Posts Tagged with Tiny Owl

Great picture books exploring: friendship, sharing and worries.

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Fair shares  by Pippa Goodhart and Anna Doherty

A heartwarming, fun and colourful picture book, with an important message about sharing. A bear and a hare both want a pear, but neither can reach them. In their attempt to do so they learn that ‘being fair’ doesn’t always mean ‘getting the same’.  I can see this being really popular with children aged 2 to 6 years and their parents/carers. The later whom will really appreciated the way it gives the reader more than one way to look at sharing. Great rhyming language, told in a way that young children will really be able to relate too, and an great twist at the end.

  The pictures are vibrant and colourful, making great use of orange, green and yellow. Ann Doherty the illustrator explains at the back page that that the art work was produced digitally, but she scanned textures she had made in pen and ink for the animals fur. The contrast between the two works brilliantly. There are also the most delightful end-pages.

You can find out more about publisher Tiny Owl the publisher and buy the book here. 

Thank you to Tiny Owl for a free copy of this book to review.

Oscar Seeks a Friend by Pawel Pawlak

Translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones

A truly wonderful story about a friendship between a little girl and a Skeleton. The story has a delightful opening where a Skeleton has lost a tooth and is worried how he looks, then he finds a girl burying  a tooth.  It gently introduces the characters concerns and worries. As the story progresses they share experiences and show each other their worlds. The story is brought to life and transformed into a unique book by the colourful collage like pictures on every page. There are plenty of possibilities for children to be inspired to do their own art from these pictures. This book will help to open up conversations about friendship and encourage children to have the courage to reach out and  ask someone for something or to do something.  I am so glad that Lantana Publishing chose to translate this book from Polish so that English children can enjoy it too.

The book is published on 10th October. You can find out more about Lantana Publishing and buy the book here.

Also check out: Library Girl and Book Boys podcast interview with translator Antonia Lloyd-Jones.  In which Antonia tells us  that author and graphic artist Pawel Pawlak starts his ideas with the character and then the scene and the pictures usually come first  before the words. And Antonia talks about some of the challenges she faced translating the puns and hidden assumptions about Skeletons from Polish, and coming up with a new name for the character that would work in English.

Thank you to Lantana Publishing for a free copy this book to review, 

 

Thank Goodness for Bob by Mathew Morgan and Gabriel Aborozo

A story about a boy called Max, who has lot’s of worries and his dog Bob. In a way  children will really relate to the story explores some of the things kids worry about. It makes imaginative use of bubbles to put worries in. One day Max discovered Bob the dog is great at listening. And that by talking about his worries to someone that listens they do not feel as big anymore.  My favourites pages of the story is where the boy and the dog pop the worry bubbles together.  A great book to open up conversations about feelings and worries, but also great for a child to read alone, helping them to realise they are not the only one with worries and that sharing them with someone can help.

 

All the books are available from me at Readers that Care. And Oscar Seeks a friend is one of the hardback books available to my £40 a term members in my 2 for £10 termly offer.

 

Grobblechops by Elizabeth Lair and Jenny Lucander

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Is a retelling of a poem by Rumi, a renowned poet and philosopher who lived in ancient Persia. This is one of several of his poems which have been translated by the publishers Tiny Owl, and brought to life in engaging and thoughtful picture books for a new generation.  I love all the retellings, but this is my favourite so far.

On one level it is a story of a boy, called Amir, who is scared to go to bed, because of the monsters underneath it.  The boy’s dad gently encourages him to make friends with the monster, so he won’t be scared anymore. But, there is so much more to this story, there are other important messages that are being conveyed.

In the story the boy and his dad discover that fighting monsters doesn’t get them anywhere.  The dad encourages the monster to go off and play and says:

“when the grown-ups see how nicely you and little monster are playing, we’ll stop arguing and sit down for a cup of coffee to talk things over.”

The original pictures by Jenny Lucander beautifully capture the dialogue between the boy and his dad. They include many scenes children recognise. Whilst at the same time there is a distinctive ‘other world’ fell to the illustrations.  In her artwork Jenny has managed to create a unique monster which is both lovable and scary.

 

A truly special and unique bet-time story, which will help children deal with their night-time fears. It might also help children deal with their anxiety over making new friends.  It also has universal messages about acknowledging and making friends with your fears, and that fighting what you are afraid off is rarely the answer. This will resonate with children of all ages and adults.

Then you to Tiny Owl for sending me a review copy of this book.

You can find out more about the book and download a free poster on Tiny Owls website

The book is also available to buy from me at Readers that Care

Dare by Lorna Gutierrez and Polly Noakes

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Published by Tiny Owl Books.

 

Dare is one of those children’s stories, that even as an adult makes me smile every time I pick it up. Younger children will love the simple fun and inspiring poem by Loran Gutierrez, and noticing all the things the children from diverse backgrounds do. Older readers and adults will also pick up on the many positive messages about: being yourself, reaching out to others, standing up for what you believe in and daring to be you.

The illustrator Polly Noakes brings the story to life with her unique illustration style. I am already a big fan of the illustrator, but am more familiar with here drawing animals rather than people. Polly draws a wonderful group of diverse children that appear in the story doing all sorts of things, some of which challenge gender stereotypes. Such as a girl aspiring to be an astronaut and, a boy dressing up in a skirt. The girl anspiring to be an astronaut especially resonated with my daughter, as when she was younger she got very frustrated when all she saw in books about space (including some non-fiction books) were ones with boys or men

The core messages of this story will appeal to children and adults of all ages. It is a fun story to read aloud which also has important messages about: taking part, reaching out and, being yourself. It also invite’s the reader to appreciate quite times, and encourages children to be comfortable with their own company. Both of which are really important for fostering well-being, in a world often full of business and noise.

A fun, playful, heart-warming and empowering story that, I would highly recommend for every school and home library.

Here is the second half of the poem:

“Dare to be your own best friend
Dare to enjoy a silent night
Dare to be a shining light,
Dare to be who you truly are
A light in the dark
Be you a star”

Thank you to the publishers Tiny Owl for a review copy of this book. On their website they have a free International Womens’ Day poster to download. 

You can buy from me at Readers that Care or your local bookshop.

 

Caged – a wordless picture book that makes you think

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I am a big fan of wordless picture books so was delighted to be given the opportunity to review Caged, written and illustrated by Duncan Annand and publishers Tiny Owl. Through simple but very effective drawings it explores issues of greed, freedom, our connection to nature, and the courage shown by individuals to help others. It is a book that would be great to share, either as a group or as individual’s that then feed back their responses. I also felt it might work particular well with children aged 9+years. Not having the right group of kids myself  I asked Shenaz Bagshaw to help. She shared the book with a couple of groups of year 5’s at St James CE Primary School in Northampton. The children loved the book. One of the main reasons was: “because it makes you think”. This is one of the clever things about this wordless picture book, it actively invites the reader to try and work out what is happening and to question.

The pictures are a wonderful combination of line drawings in black and white. These contrast with a single blue bird and the multi-coloured parrots. Some things the children said when Shenaz ‘read’ the first part of the story with them were:

  • “Why is the bird blue, and everything else just outlined?”
  • “The man’s clothes look like Willy Wonker”

From these two comments there are so many things you could explore and discuss further.

Along with spot on observations and descriptions of what they saw. There were some interesting questions raised by the kids about what they were seeing as the story unfolded:

  • “Are the men knocking down the trees to make paper from the wood?”
  • “The circle on the ground looks like a helipad – a helicopter is coming to collect the wood.”

What I love about these questions is how different ‘eyes’ can see different things in the same picture and also how as the story unfolded they were inspired to do try and work out both what was happening and why it was.

“At first they thought the men got rich from selling the wood, (they thought they must be rich because they were wearing posh clothes), but later they thought that they were clearing the trees to make space for the aviary and to destroy the colourful birds habit to make them easier to trap”. Shenaz Bagshaw

In the last stage of the story here are some of the comments the children made. I have omitted some comments as I don’t want to give away completely how the story ends!  After reading it they commented that “one person or bird can make a big difference.” 

  • “They have alcohol – they are celebrating capturing the birds.”
  • “The blue bird sits on the cage and it brakes  – he must be heavy!”
  •  “One bird saves maybe 50 birds……”

There is some great information and resources, about Caged, including a free downloadable freedom poster  on Tiny Owls website. Including some quotes from authors about why wordless books are so powerful:

“Wordless picture books give a starting point to create and invent a story, giving readers the confidence to embroider what they are saying. ” Elizabeth Laird 

 

 

 

 

There’s Room for Everyone – Anahita Teymorian

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From the front page it is almost as if this book is reaching out to hug you. In uncertain times this is exactly what this picture book does. It provides reassurance and hope. It is the first title in the publisher Tiny Owls ‘Hope in a Scary World’ series. Which aims to build up a collection of books which help children (and adults) who may feel frightened or worried about world events. It is written and illustrated by award winning Iranian author Anahita Teymorian.

On one level this is a simple tale about a boy who grows up with the acceptance he needs, who then notices as an adult that everyone around him is fighting for space big and small, and then reflects with some very sound advice that through kindness and acceptance we can make room for everyone.

It is supported by the most wonderful illustrations, which have been drawn by the author. For anyone who has followed me on twitter (@melissacreate15) you know how much I love children’s picture books, despite this I can honestly say I have never seen illustrations quite like this before. Each page is backed by a warm comforting colour palette, and the choice to draw people with over extended arms is really effective. As a couple of my bookish twitter friends have also said this is the kind of book you keep being drawn back to.

On another level there are multiple layers and overlapping messages.  Each reader may interpret things differently.  This book is suitable for younger children aged 5+ years, but it’s real power as a book that helps you make sense of the world and find hope may lie with older children, teenagers and adults.

It ‘s the possibility of multiple messages from this story that has made it challenging to write about this heartwarming, thoughtful and hopeful book. Below are some of my reflections on what this story means to me.

My personal RESPONSE this story

Reflecting on this story I found the piece at the back of the book in which the author explains where her ideas came from was useful. It was a response to the fighting in the world that is always on the TV and a desire to show that we can accept and make room for each other and show kindness – a desire to give a positive message as an antidote to all the uncertain things that are happening in the world.

In the first part of the story the boy is growing up, and at each stage in his development he uses an example of how there was always enough space. On another level this reflects what many parents feel when a child is born, that their house feels small and they wonder how they will make room. But, one does accommodate, adapt and find space and this space is re-negotiated as the child get’s bigger. At the same time a strong and powerful parallel is drawn to nature, where the author says “there is enough space for the stars” and the “birds in the garden.”. For me there is another message here of how taking time to notice and observe nature can both centre and calm us.

   

I love how as the boy grows up the scale of what he notices and sees gets bigger a bit like a child and young person’s expanding view of the world. So we go from space for all his toys to space for all the fish in the sea.

As he grows up he notices people are fighting for small and big spaces. And once  again the wonderful pictures add power and emotion to the words. In a world of uncertainties where so much has changed and is changing this story both acknowledges the existence of things that may make us feel scared or worried, whilst also providing us with the reassurance of the constant presence of nature. There is one thing we can control and that is we can choose to be kind to ourselves and to each other.

   

You can find out more and view a great video by the author on Tiny Owls website

You can purchase the book from me at Readers that Care or order it from a good local bookshop