Dragon Loves Penguin, Max the Brave and I Heart Holidays

Three small summer treasures for you-

We stopped actively accepting review copies some time ago,  I have to say it's just as well. Other commitments have put this blog on a bit of a slow-burn and I would throb with guilt if I felt I was accepting lovely freebies under false pretences.
But now and again they still plop through my letterbox and I can't pretend that isn't a pleasure. Surprise book post is the best sort of mid-morning treat- demanding a cup of tea and biscuit break to savour.

One such surprise book this week was Debi Gliori's 'Dragon loves Penguin'. It was a particular treat because I almost certainly wouldn't have come to it any other way and it IS a lovely book. Thank you book delivering fairy from Bloomsbury.

Bib the baby penguin curls up with his/her (up to the reader to decide-good) mother for a bedtime story about their home of ice and snow and...dragons! Antarctica turns out to once have had a thriving colony of a small reddish-gold variety living in a volcano there. Who knew? But perhaps there were dragons everywhere once...
Anyway one particular dragon is left eggless when all the other dragons have laid their own-

'"Poor dragon," says Bib. "I know," says Bib's mummy, "but... sometimes things happen for a reason. Look." "Oh!" gasps Bib, "poor egg."

Given the many different ways parents and children may come to each other; whether through adoption, fostering, surrogacy or step-parenting it's wonderful to have a book that focuses on the only important thing you need to make a family; love. This book sings with love. Its message of acceptance and valuing difference is simply and softly told; reinforced by the easy fluidity of the pastel illustrations. It has heart without being saccharine- a particularly hard balance to strike.
A good story but also a useful story for libraries, nurseries and any homes which don't fit standard ideas of a nuclear family. So that'll be everywhere then.

The second book which fell into our lap unexpectedly this week thanks to my Big Win is Ed Vere's 'Max the Brave': A beautiful signed copy of 'Max the Brave' in fact. Lucky me. An exemplary picture book lesson in how less is often more, this is a familiar play around the jokes of mistaken identity rendered fresh through the kooky-eyed charm of its protagonist. Max is one no-messing charismatic kitten. His journey across deliciously uncluttered monochrome pages in search of a mouse to fight WILL make you smile. There's a good final joke too. Pretty. Clever.

And finally a book which entered the house through the entirely conventional route of being purchased in a well behaved manner from an Independent Bookshop. Except that I wasn't that well-behaved in practically snatching it out of the particular Independent Bookseller's hands when I saw it. And the fellow reviewers weren't that well-behaved in doing a big wrestle on the sofa for first rights to read it either.
It is Clara Vulliamy's third Martha and the Bunny Brothers book; 'I Heart Holidays' and it is as warm and happy-making as the first two. An exemplary picture book lesson in how more can be more too; every page packed with delicious beach holiday detail to ponder and discuss.
One page in particular needed a LOT of discussion in this house...

And if you feel you need to join this discussion I recommend the healthy lolly debate in progress on Clara's blog here.

OH WE DO WE DO WE DO!! (two more weeks to go...)

'Dragon loves Penguin' by Debi Gliori, pub Bloomsbury, isbn 978-1408839508 Source- review copy from publisher.
'Max the Brave' by Ed Vere, pub Puffin, isbn 978-0723286691 Source- Whoop whoop lucky competition win!
'Martha and the Bunny Brothers; I Heart Holidays' by Clara Vulliamy, pub Harper Collins, isbn 978-0007419210 Source- a real life made out of bricks shop which accepted money.

Whatever the source our decision to review is, as ever, our own.

Dixie O' Day

'Dixie O'Day: In the Fast Lane' written by Shirley Hughes and illustrated by Clara Vulliamy.

Honestly, if you have any interest in children's books at all, I shouldn't need to write any more than that in this review. You should've already turned away from the screen, grabbed your wallet and keys and headed out the door to your nearest bookshop. In your pyjamas is fine in this case. Scoot.

Because a new book by Shirley Hughes AND Clara Vulliamy? Their first mother/daughter collaboration? Their first early chapter book? Come ON you can't tell me that's not jiggle-up-and-down-smiley, wave-small-flags, do-special-happy-dance-while-juggling-chocolate-muffins-in-the-sunshine kind of news?

I'm not alone in being excited. Dapper driver dog Dixie and his best pal Percy's first adventure has already been selected as Children's Book of the Week by the Sunday Times and (ooo escalation) Book of the Month by Waterstones. There's a bit of a buzz there is. I was practically camped by my letterbox whilst I waited for my copy to arrive.

But y'know buzz shmuzz, Sunday Times Shmunday Shtimes, Waterstones Shmaterstones...there's only one opinion that counts in this house and many are the mighty who have supplicated before him and been spurned.

I speak of course of the exacting standards of Fellow Reviewer Eddie, who like a Roman Emperor, will thumb up or thumb down a book with scant regard for reputation or social nicety.

My review of 'In the Fast Lane' is that is a little gem. A gorgeous, small but chunky hardback; just the right size for the new independent readers it's designed for. Vintage vehicles, plentiful biscuits and ice cream sundaes, a Proper baddy (never trust a woman who has a specially designed motoring hat) and a race of twists, turns and escaped sheep make for pages that demand to be turned. This book will make you smile; it bubbles with the joy and warmth of its makers. Never have the words 'made with love' seemed more appropriate.

And Eddie's opinion? Well, when Eddie likes a book there's only one thing he's going to do. Read it, and read it continuously. Out loud from start to finish with voices and brooking no interruptions. On about his third go round, I put the camera on and filmed him surreptitiously and I want to give you a little snippet of his pleasure in the book here. He's mid flow when he turns the page and finds some illustrations that bring him up short and demand his attention. It's a nice little vignette of how beautifully text and pictures can weave together a complete, immersive reading experience. Author, illustrator and reader are ALL in perfect harmony.

Look! A cow in a motorcycle sidecar! Ain't life grand?

'Dixie O'Day, In the Fast Lane' written by Shirley Hughes, illustrated by Clara Vulliamy, pub. The Bodley Head, isbn 978-1-782-30012-0

Bubble and Squeak

Apologies for Blog neglect. We had a death in the family in the form of my old and trusty Hewlett Packard computer.

*please take a moment for remembrance*

*wipes away a tear*

I have been reflecting on the various conventions of animals in picture books this morning. There are those that are predictable: Cats are often devious, dogs trustworthy, bears gluttonous, hippos lugubrious and so on and so forth.There are also those that are rather less predictable or subvert expectations...

Amongst the latter must be counted the elephant's reputation for sartorial elegance. We have Babar of course, who teaches us how to team a crown with a green 3 piece suit. We have JP. Martin's extraordinary 'Uncle' (about to be republished I am glad to say thanks to a brilliantly successful Kickstarter); an elephant perfectly attired in a purple velvet smoking jacket. We even have their went-to-art-school-and-got-ideas-perhaps cousin in multicoloured patchwork 'Elmer' (I sense Babar and Uncle sucking in their tusks with slight disapproval).

And now raising a flag, or rather a flowery fascinator, for the females of the herd we have the enchanting Bubble; heroine of James Mayhew and Clara Vulliamy's wonderful new collaboration, 'Bubble and Squeak'.

James Mayhew is normally found making the high culture of art or classical music accessible to the smallest in the form of his Katie and Ella books. Accompanying Eddie and his class on a trip to the National Gallery last month I can report just how good he is at this: The kids roamed the rooms with huge excitement shouting 'IT'S A KATIE ONE!!' every time they spotted a picture already familiar from the pages of his books. Central to the action of 'Bubble and Squeak' is the arguably more lowbrow culture of the circus but in Mayhew and Vulliamy's hands it becomes Pure Class.

The story revolves around the loneliness of Bubble's life on the road as the star balance act of the Pyramid of Peril. Shy mouse Squeak (dapper himself in navy and brass buttoned blazer) admires from afar. Both will need to be brave if they are to find each other and the value of friendship. If this precis has a slightly-breathy retro-movie feel to it that is only to complement the BEAUTIFUL homage to a more glamourous age that oozes from this book.

There is so much to enjoy in Clara Vulliamy's interpretation of the story; from YoYo and Noodle, odd-jobbing circus dachshunds, the glories of Bubble's powder puff and hatbox strewn dressing room and the detail of circus audience which includes satcheled guinea pigs, penguins in white tie and (oh my goodness only just spotted!) famous bear of the era, Mary Plain herself.

A new book, which already feels like a classic that has always been in your bookshelf, is not often encountered but this IS one. Elephants you see? Cutthroat cats and dogged dogs may come and go but it seems we're never going to tire of a well-turned out elephant.

Best Travelling Outfit Ever

'Bubble and Squeak' written by James Mayhew and illustrated by Clara Vulliamy, published by Orchard Books, isbn 978-1-40831-366-4

Disclosure: We received our copy by kindness of the publisher. Our opinions are our own.

Martha and the Bunny Brothers: I heart Bedtime!

How excited are we to be part of the new Martha and the Bunny brothers book blog tour?Answer- REALLY excited!
Of course we are-Eddie became a Superfan of Martha within hours of Clara Vulliamy's first book about her happy bunny family entering the house. You may remember this post where it was only Martha's tight security that presented her being mobbed on stage by her small blonde stalker.
Last month, me and the boy attended Clara's  'make a Martha' workshop at the Imagine Festival; where we also got a sneak listen to this second volume. Advance copies were unexpectedly available to buy there. When Eddie saw the pile, it was a similar reaction to a One Direction fan chance meeting Harry Styles in the supermarket; he RAN to them, hugged a copy to him and carried on hugging it for the next three hours. He has good taste:

'I heart Bedtime' proves as toasty warm and cheering as its predecessor; 'I heart School'. Clara Vulliamy shows her usual skill in making these everyday milestones both safe and celebratory. They're packed full of delicious detail and, perhaps counter-intuitively, it's precisely all that lovely detail that gives them universal appeal. Nobody's bedtime routine and house and babysitter will be exactly like Martha, Monty and Pip's- but everyone's bedtime rituals will find some point of contact with theirs. And there seems to be nothing that children like more than identifying things that are the same as them and things that are different to them in a book. You would not believe the complexity of the conversations Eddie and I have had about toothpaste flavours since this book entered our house. She's a clever bunny that Clara Vulliamy.

So- Same but Different- a Comparison of Bedtimes between the Little Wooden Horse Brothers and The Bunny Brothers:

They both have Special Collections:

 Martha likes owls, cats and shells,

LWH Bro's favour action figures and medals

They both have Cuddlies:

Giant Bob, Tigey, Hulk, Koala, Berry 3 and Berry 2 and The Babies (the latter are regular bathtime chatshow hosts)

They both have fun at bathtime, despite the LWH bro's inadequate ear length for styling:











And most of all- they are CERTAINLY great fans of Best Gym- or Bill Fu as some household members prefer to call it.

But of course the biggest difference between Bill and Eddie, and Monty and Pip is that the former have no Martha to show them the right way to go to sleep. Her patented method is to sing the Bedtime Bunny Song. To help impoverished Martha-less households like ours, I'm glad to say Clara Vulliamy has provided her own version for them to listen to here.  It's a rather lovely thing.
We can't achieve the same perfection but Eddie is learning...

Sweet Dreams.
'Martha and The Bunny Brothers, I heart Bedtime' by Clara Vulliamy, pub. Harper Collins isbn 978-0007419197

Martha and the Bunny Brothers

Absolutely no explosions today apart from little hoppy joyful ones with small fluffy cotton tails (oh- and a minor incident with a cream jug at lunchtime-standard stuff); The Little Wooden Horse has been on a roadtrip Up West to see Clara Vulliamy read and draw on i pads from her oh-so-pretty new book 'Martha and the Bunny Brothers -I heart School'.

Bunny fever had been building for a while in the house thanks to Clara's very warm and welcoming presence to a newbie blogger/tweeter and her own scoop-it-with-a spoon-and-eat-it lovely website here. Shortly after publication day I found myself drawn into the bookshop to just take a quick look and then found myself drawn to the till to just take it home. It really is the smiliest book of ice cream colours and perky eared rabbit cheer.

I confess though I bought it for me really. As it's the story of a girl bunny just starting school I thought my too cool Fellow Reviewers might think themselves too old and too male to be charmed by a yellow cardie and a pair of spotty welly boots.
Ohhh no. How wrong was I? Eddie has been clutching this book since it entered the house four days ago, using it as a pillow and reading and re-reading it late into the night. I don't get a look in- grump. It's full of nice lists of things and choices and asides as we get to know Martha and her small brother bunnies and that is Just What he Likes. Plus he likes the affirmation of just how big you have to be to get to go to school. He is VERY big- just like Martha.
He was pretty excited about the prospect of a real life encounter with Martha and her creator (and so was I). Bill was acting casual but a little stoked too, especially at the chance to meet them in the temple of screens that is the Apple store. Roooaaad Trrrrippp!

Martha protected by ropes and Apple Security from lone stalker Mega-Fan.

Clara read us the book in i form and we watched it on the big screen. Technology was not necessarily the winner here as the screens proved a bit unreliable and kept going blank behind her leading to some pantomime style yelling from the audience. I do heart my i pad but it was nice to be reminded why kick it old school lovely big picture books are still Tops.

Then Clara demonstrated how to draw Martha on the screen; including the proper positioning of ears for conveyance of all moods and how to correct sartorial mistakes.
Then it was our turn.

and even slightly superior older brothers found they quite liked drawing Martha....

kung fu style.

What a Happy Bunny Day! Visit Claras.me and you can join the Happy Bunny Club too. I'm wearing my badge with pride.

'Martha and the Bunny Brothers- I Heart School' by Clara Vulliamy, pub. Harper Collins
isbn 978-0-00-741916-6
quite posssibly as effective as prozac, gin, chips, chocolate or climbing a tree in lifting the spirits depending on your age/inclination.