Fallen Star Stories

Confession: Every year, I treat myself to a very special gift. Even though I am so grown-up and supposedly wise, I give myself a brand new Christmas/winter picture book. This started when I was a small child and it was my parents giving me the book. But it was a gift-giving tradition I choose to keep, now giving on behalf of my Mom and Daddy (who are long gone from the world.) And of course I share this gift-giving with my own children and grandchildren, but doing it for myself maintains a certain magical element of the season like no other act. Which book to choose, however, causes a great dilemma. There are so many beautiful, enchanting picture books that the decision-making process is not easy. From the stacks of picture books published for the 2019 Christmas/winter season, here are a few of my favourites: DASHER author/illustrator: Matt Tavares Walker Books (3 October 2019) ISBN: 9781406387704 Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, Santa's sleigh was pulled by one be...

Ask any bookseller. They will tell you that the best time to sell nonfiction books for children is during the holiday shopping season. And the nonfiction books that are lushly illustrated, as well as being filled with incisive bits of information are sought after during this time of year more than any other. These are books to fascinate; pouring through the pages time and again, gleaning a bit more information and noticing something new each time. They stick in your memory for a lifetime. This year has seen a bumper crop of nonfiction books for kids of all ages. Here are three of my favourites: A WORLD OF PLANTS author: Martin Jenkins illustrator: James Brown Walker Studio (7 November 2019) ISBN: 9781406388565 After welcoming the reader to the world of plants, this book treats of to page after page of incredible scientific information. Presenting both the weird and the wonderful, it examines closely the plant/animal/human inter-relationship in brief, but insightful terms that...

Before I start my seasonal posts of favourite new Christmas picture books, best books of the year, fantastic winter reads and, of course, my annual page, The Advent Calendar of Books; I have to take a moment to look at a very special new picture book recently released by Focus Ireland. If you only buy one picture book this Christmas, please let it be this one. HOW WILL SANTA FIND US? authors: Shane O'Brien and Stephen Rogers illustrators: Lauren O'Neill, Steve Simpson,  Steve McCarthy, Peter Donnelly, Tara O'Brien, Fatti Burke, Kevin Waldron, Yasmeen Ismail and Alan Dunne Good Cop Good Cop Dublin (November 2019) (with the support of Gill Books) ISBN: 9780717186679 It's the week before Christmas and the children just can't sleep. It isn't the excitement of Christmas that's keeping them awake. Mum has told them their rent went up. It's just too much to pay and they have to move out and they don't have anywhere to go. As they g...

The time is getting nearer...the shops are busy and people are rushing about trying to get the perfect gifts for their loved ones. And I am scanning the bookshops and catalogs, because for this busy bookworm it's coming up to Jolabokaflod! Unless you've been hiding in a cave somewhere for the last few years, you've no doubt seen and heard all the fluster about Jolabokaflod; the Icelandic tradition of giving, receiving and spending Christmas Eve curled up warm and cosy reading. THIS is any bookworms dream Christmas. And an Icelandic tradition that I am delighted to see everyone embracing. And as each year passes and I see more and more references to Jolabokaflod, my heart warms, my happiness grows...and my stack of books for giving gets a little more out of control. (But that's another story.) How did this all start, you ask? Here's a little Icelandic history, as I understand it. In 1944, during World War II, Iceland gained its' independence from Denmark. A...

Our fantastic BookElves 2019 logo, designed by the equally fantastic Alan Nolan Hello everyone! It's the gift-giving season once again and here in Ireland, has taken on a very special, very exciting meaning....The BookElves are coming! The BookElves is the heart-child of Irish author and childrens book aficionado, Sarah Webb. As as author, childrens' bookseller and mother, Sarah understands how hard it can be to get recommendations for those special, wonderful books for children and young people...how to get them the books they really want to read. She also knows how hard it is for those of us with bucket-loads of knowledge and information to reach all the people we need to reach, Particularly at holiday time. So, each year Sarah puts together a team of enthusiastic, knowledgeable elves. This team consists of childrens' booksellers, teachers, librarians, authors, illustrators and general book people to share their knowledge with you. (And for those of you who are wonde...

Today, 13 of November is World Kindness Day... a day when we are called upon to focus on being kind. So throw it around like confetti! Spread kindness everywhere! Plant seeds of kindness wherever you go! And read books to your little ones that encourage them to understand kindness. I always have a few books on hand that tell stories of kindness, consideration and love in a way that opens the door to these important concepts to children; to help them nurture the kindness that (I believe) children already have as a part of their nature; to allow it to grow. Of course there are many books to choose from that carry the theme of kindness, but two recently published picture books stand out in my mind. Both speak of that essential emotion behind kindness; love. Not the love you reserve for a select few in your world, but the love for everyone that needs much more expression today; for the more it gets expressed, the more it spreads and more kindness has a presence in the world. Let'...

Welcome to my day, the final day of Walker Books' Nevertell Blog Tour . As the days grow shorter and the weather, colder, it's the perfect time to visit this beautiful debut novel. Katherine Ortons' Nevertell takes us on a journey to the past, to another land and to a strange, shivering magic. NEVERTELL author: Katherine Orton cover illustrator: Sandra Dieckmann Walker Books (7 November 2019) ISBN: 9781406385182 11-year-old Lina was born in a prison camp in the depths of Siberia. It is the only home she has ever known. But her mother, Katya remembers well the life outside...before she was taken from her home in Moscow with her father and brother. Both are gone. Katya has filled Linas' life with stories of her grandmother and home. And now, in a cunning bid to escape, Lina is sent out through the walls and fences with the most treacherous of the prison camps' inmates. Making out, Lina, her best friend Bogdan and her untrustworthy companions find  themse...

Frances Hardinge is one of my top three favourite contemporary authors. She has the talent of being an incredible, riveting storyteller which is always combined with lyrical writing and world-building that is so absorbing that it pulls her readers directly into these improbable, but totally believable spaces. Her latest book, DEEPLIGHT was released recently; on Halloween, in fact. An utterly appropriate day to introduce the world to a vibrant and vibrating ocean full of the sea gods of the Myriad; we are literally pulled into the depths of these horrifying monsters seducing their way back into existence. It is breath-taking. (full review on the Young Adult page.) But let us take a look at her other books, books that, if given the chance I will gush about for hours at a time. I don't want to do that here, so I'll be as brief as a can...I'll give you my top three Frances Hardinge books (and a glance at all the others.) I first came across Frances Hardinge in 2006 ...

Here's a big shout out of CONGRATULATIONS to local Galway publisher Tribes Press! Tribes Press first opened its' doors and fired up its' presses just over a year and a half ago. By November 2018, Tribes had released three childrens books, all by Galway authors; Kapheus Fire by author and founder of Tribes Press; Onnie Piggles by author John Butler, illustrated by Galway illustrator Jay Penn; and Little Knitten, a picture book by James I Keogh, with bright and cheerful illustrations by Sarah Coyne. Releasing three high-quality, polished books in six months time was an impressive feat for a brand new publisher. But this year, Tribes Press has outdone itself by releasing seven new books into the wild! All are out now and available from bookshops and on the Tribes Press website.  And here they are: KAPHEUS SPIRIT (book 5 in the Kapheus series) author: Marquerite Tonery cover & interior illustrations: Fabrice Bertolotto ISBN: 9781912441150 With lyrical...