Book Monitor - books from across the world

Engaging reads for children, from Books go Walkabout

Tag: booksgowalkabout Page 5 of 14

Bone Talk, Short Listed for Costa Children’s Book Award 2018

By

On November 23, 2018

In Candy Gourlay, 9 to 10 years, All Ages, Featured authors, Featured children's book

Bone Talk - cover image and web link

Buy this book with free delivery here…

Congratulations to Candy Gourlay, author of Bone Talk, shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards, Children’s Book Award, 2018.

Candy is an award-winning author, her books include Tall Story, Shine and most recently Is It a Mermaid?

At Books Go Walkabout, we are pleased to work with Candy on school visits in the UK and Far East.

Bone Talk is a story from 100 years ago, about a boy named Samkad,  who thinks he knows everything about the world. He knows the mountains he lives in. He knows his people. He knows his blood enemy, the Mangili and he  wants  to  become  a  man,  to  be  given  his  own shield,  spear and axe to fight with.

Buy this book with free delivery here…

His best friend, Luki, wants all the same things – except she is a girl, and no girl has ever become a warrior.  But everything changes when a new boy arrives in the village. He calls  himself  Samkad’s  brother,  yet he knows nothing  of  the  ways  of  the  mountain and he brings news of a people called  ‘Americans’,  who  are bringing war and destruction right to his home…

Candy is from the Philippines and her stories are linked to culture and childhood from this amazing country on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Whilst writing Bone Talk, Candy travelled to her book’s remote mountain setting and became engrossed in the spirit and dynamics of this incredible country.

Bone Talk is published by David Fickling Books and is a great read for children ages, 8-11 years.

Congratulations Candy on having Bone Talk shortlisted and Good Luck  for the Costa Children’s Book Award.

Sue Martin

Books go Walkabout, stories across the world

 

 

 

 

 

Atlas of Adventurers: Wonders of the World

By

On November 16, 2018

In 7+ years, 9 to 10 years, All Ages, WideEyed Editions

Wonders of the World - cover image and web link

Buy this book with free delivery here…

A journey of discovery, travel around the world in this huge and wonderful book, packed with amazing illustrations and bite size facts. It is part of the Atlas of Adventures series illustrated by Lucy Letherland and written by Ben Handicott.

Travel around the world to scale the Eiffel Tower, trek the Great Wall of China and raft through the Yosemite Valley.

This awe-inspiring atlas showcases the globe’s most impressive landscaped, iconic buildings and evocative antiquities from the ancient and modern world, this is the most wonderful Atlas adventure yet!

Buy this book with free delivery here…

Wonders of the World is the fifth in the series, which is a ground breaking and best-selling non fiction atlas and source of facts.

Lucy Letherland ‘s illustrations fill the enormous pages with action and detail like the page on Ularu.

Ben Handicott is an inspirational writer of travel and exploration. After studying linguistics and education he went to study Vietnamese and Mandarin.

Wide Eyed, one of our favourite publishers, is part of the Quarto Group.

A great read and a good buy for schools and home .

Sue Martin

Books Go Walkabout

The Skies Above My Eyes

By

On November 2, 2018

In words and pictures, 6+ Years, 7+ years, All Ages, Books go Walkabout, Featured authors, Featured children's book, Featured illustrators

Get your copy here…

The skies are full of so many things and this newly published book is packed full of all you could ever want to know about life above our eyes.

The Skies Above My Eyes is written by Charlotte Guillain and illustrated by Yuval Zommer, published by Words and Pictures, who have produced this beautiful book in an explosive style format.

You can lift out all the pages in one go. The bottom pages are the closest to the earth reaching high into the skies through the stratosphere,  thermo-sphere and crossing the Karman Line into space.

Buy this book with free delivery here…

It’s a dream book for anyone interested in the skies and our planet.

Charlotte Guillain lives in the UK and writes fiction and non fiction for children. Her book, The Street Beneath My Feet was shortlisted for the UKLA 7-11 Book Award 2018. She writes in a style that appeals to all and enables bite size pieces of information to be presented in very easily digested chunks!

Yuval Zommer graduated from the Royal College of Art and after working in advertising is now successfully illustrating children’s books. His debut book was much acclaimed,called The Big Blue Thing on the Hill.

Words and Pictures are part of the Quarto group and have some amazing books, of which The Skies Above My Eyes is one of the best.

Recommend for all ages and especially for 6-9 years

Sue Martin

Books Go Walkabout

Joanna Grochowicz – Autumn tour in UK with BGW

By

On October 19, 2018

In 9 to 10 years, All Ages, BookMonitor, Children's books, Featured authors, Featured children's book, History

Joanna, awaiting visitors with the SPRI team...image

Joanna, awaiting visitors with the SPRI team…read more below.

An outstanding visit from New Zealand author Joanna Grochowicz to U.K. schools and organisations in September.

Joanna’s visits were planned with Books Go Walkabout.

We were delighted that over 1,000 children, have been inspired to be writers of the future. They have learnt so much about Antarctic exploration and history of the early 1900’s.

Joanna is a born storyteller and can captivate any audience from a class of 30 to a theatre auditorium packed to over 400 people, with such tales to tell! Her knowledge of this incredible voyage, which ended in disappointment and disaster, is based on real stories from the expedition, bringing the book alive.

Joanna engages a full audience of readers...image

Joanna engages a full audience of readers…

Books Go Walkabout planned the visits over the last 6 months, from timings, specifics and curriculum links for each school, making sure it would work best for the students and bringing added value for the teachers.

Joanna visited some outstanding schools, including  Christ’s Hospital in Sussex, Bournemouth School, Copthorne Preparatory School, William Tyndale Primary and Cheltenham College. She had a rapturous welcome throughout, with many return visits planned.

The adventures of Captain Scott are full of meaningful tales.  Herbert Ponting, the photographer, for instance was about to take a photo of killer whales, only to find they were looking at him with other thoughts. They swam under the ice and turned the ice pack that he was standing on upside down. He was rescued by colleagues as he hung on to his tripod and escaped being eaten by Orcinus Orca.

At the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, Joanna met with visitors and parents who avidly bought copies of Into the White. Scott Polar Research Institute is the home of Arctic and Antarctic exploration and research. The museum is full of artefacts and information and a delightful visit is guaranteed.

Joanna returns in the Spring to continue her research for the third book on Antarctic exploration.

Into the White - cover image and web link...

Buy ths great book here…i

In May 2019 Joanna’s second book will be published by Allen and Unwin, based on the treks of Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian polar explorer.

We are delighted to be working with Joanna over the next few years and if you would like a visit, contact suemartin@booksgowalkabout.com.

Copies of Into the White, Scott’s Antarctic Odyssey, can be purchased here.

Sue Martin

Leigh Hobbs and Mr Chicken Land in London with BGW

By

On October 17, 2018

In Art, Book events, BookMonitor, Children's books, Events, Leigh Hobbs

Leigh Hobbs at William Tynedale image

Leigh encourages a whole class to ‘get creative’…

Leigh  Hobbs came to the UK in October 2018, visiting schools in London and Norfolk, and students of the MA in Children’s Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art.

Books Go Walkabout are really pleased to be working with Leigh to plan and arrange visits in the UK. He is a real  inspiration and his characters are incredible. 

Mr  Chicken,  Old  Tom,  Horrible  Harriet – are full of adventure and fun in the midst of the city. Leigh related how the characters were formed, and showed the children just how to create their own characters in their drawings.

Leigh Hobbs in the studion - image and web link

Leigh in his studio. See and buy Leigh’s books here…

Books  Go  Walkabout  are now planning  ahead  for  Spring  2019.  Leigh loves  London,  the  people,  the  architecture,  the history  and  best  of  all  plotting  adventures for his characters during his visits.

As well as working in schools, Leigh  gave  the first ‘visiting lecture’  to over two hundred M.A. students of Children’s Illustration, in the Cambridge School of Art, at Anglia Ruskin University .  Leigh explained to his audience that all he  had  ever  wanted  to  be was  be an  artist  and to visit  England.

Leigh develops a character - live...image

Leigh develops a character – live…

At  William  Tyndale Primary School  in  Islington,  Leigh worked  with  classes  of  years 12,3 & 4. The  atmosphere  was  electric.  Mr  Chicken  was drawn by the children in many  varied ways, a different farmyard fowl springing from the mind of each child. They  learnt  all about  creating  characters through their drawings.

A great visit and Books Go Walkabout team are delighted to continue working with Leigh on UK visits in 2019.

Sue Martin

Books Go Walkabout

Books, writers and illustrators – across the globe…

 

Mr Chicken Lands on London by Leigh Hobbs

By

On September 30, 2018

In 4 -5 Years, 6+ Years, 7+ years, Allen and Unwin, Books go Walkabout, Children's Laureate, Featured authors, Featured children's book, Featured illustrators, Leigh Hobbs

Mr Chicken Lands on London - cover image and web link

Buy a Leigh Hobbs title here…

Mr Chicken arrives in London via parachute, without wasting any time on immigration control he sets off to see as many of the famous sights as he possibly could.

He sails over the Houses of Parliament, and lands in the River Thames.

Although no-one seemed to notice and heads off to the Savoy Hotel, which is THE place to stay in London.

Mr Chicken visits Buckingham Palace and has tea with the Queen before heading off across Piccadilly Circus and the London Eye.  Amazingly, Mr Chicken blends in well with the local people and other tourists before heading back home ‘down under’.

A brilliant picture book about a loveable character making his way across the centre of London.  Explore the city of London with Mr Chicken and find all the most famous sights. Leigh Hobbs is excellent at portraying characters in different places and Mr Chicken Arrives in London is part of a series of books about travels into European cities.

Buy the book button - image and web link

…with free delivery!

Leigh Hobbs is an award-winning writer and illustrator of a whole range of books, including the Mr Chicken series, Old Tom, Horrible Harriet and my favourite, Mr Badger.

He was Australian Children’s Laureate in 2016-17 travelling and visiting schools as an advocate for children’s books. He has an amazing collection of titles. Leigh lives in Melbourne, Australia and is also an artist, a sculptor, and indeed a great traveller himself.

Leigh Hobbs studio - image and book purchase web link

Buy a Leigh Hobbs title on-line here…

Mr Chicken is published by Allen and Unwin, Australia and is available in the UK. Click the book image to buy.

Books Go Walkabout have planned a tour of schools and organisations in the UK for Leigh this autumn, October 2018. He is a great hit with the schools and children and instantly gets children interested in Mr Chicken and other characters, looking at; how to draw a character, how to add the text and best of all how to make the book fun.

We recommend Mr Chicken Lands on London for ages 4-9 and of course parents too.

Sue Martin

Books Go Walkabout logo

Authors connected with audiences across the world…

Lyla Through My Eyes by Fleur Beale

By

On August 30, 2018

In 9 to 10 years, All Ages, Allen and Unwin, Books go Walkabout, Featured authors, Featured children's book

Lyla Through My Eyes - cover image and web link

Buy this great book here…free delivery

Lyla is a gripping and personal story about one girl’s experience of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and its aftermath.

Lyla has just started her second year of high school when a magnitude 6.3 earthquake shakes Christchurch to pieces. Devastation is everywhere. While her police officer mother and trauma nurse father respond to the disaster, Lyla puts on a brave face, opening their home to neighbours and leading the community clean-up.

But soon she discovers that it’s not only familiar buildings and landscapes that have vanished – its friends and acquaintances too. As the earth keeps shaking day after day, can Lyla find a way to cope with her new reality?

This is a page turner of a book exceptionally well written by Fleur Beale. A young person’s life turned upside down with the major earthquake and then made even worse as the shakes continue and liquefaction of the soil makes moving around incredibly difficult.

Lyla - Buy this book button - image and web link

…with free delivery!

As she finds herself alone, with her parents helping others, Lyla establishes a friendship with Matt, who she has previously thought of as a real loser. She rescues her friend’s documents by entering a building about to collapse.

The book is great to read, with references to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake plus a timeline, and a glossary, the reader will be well-informed plus an understanding of life through this natural disaster.

Fleur Beale is author of many award-winning books for children and young adults – with 40 books published in New Zealand, plus books published in the United States and England. She is a former high-school teacher and lives in Wellington.

Fleur has won many awards including; the Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book: with Slide the Corner in 2007, and I Am Not Esther in 2009, the Esther Glen Award for distinguished contribution to children’s literature for Juno Of Taris in the 2009 LIANZA Children’s Book Awards, Fierce September won the YA category in the 2011 NZ Post Children’s Book Awards and the LIANZA Young Adult Award in 2011.

In 2012 she won the Margaret Mahy Medal for her outstanding contribution to children’s writing, and in 2015 she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature. In 1999, Fleur was Dunedin College of Education’s Writer in Residence Series editor and series creator

Allen and Unwin, Australia publish Through My Eyes series created and developed by Lyn White. Her work with refugee children motivated her to create the acclaimed Through My Eyes series of books set in contemporary war zones.

Lyn created and edited  Through My Eyes – Natural Disaster Zones series to pay tribute to the courage and resilience of children, often the most vulnerable in post-disaster situations. Lyn continues to teach EAL and is an education consultant and conference presenter.

We loved reading Lyla, a captivating book about this recent disaster.We recommend for children from 9-10 years and all ages.

Sue Martin

Books go Walkabout, stories across the world

 

 

Grandad Mandela – A special families’ event 15th August 2018

By

On August 20, 2018

In South Africa, All Ages, Lincoln Children's Books

South Africa House - image

The family reading to the audience!

A very special event which raised the profile of this beautiful book, and enabled children to have a voice. 

It brought members of the Mandela family into South Africa House, in Trafalgar Square, London. The afternoon was full of significance. The happy family amidst a small group of 30 people, in dark oak panelled walls, of this diplomatic house visited by Nelson Mandela in 1996.

Nelson Mandela is a global icon of peace and forgiveness, a freedom fighter who spent 27 years in prison and went on to be President of South Africa. In 2018 he would have been 100 years old!

Zindzi Mandela, the youngest daughter of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, talked about the need to write this book for children, seen in the eyes of children. Ziwelene and Zazi had questions about their great grandfather and the different world in which he was raised. The book gives a chance for answers to be given, which help in understanding some of the situation at that time.

Zindzi  said  she wanted to encourage all children to be involved in storytelling, as there is so much beautiful history in South Africa and  in where children are today. She asked all the children to find themselves in words, to find their expression in words and she added,

“For many years as black South Africans we were not allowed to have a voice, but now we have a voice. And we won’t stop talking! And we won’t stop writing!”

The High Commissioner for South Africa, Thembi Tambo, spoke highly of the book and work of publishers Lincoln Children’s Books, and also of The Mandela Legacy, which supported the book and also supports many endeavours in enabling people to create, produce and live their lives.

Grandad Mandela - cover image and web lnk

An inspiring story!

“… I can’t imagine a better way to allow children to access information, on their terms. It allows children to discover, in a way that is comfortable for them.”

Thembi praised Zindzi for her struggles in life as a young child and how she had to internalise her fears and her anger and to support her children and grandchildren in this story of Nelson Mandela.

Buy this book - image and web link

…with free delivery!

It was a real privilege for the Books Go Walkabout team to be part of this event. Our book review and blog has been widely read and we hope that it will enable a wider understanding of the struggles of Mandela and South Africa.

Sue Martin

Books Go Walkabout

 

Grandad Mandela by Zazi and Ziwelee and Zindzi Mandela, illustrated by Sean Qualls

By

On May 30, 2018

In All Ages, Featured authors, Featured children's book, Featured illustrators, Quarto Kids

 

Grandad Mandela - book cover and web link

Buy this book here…

This amazing book is written from a child’s perspective, and authored jointly by Nelson Mandela’s great-grandchildren and daughter, told as never before, to celebrate what would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday on 28th June 2018.

This book will bring alive Mandela’s legacy for a new generation of children and is published by Lincoln Children’s Books, who are renowned for quality, information books in a highly accessible format. (Title available on 28th June…)

Nelson Mandela’s two great-grandchildren ask their grandmother, Mandela’s youngest daughter, with Winnie Mandela, 15 questions about their grandad.

Mandela is a global icon of peace and forgiveness who fought peacefully, against apartheid and a brutal regime in South Africa. He spent 27 years in prison on Robben Island.

The grandchildren learn that he was a freedom fighter who put down his weapons for the sake of peace, and who then became the President of South Africa and a Nobel Peace Prize-winner.

The illustrations by Sean Qualls are brilliant, the style and colours support the feel of South Africa.  The book is written in a picture book style and the text points to some of the hard questions that the great-grandchildren ask such as;

“Why did Grandad have to go to jail?”

“Where were you Grandma when Grandad was in jail?

 

It tells of that period of time when apartheid and lack of freedom for black people in South Africa were part of everyday life. The struggle to achieve not only justice but a place where all people should be free was an enormous task.

We highly recommend this beautiful and heartfelt book for all ages and for schools, libraries and home.

Sue Martin

Books Go Walkabout

Books! Books! Books!

By

On August 13, 2018

In 7+ years, 9 to 10 years, All Ages, Books go Walkabout, Featured authors, Featured children's book, Featured illustrators, History, The British Library

Books! Books ! Books! - cover image and web link

Buy this book here…free delivery!

A book about books by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom. Explore inside the greatest library on earth!

A fascinating journey through literature via Shakespeare, Bronte sisters, Brothers Grimm, Dickens, Lewis Carroll  and many others  included at The British Library.  Opening the pages of  Books! Books! Books! is like stepping into The British Library itself in London. An enormous building full of hidden treasures and packed with books. Visit the cafe with a wall of very old books stretching from the ground floor to the second floor.

Mick Manning and Brita Granstorm work in partnership, this intriguing book is full of information and illustration; from man-eating monsters to lost children, from magical creatures to flying machines.  Mick and Brita’s Facebook page shows some of their award-winning titles, such as What Mr Darwin Saw, The Beatles and William Shakespeare.

…with free delivery

Otter-Barry Books has created and published this beautiful hardback book, which children of many ages will enjoy reading and adults too.

The book will act as a pathway for children to venture into libraries and explore, to follow their imaginations learning along the way.

We recommend for all ages and for adults too!

Sue Martin

Books Go Walkabout

Page 5 of 14

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén