Engaging reads for children, from Books go Walkabout

Category: Featured illustrators Page 9 of 13

Take a Shape

Image 3New series by Britta Teckentrup, published by Words and Pictures, part of the Quarto Group.

Four beautiful books about shapes, circle, line, square and triangle. The books are well laid out for young children and the pictures are engaging and give some good text to support the pictures.

They will support young children in developing language and context about shapes and will be a valuable addition to the classroom and also in the home.

Britta lives in Berlin and is a graduate of the Royal College of Art and has published over 60 children’s books in 20 countries. A real achievement and her work can be seen on her website.

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The Fire Children

Image 2A West African Folk Tale which has been retold by Eric Maddern and illustrated by Frane Lessac.

An intriguing West African creation myth looking at the question of why some people are black and some are white, and others different shades?

The ‘ first spirit people’ who found that they were lonely decided to solve their loneliness by filling the earth with children of all colours under the sun.

‘ Now the spirit people breathed life into the fire children. One by one they awoke, yawned, stretched and opened their eyes, just like children waking up in the morning. Then they stood up and went off to play.’

Frances Lincoln have published another good title which will compliment school libraries and your collection at home too.

Sue Martin – Dolphin Booksellers, The Best in Children’s Books on-line.

The Arabel & Mortimer Series by Joan Aiken, illustrated by Quentin Blake

A wonderful series and now republished with Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.

Image 2Mortimer and Sword Excalibur is the fifth book and Mrs Jones packs Arabel and Mortimer off for a quiet afternoon in Rainwater Crescent Gardens. But as Mortimer investigates the new underground car park he discovers that it is just possible that the long lost sword, Excalibur is waiting to be found.

The Spiral Stair, is based in the zoo. Arabel comes to the rescue as Mortimer becomes entangled in snakes and giraffes.

The books are an excellent new edition and the compact size is just right for an emerging reader, or even for a fluent reader in the midst of a busy holiday time.

Illustrations are, undoubtedly the best of Quentin Blake and portray the characters brilliantly. The text is pure Joan Aiken, with the sharpness of the story intrigue and mix of humdrum life and exciting adventure.

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Sue Martin

Dolphin Booksellers – the best in children’s books always on line

The Unexpected Crocodile
by Kim Kane and Sara Acton

Image 2Peggy’s family is hosting a barbecue for their neighbours, the Dawsons. Peggy is not sure about the Dawson boys but she is delighted with the unexpected arrival of a crocodile.

What an unfortunate habit though of eating the guests!!

This book is brilliant, the story just leads you on into the world of a very polite but yet hungry crocodile. The illustrations are a real joy of the book, simply drawn yet captivating, especially the expressions.

Kim Kane has been short listed for many awards and now lives in Melbourne,Australia and this partnership with Sara Acton, is one to watch.

Sara lives near a beach in Sydney, just how awesome is that! From there she writes and draws in her studio for children’s books.

The Unexpected Crocodile is published by Allen and Unwin, and is part of their excellent portfolio of children’s books.

It can be purchased on line and if you buy through Dolphin Booksellers, we will donate 10% to Kalpana finding a home again in Nepal.

Sue Martin Dolphin Booksellers and Books Go Walkabout

I Have a Dog by Charlotte Lance

Image 1I have a dog. An inconvenient dog. When I wake up, my dog is inconvenient…..

And that follows through the day in this delightful book about how a young child and a puppy can just be the bests of friends and playmates who help each other to make tunnels or try and get socks on feet or paws.

An inconvenient dog can be the best of friends when it comes to watching something scary on the TV or when you don’t want to eat your dinner and your very convenient dog is just under the table.

The illustrations in the book are just wonderful. Charlotte Lance is an Australian author/illustrator to watch out for. Ideas put into text and illustrations that are captivating and make for great books.Allen and Unwin are the publishers and have found another great children’s author.

Sue Martin Dolphin Booksellers and Books Go Walkabout

The Arabel and Mortimer Series

Image 1A wonderful revision of the Arabel and Mortimer Series written by Joan Aiken and illustrated by Quentin Blake has just been reissued by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.Arabel’s Raven is the first story in the series. Mr Jones takes home a bedraggled raven who becomes his daughter’s best friend. Together they form a real bond and adventures are numerous with thefts and a robber’s quarrel entwined in the story.

The books are wonderfully illustrated by Quentin Blake and bring the characters to life in the most amusing ways. Who else could draw a girl and a raven with saucepans on their heads and make them look totally natural?

A great series and the new release is sure to bring well loved characters back to life. The stories are for sharing and also for reading alone for 6 yrs old and onwards.

Sue Martin Dolphin Booksellers – the best in children’s books always on line, buy this book for £4.99 through Dolphin Books(via Amazon)

Eddie’s Tent and
How to go Camping

Image 4When Mum, Tom, Tilly, Lily and Eddie decide to go on a holiday, a camping trip sounds like the ideal break.

After setting up camp, there are lots of adventures ahead for Eddie and his family.

The first adventure was how to get the tent in place and eventually beds are ready and Mum has a flask of hot chocolate, even though she looks very ready for sleep herself!

A wonderful new book about a family holiday, with adventures for Eddie along the way, including a hunt for Bouncer the dog, in the big dark wood. This will have appeal for parents, boys and girls. The illustrations are great and show the characters of the children really well. At the end there is a section on Tips for Campers and a note on knots, and a charming picture of how to tie the dog’s lead to a tree!

It is written and illustrated by Sarah Garland and published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.

A book which will certainly find a place in my bookshelf.

Sue Martin Dolphin Booksellers – the best in children’s books, always on line.

Azzi in Between

Image 2Azzi and her parents are in danger. They have to leave their home and escape to another country on a frightening journey by car and boat.

This is a telling story, set in graphic novel format and now available in paperback from Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.

It is written and illustrated by Sarah Garland, who has worked directly with refugee families and the text shows that Sarah has been able to hear and understand the thoughts from children as they leave friends and family.

But for all the hardships, this book explores the resilience of children and the times when Azzi, starts to make friends and to learn at school are so valuable for her and her family.

A quote from Julia Eccleshare, ‘ Sarah Garland tenderly creates a story of home from the troubled experience of immigration in this warm-hearted picture book.’

This is a great story to share and to have in any school or home. We recommend to all our schools and Children’s Centres

Sue Martin – Dolphin Booksellers – the best in children’s books, always on line

Fly on the Wall books – See history as it happened, by Mick Manning and Brita Granstorm

Image 8The pages of these books are packed full of up to date information about the world of Romans, Vikings, Ancient Greeks and the Pharaohs. Brilliantly put together by Mick Manning and Brita Granstorm and published by Frances Lincoln.

They are a great resource for history in KS 1 and 2 to come alive and to keep young readers attention from beginning to end. Boys especially will love them.The layout and illustrations provide chunks of information that is appealing and easy to remember in a scrapbook style of layout.

Image 3Greek Hero– the page I loved was on Sparta and shows girls enjoying wrestling matches. Only boys were given an education and they learned philosophy, history and mathematics.

Image 1Roman Fort – children had toys like marbles and hoops and played games with balls and bats. Soldiers usually joined the army for 20 years but about half of all recruits didn’t survive long enough to retire.

Image 4Pharaoh’s Egypt – scribes were used to write and to read, as reading was only accessible by the rich, in fact, ordinary people who could read were thought to have the power of the gods!

Image 2Viking Longship- From invasion by a longship called the Sea Dragon to a deal with King Edmund, the book has amazing detail including a recipe for Birka Bread.

 

These are great books! Strongly recommended to schools we work with and also to parents.

Sue Martin – Dolphin Booksellers, the best in children’s books always on line

Tell Me a Picture by Quentin Blake

Image 2 Adventures in looking at Art is a brilliant book by Quentin Blake and published by Frances Lincoln in association with the National Gallery Company, London.

Quentin describes the vision for this book as a way for children to talk about the pictures, and the story that is within them. On each page there are characters alongside the picture with captions from the characters.

 

Image 1Great to watch on Quentin Blake’s web page.

The book was originally published in 2001 and this new edition is in hard back and makes a truly beautiful book to have for home and for school.

 

On choosing the pictures, Quentin says,

‘All the pictures in this book are the ones I like, and if you like them too you may eventually want to know more about them and the artists who created them, so there are many notes about the artists…at the end of the book.

Tell Me a Picture is a book with real adventures in looking at art, and if you buy this book it will lead into further adventurers I’m sure.

Sue Martin – Children’s Books in Dolphin Booksellers and BooksGoWalkabout

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