Issue No. 42 - January 1987
Cover Book
Our cover this issue is taken from the jacket illustration by Trevor Webster for Peter Carter's Bury the Dead (OUP 0 19 271493 7, £9.95). We are grateful for help from OUP in using this illustration.
Articles In This Issue
The first BfK of 1987 and we make no apology for giving more space to best-selling The Jolly Postman. The Ahlbergs have done it again: an idea for a book so right and so simple that it seems blindingly obvious - once you see it, and (and here's the magic trick) brought to life with wit, ingenuity and a scrupulous attention to detail. The Jolly Postman is fun but there is also a whole agenda for developing readers and writers between its shiny covers. So many voices to attend to, so many texts to explore and add to, so much as yet unwritten mail for the postman to deliver. This is a book worth celebrating and Chris Powling is just the man for the job (see page 4). Share with him the delight in looking closely to see how and why The Jolly Postman works and then share it with children who will show you even more.
MORE »Chris Powling, starry-eyed and over-excited, contains his enthusiasm long enough to give a revealing coherent account of The Jolly Postman, winner of the Emil Award, a magic pudding of a book full of new delights and surprises.
MORE »Helen Cresswell interviewed by David Bennett.
MORE »Last year as a precursor to its autumn Teen Read promotion the Book Marketing Council (BMC) commissioned some research into what was known about young people's reading habits.
MORE »Jessica Yates looks at the top pop lists from the Teen Read promotion and reveals her own approach to picking a chart topper.
MORE »At last, a real chance to do something about teenage reading. Steve Bowles welcomes the new Pan Horizons series.
MORE »Michael Jones examines the work of Peter Carter who has twice been awarded the Observer prize for teenage fiction; this year for Bury the Dead.
MORE »Two new teenage lists this year from The Women's Press and Virago
Pat Triggs talks to the editor and previews some of the books.
MORE »Children's Book Week '87
MORE »The Secret World of Polly Flint - on screen at last
MORE »Reviews In This Issue
Leola the cat and Jasper the mouse meet, fall in love, and persuade the rest of the cat and mouse world to make love, not war. Despite some tweeness in the writing -- and some shaky scansion which won
Tony Bradman's rhymes certainly reflect the moods, tantrums and preoccupations of very young children but I found myself totally unable to read them aloud with any conviction. Nor did I warm to Sumiko's insipid illustrations of the incidents in a day in the life of two preschoolers and their mummy and daddy.
Blossom, an albino rabbit, digs her way out of her run and goes in search of a friend. Her first encounters are far from friendly but then she finds just what she is looking for. A rather mundane but
Both these full size paperbacks use the same structure as the familiar 'The House that Jack Built', 'Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain was discovered in Kenya some seventy years ago by an anthropologist and Verna Aardema's version with its cumulative refrain and rhythm. ('This is the grass/all brown and dead/That needed the rain/from the cloud overhead - /The big, black cloud/all heavy with rain,/That shadowed the ground/on Kapiti Plain,') brings it closer to the English rhyme. This and the stylised illustration of men and animals extend children's imaginative experience to the less familiar African landscape.
Cecil snail's trip to the greenhouse takes him up the hill, over the bridge into the woods, down the tunnel and across the ploughed field, or so says the hand-lettered text but the pictures tell a different story.
If you enjoyed The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler, then you will enjoy this latest tale of Cricklepit Combined School which is written in the same mode, complete with surprising twist. Gene Kemp has a penchant for siding with the under-dog, yet is careful to maintain a balance, ensuring no character is totally objectionable.
This is the story of Curtis the street-dancing cat, 'who hip-hops his way to the top' Written in 'street verse' or 'rap' jargon, it's great fun, even more so when read or chanted aloud. 'Now this is t
Aruego and Dewey have an unfailing skill in producing books with real child appeal and this one is no exception. With a few seemingly simple lines their illustrations radiate fun; in this story a rabbit's enthusiasm for the dance is not always shared by his companions but his talent proves irresistible to the hungry fox who is led a right dance and thus deprived of his meal.
A little girl writes to her father, a sailor serving abroad. The artist's clever pictures tell two stories: that of the ordinary, everyday events which the girl describes in her letters; that of the Dad's voyage and the tropical places he visits.
This story encapsulates much of the misery of the time betwixt and between childhood and adulthood. Eleanor has been forced to move away from her urban environment to the unfriendly fringe of the Australian Bush, where her mother is reclaiming her own family home.
It is remarkable how certain literary genre survive: the boarding school story is one such example. This is the tenth book in the Trebizon School series and it offers the adventures of six friends, now in their fourth year, set against the usual round of 'dorm gossip, sports and minor romances.
Dramatic presentation tends to dominate this slight tale of a robber getting his come-uppance. The eponymous robber has a catch phrase which is not used often enough for the children to enjoy its repetition.
A strange little cameo, this, and not without charm. Imperator Claudius Hobbs (otherwise known as Imp), intrigued by his school's F.A. Smith Memorial Chair, determines to unravel the mystery surrounding it.
'Demi plié and releve in first position--down, two, three.' Give us a Clue, Well, one of the first things that Gilly had learned when she began ballet classes was that the rail was called a barre. You've got it in one.
The writer of The Siege of Cobb Street School, and The Speckled Panic, has produced another readable story for lower Junior age children. In Haunted Ivy her two main heroes, Lenny and Jake, invent a ghost to help publicise a remote, rural tea garden, but end up finding a robber's loot and a 'real' flying saucer.
This sensitive novel, only her second, from Ann Pilling, was rightly awarded the 1986 Guardian Prize for Children's Fiction. Henry Hooper collects junk. Any kind of junk will do. Wire coathangers gratefully accepted, bits of tubing, even the odd dead hedgehog can be accommodated.
A touching but not over sentimental story in words and pictures of a boy and his relationship with his dog. It works on several levels: as well as showing the fun of having a dog and the amusing mishaps that can occur, the book also deals with the inevitable growing old and death of a pet.
The ever-popular small bear is back with a new lesson; this time he negotiates various obstacles as he takes a walk, but Dad is on hand to rescue him and teach him how to cross the road. Old friends w
Another of the Hawkins' flip-the-page' books, which device enables the reader to alter the initial letters of the chief character's name (Jen) to make other words featured in the short rhyming text. C
A useful anthology of short stories for Top Infants, from a versatile storyteller. With her usual lucid insight into a young child's mind, Philippa Pearce expertly takes a minor incident and weaves a tale which strikes a chord within the reader's mind.
A 'fantastic' story, full of outrageous 'happenings' and puns! A tale for all those who love football and horror. Dracula, a ghoul, a yeti, a Skeleton, Frankenstein are just some of the members of this monster team conjured up by Lee Pressman in diabolical language.
This isn't a story but rather a series of named pictures of objects and animals to be found in and around the house, out shopping, at the park, in the country and at the zoo. A useful but not outstand
Two more of Wildsmith's 16-page 'Cat on the Mat' books in which a very short text accompanies his vibrant patterned illustrations so loved by children and adults alike. What a Tale is literally a cumulative tail with a pleasing twist as we discover that dog, cat, fox, rabbit and monkey are all aboard one large kangaroo.
I approached this novel with a certain amount of bias, having greatly enjoyed The Queen of the Pharisees' Children. I was not disappointed. This is a story which involves the reader from the first and my sympathies were always completely with Ned Only, the central character.
Poor Tom goes through a phase of suffering from nightmares. It makes no difference when his mum explains that they can't hurt him - he knows that, but it doesn't make them go away. Then mum comes up with the idea of giving him good dreams instead - a temporary solution for, when Tom goes to stay with his friend, the problem seems to solve itself.
A book of action songs and games complete with music and illustrations demonstrating how the games are played, as well as a full-page interpretation of each rhyme to share with the children. An invaluable book for nursery and infant teachers as well as parents and organisers of children's parties: it includes traditional songs such as the title one and 'The Farmer's in his Den' as well as more modern favourites like 'The Wheels on the Bus' and 'Five Little Speckled Frogs'.
Pigs are the central characters in both these stories. When the mobile library visits the farm Polly Pig unobserved stows away and thus discovers the delights of the ice cream parlour. The text breaks into somewhat uncomfortable rhyme in places but young readers may be less put off than I was and should certainly enjoy Paul Dowling's amusing cartoon-like illustrations.
Pigs are the central characters in both these stories. When the mobile library visits the farm Polly Pig unobserved stows away and thus discovers the delights of the ice cream parlour. The text breaks into somewhat uncomfortable rhyme in places but young readers may be less put off than I was and should certainly enjoy Paul Dowling's amusing cartoon-like illustrations.
A short book based on stills from the Disney version of Carlo Collodi's classic story. The text is brief for language is subservient to the full-colour pictures. Whatever the version, children of all ages can identify with the little wooden puppet as he roller-coasters through good and bad times.
Four easy readers featuring the TV star, Postman Pat, and his cat, Jess, illustrated here not by Celia Berridge but by Joan Hickson. The stories--about Jess's rooftop misadventure, the church outing to the safari park, a soggy day's postal deliveries and the big cricket match against Pencaster - are well constructed and told with plenty of dialogue, indeed they read aloud quite well.
Four easy readers featuring the TV star, Postman Pat, and his cat, Jess, illustrated here not by Celia Berridge but by Joan Hickson. The stories--about Jess's rooftop misadventure, the church outing to the safari park, a soggy day's postal deliveries and the big cricket match against Pencaster - are well constructed and told with plenty of dialogue, indeed they read aloud quite well.
Four easy readers featuring the TV star, Postman Pat, and his cat, Jess, illustrated here not by Celia Berridge but by Joan Hickson. The stories--about Jess's rooftop misadventure, the church outing to the safari park, a soggy day's postal deliveries and the big cricket match against Pencaster - are well constructed and told with plenty of dialogue, indeed they read aloud quite well.
Four easy readers featuring the TV star, Postman Pat, and his cat, Jess, illustrated here not by Celia Berridge but by Joan Hickson. The stories--about Jess's rooftop misadventure, the church outing to the safari park, a soggy day's postal deliveries and the big cricket match against Pencaster - are well constructed and told with plenty of dialogue, indeed they read aloud quite well.
Two splendidly eccentric collections of poems, short stories, jokes and rhymes from a writer who is always able to tune into the tastes of children. Here, sixes to eights (and older readers) will enjoy these thematic collections.
Sword and Flame is an addition to the excellent 'Gamebooks' series from Grafton. Based on the commendable notion of reader-involvement, the books require a response from the youngster, while the game aspect acts as a motivation for the, albeit basic, inquiry into historical evidence of the period, in this case the English Civil War.
Bears are usually sure-fire winners but Amanda Davidson's toy teddy is too sweet and sugary for my taste at least. The brief text is easy enough to read but the present tense story has no sparkle and
Both these full size paperbacks use the same structure as the familiar 'The House that Jack Built', 'Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain was discovered in Kenya some seventy years ago by an anthropologist and Verna Aardema's version with its cumulative refrain and rhythm. ('This is the grass/all brown and dead/That needed the rain/from the cloud overhead - /The big, black cloud/all heavy with rain,/That shadowed the ground/on Kapiti Plain,') brings it closer to the English rhyme. This and the stylised illustration of men and animals extend children's imaginative experience to the less familiar African landscape.
Three traditional animal stories. Here the Billy Goats Gruff have to outwit not a troll but a wolf. The familiar folk tale devices of patterning and repetition are also used in the other lesser known stories which both feature house building.
Boring and banal might be more becoming for at least the first of these two stories, for NEVER have I encountered so much alliteration on the letter 'B'. Margaret Mahy is an excellent story teller -- but surely not here? The first tale of two characters stealing birthdays is as far fetched as the second about a headmistress who wickedly tries to gain the monopoly in volcanic caramel custard.
A first-person telling by a boy of sevenish about how he made a birthday cake for his younger sister. As he works, his imagination runs riot as he fantasises about how he would run his own business if he was a famous cake maker.
John Bellairs successfully creates here the evocative world of Fifties childhood--listening to radio programmes with unprovocative titles like. 'The House of Mystery,' whilst munching a plateful of Ritz crackers and cream cheese.
The Dancing Meteorite presents the perennial problem of an adolescent girl, Kira, trying to come to terms with her strengths and weaknesses - this time on a space station inhabited by people from three different planets.
Three traditional animal stories. Here the Billy Goats Gruff have to outwit not a troll but a wolf. The familiar folk tale devices of patterning and repetition are also used in the other lesser known stories which both feature house building.
A really enjoyable book with a difference. The storyline is based on a simple event but there is depth and colour in the character portraits. Timothy, a quiet thoughtful boy, who lacks any ostentation, earns a place in his Australian primary school's cricket team.
Six-year-olds will enjoy the joke at the centre of this story. Menagerie Dan has trouble finding the Bamboozle Bird because of its skill at camouflage. I read it alongside the smashing game of hide and seek that is Pat Hutchins' One Hunter. There are other books in a series about the eccentric zookeeper (The Spotty Fingersnitch, 0 552 52398 4; The Smelly Pongeroos, 0 552 52400 X; The Enormous Blob, 0 552 52399 2).
Ungerer's witty and expansive pictures are, as usual, stimulating. Sixes-up could enjoy hearing this one read aloud, but my feeling was that this tale of a shiny old hat lacks cohesion and interest as
'This isn't straightforward heroes and villains,' announces Hood, the hero of this trilogy, as he once again prepares to do battle with the K'Thraa -- an alien race bent on invading and subjugating Earth.
A challenging and mysterious tale about the efforts of a wizard to corrupt an imperial family through the power of a flying horse. The artist's intricate pictures will fascinate sevens-up: she is particularly skilled in showing changes in mood by the use of vibrant colours and by perspective.
The Andersen tale is cleverly updated by a gifted American author-artist. The transatlantic tones add to the fun: "'They are all phony," Prince Charley decided. "There's not a real princess in the bun
A gorgeous Picture Puffin this -- a real cameo of Victorian nursery life, beautifully illustrated. Willis Hall wrote the Granada TV series--well worth viewing -- and this book, with Mary Hoffman's text, is based on it.
A delightful and strangely moving picture story about a toy duck that is accidentally taken on a long journey and is lost abroad. The pictures are imaginatively combined with the test to tell of a little boy's longing for his lot possession.
A present tense text which is little more than a series of statements recounts the journey of a red lorry on a delivery run with stops for food and petrol. Both text and illustrations seem flat and un
When Billy Monster is born poor Hazel is very much ignored. Everyone is convinced that Billy will grow up to be the worst monster in the world despite Hazel's aspirations to that title. But even her worst efforts at eliminating her rival seem doomed to failure.
Three traditional animal stories. Here the Billy Goats Gruff have to outwit not a troll but a wolf. The familiar folk tale devices of patterning and repetition are also used in the other lesser known stories which both feature house building.
A welcome revamping of an old favourite wherein a cacophony of animal noises is provoked by a fly's ill-tempered buzzing of mouse Rose's animals are splendid and the varied large print styles used for
Two more of Wildsmith's 16-page 'Cat on the Mat' books in which a very short text accompanies his vibrant patterned illustrations so loved by children and adults alike. What a Tale is literally a cumulative tail with a pleasing twist as we discover that dog, cat, fox, rabbit and monkey are all aboard one large kangaroo.