Posted on: 19/08/2013
Finished your summer reading already? Well, look here for some ideas. Every month or so we pick some recently published books to share with you. This month we have an offering from one of the ultimate author/illustrator collaborations, the latest book by Drew Daywait and Oliver Jeffers, and a book full of poignancy which would make either a brilliant class reader or the perfect book to snuggle up with and polish off in a day.
This is a definite to add to add to our ‘Illustrated Early First Novels’ list! Mother and daughter combo, Hughes and Vulliamy have produced a collaborative work which is aimed at young readers, but has all the visual immediate excitement of a picture book that can be consumed in one gulp, or chapter by short chapter.
Dixie O’Day in the Fast Lane is the first book in the Dixie O’Day series and so we meet Dixie and his pal Percy before their racing adventure which has more than its fair share of scrapes and mishaps, much to the amusement of any reader, young or old.
The book has a nostalgic feel, which gives the impression that it is a classic already, with simple red, white and black illustrations, and there are some added bonuses in the form of a detailed map prior to the story illustrating the adventure, and a quiz which will support any young reader to dip back into the text to find the textual references.
This is a fast-paced short chapter book (perhaps as you would expect from a book about racing!) but it pauses in just the right places for the laughs. Ages 5-9.
This is a story which will encourage children to get their old crayons out of the box to see if they want to play! Duncan has a box of crayons, but when he comes to draw, the crayons have all made their minds up that they don’t want to. Giving their excuses one by one, they all have their individual reasons and stories for why they can’t be part of the picture, much to the despair of Duncan – although there is a lovely surprise waiting for him at the end of the story and this is where the stunning illustrations play their part.
As an illustrator/author pairing, Jeffers is the perfect choice for this story as his style can be quite sketchy, so it lends itself beautifully to the book and will hopefully inspire new (and much younger) illustrators to get their pencil, or crayons out. Ages 3-6
We are very glad this is now out in paperback, as we feel that this is an important book and one that deserves a wide readership. Set in a dystopian world where animals no longer exist, the twelve-year old Kester Jaynes is tasked with the impossible challenge of having to save the last living creatures on earth. Although unable to talk to adults, after befriending a rather cocky cockroach, it becomes apparent that Kester has a magical ability to talk to animals and it is this talent that send sends him on a quest with an animal trio, General the cockroach, Wolf Pup, and the Great Stag to try to find a cure to prevent their extinction. This is a gritty and honest book with an inventive hook that should be read in groups and used for discussion with themes such as extinction, animal versus human, hope for the future and the legacy of humans.
Do be aware there is some playing with punctuation – Torday has replaced speech marks with asterisks, to identify that the main character is mute and that it his thoughts, rather than direct speech to read and this may cause a momentary distraction, but don’t let it put you off; this is an inventive way of communicating the character’s inner dialogue.
So prepare yourself for cliff-hangers, befriending of characters and more than a moment’s thought for how we can avoid much of the action in this book on the planet earth that we know. Ages 9 and up.
KS: Lower KS2
Year Group: Year 4
