nail from the wall, so that I shall be delivered, and place it beneath a turnip in the field, and in this way you shall have a beautiful wife." The prince seized the nail so strongly that the cave shook and the nail cracked loudly like a clap of thunder. Behind him a bear stood up from the ground like a man, bearded and with a crown on his head.

"Now I shall find a beautiful maiden," cried the prince and went forth nimbly. He came to a field of turnips and was about to place the nail beneath one of them when there appeared above him a monster, so that he dropped the nail, pricked his finger on a hedge and bled until he fell down senseless. When he awoke he saw that he was elsewhere and that he had long slumbered, for his smooth chin was now frizzy with a blond beard.

He arose and set off across field and forest and searched through every turnip field but nowhere found what he was looking for. Day passed and night, too, and one evening, he sat down on a ridge beneath a bush, a flowering blackthorn with red blossoms on one branch. He broke off the branch, and because there was before him, amongst the other things on the ground, a large, white turnip, he stuck the blackthorn branch into the turnip and fell asleep.

When he awoke on the morrow, the turnip beside him looked like a large, open shell in which lay the nail, and the wall of the turnip resembled a nut-shell, whose kernel seemed to shape his picture. He saw there the little foot, the thin hand, the whole body, even the fine hair so delicately imprinted, just as the most beautiful girl would have.

The prince stood up and began his search, and came at last to the old cave in the forest, but no one was there. He took out the nail and struck it into the wall of the cave, and at once the old woman and the bear were also there. "Tell me, for you know for certain," snarled the prince fiercely at the old woman, "where have you put the beautiful girl from the parlour?" The old woman giggled to hear this: "You have me, so why do you scorn me?"

The bear nodded, too, and looked for the nail in the wall. "You are honest, to be sure," said the prince, "but I shall not be the old woman's fool again." "Just pull out the nail," growled the bear. The prince reached for it and pulled it half out, looked about him and saw the bear as already half man, and the odious old woman almost as a beautiful and kind girl. Thereupon he drew out the nail entirely and flew into her arms for she had been delivered from the spell laid upon her and the nail burnt up like fire, and the young bridal pair travelled with his father, the king, to his kingdom.

Fables and Fairy Tales in Irish Art

2012-03-03T03:26:00.000-08:00

from Harry Clarke
The Little Sea Maid

If you looking for something to do in Dublin in the coming weeks I recommend a visit to an exhibition currently running in the National Galley. The title of the exhibition is Fables and Fairy Tales - Illustrations from the Collection and it is on display from December 19th 2011 to March 25th 2012. The collection showcases some twenty artworks, including illustrations from fairy tales, poems and stories by Harry Clarke, John Butler Yeats, Paul Henry, and Richard and Charles Doyle. The images date from the 1870s to the 1920s and range from preliminary sketches to finished pieces. Also currently exhibiting is Frederic William Burton's The Meeting on the Turret Stairs. Due to the delicate nature of the watercolour, this piece is only available to view at selected times (see the Gallery website for details).

I've been a Harry Clarke (1889-1931) fan for years so this was an obvious highlight for me. The ink and watercolour piece on the left takes Hans Christian Andersen's story The Nightingale as its subject. In the story the Emperor of China declares that he prefers the music of his beautiful bejewelled music box to the sweet song of the nightingale. However, when he is near death, he must depend on the curative powers of the real bird's song to restore him. The ornate patterning of the Emperor's costume and luxuriant furnishings are skilfully captured in Clarke's artistic interpretation. Here is an extract from Andersen's tale:

Harry Clarke The Nightingale

Indeed, everything in the emperor’s garden was remarkable, and it extended so far that the gardener himself did not know where it ended. Those who travelled beyond its limits knew that there was a noble forest, with lofty trees, sloping down to the deep blue sea, and the great ships sailed under the shadow of its branches. In one of these trees lived a nightingale, who sang so beautifully that even the poor fishermen, who had so many other things to do, would stop and listen. Sometimes, when they went at night to spread their nets, they would hear her sing, and say, “Oh, is not that beautiful?” But when they returned to their fishing, they forgot the bird until the next night. Then they would hear it again, and exclaim “Oh, how beautiful is the nightingale’s song!”

The tale is a parable of sorts, highlighting the value of the natural world over material possessions. In learning to love the song of the nightingale over the wealth and riches of his kingdom, the emperor is cured of his malady.

Another piece I enjoyed was Paul Henry's "Isabella seeking Lorenzo’s body in the forest" from John Keats’ poem, "Isabella" or as it is alternatively known, "The Pot of Basil." Isabella was adapted by Keats from a tale in Boccaccio's Decameron and tells of the ill-fated love affair between Isabella and her lover Lorenzo. Her brothers, anxious that she marry a wealthy noble, murder Lorenzo and hide the body. But Lorenzo comes to Isabella in a vision and instructs her as to where she can find his corpse. Unbeknownst to her brothers she locates him and buries his head in a pot of basil, which she tends obsessively as she pines away in her grief.

Paul Henry "Isabella seeking
Lorenzo's body in the forest"

Here are the lines from the poem that inspired Henry:

XLIII.

When the full morning came, she had devised

How she might secret to the forest hie;

How she might find the clay, so dearly prized,

And sing to it one latest lullaby;

How her short absence might be unsurmised,

While she the inmost of the dream would try.

Resolv'd, she took with her an aged nurse,

And went into that dismal forest-hearse.

Fans of Fables and Fairy Tales might also be interested in the Study Morning that is being organised by the Gallery to discuss the importance of this collection. The talks are academic in nature and will probe the significance of fairy tales in Victorian literature and in Irish Art. It will conclude with a tour of the collection. The full line up is listed below:

9.50 Welcome with Dr Marie Bourke, National Gallery of Ireland

10.00 Images Associated with Fables and Fairy Tales in Irish ArtDr Nicola Gordon Bowe, Associate Fellow, National College of Art & Design, Visiting Fellow, University of Ulster

10.30 Folk Tales in Victorian Literature Dr. Jarlath Killeen, Lecturer in Victorian English, School of English, Trinity College Dublin

11.00 Morning Coffee

11.30 Fables and Fairy Tales in Irish Art Dr. Roisin Kennedy

12.00 Illustrating the Fantastic in Life and in Art PJ Lynch, Artist and Children’s Book Illustrator

12.30 Panel Discussion Chair: Professor Nicholas Allen,Moore Institute Professor at National University of Ireland Galway

1.30 Conclusion Dr Paula Murphy, Lecturer
University College Dublin

3.00 Tour of the display 'Fables & Fairy Tales' - meeting point outside Room 1

Fighting Words

2012-03-02T00:15:00.000-08:00

Fighting Words: The Write to Right

On Tuesday I visited the good folks of the Fighting Words Centre, located next to Croke Park. Established by Roddy Doyle and Séan Love, Fighting Words is a Creative Writing Centre that gives students at both primary and secondary levels the chance to compose and publish their stories. At the end of the session, each participant has a printed copy of their own book with their name and photograph on the back. There's even a "praise from the critics" section to encourage the young storytellers to disseminate their work among friends and family (and members of the media as desired). The best thing about Fighting Words? Its programmes are all one hundred percent FREE, making it a truly inclusive storytelling initiative.

The staff and volunteers of the Centre could not have been more welcoming to me. I was given a quick tour and outline of the day ahead. In hushed tones it was announced that the class had arrived. They were a first class group from Scoil Bhríde in Donaghmede and the excitement was palpable as they asked the Magic Door for permission to enter. A hidden bookcase in the wall swung open and all the children piled in, rushing to get the best seats. Then, it was over to Mark, our storyteller for the day, to lead the children through the whole writing process.

First class students of Scoil Bhríde write The
Amazing Adventures of Mrs Strawberry

- Do you know what we do here at Fighting Words?
-Yeah. My dad knows.
-Was your dad here with us before?
-No. But he read a Roddy Doyle book once. It was a funny one.
-So what do you want to do today?
-WRITE A STORY!

While Mark worked with the children on their stories, illustrator Isadora made their words come to life before their eyes. Their were several other tutors and volunteers on hand to look after the kids and make sure that the children had everything that they need.The tutors at Fighting words are well trained in the methodology of teaching and I was impressed to see the easy and natural way they elicited answers from their young writers. Having talked for a few minutes about the books the children liked and were familiar with, it was time to get down to business.

-What are the ingredients that go into every story? What do all good stories need?
- Words!
- Yes, words. Anything else?
-A BIG PENCIL!
- People, I mean, characters!

And so on. Within forty minutes the group had collaboratively written a story entitled The Amazing Adventures of Mrs Strawberry (you can read it right here). To be exact, the group had written as far as the story's climax - now it was time for each pupil to write their own ending and maybe draw a few pictures too. At the end of all this, the young writers had an opportunity to read out their versions for their classmates and the staff at the Centre.

The session was a lot of fun. At ages six and seven, this is the youngest age group that Fighting Words caters for and I was impressed with the tutors' ability to keep the pupils busy and entertained. There was a lot of indirect vocabulary work going on as the writers were encouraged to develop their ideas.

-Do you know what an editor is?
-Yeah. An editor is when the words come out bigger on the computer than the skinny ones you write with the pencil.
-So, an editor makes changes, fixes things in the story?
-Yeah, the editor changes the story and makes it better.

I also liked the emphasis that the group placed on reading aloud. The story was read aloud three times, twice by our storyteller and once again by the grumpy Mr. McConkey. Mr McConkey lives behind the wall and never comes out. He is extremely cranky and threatened to fire poor Mark (again!) if he doesn't hurry up with his breakfast. At first, he doesn't think much of the students of Scoil Bhríde. He tells them they are too young to write a story and that they should go home and stop bothering him. The children love the routine and are quick to shout back at Mr. McConkey. When he reads their story, he is forced to admit that it IS brilliant and does deserve to be published. Having their work read and treated seriously by a group of adults is hugely important and encourages the children to take their writing seriously too. At this point, the newly published authors are each given a copy their own book to take home and show their admiring families. The excitement is something else!

Fighting Words was inspired by the work of 826 Valencia in San Francisco. If you haven't yet watched Dave Eggers' inspirational TED talk on the work being done there, I urge you to do so here:

Something incredible is being achieved by these writing centres. What's more, the more centres that open, the greater the knock-on effect. The Manager of Fighting Words - Sara Bennett - tells me that while their centre has been inspired by the work of 826 Valencia, the staff of Fighting Words have happily been able to instruct and give feedback to other emergent writing centres in London and Stockholm. Fighting Words opened in January 2009 and since that time, has seen tens of thousands of young storytellers pass through its doors. Let's hope the good work continues.

Happy World Book Day Readers!

2012-03-01T02:07:00.002-08:00

Today is World Book Day. This means that half a million children around the globe will be tuning in to the first online children's book festival which will be streamed live online. Authors such as Eoin Colfer, Julia Donaldson, Derek Landy and Jacqueline Wilson will take the stage today for this wonderful new festival. The Festival which is called The Biggest Show on Earth has been organised by world Book Day and aims to promote childhood reading in a novel and fun way. registration is free. Just go online at http://www.worldbookday.com/ to sign in.

Other World Book Day events include the World Book Day tokens. Eight top-selling children's books by authors such as Roald Dahl, Jacqueline Wilson and Julia Donaldson can be exchanged for free with a £1 World Book Day tokens which children have received from their school this week.

There is also a World Book Day App, which is coming soon. The App, which includes content from writers such as Malorie Blackman, Charlie Higson and Anthony Horowitz will be available to download for free from Apple's App store.

The Biggest Show on Earth is divided into two segments. From 9.30-10am the show is aimed at pre-schoolers. From 11am to noon it is pitched towards older children. The line up for the Biggest Show on earth is as follows:

9.30am – 10am

· Julia Donaldson

· Axel Scheffler

· David Melling

· Korky Paul

· Lydia Monks

· Emma Chichester Clark

11am - midday

· Eoin Colfer

· Julia Donaldson

· Jacqueline Wilson

· Derek Landy

· Cressida Cowell

· Steve Cole

· Anthony McGowan

· Holly Webb

· Nick Sharratt

· Chris Bradford

· Jeremy Strong

· Andy Stanton

I hope you tune in and enjoy. And remember, if you miss the live show today, it will be available to watch on demand from tomorrow.

UPDATE: Click the link here to watch The Biggest Show on Earth online festival

Time Slip (Up) Tales

2012-02-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

The paradoxes of time travel often elude the most promising minds. Even the brilliant Headmaster of Hogwarts gets it wrong sometimes...

When is Pottermore actually going to happen?

2012-02-22T08:57:00.000-08:00

In an article for the Guardian, Shoshana Kessler voices the frustration of millions at the delay in the official opening of the Harry Potter interactive website - Pottermore. Featuring 18,000 words of new text by Rowling and an unprecedented opportunity to virtually explore the Potter universe, Pottermore seems like the Holy Grail for the loyal fans who have been suffering withdrawal symptoms since the last installment in the series was published in 2007. Last July, a million lucky fans were offered access to the site. Seeing Rowling poised at the threshold to this magical kingdom, it is impossible not to think of Willy Wonka, the eccentric gatekeeper to the wondrous chocolate factory. A pledge was made that access to Pottermore would be granted to all the following October. Five months later the site is still in beta mode and will continue to be so indefinitely. But will the children who don't have a golden ticket ever get to see it?

The World of Dickens

2012-02-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

Actor Simon Callow leads us on a tour of key locations from the life and work of Charles Dickens. Callow's new biography on Dickens is entitled Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World and explores the performative life of the 'celebrity' author. Here he visits the Portsmouth and Chatham of Dickens' childhood, as well as the city that would be the source of Dickens' early misery and home of his later success. London in Dickens' work had a character as vivid as that of Oliver Twist or David Copperfield. He loved its human diversity but hated its many inequalities. Remarkably, much of Dickens' London survives intact today.

Storytime with Christopher Walken and George R.R. Martin

2012-02-17T02:37:00.000-08:00

Two videos for you today. Actor Christopher Walken reads Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Walken used Sendak's tale for his own particular brand of improvisation.

A bit of fun (though some editing would have helped).

Shorter but definitely not sweeter is storytime with George R.R.Martin. Martin, author of fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, offers novel endings to traditional nursery rhymes. There are a couple of gems to be found in the mix.

Nominate your Children's Literature Laureate

2012-02-16T02:11:00.000-08:00

It is time to elect a new Irish Laureate na n-Óg (Children's Literature Laureate). Siobhán Parkinson, Ireland's first Children's Literature Laureate, will complete her term in May 2012. You now have until the 24th of February to nominate your choice for the next Laureate. Children's Books Ireland have laid down the following criteria of eligibility:

The laureate should be a writer or illustrator with an internationally recognised body of high quality children’s writing and/or illustration, who writes through the medium of Irish or English.
He or she must have made a particularly significant contribution to the field of children’s literature in Ireland and have had a considerable positive impact on readers as well as other writers and illustrators.
He or she must demonstrate both eagerness and skill in engaging with children, young people, adults and media and with the sector as a whole.
He or she should demonstrate an enthusiasm for promoting children’s literature in general.
The laureate must be Irish.

If you wish to have your say, then download the nomination form on the Children's Books Ireland link here.

Can (and will) children today read Dickens?

2012-02-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

Kermit and Michelle Obama read
A Christmas Carol to children

Celebrations of Dickens' bicentenary this month has lead to a widespread reappraisal of his literary work. A common consensus is that the writer, who achieved unprecedented popularity in his own time, has an enduring appeal. Dickens is still being read and, it is assumed, will continue to be read in the years to come. But questions are also being asked as to whether the children of today can enjoy and appreciate the works Dickens in the way that their parents and grandparents generations did.

For Dickens' biographer Claire Tomalin, it is the author's insistence on the importance of working class lives in his works that sets him apart from many of his contemporaries. In his 1842 visit to America, he would stress that "unimportant" and "peripherhal" people were just as interesting to write about as so called "great people." The works, which frequently offer a sharp critique of social injustices, still resonate in our contemporary world. Tomalin contends:

You only have to look around our society and everything he wrote about in the 1840s is still relevant - the great gulf between the rich and poor, corrupt financiers, corrupt Members of Parliament, how the country is run by Old Etonians, you name it, he said it.

However, Tomalin caused some alarm last week when she expressed a belief that today's children do not have the sustained attention span necessary to read Dickens or his somewhat long-winded contemporaries. The novels of nineteenth-century literature, which Henry James famously referred to as "loose baggy monsters," require prolonged concentration and dedication, something that Tomalin feels children today no longer possess. According to Tomalin:

Today’s children have very short attention spans because they are being reared on dreadful television programmes which are flickering away in the corner. Children are not being educated to have prolonged attention spans and you have to be prepared to read steadily for a Dickens novel and I think that’s a pity.

It's certainly the case that children have more forms of entertainment to choose from today than ever before, leading to shorter attention spans. Paperback book characters such as Young Pip, Oliver and the Artful Dodger now have to compete with sophisticated forms of entertainment from televisions and the latest games consoles.

However, there are many who disagree with Tomalin's view that these technologies affect the ability of children to enjoy the literary classics of Dickens. Maxine Sharkey, subject leader for English at Springfield School in Portsmouth, where Dickens was born, was quick to insist that Dickens was very much a part of the curriculum and that the study of his works is in fact thriving. Interestingly, she has observed that in many cases, the interest of students in reading the novels was sparked by their exposure to television adaptations of these works. Sharkey claims:

Many students were enormously enthused to further their study of Dickens after watching the television adaptations of both Great Expectations and Edwin Drood which were screened over the Christmas period. Dickens is very much alive, well and speaking to the current 'younger generation'.

It is when they read the works of Dickens for themselves that children will discover the wonderful characters and storylines that have made this wonderful master of suspense such a popular novelist over the last two centuries. If they are prompted down this path by film or television adaptations, than perhaps this is not in itself a bad thing. And rather than setting the obvious pleasures of newer technologies for children in opposition to the time honoured tradition of book reading, it may be more constructive to consider how these technologies can be usefully employed to promote a love and understanding of great literature.

100 Greatest Books for Kids

2012-02-15T05:41:00.000-08:00

Scholastic Parent and Child Magazine published a list of "100 Greatest Books for Kids." E.B.White's Charlotte's Web tops the list, with Harry Potter, Dr. Seuss and Anne Frank's diary predictably appearing in the top ten. Notable omissions include J. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series was not included on the grounds of being "too mature" though the violent world of Scholastics own The Hunger Games did find a place on the list (33). The complete list is available here.

1. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

2. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

3. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

4. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jacks Keats

5. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

7. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

8. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

9. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

10. Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel

11. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

12. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

13. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

14. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

15. The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

16. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

17. Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt

18. When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan

19. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems

20. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

21. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

22. Corduroy by Don Freeman

23. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

24. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

25. The Giver by Lois Lowry

26. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

27. Black on White by Tana Hoban

28. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

29. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume

30. My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco

31. The Mitten by Jan Brett

32. The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

33. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

34. Swimmy by Leo Lionni

35. Freight Train by Donald Crews

36. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

37. The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don & Audrey Wood

38. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

39. Zen Shorts by John J. Muth

40. Moo, Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton

41. Matilda by Roald Dahl

42. What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry

43. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

44. Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

45. The Composition by Antonio Skarmeta

46. Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

47. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

48. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

49. Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport

50. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

51. Sylvia Long's Mother Goose by Sylvia Long

52. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

53. The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

54. Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges

55. Smile! by Roberta Grobel Intrater

56. Living Sunlight by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm

57. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

58. Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull

59. Dear Juno by Soyung Pak

60. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes… by Annie Kubler

61. The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

62. Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin

63. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

64. My Truck Is Stuck! by Kevin Lewis

65. Birds by Kevin Henkes

66. The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

67. Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

68. Counting Kisses: A Kiss & Read Book by Karen Katz

69. The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks by Joanna Cole

70. Blackout by John Rocco

71. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

72. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

73. Tea With Milk by Allen Say

74. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

75. Holes by Louis Sachar

76. Peek-a Who? by Nina Laden

77. Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold

78. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

79. Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

80. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page

81. Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman

82. Ivy + Bean by Annie Barrows

83. Yoko by Rosemary Wells

84. No No Yes Yes by Leslie Patricelli

85. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

86. Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

87. Rules by Cynthia Lord

88. Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

89. An Egg Is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston

90. Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault

91. Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh

92. What Shall We Do With the Boo Hoo Baby? by Cressida Cowell

93. We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States by David Catrow

94. I Took the Moon for a Walk by Carolyn Curtis

95. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

96. Gossie by Olivier Dunrea

97. The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

98. First Words by Roger Priddy

99. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman

100. Animalia by Graeme Base

What the Dickens?!

2012-02-14T01:54:00.000-08:00

A bit of Dickensian humour for you today...

BBC cartoon on Dickens

2012-02-14T01:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a wonderful cartoon on the life of Dickens that gives a potted biography of the master novelist (and might help you with your homework too).

Kids' Corner: Ella's Favourite Books

2012-02-10T02:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Kids' Corner, where Yellow Brick Reads invites younger readers to discuss their favourite books. Today we have Ella in studio to talk about her three favourite reads:

Ella's three favourite books were Jacqueline Wilson's My Sister Jodie, Roald Dahl's George's Marvellous Medicine and her very favourite David Walliams' Gangsta Granny. She noted that two of her selection dealt with the difficult issue of horrible grannies and wanted to stress that her own grannies shouldn't get paranoid about her book choices! Still, a few extra sweets and pressies here and there probably wouldn't go astray...

Thanks so much to Ella for joining us today. Hopefully we'll hear more from you in the future.

Charles Dickens at 200

2012-02-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 200th birthday of English Victorian writer Charles Dickens. As a prolific writer of novels, novellas, short stories, plays, news articles and opinion pieces, Dickens became arguably the best known writer of his age, achieving a degree of fame hitherto unknown by a literary author. Today, his works are still widely read and the iconic characters that he created - from Miss Havisham, Fagin and David Copperfield to Magwitch, Little Nell and Ebeneezer Scrooge - remain firmly imprinted on the popular consciousness.

Many of Dickens' works were written in serialised form, appearing initially in monthly installments in journals such as Master Humphrey's Clock and Dickens' own Household Words. Unlike other novelists who wrote the novel first and then serialised it retrospectively, Dickens was actually writing in installments, often with no definite ending in mind. The ability to work in this way and still produce a coherent narrative in the end testifies to his great skill as a novelist. Many of his major novels were written in this manner including Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House and Oliver Twist. This technique of writing had a profound shaping effect on his work, as evidenced by the numerous cliffhangers contained within the stories or the three alternative endings for Great Expectations.

Artist's impression of Dickens
as child labourer in the
Blacking Warehouse

Having experienced real poverty in his childhood, Dickens would become a vocal supporter of social reform. When his father and the rest of the family were forced to move into a debtor's prison in London, the twelve-year-old Dickens was forced to leave school and work ten-hour shifts at Warren's Blacking Warehouse. The gruelling work in the rat-infested warehouse made a deep impression on him, fuelling his zeal for socio-economic reform and improved labour conditions. His writing sharply critiques the tiered nature of Victorian society and champions the case of the poor, though certain commentators would criticise the sentimentality of his portraits. In a 1939 essay on Dickens, George Orwell would write:

Nearly everyone, whatever his actual conduct may be, responds emotionally too the idea of human brotherhood, Dickens voiced a code which was and on the whole still is believed in, even by people who violate it. It is difficult otherwise to explain why he could be both read by working people (a thing that happened to no other novelist of his stature) and buried in Westminster Abbey.

Dickens cared about children. It is notable how many of his novels deal with children forced to overcome hardships, often negotiating a cruel and inequitable adult world. We can think of Pip, Tiny Tim, David Copperfield, Little Nell and Oliver Twist as prime examples. Over the next few weeks this blog will consider the writings of Charles Dickens in the light of his books that are still read by children around the globe.

Kids' Corner: Ollie's favourite books

2012-02-05T10:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Kids' Corner, a new feature which invites younger readers on the blog to discuss their favourite books. Today we have Ollie in studio to talk about his three favourite reads:

So to recap, Ollie gave a big thumbs up to Enid Blyton's Famous Five Survival Guide and Famous Five Short Story Collection. He also was very impressed with the Bumper edition book from Adam Blade's Beast Quest series: Mortaxe the Skeleton Warrior. Thanks to Ollie for joining us today. We hope to see you again soon.

Favourite Books from Childhood: A Bear Called Paddington

2012-02-04T06:39:00.000-08:00

Today I am launching a new regular feature on this blog: Favourite Books from Childhood. I will be inviting guest bloggers onto Yellow Brick Reads to talk about their early reading memories and the books that they demanded at bedtime. To kick this feature off, I want to remember one of my own all-time personal favourites: A Bear Called Paddington. I received this book for Christmas when I was seven years old and it was my initial introduction to Paddington Bear. My first impression of the book was that this was serious stuff - at 635 pages it was definitely the longest book I had ever read. The Omnibus edition I received was in fact a collection of five Paddington books: A Bear Called Paddington; More About Paddington; Paddington Helps Out; Paddington at Large; Paddington Marches On. I read the Paddington books in five days (quietest Christmas ever for my parents I imagine!) and have been a firm fan ever since. In recent times I had forgotten about the bear they called Paddington until I came across a stall of Paddingtons in Lima Airport, Peru. It brought back many memories of the books that I had loved so much in childhood.

What can be said about Paddington?Paddington Bear came to England from "Darkest Peru" as a stowaway ona lifeboat, relying on the jar of marmalade in his suitcase for sustenance. Heemigrated (illegally) on the instructions of his beloved Aunt Lucy, who hadrecently entered a Home for Retired Bears. Arriving at Paddington Station, he isat a loss as to what to do next. Luckily it is here that he meets the Brownfamily, who adopt the little bear and give him a name taken from the trainstation in which they found him. (Trivia: Paddington's real name isPastuso, after his Uncle Pastuso). Paddington is scrupulously polite, given todoffing his cap when meeting people for the first time and always rememberingto say "please" and "thank you". He rarely gets angry buton the odd occasion when he is very put out, he will treat his enemies to oneof his famous "hard stares." This skill would prove very useful inthe Portobello markets which Paddington frequents and where he is knownand respected for his ability to drive a hard bargain.

As a child, theappeal of Paddington was enormous. I loved teddy bears and Paddington wasessentially a teddy bear come to life. I loved the duffle coat and batteredsuitcase. Following the success of the books, children could go in to toy shopsand take home their own Paddington Bear, complete with the "Please TakeCare of This Bear. Thank You" sign around his neck. His exoticorigins and the fact that he was found by an ordinary family in a place asordinary as a train station only added to his appeal.

Paddington Bear arrives in England
complete with his sign "Please take
care of this Bear. Thank You"

From my own perspective, his love of marmalade was a definite plus too; should Paddington ever deign to stay in our house, he would be easy to maintain on the food front at least. I loved his friendship with Mr. Gruber, who owns the antique shop on Portabello road. I loved their habit of taking elevenses together, elevenses consisting of hot cocoa and marmalade sandwiches, because as Paddington is at pains to remind everyone "Bears love marmalade." There was something reassuringly middle-aged about Paddington, who nevertheless managed to find trouble at every turn.

Paddington's creator Michael Bond, worked as a television cameraman at the BBC. Although he had previously turned his hand to short stories and radio plays it wasn't until he tried children's literature that Bond achieved his breakthough. In 1958, Bond published his first book, A Bear Called Paddington. It was the creation of Paddington that allowed him to give up his job at the BBC and pursue his ambition of becoming a full-time writer. Bond has said this on writing A Bear Called Paddington:

When I wrote those few words, I had no idea quite what a change they would eventually make to my own life. It was really a case of putting something down on paper in order to get my brain working that morning.

In 1997 Michael Bond would be awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for service's to children's literature. He currently lives in London, not far from Paddington station. Paddington celebrated his 50th anniversary in 2008 and his continuing appeal is evident. He has been made into teddy bears, a TV series, a film, a Royal Mail first class stamp. He has appeared in an ad for Marmite (replacing his traditional marmalade sandwich filling and causing more trouble as a result) and to celebrate his anniversary Google even created a Paddington version of their logo. Despite getting on in years Paddington is still managing to keep busy. He is patron of this year's seventh World's Original Marmalade Awards and Festival, where his expertise in marmalade tasting will be called upon yet again. In an effort to keep up with the times, he is also availabale in iPad, iTouch and iPhone formats.

I never had the toys or watched the TV series as a child. For me, Paddington always belonged to the world of books. So I was delighted to see how well the stop-motion animation television series captured the mood of the originals. The animation itself is highly distinctive as a 3D Paddington moves in front of a 2D backdrop - he is the most tangible thing in his inked in world. And as to the musical score - perfection! I hope you enjoy the show.

February is Charles Dickens Month

2012-02-01T01:59:00.000-08:00

Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

In honour of the upcoming bicentenary of Charles Dickens' birth (7 Feb 1802), February at Yellow Brick Reads is officially declared Charles Dickens Month. Along with our regular YBR features you can expect a number of posts reviewing the life and legacy of one of the most popular novelists of the Victorian period.

Where do they get their ideas from?

2012-01-31T02:42:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the wizard from Oz was based on capitalist giant John D. Rockefeller? Or that The Gremlins was originally a short story by Roald Dahl to explain mechanical problems experienced by RAF fighter planes? How did the real Christopher Robin feel about his depiction in his father's Winnie the Pooh stories?

Find out more in this article published in The Atlantic on the sometimes surprising inspiration for several much loved children's books. Read and enjoy here!

Review: The Spirit of the Titanic by Nicola Pierce

2012-01-29T10:17:00.000-08:00

As we approach the one hundred year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, it is appropriate to mark the event by a reading of Nicola Pierce's debut novel The Spirit of the Titanic. The sinking of the RMS Titanic on the 15th of April 1912 claimed the lives of 1,517 people and remains one of the worst maritime disasters in history. Pierce's book centres on the experience of a fifteen year old boy - Samuel - whose fate is inextricably linked to that of the ill-fated steamship.

Samuel Joseph Scott was an early casualty of the Titanic, having perished in a fatal accident in the Harland & Wolff shipyard while the liner was being built. His death is the first to be linked to the Titanic, though seven others would die in work related accidents in the course of its construction. For Nicola Pierce however, Sam's story does not end in a Belfast shipyard. Two years after his death his ghost will accompany the passengers and crew of the Titanic on her maiden voyage.

This may seem like a gloomy beginning for a children's novel but Sam's narrative voice proves neither morose nor regretful. The boy who dreamed of being aboard the Titanic has had his wish come true, albeit in a slightly different manner than he might have anticipated. Pierce has created in Sam a likeable though isolated boy, a boy who has come to feel like a ghost in his own life due to his mother's inability to cope with his father's death. Musing on his death Sam tells the reader:

To be honest, I didn't feel too sad in my ghostly state, if that's what I was. In some ways it wasn't too different from the life I had led before I started working here, when nobody had taken much notice of me. So I didn't feel particularly lonely. What I did miss, however, was feeling that I mattered to someone.

Sam finds his sense of purpose in the next like through his ability to help others. It is his acceptance of his lot and fascination with the glorious liner that propels the narrative forward and makes for such an enjoyable reading experience. We are told that the Titantic is his "favourite place in the whole world" and he delightfully explores her decks, popping in for dinner with the toffs in first class or attending a birthday party for Oscar the Post Office worker. The device of this ghostly narrator is simple and effective - Sam's first-person omniscience is never questioned. Within the world of the book, his ability to walk through walls and listen in on the conversations of the ship's passengers is entirely plausible.

One of the challenges facing a novel of this kind is the ability to add suspense in a story to which everyone already knows the ending. To this end, Sam's self-appointed mission to help others creates the required tension. We meet the working class family of Jim, Isobel and their two children Joseph and baby Sarah dream of a new life in America. When the ship hits an iceberg, their tickets in steerage reduce the likelihood that they will get off the ship alive. Sam must get his adopted family to the lifeboats on time.

The novel's characters are concrete and memorable. We feel the crushing guilt of ship's designer Thomas Andrews and Lookout Frederick Fleet, the stolid determination of telegraphist Harold Bride and Second Officer Charles Lightoller. Younger readers in particular will enjoy the equanimity of Chief Baker Charles Joughin who initially opts to hide from the danger with a bottle of whiskey before deciding to fight for his life and that of his new pet spider, George.

The effective combination of foreshadowing and supernatural elements within the novel make for gripping storytelling for readers who know all too well that their character's dark presentiments are not unfounded. The tension is the novel is precisely that we do know what is going to happen next. Sam's own death is caused when a terrifying vision of the hordes of dead passengers cause him to fall from his ladder in fright. As the novel progresses we learn that the more sensitive souls aboard ship can feel his ghostly presence and that children and animals are also susceptible. His ability to act is significantly curtailed by his non-corporeal state and yet Sam's actions make all the difference in the end.

Samuel Joseph Scott was until recently
buried in an unmarked grave. In July of
last year, crowds met in Belfast City
Cemetery to see the unveiling a new
headstone to mark his grave. Nicola Pierce
read from The Spirit of the Titanic in honour of the occasion.

Nicola Pierce does not shy from the darker elements of the tale. People die, sometimes in horrible ways. But The Spirit of the Titanic is also a celebration of life, a celebration of the generosity of certain male passengers in upholding a "woman and children to the lifeboats first" policy, a celebration of the band that played on, a celebration of kinship and great-heartedness discovered in the darkest moments of an individual's life. The conclusion is moving and full of hope as Sam's acts of selflessness lead to an exorcism of his own private griefs also.

The book is beautifully presented from the Dave Hopkins' sepia tinged cover illustration (visible through the semi-transparent body of Sam) to the wonderfully evocative sketches at the chapter heads. The narrative is further broken up by the inclusion of telegrams, fragments of payer, snatches of musical notation and passenger postcards. Teachers may also appreciate Peter Heaney's Teaching Guide for the book which O'Brien Press publishers have made available here. As a work of historical fiction for children, The Spirit of the Titanic is both exciting and accessible, guaranteed to bring this tragic event in history alive.

Happy Birthday Lewis Carroll

2012-01-27T08:56:00.000-08:00

Lewis Carroll
(1832-1898)

Happy 180th Birthday to Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll. Lewis Carroll was an writer, mathematician and Anglican clergyman. A prolific author, Carroll is best known for his work for children, including Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky." Lewis Carroll excelled in the genre of literary nonsense and to honour the date of his birth I invite you to read again and enjoy the wonderful Jabberwocky. A quiet read is fun to appreciate the plethora of neologisms. But for full effect the Jabberwock DEMANDS to be read aloud. And reader, beware - you must tread carefully and remember to always shun the frumious Bandersnatch!

Jabberwockyby Lewis Carroll

'Twas brillig, andthe slithy toves

The Jabberwock, illustrated by John Tenniel for
Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were theborogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware theJabberwock, my son

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjubbird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpalsword in hand;

Long time the manxome foe he sought—

So rested he by theTumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffishthought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whifflingthrough the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two!And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead,and with its head

He went galumphing back.

"And hast thouslain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day!Callooh! Callay!"

He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, andthe slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were theborogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

Harry Potter Grows Up

2012-01-27T04:38:00.000-08:00

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe stars in the film adaptation of Susan Hill's The Woman in Black. Radcliffe plays the role of Arthur Kipps, a lawyer who encounters the terrifying haunting of a small English town by a vengeful spectre. Radcliffe talks here about his experience in his first adult role for film. Interestingly, he is not the only member of the Potter cast to star in the film as Aberforth Dumbledore (Ciarán Hinds) also makes an appearance.

NEWS FLASH!: Arthur Quinn takes over Dublin

2012-01-25T02:52:00.000-08:00

Alan Early,
author of Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent

Dublin City Libraries and Dublin UNESCO City of Literature launched the reading initiative Children Save Dublin on the 17th of January. Children Save Dublin is to be the city's first ever citywide reading project and parallels the adult Dublin: One City, One Book project. Children around Dublin will be encouraged to read and enjoy the same book over the months of January, February and March 2012. The book in question is Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent by first time novelist Alan Early (see review in this post). Early's book is the perfect choice for this award in that the main action takes place on the streets of Dublin and around key monuments such as the O'Connell Street Spire. A full report of the initiative is available here. In the meantime, enjoy the book trailers below.

Quentin Blake pays tribute to the late Ronald Searle

2012-01-23T08:54:00.000-08:00

In an article published recently by The Guardian newspaper, illustrator Quentin Blake pays tribute to his artistic hero Ronald Searle, who died on the 30 December 2011, aged 91. Searle was a satirical cartoonist and artist who is probably best known for his St. Trinian's School and Molesworth illustrations. Referring to Searle as a "graphic hero", Blake describes him as a " he is a striking representative of a great British tradition, of something we do well, and where he stands with his own heroes, George Cruikshank and Thomas Rowlandson. Read the full article here.

"Cats" by Ronald Searle

Laureates in Conversation: Julia Donaldson meets Siobhán Parkinson

2012-01-21T08:24:00.000-08:00

Siobhán Parkinson,
Irish Children's Literature Laureate

Julia Donaldson,
UK Children's Literature Laureate

The Royal Irish Academy in Dublin was the venue yesterday for a meeting between Irish and UK Children's Literature Laureates, Siobhán Parkinson and Julia Donaldson. Siobhán Parkinson has written numerous award-winning novels for children, young people and adults, which have been published in over twenty languages. Julia Donaldson has written numerous books of children's fiction, picture books, plays, songs and educational books. She is probably best known for The Gruffalo, a runaway success which sold over 10m copies and has been developed into plays on both the West End and Broadway. The following post summarises* their thoughts on the roles of the laureate, current initiatives they are spearheading, and the future of children's literature.

How do you define the role of the laureate and what do you feel is your particular contribution?

SP: As Ireland's first laureate I wasn't under the same pressure as Julia to fill someone else's shoes. I had the freedom (and the responsibility) to define the role for myself. The duties of the laureateship did mean that I had to reduce the number of school visits I would normally do, so I tried to focus on schools that had a particular meaning for me personally. As such, I did residencies with a local school and with a school for the visually impaired. As I am visually impaired myself, this work was close to my heart. I felt that my being there proved to these children that being blind or visually impaired did not mean that they could not have a successful career as an author or even a laureate.

The two projects I have focused on in my time as laureate are

Developing School Libraries

promoting libraries in schools in Ireland, a project which is severely underfunded in the current economic climate
promoting children's books in languages other than English in school libraries. I want to make children aware that there is wonderful work being produced in many languages by people of many cultural backgrounds. The idea is that a Polish student in Ireland, for example, could show his classmates a book from his/her country. That student would have the opportunity to be the "giver" of culture, rather than always been cast in the role of "receiver."

Establishing International links for children's literature

Exchange with Austrian writer, Rachel Van Kooij
Visit to the Swedish Reading Ambassador, Johan Unenge
Visit to the U.S. Reading Ambassador, Katherine Parkinson

Plans for the development of future international literary events with the Book Council in New York

JD:As the UK's seventh Laureate I want to continue the good work done by my predecessors as well to start my own initiatives. I knew my contributions would emphasise drama and music as this is what my background is but I didn't want the good ideas of other laureates - such as Anne Fine's My Home Library Project - to simply be abandoned. I'll try to develop both strands at the same time. I have four drama projects currently underway:

Library visits with children.

I do this on one condition - the children must perform a prepared piece for me! They can perform any play they like, though so far they have tended to perform pieces from my books. I'm thinking of suggesting a ban on this. (I've seen so many performances of The Gruffalo at this point that my husband has suggested I write a sequel "The Gruffalo and the Mouse have a Little Accident"!)

Series of Plays as reading tools

I have written 36 playlets for children in schools as a fun educational tool designed to improve their reading skills

Drama Website for teachers

this is a site dedicated to providing suggestions for teachers as to how to incorporate dram into the classroom

Anthology of performance poetry to be published

How do you think advancements in technology will affect children's literature? Do you like/dislike ebooks and he various electronic readers that are emerging?

SP: I have no problem with these new developments. In fact, as a visually impaired writer, I am heavily dependent on them. I rely on audio books as I find it difficult to see the font on a typical printed page. I call this reading and not listening - I don't feel like less of a reader for it. In terms of the ebook revolution, I don't worry too much about the medium if the books are still being read.

JD: I can understand Siobhán's point and I certainly see the benefit of these new technologies. I do have a few misgivings however. Fewer hard copy books means fewer book shops and libraries. This means less chances for children to interact with books. As I child I loved the experience of seeing new books in the high street shop. And let's face it, if I had a device that could read books and play games - I'd play games! And I'm the laureate so what would the average child do? I think there is a danger that these gadgets might be drawing children away from books. Plus there is the pressure from the business world. We see how this has affected the music industry with fewer bands getting signed and fewer albums being sold. I don't want to seem like a fuddy duddy on this so don't misquote me to the press! I can certainly see the advantages of these technological advancements, I just think we must proceed with caution.

Questions for Siobhan:

Do you feel the laureate's role extends to being an ambassador for their own nation?

In Ireland, the role is still being developed. I don't think this is the case yet but I would like to see it being more so in the future.

Have you any strong opinions on those two aspects of children's literature: the literature itself and childhood or children's development?

I think there is a pressure on children's literature authors to be experts on children. I certainly don't claim to be an expert! My knowledge is personal, stemming from my own experiences as a child, a parent and from being around children. I think a lot of my work dwells on the frustrations facing children and teenagers, individuals whose struggles are not typically addressed by society. And I get frustrated when people talk about children's this as that as if all children were the same and could be neatly labelled by age group or a similar convenient category. I don't want to give children a voice; I want to recognise children's voices, in the plural.

Questions for Julia:

Who would be your dream illustrator, either living or dead?

I have already been turned down by some of my favourite illustrators! Quentin Blake, Raymond Briggs and Helen Oxbury all said no when I asked them. I think Katie Cleminson (illustrator for Otto the Book Bear) is remarkable. And I have already been blessed with the most wonderful of illustrators in Axel Sheffler. Emily Gravett has done wonderful work for me too.

Can you describe the process involved in composing picture books? Do you have very definite ideas for your illustrators?

I wouldn't say I storyboard - I doodle. I plan like mad! I am very particular about pagination. [holding up one of her books as an example] You can see here that I like cliffhangers, that there might be a clue at the end of the second page of a double spread as to what is coming next. So I do know what I want, but I'm not an illustrator.

*This summary is based on a heard interview as opposed to a recorded transcript. While all effort has been made to be as accurate as possible, the author takes full responsibility for any inadvertent inaccuracies within.

Interview with Illustrator AnnMarie McCarthy

2012-01-20T12:32:00.000-08:00

Illustrator AnnMarie McCarthy is a native of Limerick, Ireland. Her first book was Fungie, on which Ré Ó Laighléis collaborated. AnnMarie and Ré further collaborated on Fungie & Mara, which was published in February 2011. A new edition of Fungie, with accompanying DVD was published in August 2011.

Hello and welcome to Yellow Brick Reads AnnMarie! Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started as an illustrator?

I am from Limerick. I studied Fashion Design in the Limerick School of Art & Design. Having worked in the Fashion Industry for 12 years Designing, I was involved in doing a lot of Fashion illustrations. Children’s illustration has always interested me. While working as an art teacher in a crèche I studied a Diploma in Children’s Book illustration part-time.

Because I was surrounded by children I was able to see picture books through their eyes and really see what excited them. While I was developing the Fungie books I kept the curiosity of the child to the fore. I would visualise the reaction of the children as I created the visuals and text.

I sent out the text and sample illustrations to different publishers; within a very short time I had a response from Móinín. I was delighted to have an Irish publisher and have developed a great relationship with them since.

Your picture books Fungie and Fungie & Mara have proved hugely popular with children. How do you come up with ideas and what inspires your work?

The Fungie series has touched the hearts of lots of children and I am extremely grateful. The books were inspired by holidays spent as a child and an adult in the wonderful seaside town of Dingle. When my daughter was small I wanted to get her a picture book about Fungie, but nothing jumped out at me so I decided to write her one. As many people come to see this famous dolphin each year it is wonderful to take home the memory in the form of a book.

There are many things that inspire me, mainly the events of daily life and funny things that happen. I love watching animals - the way they move and interact with each other. Sometimes I can see a character develop without even being conscious of it. I am like a sponge listening to people telling stories that can often spark an idea for a book.

Are there any other illustrators that you particularly admire?

Yes, I loved Beatrix Potter as a child and that has stayed with me into adulthood, the little books you could keep in your pocket, fascinated by the illustrations I would spend hours gazing at them. I also love the work of Eric Carle the creator of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. His illustrations are vibrant and jump off the page at the reader. I love the simple but effective layouts of his books.

James Christensen is one of my all time favourites, an illustrator of Fantasy art he creates thought- provoking images. The incredible detail in his work draws you in to explore his amazing imagination.

Fungie the dolphin is something of an Irish celebrity and your Fungie books are written in both English and Irish. Would you describe your work as being primarily influenced by Irish culture?

Yes. Irish culture plays a role in my work. I am interested in Irish folklore and mythical tales passed down over the years. I also draw my inspiration from the Irish landscape around me.

It is appropriate that the Fungie books are written in both English and Irish, as Fungie is based in a Gaeltacht area. The bilingual aspect serves as a learning tool for children but also allows tourists to enjoy the books. It has proven to be a very successful element to the books creating a worldwide appeal.

The Fungie books seem characterised by the use of bright bold colours against a white background. I find your use of blank space in your illustrations very interesting as it seems to invite the reader into the picture. Can you comment on your use of colour and blank space in these illustrations?

Working in vibrant colours is something I have always enjoyed. Bright colours always cheer me up on a wet day!!!

In the case of children’s book illustrations I feel they work particularly well. Children enjoy an illustration that comes to life and offers that feel good factor.

The blank spaces and white backgrounds are very important in my work, they give space to the reader to think and invite them to use their imagination to consider what else could be going on in the story.

Are you working on anything new at the moment?

Yes at the moment I am working on the illustrations for two new books. The first is the third book in the Fungie series it is a collaboration with Ré Ó Laighléis .

The second one is an Irish language picture book about a cockerel who has lost his voice.This book is based on a cockerel I encountered on holidays that had a sore throat and a funny voice as a result. Ré Ó Laighléis has written the text as he is highly skilled in writing the Irish language.

Both books will be published by Móinín in 2012.

Potter Puppet Pals

2012-01-17T07:40:00.000-08:00

A bit of fun for Harry Potter fans....

Potter Puppet Pals present The Mysterious Ticking Noise

Book Trailers

2012-01-16T11:02:00.000-08:00

The book trailer is a recently developed marketing ploy geared to sell the printed word to an audience who have become increasingly enamoured with film and interactive digital media. While many book lovers are horrified at the notion of video being used to advertise books, the reality is that less people are reading, more people are watching. Hence the book trailer. But can moving images effectively sell printed books? And how can you create a trailer for a film that doesn't exist?

Typically, book trailers are hosted on the author's or publisher's web page, although many are also available on YouTube. The use of the word "trailer" as opposed to "advertisement" indicates how locked into the language of film culture this marketing tool is. Furthermore, given the frequency of filmic adaptations of children's and young adult books, the rise of the book trailer marks a growing expectation for screen versions among young readers. These days, a common question asked by children in response to a new book fad is, "When is the movie coming out?" Moreover, the huge commercial success of the Harry Potter and Twilight films have made the possibility of adaptation a very attractive prospect for writers. This trend in turns impacts on contemporary authors who register a sense of pressure to adopt a more cinematic style in their writing.

And yet, book trailers and film trailers are necessarily distinct from each other. A film trailer creates a clear expectation with regard to what the viewer will experience. There will be shots of leads actors and key scenes from the film. Central themes and plot lines are explored. Humourous comments and impressive special effects sequences are often included to give a sense of the film's pace and tone. This is evident in the film trailer for Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief below.

The opening shot scene shows us Percy holding his breath under water for seven minutes, something no ordinary human can do. Perhaps Percy is not an ordinary human? We cut to a trip to a museum where Percy's teacher gives relevant details about the Olympian gods and their half-human offspring, the demigods. Thirty six seconds in, we have a good idea where this story is going and the remainder of the trailer demonstrates that this will be a high-octane action thriller that will have viewers on the edge of their seats.We can compare this with the book trailer below:

Of the two, the book trailer is more judicious in its release of information. The potted plot explanation provided by Mr. Brunner (Pierce Brosnan) in the film clip is substituted by review quotes in the book trailer. These quotes promise an exciting reading experience but apart from alluding to the novel's immersion in Greek myth, the central storyline is not explored. The faces of actors are substituted with dark silhouettes who stand before animated stills. The use of emotive music creates the requisite epic tone. The fact that no event in the book is dramatised or revealed allows the reader to imagine characters and scenes for him/herself. The trailer seems designed to create hype around the book, to build expectations and to build the brand.

Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant similarly shies away from divulging information with regard to plot and story. In fact the trailer claims that it is not a book trailer at all but an "unconfirmed sighting of Mr. Pleasant.":

The graveyard setting announces the horror genre; the dancing Skulduggery points to the whimsy. The epitaph on Skulduggery's tombstone which reads "Skulduggery Pleasant. He's Coming. A Little Thing like Death Won't Stop Him" captures Landy's humour perfectly, making further examples unnecessary. This trailer tells nothing and yet, will appeal to fans of the wise-cracking skeleton detective because it exemplifies the fun of Landy's darkly imagined world. The huge popularity of Landy is helped by a website and blog that take a multiplatform approach designed to generate maximum fan interactivity. Readers are invited to enter competitions to make the best book trailer or to provide the best character outlines. The winners of the latter category will even get to see their created character appear in one of the books, furthering encouraging fans to be invested in the books.

In contrast to the storytelling circumspection of the children's literature video promo, many young adult book trailers tend to be more explicit. It is the promise of certain content that spells the success of the trailer. The following trailer based on the book Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala gives an extensive plot outline and guarantees readers a tale of teen trials and tragedy, forbidden love, and parents who just won't understand.

While it is difficult to measure the effect of the book trailer on the book buying public, a quick read through the posted comments that follows the videos can give a flavour of the fan reaction. The public response to Cupola's trailer seem to suggest that fans were as moved by the trailer's indie-rock soundtrack as by the story. Another trailers I viewed promised "If you loved Twilight, you'll love this." Having identified what sells to teens, publishers and authors seem keen to fulfill rather than challenge expectations. As I've already discussed in this post, the promo video that can be accessed through interactive media gives the teen reader a sense that they are independently discovering the book for themselves.

The book trailer announces itself as a useful teaching aid too. Teachers can use these videos to prepare students before author visits. According to author Alan Early, this is a powerful way to promote books. In a blog entry he describes a book reading of Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent he gave to students whose teacher had shown them video intros to the main characters. Early writes:

"It turns out that the class were all so excited after watching the videos, that half of them went out and bought the book BEFORE the reading. According to the Dubray staff, this almost never happens. On the day of the reading, most of the remainder of the class bought books; again, a rare occurrence."

There are many who won't welcome the advent of the book trailer, feeling that it facilitates rather than challenges the demise of the printed word. As a new medium, it is difficult to trace any long term effects on the book buying public. The experience of authors like Alan Early however,would suggest that it proving to be a highly effective marketing strategy for enticing new readers.

Review: Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent by Alan Early

2012-01-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Arthur Quinn is forced to leave Kerry for Dublin when his father gets a job on the new Metro project. The engineers' underground digging seems to be disturbing a threat that the Vikings have hidden deep below the streets of Dublin and Arthur is having some fairly weird dreams. Will Arthur and his friends, Ash and Will, be able to triumph over the World Serpent or will Ragnorok destroy the world as we know it?

Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent is the first of a trilogy to be published by Mercier Press. This is a story about Vikings and yet, Arthur Quinn is definitely a product of modern Ireland. Characters live in houses with flats screen TVs and rely on mobile phones and Facebook as a means of communication. For me, it is this skillful weaving of Norse myth with everyday Irish life that makes it such an enjoyable read and makes for the original and highly memorable battle scenes at the climax.

Early's background is in film and this is evident in this highly visual book. The image of the Jormungand wrapping its enormous tail round the O'Connell Street Spire brings King Kong to the streets of Dublin and children will find the imaginative descriptions and breezy writing style easy and enjoyable to follow.

This book has been dubbed the "Irish Percy Jackson" and it is not difficult to see why. Here are a couple of obvious similarities:

Name

Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent from The Father of Lies Chronicles
The Lightning Thief from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series

Both books people contemporary settings with mythological characters who interact with the modern world

Vikings in Dublin in the Arthur Quinn book
Olympian gods in America in the Percy Jackson books

Both have young male heroes who discover a deep connection with a particular mythical figure

Thor for Arthur
Poseidon for Percy

There are significant differences too, particularly when it comes to the heroes' character. Arthur is less angsty and impulsive than Percy, making for a more thoughtful and likeable hero. If Alan Early lacks Rick Riordan's razor sharp wit, then there are certainly some very funny moments. I particularly liked the plan that the reanimated Viking army should hide out in the recreated "Viking Experience" village in Smithfield.

With its strongly visual storytelling and tight plotting Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent will certainly appeal to children. Who knows, they might even learn something about Vikings too. Thumbs up for Book 1 in the series.

Roald Dahl Stamps

2012-01-12T04:12:00.000-08:00

Fans of children's author Roald Dahl can enjoy their favourite characters and stories in the form of postage stamps! The Royal Mail has released a set of stamps celebrating the author's work and featuring the original illustrations by Quentin Blake. A spokesman at for the Royal Mail has announced that the Dahl stamps will be followed by a set of Dickens stamps later this year, no doubt to mark the bicentenary of his birth.

The 30 year anniversary of Dahl's The BFG (or Big Friendly Giant) is marked by a special sheet of four stamps, celebrating one of Dahl's best loved characters. Incidentally, I always thought that Blake's drawing of the BFG had a look of Prince Charles about him. Perhaps this is why he looks so at home next to the Queen.

Roald Dahl's daughter Ophelia speaks of her excitement about the initiative:

"My dad wrote thousands of letters home throughout his life and never dreamed that one day one of his own characters would grace a stamp. He'd be thrilled. This is an excellent way for us to kick off a year of celebrations to mark 30 years in print for The BFG and it's great that the stamps include a collector's set, devoted to The BFG and other characters from this book."

Get 'em Reading (through any means possible?)

2012-01-11T06:07:00.000-08:00

McDonald’s have recently announced a decision to give away 9 million children’s books by author Michael Morpungo as part of a Happy Meal campaign. Aiming to capitalise on the popularity of Steven Spielberg’s recent blockbuster adaptation of Morpungo’s War House, McDonald’s have scheduled the book giveaway to coincide with the film’s cinema release this week. A huge TV and broadsheet campaign will accompany the giveaway, helping to spread the word.

Cynics have already criticised what they see as the transparent rebranding of the fast food chain as a responsible and family friendly company. In an age of growing fears of childhood obesity, there is a fear that parents who avoided the chain due to doubts over the nutritional value of the food will be enticed back through the Golden Arches to support the reading campaign. Others, supporting the initiative, highlight the need to address falling literacy rates through any means possible. The thinking behind their position is that anything that encourages children to read needs to be supported.

Adult and child literacy levels in Ireland are troubling. A report by the NALA (National Adult Literacy Agency) has stated that one in four (25%) of Irish adults have learning difficulties. This compares with 3% in Sweden and 5% in Germany. Parents with learning difficulties find it challenging to support children in their reading and writing. Furthermore, 30% of children from disadvantaged areas are currently leaving primary school with literacy difficulties.

This is an issue that I have already raised in blog entries here and here, though previously in the context of the book quality and subject matter. While I have no doubt that the motivation behind the campaign is indeed questionable, I have no problem with the giveaway. The purpose of the Happy Meal is to entice children into McDonalds through the added incentive of attractive novelty toys. If McDonalds now choose to present quality children’s books as desirable objects to children and thus promote a pleasurable reading experience, then this is surely better than its alternative.

Review: Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

2012-01-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

The byline from the author website says it all: "A tale of trying to solve a problem by throwing things at it." Floyd's kite is stuck up a tree. In an effort to dislodge it, he throws a series of increasingly unlikely objects (a lighthouse, an orangutan, a house) into the tree after it. Like the old woman who swallow a fly, this delightful tale quickly moves from the quotidian to the ridiculous.

Stylistically, Floyd is a barely drawn boy. A stick figure with dots for eyes, Floyd is less a character than an idea, a chain of thought that follows through to a wonderfully illogical conclusion. The scribbled handwritten font allows the reader to appreciate Floyd's increasing frustration and mental bewilderment.

No attempt is made to explain Floyd's superhuman strength in this fantastical tale; surrealism trumps realism throughout. The reader is drawn in to the tale by hints that Floyd is on the verge of a problem solving breakthrough, such as when a ladder, a saw and a fire engine appear. Happily the ludicrous escalation of events continues unabated.

For some critics, Stuck lacks the poignancy of earlier works such as The Heart and the Bottle and Lost and Found but Stuck will undoubtedly keep younger readers satisfied. Grown ups will also enjoy the farcical humour of the tale as well as the cheeky reference to Michael Caine's final line in that great film caper, The Italian Job at the story's conclusion. Jeffers' inimitable design prowess and captivating storytelling technique testify to an artist and writer at the top of his game.

Review: I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

2012-01-08T04:13:00.000-08:00

The bear's hat is gone and he wants it back. In the course of his search he encounters several animals whom he questions in turn but neither the tortoise, the fox, the mole, the rabbit, or the deer seem able to help. All seems lost. Then bear remembers that he HAS seen his hat. The surprising climax to this tale is both shocking and thrilling in its "no holds barred" denouement. It is fair to say that Klassen is exploring bold and uncharted territory here.

I Want My Hat Back is Jon Klassen's debut as both illustrator and storyteller. It has deservedly been included in the New York Times' Ten Best Illustrated Books of the Year (2011) and continues to receive critical claim from all circles. Klassen has been involved in numerous other projects including work as animator for the stop-motion animated film of Neil Gaiman's Coraline and illustrator for Cat's Night Out, which won him the 2010 Governor General's Literary Award for illustration.

Part of the strength of I Want My Hat Back is its understated simplicity. The muted coffee coloured palette and sparse, functional language lend bear an undiluted power. Readers should note this is no sentimental portrayal of charming talking animals. The illustrator has expressed a preference for simplicity of expression in his animated characters over exaggerated features: “Books give you an extra tool to tell what the character is doing an feeling, so it’s fun to try and push that. I also think that people can relate to characters not being over the top. A lot of times you can be having huge emotions, but you’re standing still and looking blank.”

I Want My Hat Back is a beautifully illustrated and masterfully told story that readers will return to again and again. The visual humour and subtle clues encourages the attentive reader. Children can enjoy the additional pleasure of being in on the joke that is not immediately apparent to the characters in the story.

Enjoy the tantalising book trailer here.

Children's Art Installation

2012-01-06T03:46:00.000-08:00

Before and After

In December, artist Yayoi Kusama invited children into the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art for a unique installation. Over the course of two weeks children were invited to transform a spotless domestic space into The Obliteration Room. Armed with thousands upon thousands of dot stickers, the young artists created a unique and vivid space. For a full report read this.

Stephanie Meyer Vs. Literary Greats

2012-01-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

Amusing article by Lizzie Stark "If Famous Writers had Written Twilight". I'm particularly fond of the Flannery O'Connor and Haruki Murakami efforts. Worthy Dr. Seuss hommage in the comments section.

Scary Kids on Film

2012-01-01T04:08:00.000-08:00

Interesting video by Mark Kermode here. In it he proposes that the reason scary kids in film inspire terror is not because of their inherent evil natures per se but because of their potential to surpass their parents. They are scary because they are smarter than us. Lynne Ramsay's film adaptation of Lionel Shriver's 2003 novel We Need to Talk about Kevin is a key focal point in this discussion of a sub-genre of films that explore a fear of children and young people. Further comments and discussion are available on Kermode's film blog.

The Twilight Legacy

2011-12-30T09:26:00.000-08:00

If reader's of children's literature now divide publishing history into the two distinct categories of B.R. and A. R. (Before Rowling and After Rowling), then fans of YA literature must similarly appreciate the massive impact of Stephanie Meyer's phenomenonally successful Twilight saga.

A recent Channel Four News report reveals that in an era of dwindling book sales YA fiction sales in the UK have doubled in the last five years. Meyer's Twillight series is largely credited with nurturing this appetite for teen reads.

This boom in sales is all the more remarkable if we consider the fact that up until recently, the market for YA fiction was still relatively small. Children's Editor Louise Jordan, writing in 2010, describes the market for YA literature as "fairly small". She elaborates by stating:

At this age, a young person is likely to be becoming more independant financially and, as far as spending money is concerned, they are spoiled for choice. The humble book is competing with cosmetics, clothes, booze, fags and just having a good time.

Yet, despite this perception of adolescent buying patterns, teen readers are confounding market expectations. Channel Four's Young Adult Book Boom report highlights three key areas as benefitting from increased sales:

Paranormal romance driven by unfulfilled sexual tensions
Adventure stories about zombies and demons
Dystopian thrillers

That these genres of fantasy or speculative fiction are overtaking typical teen genres such as the realistic "teen issues" books should also be noted. The prediliction for "darker themes", which I have discussed previously in this post, is also significant. Increasingly savy publishers are also using new marketing tools to promote the books in their catalogues. The report maintains that online marketing and the use of trailers allows teenagers to "feel they are discovering books for themselves".

Many will welcome the growth of this reading group as a positive thing, a sign that the written word still has the power to enchant and entertain this more sceptical group of young readers. Critics of the Twilight Saga and the glut of paranormal romance fiction that is has engendered may prove harder to convince.

Notes

Jordan, Louise 2010. How to Write for Children and get Published. London: Piaktus.

Reading in the Dark

2011-11-22T08:19:00.001-08:00

The Reader by Fragonard

In June ofthis year, Meghan Cox Gurdon’s article “Darkness Too Visible” was published inthe Wall Street Journal. The following quote gives a taste of the tenor of thearticle:

“Pathologies that wentundescribed in print 40 years ago, that were still only sparingly outlined ageneration ago, are now spelled out in stomach-clenching detail [...] If booksshow us the world, teen fiction can be like a hall of fun-house mirrors,constantly reflecting back hideously distorted portrayals of what life is.There are of course exceptions, but a careless young reader—or one who seeksout depravity—will find himself surrounded by images not of joy or beauty butof damage, brutality and losses of the most horrendous kinds.”

Parents are urged to be vigilant in protectingchildren from “book industry's ever-more-appalling offerings for adolescent “andpublishers who “try to bulldoze coarseness or misery into their children'slives.”

Naturally the article provoked uproar amongsupporters of contemporary YA fiction, provoking more than 15,000 responses.

Afew of the more common objections flooding the blogosphere and twittererverse (atthe hashtag #YASaves) are briefly stated here:

1. Theauthor is ill-informed, demonstrating a lack of understanding of early andcontemporary YA fiction. Not all early YA fiction deals with “safe” topics inthe same way that not all contemporary YA deals with “dark materials”.

2. Thearticle is alarmist, urging parents to shield their adolescent offspring from aconspiracy of depraved publishers and booksellers who are just waiting tostrike. Tropes of contagion appear frequently in the article.

3. Thearticle smacks of censorship, though the author prefers the word “taste” to “banning”.

4. Thearticle neglects to address how helpful books dealing with difficult issues canbe for adolescents experiencing similar traumas. Rather than concede the need tohave these experiences articulated in fictional worlds, Cox Gurdon warns that “booksfocusing on pathologies help normalize them”.

To be fair, Cox-Gurdon finds many supporters forher views too, particularly among concerned parents. Janice Harayda haspublished one such defence here.

I’m too much of a fan of YA literature to beoverly sympathetic to Cox Gurdon’s perspective on the genre. I also feel that is is important for adolescents to form their own opinions on the books they read, without parental intrusion.

However, I thinkshe has raised an interesting point when she suggests that “entertainment doesnot merely gratify taste, after all, but creates it”. Reader Response theoristshave been arguing this point for years. On the one hand, it suggests a passivereader who merely accepts what is being read indiscriminately. On the otherhand, if we discount this point entirely, we may also suggest that books cannothave an effect on readers, whether negative orpositive.

The memory of a good book can stay with us for years,sometimes our entire lives. It influences our choices in subsequent reads. Itcan even change our lives. The same is no doubt true for a bad book.

The question is worth asking I think: to what extent are we shaped by theliterature we read?

The Chronicles of Narnia Series: Which to read first?

2011-11-16T09:43:00.001-08:00

I’ve been thinking a lot about Narnia lately. This is partially due to the massive Narnia film franchise. At the time of writing there have been three film adaptations: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008) and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). Next up for adaptation is The Magician’s Nephew. But wait, shouldn’t that be The Silver Chair? And doesn’t The Magician’s Nephew take place before the others chronologically?

It’s been so long since my first (and only) childhood reading of The Chronicles of Narnia that I’m having a hard time telling my Eustace Scrubbs from my Digory Kirkes. I remember at the time that I didn’t read the books in order, picking them up according to which cover appealed to me the most at the time [Publishers beware! This child was a repeat offender of judging a book by its cover].One thing I was sure of though, was that the first book in the series was definitely The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. So why do all the box sets put The Magician’s Nephew first?

I had hit upon an old argument between Narnia fans. The answer is straightforward enough. In the seven book series, The Magician’s Nephew, which was the sixth book to be published (1955) is a prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (published first in 1950). It tells of the creation of the world of Narnia and answers many questions raised by the earlier books (such as where did the lamppost come from? And, if Aslan created the world, why did he put an evil queen in it?). It has become a convention among publishers nowadays to present The Magician’s Nephew as the first in the series, though some fans vehemently argue that this sequencing destroys the suspense and mystery created by the earlier (in terms of publication) books. For the record, a fan writing to C.S. Lewis asked whether he approved of the new sequencing. Lewis replied that it was logical enough but that the reader shouldn’t care too much about the author’s opinion on the subject as perhaps it might not matter in which order the books were read in.

Placing the prequel first is to my mind a HUGE mistake. While for fans familiar with the series it may make a certain logical sense, I can’t imagine it adding to the pleasure of younger, first time readers. It merely provides answers to questions they have not had an opportunity to ask. Having read the book again I had to wonder, is it a stand alone book? Or is it merely parasitical on the rest of the series, an add on for fans who wanted the inside track on the stories they knew and loved? There are wonderful, imaginative moments in The Magician’s Nephew: the inter-world with the shallow pool thresholds; the dust that forms the magic rings. But an adult reading of the book made me wonder if it wasn’t too explicitly stated (and not just in terms of the heavy Christian allegorising).

As a reader, it is very satisfying to have our questions answered (though with the pools and the dust, I wonder if perhaps more questions are raised than answered?). J. K. Rowling’s Pottermore could be regarded as a current response to a fan’s demand for more information. But if the reader is not permitted the time to become curious, then even this simple pleasure is denied.