I have always loved feminist fractured fairy tales, of which there are plenty published. But Gender Swapped Fairy Tales by Karrie Fransman and Jonathan Plackett (Faber) is an anthology like no other. Rather than fracture and rewrite the traditional tales, what the creators have done is ‘simply’ switch the genders in each story. Nothing less, …
NNFN 2020 The Planet We Share: From Tiny Seeds
Émilie Vast‘Plantes vagabondes’ translated from French(Thames & Hudson) Subtitled “The amazing story of how plants travel”, this visually stunning book from French creator Émilie Vast illustrates seed dispersal and the role of each featured seed plays in its ecosystem. The book showcases 10 different journeys, from ‘flying’, ‘floating’, to ‘being eaten’ and finally ‘helped by …
The B on Your Thumb: a guest post by Colette Hiller
As soon as The B on Your Thumb (Frances Lincoln) appeared in the mail, it grabbed my attention. The book consists 60 poems written by Colette Hillier which all play on language and spelling. As a non-native speaker of English, I was instantly drawn to it because it highlights with humour, but a gentle touch, …
BLOG TOUR: Writing “Pirate Nell’s Tale to Tell” by Helen Docherty
Helen Docherty (text) & Thomas Docherty (artwork)(Source Books) Nell is finally a pirate! And she has her trusty Pirate’s Almanac to help her sail the seas, even if Captain Gnash doesn’t like books on his ship. But when the journey gets rough and the captain is in trouble, it’s Nell and all her pirate knowledge …
Oi Aardvark!
Kes Gray (text) & Jim Field (artwork)(Hodder Children’s Books) Frog has written a book! A comprehensive guide for all animals who are still not quite sure where to rest their behinds! It is called “The All-New Alphabetty Botty Book” and despite Cat’s skepticism, Frog manages to find a new animal for every letter. From nits …
Monsieur Roscoe On Holiday
Jim Field(Hodder Children’s Books) Monsieur Roscoe On Holiday, Jim Field’s latest picturebook and the first he has penned himself, is a bilingual word book which introduces French words to its young audience with each French words appears alongside its English translation. Unlike many word books however, this book follows a narrative, as Monsieur Roscoe and …
When Stars Are Scattered – the power of graphic novels in building empathy
Here is a trailer created by the book’s American publisher: The graphic form is particularly successful at telling stories of the refugee experience and there have many published in the last few years. The structure of the medium has a lot to do with how effective graphic novels are at conveying such themes. Very much …
The Illustrators: Dick Bruna
Today, Miffy celebrates her 65th birthday. Dick Bruna, his wife and their young son had been at seaside during a holiday when they witnessed a little rabbit (konijntje in Dutch) playing in the sand dunes. Later on, the little rabbit made its way into the bedtime story Bruna told his son. That day was 21st …
There’s a LION in the Library
Dave Skinner (text) & Aurélie Guillerey (artwork)(Orchard Books) With her darling dimples, charming freckles and an adorable button nose, Lucy Lupin is as sweet as pie … or is she? Little Lucy might look like butter wouldn’t melt, but she likes a good prank, particularly when visiting the library. But lying and being naughty always …