Tag Archives: picture books

January 30, 2020 · 10:15 pm

Vasilisa the Wise and Tales of Other Brave Young Women

Illustrated retelling of seven European fairy-tales

As I mentioned recently, it was December and I was struggling to meet my 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 80 books. I attended my book club‘s Christmas party, we played a small but savage game of Dirty Santa where the prizes were books (of course) and this was the one that I won. Obviously I was thrilled because it is Kate Forsyth, who is incidentally the author of the second book I ever reviewed on this blog. It was also, fortuitously, very short which meant that I had a reasonable chance of squeezing it in before the end of the year.

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“Vasilisa the Wise and Other Tales of Brave Young Women” by Kate Forsyth and illustrated by Lorena Carrington is a collection of European fairy-tale retellings. There are seven stories, each of them featuring a resilient, courageous and ingenious woman who must overcome adversity in her own way.

This is a really enjoyable collection of stories, not least of which because they are all lesser-known stories. Forsyth has chosen tales from the UK, France, Germany, Norway and Russia and despite considering myself relatively well-read when it comes to fairy-tales each of these was brand new to me. Forsyth preserves traditional themes and settings, including romance, but imbues her heroines with rather more agency and gumption than was often seen. I really liked the sisters in Katie Crackernuts, the snake story of A Bride for Me Before a Bride for You, and the unusual kingdom in The Toy Princess.

Carrington brings a unique illustrative style using silhouettes and layers to help the reader visualise the interplay between light and dark which is so prevalent a theme in fairy-tales. I particularly enjoyed the objects on shelves in The Toy Princess.

A beautiful, original collection of stories suitable for all ages and especially for collectors of fairy-tales.

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January 25, 2019 · 10:37 pm

The Fed-Up Cow

Illustrated children’s book about a cow’s quest for identity

I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.

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“The Fed-Up Cow” by Peta Lemon and illustrated by Maria Dasic Todoric is a children’s book about a very quirky cow called Hilda who decides that she’s tired of being a cow. With no fear of self-expression and a flair for ingenious costuming, Hilda experiments with living as a range of other farm animals with outrageous results.

This is a fun book that gently explores the idea of identity while introducing kids to the different characteristics of typical farm animals. With fun rhymes and Hilda’s funny facial expressions, this is an enjoyable story. The illustrations, while a little inconsistent, are very engaging and Hilda is brought to life as a lovable goofball. It’s always nice to see female characters being able to experiment and be silly.

It’s interesting looking at a book about a farm from the perspective of an adult Australian. Firstly, farms don’t look like that here, partly because this is a dry country full of drought and partly because farms don’t really operate on such small scales any more. With more and more kids growing up in the city, but more and more environmental (and ethical) issues affecting farms, I wonder if we’re going to see a change in flavour of farm books in future.

A fun children’s book with a refreshing twist on the classic farmyard story.

buy the book from The Book Depository, free delivery

 

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September 11, 2018 · 8:07 pm

It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In

I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.

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“It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In” by Mawson is picture book told from the perspective of teddy bears. Mawson, a poetic and thoughtful cream coloured bear, ruminates on what it means to be with someone, away from someone and by yourself.

This is a lovely little book. The language is quite child appropriate with subtleties behind the mostly simple text, though there are a few good vocabulary-building words sprinkled throughout as well. I think that stories about teddy bears are pretty universal. Given that most children like to imagine the adventures their teddies get up to without them, this book with its cheerful photography really taps into that nostalgia. The photos are very expressive, and two of my favourites are of Mawson’s friends: one light brown bear staring off into the distance below the text “you can almost hear the aching sound of being searched for” and another shorter-furred bear writing a “wurry list” considering “Did I hug enuf?”

There are some great lessons about unconditional love in this story and rescuing yourself from loneliness by filling your time with hobbies and observation. This is definitely a book that lends itself to flipping through several times. The book is marketed towards grownups 109 and under, but I think if you have a small child who asks to be read the same book over and over, this book has plenty in it that won’t be discovered on the first read through.

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