Posted on: 23/11/2014
As we start to near Christmas, we have picked three books (one picture book, one illustrated short novel and one non-fiction) that we think we would like to give or receive, although when we asked a few friends to help us read and review the books this month, they didn’t want to give the books back…
We love a reworking of a known tale and we especially love an old tale told with a new perspective and this is just that - as well as a merging of two classic fairytales. The ‘sleeper’ in the story is of course the most famous sleeper of all time – Sleeping Beauty, and we are sure the Queen in the book with her dwarf friends is Snow White, but then as the story says, this is a tale with ‘few names mentioned’. This is a winning combination of author and illustrator as well, who previously collaborated on Fortunately the Milk and The Graveyard Book. The illustrations are simply enchanting and are quite classical in their feel, using black ink with gold, which adds to the beauty of the book. One to buy in hardback and one to keep and treasure.
An example of a book that can be a children’s book, a reference and a coffee table book! Like Maps, which we reviewed last year, this book is as much about the illustrations as the content, and also like Maps and another favourite of ours, Zoology, it is an oversized book which appeals to the sprawler-outers us as readers! Presented as a museum in a book, this gives us a chance to dip in and out to exhibits of various categories within the animal kingdom and find out some fascinating facts, as well as be over-awed by the gorgeous illustrations.
Bears don’t read, do they? Well, they do – if they want to! This book is about a bear who feels different from all the other bears until he he finds a book in the woods one day that compels him to start reading. But who can help him? We love books about bears (see previous blog on Beware of the Bear!) and we really love books that are by the talented Emma Chichester-Clark; the vividness of the illustrations just draw us into any book of hers and we adore the extra details (good for page porers, such as ourselves) that she adds within and around text. Fans of her work will know that she has now illustrated and repurposed many classics in the last few years. This feels like a classic too, a new classic.
