Welcome to the blog of the Tasmanian branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia!

Saturday, 18 June 2016

Ranging Far and Wide

Inspired by her current geographic location, Maureen Mann connects with
the Queen’s birthday celebrations and what's on the English bookshop shelf.

I have been mulling over what to write about for this blog
and have wandered from idea to idea. The world seems to have lost many wonderful
children’s authors and illustrators recently, including, in March, Peggy
Fortnum, who illustrated Michael Bond’s Paddington series and in February Kim
Gamble who brought the Tashi series
so perfectly alive. But I discarded this idea as, sadly, there were too many to
focus on. Or mention Roald Dahl’s centenary in 2016? Not enough time to do him
justice.

Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 90th birthday in
April, with official celebrations in England last weekend.Disney has combined the 90th
anniversary of Winnie the Pooh with that of the Queen to produce a story
combining both characters, only available online. It’s called Winnie the Pooh and the Royal Birthday.

I love The Queen’s
Knickers by Nicholas Allan. It was first published in 1995 but has not
dated: the child narrator imagines all the kinds of knickers which the Queen
might wear for different functions. It’s full of humour suited to both the
child and adult reader. In The Queen’s
Handbag (2015) by Steve Antony, a swan, dressed in a mask and stripy top,
steals her handbag and the Queen pursues the swan across England to try to
retrieve her bag. It’s fun, a good introduction to famous places in the UK and
encourages the reader to search the page as well. Antony’s previous book was
equally humorous: The Queen’s Hat
which takes the reader on a chase across London after a strong gust of wind
grabs the hat and she and her guards – soldiers, Beefeaters, etc – chase it
till it falls on the head of the baby prince.

And then I ventured into a local bookshop to see what was
new in England in the world of children’s books. Lots of titles of course. Here
are some which caught my eye.

Archie Snufflekins
Oliver Valentine Cupcake Tiberius Cat by Katie Hartnett is the story of a
cat, rather like Six Dinner Sid. He
has differing names at all the houses on Blossom St but suddenly goes missing
and as the reader learns, he befriends lonely Mrs Murray and in doing so,
brings the community together.

Tidy by Emily
Gravett.

I have always enjoyed Gravett’s quirky view of life and in this book
she maintains her skills, as one would expect from a double winner of the Kate
Greenaway award. Tidy is about Pete,
an OCD badger who wants to keep the woods tidy, to such an extent that he
removes even the trees till he realises that by doing so, he has taken away all
that is important. He and his friends combine to return it all to normal. It’s
a wonderful story in itself, with a strong environmental message.

Nibbles: The Book
Monster by Emma Yarlett. Nibbles loves eating books, entering the stories he
finds inside them and causing mayhem. There are many,
many flaps to explore as well as holes in the pages as though Nibbles had
started work on this book. The reader (child and adult) will enjoy recognising
the fractured stories and will have fun with the layout. The cover is really
tactile with a lovely feel.

The world’s current refugee crisis is echoed in The Journey by Francesca Sanna. The
reader follows a mother and her children as they are forced to flee conflict in
their homeland. The reasons are clearly explained for and by the young narrator
without losing the power of the story for any adult. The illustrations are a
really important addition to the verbal text.

Lane Smith is another of my favourite authors and There is a Tribe of Kids doesn’t
disappoint. A boy sets off and comes across a range of animals, including young
goats. The language is rich and rhythmical: undulates in a smack of jellyfish,
a constellation of stars and other unusual collective nouns. Along the way, the
child realises that we all need to spend time and fit in with our own ‘tribe’.
The illustrations have been created with a sponge-paint technique.

About Me

The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) is a volunteer run, not for profit, organisation that was established in 1945 and is comprised of branches of individual members who are passionate about children's and young adult literature. This is the blog of their Tasmanian branch.