tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74389335067188184922024-03-13T09:27:57.729-07:00Fallen Star StoriesFallen Star Stories: childrens books & other ephemera Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.comBlogger930125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-29202720762635177622020-12-20T02:50:00.001-08:002020-12-20T02:50:34.062-08:00Hello and Seasons Greetings<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wctc63dqy88/X98sYJlaLsI/AAAAAAAAJxY/F5kF_YPgeN0rqc1knN8vZaICVFSYb-TVgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/boks%2Bfor%2Bxmas2.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wctc63dqy88/X98sYJlaLsI/AAAAAAAAJxY/F5kF_YPgeN0rqc1knN8vZaICVFSYb-TVgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/boks%2Bfor%2Bxmas2.jpg"/></a></div>
Hello out there! Seasons Greetings! I hope you are all well and safe and minding yourselves and those you love. It's been a tough year...but I don't need to tell you that.
I do want to thank you all for continuing to follow me and check out my posts and pages. You may have been wondering where I've been, as I haven't been here in quite some time. Well...let me tell you....
For a variety of reasons, Fallen Star Stories has moved. Not disappeared; just gone elsewhere. And it looks like that will be my permanent home. I would love to see you all there. If you're looking for more of my reviews, posts, pages, thoughts and meanderings on all things book-ish (childrens' books, of course) please do come along.
And I want to give a shout for my annual Advent Calendar of Books page on the new site. where I'm happily celebrating my favourite Christmas and winter books that you will want to read and share.
You can now find FallenStar Stories on.....
https://fallenstarstories.wordpress.com/
Hope to see you soon! Until then... Stay warm; stay safe and keep reading.
Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-22510874456776844132020-09-01T12:37:00.000-07:002020-09-01T12:37:11.694-07:00MYSTICAL JOURNEY: To The Island by Patricia Forde<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The island of Hy-Brasil has long haunted Irish legend. As the stories go, this magical island appears off the west coast of Ireland just once every seven years...and for one night only. Over time, many have ventured out to find the island. Some explorers of old have even charted its' location on maps and in their explorers journal. But are these just the dreams of old sailors? Is Hy-Brasil merely the subject of old poems and songs? We may soon find out. For the next scheduled appearance of Hy-Brasil is this year; 2020! And to celebrate, here is one little girls' story...<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #a64d79;">TO THE ISLAND</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #a64d79;">author: Patricia Forde</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #a64d79;">illustrator: Nicola Bernardelli</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #a64d79;">Little Island Books (10 September 2020)</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #a64d79;">ISBN: 9781912417513</span></i></b><br />
Fia longs to go to the magical island of Hy-Brasil, where the air is thick with secrets and mystical beings. Her dreams are filled with this longing as she gazes out the window of her Galway home. Then one night, a mist appears, swirling around her and whispering "Come away, come away." Fia is pulled by the magic and by the longing in her own heart and she rides a moonbeam across the bay, arriving in Hy-Brasil as it rises out of the waves. She glides on a gilded butterfly, dances with a boy with eyes like puddles and swirls deep to the sea bed. As she emerges into the dawns' light, one last glance over her shoulder reveals Hy-Brasil as it sinks slowly back into the waves it came from. And Fia is home again....safe and quietly sleeping in her own bed.<br />
With lyrical writing, Patricia Forde has created a journey that is filled with magic, imagination and swirling, textural imagery that is echoed to perfection in the beautiful illustrations by Nicola Bernardelli. Both story and pictures create a landscape that is the stuff of dreams, painting a new fairytale from old legend. The gentle, lulling rhythm holds us captive as we ride the moonbeam along with Fia, meeting the residents of Hy-Brasil as if they are old friends. Evocative, magical, soothing and full of quiet, glorious wonder.<br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><i>TO THE ISLAND</i></b></span> is a work commissioned as part of the Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture programme. It is simultaneously published in the Irish language as <b><i><span style="color: #a64d79;">AN T-OILEÁN THIAR,</span></i></b> capturing the true feel of the Irish legend of Hy-Brasil and a real sense of Irish culture. In these pages, you find familiar scenes of Galway City, along with mystical depictions of Hy-Brasil that will inspire your dreams and curiosity. Each child starting primary school in Galway this September will receive a free copy of the book. While the events of 2020 have put quite a damper on the mass celebrations of Galway 2020, this book will create an impact to be felt for a long, long time.<br />
Sweet dreams and glorious journeys, everyone.<br />
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<a href="https://littleisland.ie/books/to-the-island/">https://littleisland.ie/books/to-the-island/</a>Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-27698691182413439712020-08-31T14:25:00.001-07:002020-08-31T14:25:23.147-07:00THE MUSIC OF FOLK TALES: The Quiet Music Of Gently Falling Snow by Jackie Morris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over 15 years ago, best-selling author and illustrator Jackie Morris was commissioned by the charity Help Musicians UK to create designs for Christmas Cards. Each of the 16 images, filled with complex detail and exquisite rendering were produced at the rate of one per year. As you can imagine, these were the type of Christmas cards that you held onto, gazed at over and over again and cherished.<br />
Based on those images, Jackie created this book, which has now been republished in a compact gift edition...<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #0c343d;">THE QUIET MUSIC OF GENTLY FALLING SNOW</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #0c343d;">author/illustrator: Jackie Morris </span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #0c343d;">Graffeg Ltd. (20 August 2020)</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #0c343d;">ISBN: 9781912654987</span></i></b><br />
A lyrical collection of interconnected folk-tale type stories that have been <i>"worked backwards"</i> (in Jackies' own words) woven in and around the commissioned illustrations, this book is simply extraordinary.<br />
The stories unfold intuitively, creating a landscape and journey fired by the ever-present music that establishes a path of sound and feeling. There is a flow; a continuity in the tales as the characters and their circumstances fold into and unfold out of each other. A familiar sense of iconography; those time-honoured fairy and folk tales shimmers in the back of each story, and yet there exists here something new, something unheard before. These are not just retellings/reworkings of old tales; these are newly born creatures that have been waiting for their change to emerge for eons.<br />
As we lose ourselves in each illustration and the remarkable, intricate detail and palette, we see how the stories are indeed just sitting there, waiting for birth and interpretation. Their iconography helps us define ourselves, as all good folk tales should. And they are just so beautiful; filled with emotion and meaning; filled with subtle colour and line.<br />
We find that the music at the centre of the book are not songs we have learned and practiced, but songs of the soul, of the heart that carry the journey along with an evocation of our own being.<br />
Not really a "childrens' book", this is written so it speaks to everyone. While appealing to adults as a wonderful gift, I would also think it would reach out to the teen/young adult audience, as so many fairytale retellings are coming forth for this age group. But, traditionally, fairy and folk tales were not created for children, but as a guide so that, as we grow and age, we do not lose our sense of who we are and where we belong. <b><i><span style="color: #0c343d;">The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow</span></i></b> does that admirably...and with soul-songs to carry us along.<br />
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<a href="https://www.graffeg.com/product/the-quiet-music-of-gently-falling-snow-compact-edition/">https://www.graffeg.com/product/the-quiet-music-of-gently-falling-snow-compact-edition/</a>Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-49824482162800065792020-08-07T04:30:00.001-07:002020-08-07T04:30:55.872-07:00CELEBRATE THE BEES WITH DEE THE BEE! by Dolores Keaveney<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VlUQ0Fc3wtg/Xy0hum4PZsI/AAAAAAAAJrI/L6RxCq7o2nUPhCA0vdmUD7whghuuPgiJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s227/dee%2Bthe%2Bbee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="222" height="444" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VlUQ0Fc3wtg/Xy0hum4PZsI/AAAAAAAAJrI/L6RxCq7o2nUPhCA0vdmUD7whghuuPgiJgCLcBGAsYHQ/w435-h444/dee%2Bthe%2Bbee.jpg" width="435" /></a></div>Dolores loves bees! She had been learning and researching bees and became inspired to write a picture book to share her knowledge and information with children to aid their understanding and appreciation of these marvelous little creatures that do so much for life on planet Earth. So 12 years ago, her picture book journey began with a wonderful book called "If I Were A Bee." Since that time, she has published 12 more childrens' books (one with some storytelling help by her grandchildren), all with her beautiful, instantly recognisable painterly illustrations. And now, we are back to the bees with her latest...Dee the Bee.<p></p><p><b><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;">Dee the Bee</span></i></b></p><p><b><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;">author/illustrator: Dolores Keaveney</span></i></b></p><p><b><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;">Starfish Bay Childrens Books (1 September 2020)</span></i></b></p><p><b><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;">ISBN: 9781760360962</span></i></b></p><p>Do you know what you would do if you were a bee? One bee; Dee the Bee is very busy! It's her job to pollinate all the fruits and vegetables she can possibly find, flying from plant to plant, garden to garden, tree to tree. Pollination isn't a simple task. It's very tiring, so that everyone will have food to eat. And it's very, very important. But work can be play for Dee the Bee. There's always time to stop and smell the flowers. (They need pollinating, too!) Dee the Bee is a VIP! </p><p>A joyous, heartfelt journey, this book is an absolute celebration of bees! It's gentle rhyming text guides young readers as Dee the Bee bobs and weaves across the garden, tending fruits and vegetables and visiting the flowers; helping them along so we all have delicious food to eat. The free illustration style direct a path through the book, with each page standing out as if it were a painting of its' own; all flowing together nicely by the trail of Dee the Bee. Our little bee-friends' happy, busy personality shines, creating an instant appreciation and understanding of the important relationship between bees and the human world (and alleviating fears that some children have developed.) As if this weren't enough, there is a wonderful, clear explanation of pollination as it happens and a page of important flowers to plant that will welcome and support the bees in your garden. Vibrant, fascinating, wondrous and simply beautiful, you'll love <b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Dee the Bee</span></i></b>!</p><p>And here's a quick look at the other marvelous books by Dolores Keaveney:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-naPc_7p9pes/Xy03IfOiFSI/AAAAAAAAJrQ/cVooHtUtKCcJhWV_U9Ai3sTKfwmUl-k_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s303/Dolores%2BKeaveney1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="303" height="474" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-naPc_7p9pes/Xy03IfOiFSI/AAAAAAAAJrQ/cVooHtUtKCcJhWV_U9Ai3sTKfwmUl-k_ACLcBGAsYHQ/w474-h474/Dolores%2BKeaveney1.jpg" width="474" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Irish author/illustrator/artist/designer Dolores Keaveney is well-known for her vivid, fun picture books depicting widely varied life in the Irish garden and landscape. Painting for the better part of 40 years, Dolores' style is vibrant, loose and always uplifting. Her inspiration for her work comes from her grandchildren with their enthusiasm and imagination, the garden and fields surrounding her and of course, the bees. </p><p>I have been privileged to know Dolores since the beginning of her publishing journey. She always astounds me with her energy, enthusiasm and fun, accessible nature as she meets the children on school and bookshop visits, heads off to different festivals and develops new, exciting books and projects. Her art/design work is also available in a wide range of gorgeous textiles, as she's joined with Pixalilli, a textile printing and design studio in co. Donegal. </p><p>If you want to find out more about Dolores Keaveney, all her beautiful books, or pre-order <b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Dee the Bee</span></i></b> (or any of them, for that matter) follow the link to her website: <a href="https://www.doloreskeaveney.com/">https://www.doloreskeaveney.com/</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Pa-QnyRugk/Xy063yIGYtI/AAAAAAAAJrY/2xahWdkOPvQG08OH00AOv5tsORl6d39JQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/dolores.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Pa-QnyRugk/Xy063yIGYtI/AAAAAAAAJrY/2xahWdkOPvQG08OH00AOv5tsORl6d39JQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/dolores.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-49260323684334816152020-08-06T05:31:00.002-07:002020-08-06T05:31:49.589-07:00WHY PICTURE BOOKS MATTER: Somewhere To Go, Adventures To Have<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rlu2mIWrjbk/XyvES7EauTI/AAAAAAAAJqk/z5mo5EezHb8vNb9deWtT_u7QwL8SjLWdACLcBGAsYHQ/s960/picturebook%2Badventures.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="892" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rlu2mIWrjbk/XyvES7EauTI/AAAAAAAAJqk/z5mo5EezHb8vNb9deWtT_u7QwL8SjLWdACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/picturebook%2Badventures.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: white;">Here we are in August, trying to squeeze in that last moment of summer holiday before we (fingers and toes crossed) get the kids back to school. But it is difficult. Traveling away from our immediate surroundings is, and in these pandemic times, should be restricted. We need to stay safe and well! And maybe you aren't in the position to go anywhere! But we are all restless, particularly when thinking about what to do to give our children some joy, to have adventures. Picturebooks can help! There's a big, wide world out there, filled with laughter, excitement and wonder...and who knows? Some of these may inspire you to have some adventures of your own....even if you have nowhere to go.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Walloos' Big Adventure by Anuska Allepuz </span></i></b>(Walker Books ISBN: 9781406362411) takes us away from their small, rocky island on an tropical-exotic island adventure all of Little Walloos' own devising. The entire clan gets pulled in, just as excited about sailing away as Old Walloo and Little Walloo. But when they get to the tropical-exotic island, they have a big surprise in store; just as every great adventure should be. And speaking of islands, have you had an Irish island adventure? <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Where Are You, Puffling? by Erika McGann and Gerry Daly </span></i></b>(O'Brien Press ISBN: 9781788491457) is the perfect "day-out", if not. Travel to the Skellig Islands in co. Kerry and discover what happens when a curious little Puffling wanders off on an adventure and her parents can't find her! You'll meet lots of her other wild friends along the way. There's always help nearby for a little lost Puffling! (Available <i>as gaeilge</i>, as well: ISBN: 9781788491877).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="background-color: white;">The wildlife around us have adventures too, you know; always full of drama, excitement and fun. <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Gaspard the Fox by Zeb Soames, with perfect illustrations by James Mayhew </span></i></b>(Graffeg Ltd ISBN: 9781912055062) brings us on a journey through a day in the life of an urban fox. Filled with gentle humour and great personality, we see the city from a fox-eyed-view and learn much about the lives of urban foxes, our relationship with them and the other animals they meet along the way. I know you'll love Gaspard! Nothing could be further from the urban adventures of a fox than the migratory flight of a hummingbird. <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Hummingbird by Nicola Davies and Jane Ray</span></i></b> (Walker Books ISBN: 9781406379273)</span><span style="background-color: white;"> interweaves a generational-family story while giving real insight into the life of hummingbirds. A mesmerising story coupled with Rays' exquisite illustrations make this an adventure not to miss. <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Leap, Hare, Leap by Dom Conlon, illustrated by Anastacia Izlesou</span></i></b> (Graffeg Ltd ISBN: 9781913134921) starts us off in the countryside, not so far away, then spins us across the globe as Hare leaps to outrun dangers, as well as meet her worldwide relatives.. It's poetic text and wonderful, rich illustrations combine to introduce parts of the natural world new and unfamiliar, while also weaving this amazing tale.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="background-color: white;">Perhaps you'd prefer a little jaunt across town on a bus? In <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Last Stop On Market Street by Matt de la Pena, illustrations by Christian Robinson</span></i></b> (Puffin ISBN: 9780141374185), young CJ starts this journey with his Nana, and feelings of disappointment and dissatisfaction. Why can't they just drive a car like everyone else? But with Nanas' gentle excitement and encouragement, CJ discovers there's so much to see, so many new people to meet and so much beauty that he'd been missing. Speaking of cross-town jaunts, watch out for those <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Bunnies On The Bus by Philip Ardagh, illustrated by Ben Mantle</span></i></b> (Walker Books ISBN: 9781406394016) On a warm, sunny day in Sunny Town, with everyone enjoying the quiet, easy pace of the day, a riotous, chaotic journey unfolds when the Bunnies take control of a bus! Rocketing through town with Little Bunny at the wheel, they are creating havoc without a care in the world. There is so much detail packed into these pages and these bunnies are bonkers! This is one bus ride you won't forget!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="background-color: white;">But nothing beats a journey of dreams and imagination. <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">How To Be On The Moon by Viviane Schwarz </span></i></b>(Walker Books ISBN: 9781406383102) is a warm, clever, creative picturebook filled with adventure and excitement. Anna decides to take her best friend, Crocodile on a trip to the moon. While Crocodile isn't so sure, they come up with a plan and use all their skills to get them there and back. Filled with witty dialogue and imaginative play, embracing a sense of freedom and fun. Remember, adventures are always better when you go together. But sometimes, you do venture out alone. <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Nell and the Circus of Dreams by Nell Gifford, illustrated by Briony May Smith</span></i></b> (OUP Oxford ISBN: 9780192765932) tells us the story of young Nell, who follows her little chick Rosebud when it runs off. While searching for Rosebud, Nell finds something else; a magical circus filled with lights, colours and happy sounds, with Rosebud as the star of the show. When it is time to go and while she is sad to leave, Nell discovers that she can take the magic and joy with her and it will last forever.</span></div><span style="background-color: white;">Summer adventures (or anytime adventures) would not be complete without old favourites. Remember, although you make know these two well, they will be brand-new to the young children in your life; and they are classic picturebook adventures, so you MUST have the on your shelf to read over and over and over. <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">We're G</span></i></b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">oing On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, illustr</span></i></b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">at</span></i></b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">ed by Helen Oxenbury</span></i></b> (Walker Books ISBN: 97814</span><span style="background-color: white;">0638</span><span style="background-color: white;">6776) is over 30 years old and just as warm</span><span style="background-color: white;">, wo</span><span style="background-color: white;">nderful, fun as ever. Join o</span><span style="background-color: white;">ne family as they excitedly tromp through long, wavy grass, splash through the river and cautiously venture through the dark forest in search of a bear. They're not scared! But a big surprise awaits them when they make it to the cave. The rhythm, rhyme and joyous adventure is always a huge hit with kids at storytime. They can't wait to join in! A perfect adventure for dull days at home. And of course...my absolute favourite ever; the absolute classic <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak</span></i></b> (Red Fox ISBN:9780099408390). When Max puts on his wolf suit and makes too much mischief for his mothers' liking, he is sent to bed without his supper. But then, in his very own room a forest grows and before you know it, Max sets off in a private boat to where the wild things are. Amazing, bold, imaginative, adventurous; it speaks to the heart of being a child...your little wild things will love this so much. </span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5y7oZ6-0dSk/Xyv358GUVoI/AAAAAAAAJq8/gOsvfY3AC_scwuD2uFNkhxstQGuGRrZuACLcBGAsYHQ/s960/pbadventures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="960" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5y7oZ6-0dSk/Xyv358GUVoI/AAAAAAAAJq8/gOsvfY3AC_scwuD2uFNkhxstQGuGRrZuACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/pbadventures.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>And for a brilliant adventure of your own, can I suggest a trip down to your favourite bookshop? Most are open now, and if not, will value your online support and be happy to help in whatever way they can. Who knows what marvelous picturebook adventures you'll find there? Bon voyage!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div></div>Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-3523682581756210462020-07-23T04:08:00.003-07:002020-07-23T04:08:46.959-07:00HAPPY BOOK-BIRTHDAY, MOLLY AND THE LIGHTHOUSE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rZ4kcOgrmFM/XxlYcsGKUdI/AAAAAAAAJpM/8I2-pHVCwzgDp3aURqRrSJ1F9G2epd8ogCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/molly%2Bbooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="960" height="306" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rZ4kcOgrmFM/XxlYcsGKUdI/AAAAAAAAJpM/8I2-pHVCwzgDp3aURqRrSJ1F9G2epd8ogCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/molly%2Bbooks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It's official! Today is the publication day of Molly and the Lighthouse by Malachy Doyle, exquisitely illustrated by Andrew Whitson; published by Graffeg Ltd! I have been waiting to wish a very Happy Book-Birthday to this, the third book in the wonderful Molly stories (fourth, if you count the special download colouring/activity book, Molly and the Shutdown...which I do. Wonderful story!) And it was well worth the wait!<br />
In case you haven't been reading them, here's a little catch-up: Molly lives on a very small island with her Mum, fisherman Dad and a wonderful collection of island residents, including her best friend, Dylan. Their life may seem quiet enough, but so far they have faced ferocious storms, helped a stranded whale, been caught in the covid_19 shutdown on their isolated little island home; all while displaying great fortitude and a fantastic sense of empathy and community. And now...there's trouble at the lighthouse.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-adJyMxjn_wQ/XxlgrAr2lEI/AAAAAAAAJpU/iXqjFAiA2kUe-H_U35FaT7rtIp-4xqRdACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/molly%2Band%2Bthe%2Blighthouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="939" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-adJyMxjn_wQ/XxlgrAr2lEI/AAAAAAAAJpU/iXqjFAiA2kUe-H_U35FaT7rtIp-4xqRdACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/molly%2Band%2Bthe%2Blighthouse.jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
<b><i><span style="color: #073763;">MOLLY AND THE LIGHTHOUSE</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #073763;">author: Malachy Doyle</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #073763;">illsutrator: Andrew Whitson</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #073763;">Graffeg Ltd (23 July 2020)</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #073763;">ISBN: 9781913134914</span></i></b><br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ySk_QS47ixs/Xxlju8nYoWI/AAAAAAAAJpc/ytA8edlNLa4UXvhrBxxA_h3YVK9qV0YSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/molly%2Band%2Bthe%2Blighthouse2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="960" height="161" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ySk_QS47ixs/Xxlju8nYoWI/AAAAAAAAJpc/ytA8edlNLa4UXvhrBxxA_h3YVK9qV0YSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/molly%2Band%2Bthe%2Blighthouse2.jpg" width="320" /></a>The lighthouse was one of Mollys' very favourite things on the whole island. Every night, it would go round and round, shining its' light into her cosy room, keeping her company and making her feel safe. She would count...one, two, three...and by the time she got to seventeen (always seventeen), there would be the light again. But one night, Molly woke and realised something was very wrong. She counted and counted, but the light didn't appear! Molly woke her mum immediately. The island Dads were off fishing and if the lighthouse wasn't working, they wouldn't be able to find their way. While Mum ran to the harbour wall to light a signal fire, Molly and Dylan rushed to the lighthouse, only to find the lighthouse keeper, Old Jamesie collapsed on the floor. It's up to Molly and Dylan to save the day!<br />
One thing that I find truly unique in these books is the perfection of the voice, which expresses every aspect of Mollys' life through a childs' perspective. And Molly is a wonderful character. She is bold, brave and full of life, with freedom and a curious nature that expresses her consideration of the people and world around her. And she is encouraged to be herself, to follow her heart and that bountiful curiosity, as every child should be. Here, we see the things that bring comfort, concern, fear and joy plainly, as if through the eyes of this young girl without any 'adult interpretation' of what <i>might</i> be going on in her head. This is rather rare. And in fairness, you'll find this gift in each and every one of Malachy Doyles' books. But in the Molly stories, it really shines.<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AMPjIbmE2Iw/Xxlo4ryYhUI/AAAAAAAAJpk/eLPgRTnOfpwXM5qM4eNkl5mvRjKC4l3twCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/molly%2Band%2Bthe%2Blighthouse3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="865" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AMPjIbmE2Iw/Xxlo4ryYhUI/AAAAAAAAJpk/eLPgRTnOfpwXM5qM4eNkl5mvRjKC4l3twCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/molly%2Band%2Bthe%2Blighthouse3.jpg" width="180" /></a>While the story takes place on a small island, the adventure is expressed in a way that brings the reader, wherever they may live, into this world. When the lighthouse light stops shining, we sense the urgency and drama of when comfort is taken away. But we also see the understanding that Molly herself can do; will do something about it. The sense of responsibility and empathy to others is strong, that feeling of coming together to solve a problem. In Andrew Whitsons' masterful hand, the illustrations tell the story as well as the text, with that same sense of childlike wonder and expression. Each page is a work of art that is perfectly married to the tale. They express the adventure, drama and security of this piece of the world in a way that makes it every childs' story. The nuance of line, texture and colour, paints a world that is both of the imagination and of the real world.<br />
As lighthouses may be unfamiliar to young children, there is a wonderful page at the back of the story; 10 interesting facts about lighthouses. It gives some details that are sure to spark interest, a few that even someone like me, who has long been fascinated by lighthouses (I've always wanted to live in a lighthouse), never heard before.<br />
This book is a pure joy; adventurous, intriguing, heart-warming. Both contemporary and timeless, it joins its' 'older sisters' in the series as being a book that will long be cherished and read over and over again.<br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><b>HAPPY BOOK-BIRTHDAY, MOLLY!</b></i></span></div>
<b><i><span style="color: #073763;">Molly and the Lighthouse</span></i></b> is available in English, Irish (<b><i><span style="color: #073763;">Muireann agus an Teach Solais</span></i></b>) and Welsh (<b><i><span style="color: #073763;">Mali a'r Goleudy</span></i></b>). It is also available as an ebook.<br />
<a href="https://www.graffeg.com/product/molly-and-the-lighthouse/">https://www.graffeg.com/product/molly-and-the-lighthouse/</a>Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-48457813229229565672020-07-16T05:41:00.001-07:002020-07-16T05:41:36.413-07:00CELEBRATING SHIRLEY HUGHES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In an interruption to my regular posts of journeys in books for this strange summer holiday season, I have to take a moment to celebrate probably the most iconic book illustrator/author working in the world of childrens literature today:<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b><i>A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHIRLEY HUGHES!!!</i></b></span></div>
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Born on 16th July, 1927, Shirley Hughes has written more than 50 books and illustrated over 200 books, which have sold more than 11.5 million copies worldwide. (You would be hard-pressed to say that you have never seen her work.) </div>
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In 1997 (for <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Dogger</span></i></b>) and again in 2003 (for <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Ellas' Big Chance</span></i></b>, her own interpretation of Cinderella), Shirley Hughes won the Kate Greenaway Medals for Childrens Book Illustration. In 2015, she won the inaugural lifetime achievement award from Booktrust.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kzgb-vOtDwA/XxBIrFWRlQI/AAAAAAAAJos/k_EVs1Bj6IcVEyefXmMLzYzbKcJb_VLaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/out-and-about-illustration-shirley-hughes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1276" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kzgb-vOtDwA/XxBIrFWRlQI/AAAAAAAAJos/k_EVs1Bj6IcVEyefXmMLzYzbKcJb_VLaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/out-and-about-illustration-shirley-hughes.jpeg" width="159" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GPCDMGoC-Qs/XxBI6VJYPUI/AAAAAAAAJow/JO7JvIx6F5w60xsAUu_NE6SBdpAkWChxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/angel%2Bon%2Bthe%2Broof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="151" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GPCDMGoC-Qs/XxBI6VJYPUI/AAAAAAAAJow/JO7JvIx6F5w60xsAUu_NE6SBdpAkWChxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/angel%2Bon%2Bthe%2Broof.jpg" /></a>Her illustrations are timeless and heartwarming, capturing glimpses and moments of life in a style that is instantly recognisable; uniquely her own.</div>
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While best known for her illustrations; she began in the 1950s-1960s by illustrating the work of other authors, such as the <b><i>My Naughty Little Sister </i></b>books by Dorothy Edwards and <i><b>The Bell Family</b></i> by Noel Streatfeild. The first book she both wrote and illustrated was <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Lucy & Toms Day</span></i></b>, which went on to be a series of stories. She continued her own work with the Ollie and Me series (1993), <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Dogger</span></i></b> (1977) and the Alfie series (1997), becoming one of the most sought after childrens illustrator/author of our times. In 2012, Hughes published her first childrens novel,<b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;"> Hero on a Bike</span></i></b>, giving us a WW2 adventure that proves the extraordinary things people can do in extraordinary circumstances...and it is a gem. Still working at the age of 93, her most recent book, <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Angel on the Roof</span></i></b> was published in October of last year. </div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">A Life Drawing</span></i></b>, published in 2002, chronicles her lifes' work from childhood through to her many achievements and is both heartfelt and inspiring.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fK5zyXXhJSk/XxBKKYRGeeI/AAAAAAAAJo8/BomnWPnsHIYze9TgmdqniedpUk3KlsutgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/alfie%2Bgets%2Bin%2Bfirst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="960" height="382" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fK5zyXXhJSk/XxBKKYRGeeI/AAAAAAAAJo8/BomnWPnsHIYze9TgmdqniedpUk3KlsutgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/alfie%2Bgets%2Bin%2Bfirst.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Alfie Gets In First (1981); my favourite!</td></tr>
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Again, a very <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Happy Birthday, Shirley Hughes</span></i></b> and thank you so very much for the gift of your stories and pictures.</div>
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Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-59316124626276387892020-07-11T12:17:00.003-07:002020-07-11T12:17:52.538-07:00INCREDIBLE JOURNEYS THIS SUMMER: Middle Grade Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Previously: With summer holiday plans changing dramatically, travel limited and 'stay-cations' looking like the norm this year, lockdowns and home/online-schooling are leaving us all in need of a break; especially the young people in our lives. Social distancing and isolation are causing a new and different type of stress, but I have to say, the kids have been real heroes. They need to be uplifted now more than before; they need to know there are still adventures to be had, friends are still out there and life is still vibrant and exciting.</i> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Books offer many opportunities for young people (well, all of us really) to "get away from it all" and experience life in the realms of the imagination. Whether you're crossing the border into an unknown, magical land, delving into the depths of an historical world or looking at your own surroundings under unusual circumstances, books make any holiday or stay-cation memorable. Here are a few of my very best recommendations that 'middle-grade' ground. Oh, grown-ups...you'll love them, too:</span><br />
Celine Kiernan has wrapped up her <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">Wild Magic Trilogy</span></i></b> magnificently with <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">The Promise Witch</span></i></b>. Yes, we bid farewell to the Raggedy Witches as the endless winter has gone, giving way to the warmth of springtime and its' natural green magic. But this doesn't last long. The Old Queen, far away in hiding where no one can find her, has cast another wicked spell bringing searing, scorching heat, the river dried to a dusty pathway and fear and discord running rampant in the kingdom once again. There is only one way to end this. Mup must fulfill a promise and take a perilous journey to face her grandmother once and for all. I have so much love and enthusiasm for all the <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">Wild Magic Trilogy</span></i></b>. It is magic brought to the page. <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">The Promise Witch</span></i></b> is a must read...now! (If you haven't read <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">Begone the Raggedy Witches</span></i></b> and <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">The Little Grey Girl</span></i></b>, what are you waiting for?)<br />
Speaking of witches, <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">Wilde </span></i></b>by Eloise Williams follows the path of a young girl who has been kicked out of another school on purpose. When Wilde arrives at her aunts' house in Witch Point, she desperately hopes to leave the plague of strange events behind her and start fresh...to just be normal. But these strange occurrences seem to follow her wherever she goes; and hey're getting worse. Wilde is forced to join the end of year play. When the other students start getting threatening letters signed 'The Witch' during rehearsals which curse them with their greatest fears, there can be no doubt that Wilde is to blame. And small towns have long memories and dark pasts. Wilde must uncover the identity of the letters' true author, or suffer the same fate as a witch called Winter. Filled with superstition, curious happenings and hope, it is brave, magical and utterly wondrous.<br />
Let's step away from the witches for a moment and come back to a different kind of enchantment. <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">Here In The Real World </span></i></b>by Sara Pennypacker is a song (of a book) dedicated to those who live their lives with a different perspective; to the introverts and the dreamers. When Wares' grandmother has an accident, he finds himself staying at home for the summer and, to his horror, enrolled in Rec camp so he can have "meaningful social interactions" and participate in activities that "normal" kids engage in. But Ware sneaks away over the fence and on to the grounds of a derelict church. He meets Jolene, a tough girl growing a garden in the dusty ground and envisions the church as his castle, becoming the Knight he has always wanted to be and pledging to live a purpose-filled life doing what is Right and Honourable. But this isn't Magical Fairness Land; this is the Real World... filled with details about the natural world and delving into the heart and imagination to find it is possible to be who you really are, this is a quietly glorious and graceful adventure.<br />
Nicola Pierce takes us on an eerie, haunting, seafaring journey into the past, embarking on the ill-fated exploration to discover the Northwest Passage in the mid-1800s. <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">Chasing Ghosts</span></i></b> follows the mission of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror as they set out across the Arctic seas with their inexperienced crew, aging captain Sir John Franklin and second-in-command Francis Crozier. Ill-prepared for the conditions that greet them, as the ice closes in, no one can guarantee their return of rescue. And when, in 1849, 4-year-old Weesy Coppin succumbs to a fever, her family, locked in grief over her death, discover that her spirit has not left them...and that she is trying to tell them something. As the two separate events collide in the most unlikely twist of fate, the truth will come to light...if anyone has the courage to see it. Atmospheric, articulate, wonderful imaginative and impossibly true historical fiction...at its' best.<br />
In <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">Gaelic Spirit</span></i></b> by Gerard Siggins, we find a brilliant story for the sports-mad young ones in our lives as we set off on another <i>Eoin Madden Adventure</i>. Eoin is home in Tipperary for the summer holidays. There's no rugby over the summer, so Eoin and his friends head off to Ormondstown GAA club to get involved in hurling and the football team. Before you know it, they are travelling cross county to go up against some of the best GAA teams. And it isn't long until Eoins' other-worldly friend and mentor, Brian Hanrahan turns up. But this time, he's accompanied by the ghost of Michael Hogan who died at Croke Park on Bloody Sunday 100 years before. It seems trouble is headed Eoins' way, along with a deeper understanding of an historical tragedy. Sports and history are woven together in what is, simply a great adventure.<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">Crater Lake</span></i></b> by Jennifer Killick takes us along on the Year 6 school trip to the brand new Crater Lake Activity Centre with Lance, his friends and the rest of the class. But something really strange is happening here. Maybe it's the bloodied man who tries to stop them from entering or the lack of welcoming staff. Or perhaps it's that everyone is locked in their dorm rooms from the outside at night and exposed to a noxious gas while they sleep. Caught up in a mystery that began thousands of years ago when a meteor plunged itself deep into the crater, the group find themselves fighting a swarm of weird enemies for survival. They may not know much, but they know they must never, EVER fall asleep. Cleverly written, fast-paced, gripping...this is the mystery-adventure you've been waiting for.<br />
Atmospheric descriptions of 19th-century England, an eerie household and the ticking of a multitude of clocks set the scene perfectly in <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">The House of One Hundred Clocks </span></i></b>by A M Howell. Helenas' father has been appointed clock-winder to one of Englands' wealthiest men, Mr Westcott. But there's one catch. The clocks must never stop, or Helena and her father will lose absolutely everything. Entering their new home, Helena finds a sinister situation; a house stuffed to the rafters with clocks of all kinds, drawings appearing pinned to the walls, a strange, ghostly child, a warning left in a pocket watch, a family about to end up in the workhouse. The Westcott family is not at all what they seem. When it appears an act of sabotage will take everything from them, Helena bands together with some new-found friends to uncover the truth and save them all. But her beloved parrot, Orbit has escaped and time is running out.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> U<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">tterly charming and captivating with a keenly felt sense of friendship, family ties and time; a brilliant journey across Cambridge and time.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">Now we return to magic with the marvelous story, <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">The Last Spell Breather</span></i></b> by Julie Pike. Published last summer, this book has captured my imagination as we glide through a strange kingdom in the grip of a strange curse. Spell Breathing is the only thing that keeps the village safe from the monster curse that plagues the world. And Spell Breathing does not come easily to Rayne. As her mothers' apprentice, she spends long hours learning spells, transcribing scrolls and examining a spellbook filled with grosteques that snap and bite. One day, an action taken in an ill-tempered, clumsy mood breaks the fragile magic, bringing the monsters thundering in, endangering everyone<span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rayne sets off across a treacherous landscape to find the Great Library, and her mother with the broken spellbook, Tom (who resents magic) and a fox conjured by the Spell of Finding to set things right. But when she arrives, awaiting her is threat greater than she could imagine. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Flawless writing, a touch of humour and a unique enchanted landscape combine for an unparalleled tale that is also a testament to the power of words.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Books filled with enchantment and magic of one sort or another really add spark to time away or at home. And these are the ones I'll be dipping back into for my summer 'holiday.' I may not be going away, but I am travelling to the most marvelous places. Join me!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: inherit;"><i>(I'll be back with more great books to help you along this truly unusual summer another day. In the meantime, stay safe, stay well.)</i></span></span></span><br />
<br />Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-10423299590670627582020-07-05T05:23:00.001-07:002020-07-05T05:23:22.749-07:00GREAT ESCAPES THIS SUMMER: Teen/YA Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With summer holiday plans changing dramatically, travel limited and 'stay-cations' looking like the norm this year, lockdowns and home/online-schooling are leaving us all in need of a break; especially the young people in our lives. Social distancing and isolation are causing a new and different type of stress, but I have to say, the kids have been real heroes. They need to be uplifted now more than before; they need to know there are still adventures to be had, friends are still out there and life is still vibrant and exciting. While most of us will be enjoying the familiar surrounds of our local area (we still have to stay safe!), books offer a brilliant opportunity to "get away from it all." Here are a few of my very best recommendations for teens and YAs to escape into this summer:<br />
Helen Corcorans' debut novel <b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">The Queen of Coin and Whispers</span></i></b> offers a fantasy journey into a medieval kingdom of political intrigue, duty and honour. When idealistic young Queen Lia inherits the crown, she seeks to end the corruption and division so carefully nurtured by her dead uncle, the king. Aarkala is bankrupt; its' citizens are suffering. But she needs advisors and courtiers on her side. And desperately, she needs protection. Enter her new spymaster, Xania, the last person anyone would expect in such a position. But when the two fall for each other and conflicts deepen, neither may survive the treason or their love. (14+)<br />
Siobhan Curham whisks us away to Brighton in <b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Clementine and Rudy</span></i></b>; and into the world of creativity and artistic expression via Instagram. Rudy is a young street artist, hoping to unlease her talent on an unsuspecting public. Clementine is a poet, responding to images she finds on Instagram with a genuine voice that seems to flow out of her of its own accord. When the two join forces, a strong, new collaborative vision encourages them to give voice to the unfairness they see around them and imagine a vibrant life that will bring huge change to both their worlds.<br />
Published last summer, <b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">A Strange Kind of Brave</span></i></b> by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald grasps the reader and does not let go. Jake McCormack has held the small town of Clanfedden in an iron-grip of fear for many years. But when the town council finally decides to break his reign of fear and a familiar face returns to bring colour, life and joy back to their lives, a new hope emerges, new interest in each other...and Jake isn't having it. When disaster strikes and all are left in horror, young Allie is left with nothing left to lose. Stepping up, determined to bring Jake down, she displays a desperate courage she didn't know she had...and a shocking secret is finally brought into the light.<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">On Midnight Beach</span></i></b> by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick takes us back to the summer of 1976 in the small Donegal village of Carrig Cove. It was a summer of excruiating heat, long sweltering days and nights; a summer like no other. And then, the dolphin came. Emer sneaks away to the beach to spend her nights away from the crowds that have miraculously appeared; to spend her nights swimming with the dolphin and falling in love with the one boy she knows she should stay away from. But as rivalry with the neighbouring town swells into vandalism and violence, an event occurs that brings tragic consequences...for everyone. (14+)<br />
Just published by Firefly Press, <b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Too Dark To See</span></i></b> by Chloe Heuch is set in the life of 16-year-old Kay after the death of her mother. Kay harnesses her overwhelming grief into a mission to self-destruct, pushing everyone away. When she and her father move into a small, old cottage on the edge of Blackmoss Mountain, Kay finds new freedom there, roaming the rugged landscape, running with the wild ponies and meeting Sion, a beautiful boy with sadness in his eyes and a vast understanding of the natural world. Sharing their love of animals, the pair are drawn into an intense relationship, meeting secretly in a ruined cottage on the mountain. There, they find escape from their difficult lives and hope for a beautiful future. But when Sions' violent father finds them, events spiral quickly out of control and Kay faces the possibility of losing everything...again. A remarkable story. (14+)<br />
In <b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Asking For A Friend</span></i></b> by Kate Mallinder, three school mates take off for a 'study-break' to Weston before the exams set in. They all have their own reasons for wanting to get away from home. But each one is unwilling to confide with each other. They aren't really friends, after all. Agnes is living on the autistic spectrum and needs to find 'normal' at a time when her life is rapidly changing. Hattie has been 'ghosted' by her friends, the popular girls, over an incident that was not her doing. She can't bear being at home right now. And Jake has suddenly dropped off the sports scene. He says it's so he can focus on exams, but he's hiding something...something life-changing. This is a 'cosy' read that deals with some hard-hitting issues and real-life concerns with an exacting, yet warm character-driven narrative. I can also thoroughly recommend Mallinders' offering from last year, <b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Summer of No Regrets</span></i></b>, in which best friends Hetel, Cam, Sasha and Nell have just finished their exams and make a pact to experience a summer like no other. Dealing with friendship, family drama and diversity, they discover that the choices they make are rife with challenges. They turn to each other to find the courage they need to face the future.<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">The Falling In Love Montage</span></i></b> by Ciara Smyth really took me by surprise. What I expected was a rom-com style book, filled with cliched tropes that oozed young love and filled in the gap in LBGTQ romance writing. And while you'll find that here, there is also so much more. Saoirse has been heart-broken after her ex, Hannah finished their relationship. Determined not to ever fall in love again, she embarks on a summer of getting drunk, watching horror films and leave her troubles behind by kissing straight girls. When along comes Ruby, the prettiest girl she's ever seen...and this pretty girl has a different plan. An incredibly engaging story that will definitely take you away from yourself and move you in a joyous direction.<br />
Just a few for you there. I'll be back soon with some great escapes for younger bookworms. Until then....Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-86205271688573349482020-07-04T03:18:00.000-07:002020-07-04T03:18:11.674-07:00INIS MAGAZINE ONLINE! And Other News From CBI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over the lockdown period here in Ireland, there has been a lot going on at Childrens Books Ireland, the national organisation for childrens' literature in Ireland. Much of this, of course, has been happening online and coming to us in our homes...the awards, a new Laureate na n'Og, the changing of the guard in the reviews editorial staff...it's been a busy time.<br />
Within all the shifts and changes, CBI has managed to produce its new edition of Inis Magazine. (No easy feat, I assure you.) Now, here's the mega-exciting news about this edition. It is the 60th issue of this fabulous resource for kidslit bibliophiles and....<b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">it's only available online!</span></i></b><br />
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This issue is one you simply have to read. Throughout the 46 pages of articles, editorials and of course, the book reviews, you will see all the activity that has taken place behind the scenes in our time at home here in Ireland. Included is a very interesting article by Kim Harte on "The Impact of Covid_19 on the Wider Childrens' Book Sector (very interesting!); a word from both our new Laureate na n'Og, Áine ní Ghlinn and our outgoing Laureate, Sarah Crossan and a beautiful article entitled "Reading Pictures" by librarian Robin Stewart, all about the wonderful 'wordless' and nearly wordless picture books of David Weisner where the written word drops away into the background and visual literacy takes the stage. David Weisner is an absolute master of visual literacy. I have long been a huge fan of his work. And, as always, there are the reviews of the newest and best books out for young people of all ages...including a few by myself.<br />
So download this special online edition of Inis Magazine issue 60, now. There's so much to get you through the summer. It's an amazingly informative delight for all.<br />
And don't forget to join CBI to keep up to date with the very best in the world of childrens literature.<br />
<a href="https://childrensbooksireland.ie/">https://childrensbooksireland.ie/</a><br />
<a href="https://cbi-inis.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Inis-n60interactiveV3.pdf">https://cbi-inis.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Inis-n60interactiveV3.pdf</a>Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-83787552792504250162020-06-09T03:49:00.002-07:002020-06-09T03:49:42.605-07:00PICTURE BOOK DOWNLOADS FOR TRYING TIMES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here comes summer...and it may be a very strange one.<br />
Over the last three months, we've seen many changes. Many of us have been isolated and doing our best to keep our spirits high and bring ourselves to the point where we can once again leave our homes and our immediate surroundings and meet up again. It can be discouraging Here in Ireland, we've entered a new stage in coming out of lockdown... we're nearly there.<br />
But the children are still home from school, or homeschooling. Tremendous efforts by everyone are ongoing and nothing helps quite like a good story to answer questions, entertain and keep up hope. And with summer looming, I think we need a good shot of encouragement and understanding to keep it from becoming dreary. Here are a few more online stories and storytimes to keep you going...some of my favourites, in fact.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">MOLLY AND THE SHUTDOWN</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">author: Malachy Doyle illustrator: Andrew Whitson</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Graffeg Publishing (June 2020)</span></i></b><br />
The island has been shut down! No one is allowed on or off the island because of corona virus. There's no school and Molly can't go out and about to see her friends. It's all very worrying and hard to understand. And worst of all, Daddy is still on the mainland and can't make it home to Molly. (He'll be all right. He can stay with Uncle Ed.) There's nothing Molly, or anyone for that matter, can do. So Molly helps with the cooking and the cleaning and the chickens...but it is very worrying. Molly keeps herself safe and longs for the day when Daddy can come home. Any before you know it...<br />
I really do love the Molly books. (And I was wondering exactly how Molly was getting along on her little island.) Written with a genuine voice, there is a real sense of the way children think and feel in each story. This free download takes the reader right onto the island with Molly and gives a personal view of her experience of the lockdown. It brings humour, joy and determination, such light into what is, for all of us, a very stressful time. The illustrations and drawn in black and white flowing, expressive lines leaving up to YOU to add the colour and life of this small island. A wonderful resource and colouring book for children, this really does help with the challenging circumstances we find ourselves living in.<br />
And, if this isn't enough for you, head over to YouTube where you can hear Malachy Doyle read the tale to you...along with tons of his other brilliant stories. Listening to Molly and the Shutdown while colouring the book is just the thing to bring a smile to your faces.<br />
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And don't forget to read the other books in the series....Molly and the Stormy Sea and Molly and the Whale. And coming soon: Molly and the Lighthouse!!!!<br />
You can download your copy of Molly and the Shutdown free on the Graffeg Publishing website. It's available in English, Irish and Welsh languages...isn't that brilliant! Get yours now!<br />
<a href="https://www.graffeg.com/mollyandtheshutdown/">https://www.graffeg.com/mollyandtheshutdown/</a><br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">RAIN BEFORE RAINBOWS</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">author: Smitri Halls illustrator: David Litchfield</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">Walker Books (June 2020)</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">ISBN: 9781406399264</span></i></b><br />
With a fox for her only companion, a girl travels from place to place; through loss and darkness, across lands of uncertainty, always following the hope of light, colour and life. Meeting new friends along the way, they find help and support. They discover a path through the darkness into a promising future and joy.<br />
A quiet picture book that takes us on a reassuring journey in uncertain days. There must be rain before rainbows, night before daybreak...there is always a new dawn. The simple, poetic language will stir the heart of the reader. Litchfields gorgeous, evocative pictures adds greatly to the lyrical quality of the story. Beautifully written and rendered, with real hope running across every page, <b><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">Rain Before Rainbows</span></i></b> sends a positive, moving message to anyone, young or old who has ever been through dark and seemingly hopeless times. A book of wonder and light.<br />
And you can download it now for free from Walker Books.<br />
<a href="https://www.walker.co.uk/Rain-Before-Rainbows-9781406399264.aspx">https://www.walker.co.uk/Rain-Before-Rainbows-9781406399264.aspx</a><br />
<a href="http://stayhome.walker.co.uk/rainbows/?fbclid=IwAR1TiSF45ufbHUb217Ea9rG4LWKI0N6sL5qT9IKEXFZIaVayED5R80VVEzc">http://stayhome.walker.co.uk/rainbows/?fbclid=IwAR1TiSF45ufbHUb217Ea9rG4LWKI0N6sL5qT9IKEXFZIaVayED5R80VVEzc</a><br />
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And you can go over to YouTube and listen to Rain Before Rainbows (and many other great Walker Books books)!<br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><i>COVID MONSTERS' VISIT</i></b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><i>author: Marguerite Tonery illustrator: Fabrice Matray</i></b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><i>Tribes Press (27 May 2020)</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Uh-oh! The Covid Monster is here for a visit that no one wants! With his squishy hands and toes, he’s dripping nasty, squishy everywhere! So, no more playing with friends; no more playground fun; no more visits to Granny and Granddad until Covid Monster goes away. What CAN we do to make sure Covid Monster know he’s not welcome here?</span></span><br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cQxo78S2Gso/Xt9m49vPlDI/AAAAAAAAJms/ra_hbft4eWIbGQISPEFsdvqq5-xHc8EwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/covid%2Bmonster2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="960" height="140" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cQxo78S2Gso/Xt9m49vPlDI/AAAAAAAAJms/ra_hbft4eWIbGQISPEFsdvqq5-xHc8EwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/covid%2Bmonster2.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">A lyrical, rhyming story with vibrant, colourful pictures to help even the youngest children cope with restrictions and social distancing and encouraging all the things they need to remember, like washing hands and knowing they did nothing wrong! </span><b style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Covid Monster’s Visit</span><span style="color: #073763;"> </span></i></b><span style="background-color: white;">brings comfort and hope while encouraging cooperation and thought for others. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">But more than that, it is a story to reassure and support children in these unusual days. </span><span style="background-color: white;">While children certainly adapt to changing situations with greater ease than adults, they do take on the stress of the grown-up world around them.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> As a psychologist, Tonery wants to deliver a message to children and help them not internalise the events of this pandemic world, to understand that we simply have to do things a bit differently now; that soon we will see all the people we love face to face, we will play with our friends and do all the things they love to do. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Covid Monsters Visit</span></i></b> is available free to download from the Tribes Press website. Available in English, French and German, this is a fabulous resource for families.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">You can also order <b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Covid Monsters' Visit</span></i></b> in printed book form.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://tribespress.com/shop/">https://tribespress.com/shop/</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-63389751618374816622020-06-04T00:23:00.000-07:002020-06-04T00:23:50.307-07:00THE GAME IS ON! THE HEROES ARE HERE! WONDERSCAPE by Jennifer Bell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i><span style="color: #990000;">HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!!!!!</span></i></b></div>
Welcome to my post for the <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">WONDERSCAPE Blog Tour</span></i></b>, celebrating the arrival of the brilliant new book by Jennifer Bell.<br />
The spine-tingling concept of <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Wonderscape</span></i></b> really caught my imagination, with its' blend of time travel and gaming as the backdrop of an intriguing mystery and some unlikely historical heroes along for the ride.<br />
Get ready to jump in....<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sMKLpvRTw0Y/XtVTuPDi2FI/AAAAAAAAJlY/TIoBxQeCGBw-AIZwTgvErAZleF_7BfeWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/wonderscape%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="180" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sMKLpvRTw0Y/XtVTuPDi2FI/AAAAAAAAJlY/TIoBxQeCGBw-AIZwTgvErAZleF_7BfeWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/wonderscape%2Bcover.jpg" width="257" /></a><b><i><span style="color: #990000;">WONDERSCAPE</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #990000;">author: Jennifer Bell</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #990000;">cover illustration: Paddy Donnelly</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Walker Books (4 June 2020)</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #990000;">ISBN: 9781406391725</span></i></b><br />
A mysterious explosion at 27 Peacepoint Estate draws the immediate attention of 13-year-olds Arthur, Cecily and Ren. On their way to school, they hear a dog whimpering inside the cottage and run in to rescue the poor pup. They are sucked through a portal and find themselves locked in a cabin of a ship called <b><i>The Principia</i></b>, captained by none other than Sir Isaac Newton...and strangest of all, in the year 2473. Arthur, Cecily and Ren are lost in the Wonderscape, an in-reality game filled with very real danger and deeply hidden secrets that could cost them everything. Transported through different realms, they face perilous challenges; icy avalanches, white-knuckle car races, fighting off sword-bearing samurais; and acquire the help of a highly unusual cast of real (oddly alive!) historical figures who pass on their unique knowledge. All the while, the three are desperately seeking missing Wonderscape creator, Milo Hertz...who may just have the solution that will get them home before it's too late...forever.<br />
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<i><span style="color: #20124d;"><b>"It was early morning and Arthur was already running late for school </b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #20124d;"><b>when the gnomes exploded."</b></span></i></div>
Okay...you have my attention. From this very first line, <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Wonderscape</span></i></b> starts a raucous ride that doesn't let up. With drama and humour, a truly advanced future technology with physical skill and quick thinking, a cleverly crafted tale rapidly evolves in true game-like fashion that peaks interest with the turn of every page. It's fast-paced plot and clear, rolling story-telling weave a fantasy adventure that fully engages the reader, allowing entrance to each realm along with our young heroes. Brief, intricate descriptions of each setting create a strong sense of place and time; and fills the travel from realm to realm with a definitive vision. (All of this actually makes it ideal for capturing the interest of reluctant readers.) But this isn't a virtual reality; it's an in-reality gaming world. What happens in the <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Wonderscape</span></i></b>, actually happens. There is no margin for error. Our three heroes have to combine forces and keep their wits together in order to make it through the challenges. The alliance between them has to develop quickly with no time to debate their differences; they must rely on each other. As this happens, a real empathy grows between them that, under more normal circumstances, probably wouldn't have. A real lesson for all of us. Quick and quirky, intense and funny, filled with excitement and intrigue; <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Wonderscape</span></i></b> is a journey of a lifetime...or several. Travel with wonder!<br />
<a href="https://www.walker.co.uk/Wonderscape-9781406391725.aspx">https://www.walker.co.uk/Wonderscape-9781406391725.aspx</a><br />
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But what of the historical heroes? Their appearance in the <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Wonderscape</span></i></b>; very unlikely to appear in a story together, adds a sense of how diverse aspects and knowledges building on one another to make a winning solution. We have Sir Isaac Newton, <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1d2228;">th</span>e extraordinary scientist who discovered gravity;<span style="color: #1d2228;"> Tomoe Gozen, </span>honoured</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"> 12th century female samurai warrior; Mary Shelley, the celebrated author of Frankenstein and Wangari Maathai, inspirational environmental activist and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. I would never think of putting these people together. And yet...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">One thing it did make me think about was my own fascination with history and how to bring it alive in the present. Who are my heroes , and how would they fit into the <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Wonderscape</span></i></b>. So when we were asked to include them in our posts, I jumped at the chance! Here are two from me; one historical and one modern day hero. See what you think....</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uUJoU8tI5t8/Xtd1CHJaFhI/AAAAAAAAJlg/c2yBeftkOVsiHCP_6RRR0DwKWQlJxBLCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/queen%2Baliquippa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="163" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uUJoU8tI5t8/Xtd1CHJaFhI/AAAAAAAAJlg/c2yBeftkOVsiHCP_6RRR0DwKWQlJxBLCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/queen%2Baliquippa.jpg" width="105" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><u>Historical Hero:</u></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Name: Queen Aliquippa</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Level Theme: Guidance for young heroes</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Hero Factor: Loyalty and wisdom: Born between 1670-1700, little is known of Aliquippas' early life, but soon enough she emerged as a strong and clever woman-warrior who was a force to be reckoned with. While it was not unusual for women to influence tribal policies, Aliquippa became the leader of a small band of Mingo Seneca natives in Western Pennsylvania. Her area became a place of retreat and refuge during the French and Indian Wars and she was fiercely loyal and protective of those who paid her and her people proper respect, including a young Major George Washington. Her easy ability to maintain order meant Aliquippas' council was sought after by the surrounding tribal councils, and by the army forces and traders as they moved westward, always stopping by her township to pay tribute and seek her wisdom.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><u>Modern Day Hero:</u></i></b> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Name: </span></span><span style="background-color: white;">Jacob Rabi-Laleh</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Level Theme: Willingness to help others</span></span><br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vz6cDbInDn8/Xtd79o_DEOI/AAAAAAAAJlo/SFYopsZYa18Uk0cpF97-Gi1JfaRpAl6EwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/jacob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="112" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vz6cDbInDn8/Xtd79o_DEOI/AAAAAAAAJlo/SFYopsZYa18Uk0cpF97-Gi1JfaRpAl6EwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/jacob.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Hero Factor: Compassion and determination: In 2017, 7-year-old Jacob became concerned when seeing a group of homeless people taking shelter in Brighton. So he came up with an idea. He held yard-sales, sold his toys and things his family didn't need and </span></span><span style="background-color: white;">Jacob began to fill rucksacks with essential items for people sleeping rough. His kindness and determination was infectious. Soon others started donating to Jacobs' Backpack Campaign. Jacob initially had a goal of handing out 10 backpacks to those in need, but thanks to his tenacity and the kindness he inspiration in others, he surpassed that by more than 120. See...it doesn't matter how young or small you are. You can make a difference and be a hero!</span><br />
<br />Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-77528210745887386232020-05-28T02:53:00.000-07:002020-06-01T01:12:09.906-07:00FAREWELL THE RAGGEDY WITCHES: THE PROMISE WITCH by Celine Kiernan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JTmPPW8cVsw/Xs99nZA19_I/AAAAAAAAJlA/b0VjY0umHUMeYuQzIHXuWFXiTjtd6EuNACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/promise%2Bwitch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="960" height="322" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JTmPPW8cVsw/Xs99nZA19_I/AAAAAAAAJlA/b0VjY0umHUMeYuQzIHXuWFXiTjtd6EuNACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/promise%2Bwitch2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>"Filled to the brim with drama and danger. It is true, heartwarming and heart-stopping and magical...so very magical." Fallen Star Stories</i></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">The Wild Magic Trilogy</span></i></b> began with <b><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">Begone The Raggedy Witches</span></i></b>; a story that crackled with atmosphere and enchantment from the very first line and captured this bloggers' heart and imagination. I wanted...really wanted to live in Mups' world and stand by her side throughout the twists and turns of the magical adventure. And through its' pages, I did exactly that as she journeyed through a land that was her legacy and was being destroyed by her grandmother, the Old Queen.<br />
Then after the triumph of driving the Old Queen away, came <b><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">The Little Grey Girl.</span></i></b> In that book, with the Old Queen gone, but certainly not dead, the land is living under a Snow Queen-esque curse and discover the echoes of the cruel past through its' ghosts. Hurt and angry, they are determined to lash out in a punishing rage on Mups' family, ensuring their pain and suffering will not be forgotten. Mup summons all her courage, her wits and her magic to try to put things right, or it will all be for nothing.<br />
And now, we come to the end of the tale...<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qgaXl7jsyRQ/Xs9y57TlCKI/AAAAAAAAJk4/YajA5iEsRaIY2Zq7w-NRPcCCKWlp1WmUgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/promise%2Bwitch1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="622" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qgaXl7jsyRQ/Xs9y57TlCKI/AAAAAAAAJk4/YajA5iEsRaIY2Zq7w-NRPcCCKWlp1WmUgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/promise%2Bwitch1.jpg" width="258" /></a><b><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">THE WILD MAGIC TRILOGY: THE PROMISE WITCH</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">author: Celine Kiernan</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">cover & interior illustrations: Jessica Courtney-Tickle</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">Walker Books (4 June 2020)</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">ISBN: 9781406373936</span></i></b><br />
The endless winter has gone; melted away just like that. And the warmth of springtime arrived with all its' natural green magic. The new school has opened; a wonderful, magical school welcoming all of the children of Witches Borough. A school for everyone; with no one left out. But it isn't that easy. In just a months' time the beauty of spring has turned into a searing heat. The skies are filled with relentless blue and not a drop of rain. The river has dried to a dusty pathway with every ounce of water driven deep underground by the Old Queens' latest curse. Crow has been taken over by a dark magic that heralds the arrival of his mother, Magda. And she is determined to get back into the Old Queens' graces.Witches Borough is dying, and with it, everyone and everything that Mup holds dear. There is only one way to end this. Mup must fulfill a promise and finally face her grandmother...<br />
Picking up where The Little Grey Girl left off, from the first line we are given wondrous writing, picture-generating description and an imaginative adventure in a world that sizzles with magic. The story consumes the reader, waking us up to endless possibility and allowing us to see with fresh eyes. The tension ebbs and flows in exquisite timing as the layers of this story build with incredible twists and turns to its' outcome. We explore the curses of the past, the challenges of the present and the promise of the future, constructed with a subtle, deft hand. The characters we have come to know and love (or fear) in the previous books take on other aspects, bringing their personalities into new light. They become increasingly real and authentic, as does the world they inhabit. Mup and Crow have grown and changed, while still maintaining that refreshing brand of innocence and determination. This allows them to step more fully into the people they are meant to be; clever, empathetic and free of others' expectations. There is so much colour; so much life and vibrance in The Promise Witch...the perfect ending to a perfect trilogy. A gloriously woven spell. Just read it....<br />
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<a href="https://www.walker.co.uk/The-Promise-Witch-The-Wild-Magic-Trilogy-Book-Three-9781406373936.aspx">https://www.walker.co.uk/The-Promise-Witch-The-Wild-Magic-Trilogy-Book-Three-9781406373936.aspx</a><br />
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<br />Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-83884603022151576682020-05-27T04:25:00.000-07:002020-05-27T04:25:18.416-07:00Social Distancing and Young Children? A Picture Book To Help<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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These times of self-isolation and social distancing have been difficult. But can you imagine trying to understand it all if you're a small child? It can be an overwhelming task to try to keep our children safe and happy while also explaining the reasons behind not being able to go to play-parks and visit with friends (especially in the gorgeous weather!), being unable to visit family, grandmas and grandads who play such an important part in a young childs' life. And of course, you don't want to laden them down with fear, anger or anxiety.<br />
In Galway, our own local publisher, Tribes Press has just released a picturebook that will help allay concerns and bring a bit of reassurance and understanding into your childs' world in these strange times.<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #073763;">COVID MONSTERS' VISIT</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #073763;">author: Marguerite Tonery illustrator: Fabrice Matray</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #073763;">Tribes Press (27 May 2020)</span></i></b><br />
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Uh-oh! The Covid Monster is here for a visit that no one
wants! With his squishy hands and toes, he’s dripping nasty, squishy
everywhere! So, no more playing with friends; no more playground fun; no more
visits to Granny and Granddad until Covid Monster goes away. What CAN we do to
make sure Covid Monster know he’s not welcome here?</div>
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A lyrical, rhyming story with vibrant, colourful pictures to
help even the youngest children cope with restrictions and social distancing and encouraging all the things they need to remember, like washing hands and knowing they did nothing wrong! <b><i><span style="color: #073763;">Covid Monster’s Visit </span></i></b>brings comfort and hope while encouraging cooperation and
thought for others. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is Marguerite Tonery’s first picture book, As a psychologist, she seeks to support and reassure children not to internalise what’s happening in the pandemic world. It’s a book that tells children it is not because of them that they are not allowed to see their grandparents, play with their friends and do all the fun things they love.</span></span></div>
Reassuring, understanding, and cheerful.<br />
And the really big news is....you can get <b><i><span style="color: #073763;">Covid Monsters' Visit</span></i></b> as a downloadable ebook for <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">FREE </span></i></b><i>exclusively</i> on the Tribes Press website. This offer is available NOW until midnight, Friday 29th of May. It's available in English, French and German languages and available as a download worldwide. After the Friday deadline, it will be available for €9.99 as an ebook from Tribes Press. If you would prefer, you can pre-order in its' printed book form.<br />
So...go, go, go!!!Here's the link:<br />
<a href="https://tribespress.com/product/covid-monsters-visit-ebook/">https://tribespress.com/product/covid-monsters-visit-ebook/</a><br />
<a href="https://tribespress.com/shop/">https://tribespress.com/shop/</a>Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-56655972097286597342020-05-25T04:54:00.001-07:002020-05-25T04:54:40.395-07:00FRIENDSHIP, ART AND BEING REAL- Clementine and Rudy by Siobhan Curham<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ky4BV7Uqg_k/Xsucw_bo9FI/AAAAAAAAJkM/5QE3UUKwNWYUcjWX_nsLBC0OcAN2zE4KwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/clementine%2Band%2Brudy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="666" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ky4BV7Uqg_k/Xsucw_bo9FI/AAAAAAAAJkM/5QE3UUKwNWYUcjWX_nsLBC0OcAN2zE4KwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/clementine%2Band%2Brudy1.jpg" width="277" /></a></div>
Siobhan Curham has a strong history of writing books for young people that speak to the heart of blossoming creativity, authentic voices and living, finding your tribe and standing strong in a society that wants...sameness. And throughout her books, she does this in a quiet, determined way, revealing the little shadows that seek to dim the light inside and fail. She consistently brings together the most unlikely of people and through her story, cements unbreakable bonds between them.<br />
Enter now, Clementine and Rudy...<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">CLEMENTINE AND RUDY</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">author: Siobhan Curham</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Walker Books (4 June 2020)</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">ISBN: 9781406390230</span></i></b><br />
Two 'ordinary' girls from different worlds, living only a few streets apart...<br />
Rudy is a young Street Artist, seeking out late at night even though nerves get the better of her, to reveal her images to an unsuspecting Brighton. Clementine is a poet, responding to the images she finds on Instagram with heartfelt, genuine words that seem to flow out of her of their own accord. When she responds to Rudys' bold new image, the girls meet up. From very different backgrounds, the meeting is tenuous at first. Rudy lives with her Mum, who works night shifts, working at a café to help make ends meet and struggling to find a way out into an artistic path of her own. In Clementines' life, there are no money issues, but her washed-up radio DJ stepdad has them all under his thumb. The girls, however, rapidly form a bond of friendship through which they tackle the difficulties each has at home, the preconceptions of others (and themselves!) An artistic collaboration is born that encourages them both to give voice to the unfairness they see around them and imagine a life less ordinary. Together, they make an unstoppable force that creates big changes in their own world.<br />
The cornerstone of this book is friendship and the difference it makes in life; how through developing an honest, genuine bond, we can see things more clearly, have the support to follow through on new opportunities and how everything becomes that bit brighter. Written with a colour and vibrancy that grows along with the girls' friendship, the story is typical, but extraordinary at the same time. The reader is shown all the frustrations, foibles, idiosyncrasies and dilemmas that face any young person on the path to taking charge of their own life, but we are also shown the joy and the heart as it is reflected in the eyes of friends. We can actually visualise the colours brighten and change as the plot builds, given to us through the language and the atmosphere. There is a wonderful streak of quiet rebellion, as the girls become more confident in their creative, artistic voices. The encouragement of that creativity seeps out to all of us; the urgency of the creative part within and the necessity of bringing it out into the world. This may seem like a simple, feel-good read for teens, but don't let that fool you. It is so much more. Heartfelt, textural, compelling...this book simply sings. Go on, follow your dreams.<br />
<a href="https://www.walker.co.uk/Clementine-and-Rudy-9781406390230.aspx">https://www.walker.co.uk/Clementine-and-Rudy-9781406390230.aspx</a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3e5td31b1ls/XsuxGCkoNKI/AAAAAAAAJkU/XHwFGrU_RfMrjsVlup58v2ELqI5YvrYJwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/don%2527t%2Bstop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="213" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3e5td31b1ls/XsuxGCkoNKI/AAAAAAAAJkU/XHwFGrU_RfMrjsVlup58v2ELqI5YvrYJwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/don%2527t%2Bstop.jpg" width="133" /></a><br />
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And I thoroughly encourage you to read Siobhans' other books, particularly <b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">The Moonlight Dreamers</span></i></b> and <b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow. </span></i></b>Totally wonderful in every way.<br />
<br />Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-1436315381802945082020-05-21T01:08:00.000-07:002020-05-22T11:28:03.519-07:00THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE- 10 YEARS ON<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U-VpolFGzWY/XsWLDTmJ-KI/AAAAAAAAJj0/F7aPLF6oiFUF39_iTql7lDW67xO5NJ7JwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/sky%2Bis%2Beverywhere%2Breissue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="422" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U-VpolFGzWY/XsWLDTmJ-KI/AAAAAAAAJj0/F7aPLF6oiFUF39_iTql7lDW67xO5NJ7JwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/sky%2Bis%2Beverywhere%2Breissue.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
Ten years ago, an extraordinary book was placed in my hands. It was one of the first books I shouted about on this blog and now, with the Walker Books 10th Anniversary edition, I have to shout about it again. It is a book that sticks in my memory and in my heart as one of the most superb YA novels in the last decade and I have recommended it more times that I can count.<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Sky Is Everywhere: 10th Anniversary Edition</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">author: Jandy Nelson</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Walker Books (7 May 2020)</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">ISBN: 9781406390933</span></i></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When her wonderful, beautiful sister, Bailey, dies suddenly, Lennie suddenly finds herself, not only struggling with her grief, but also taking centre stage in her own life. The loss of her sister, and finding her emotions torn between her sister's boyfirend (with whom she shares this heartbreaking common ground) and the new boy in town, Joe (the only person she knows who has never had any contact with Bailey) is bad enough. </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Running like a fraying thread through her mind and emotions is </span></span><span style="background-color: white;">the disappearance of her mother years before without explanation. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Stuck in this grief with no intention of packing up her sisters' life and converting Baileys' 'things', her accomplishments and the ghost of her voice to mere memory, Lennie wrestles with the inner demand that she finally should decide who she wants to be. </span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-69nxToaScoI/XsY2NLANE9I/AAAAAAAAJj8/FboG48PS3HAwRRlCW_73ob8mgXN9kGFRgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/sky%2Bis%2Beverywhere1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-69nxToaScoI/XsY2NLANE9I/AAAAAAAAJj8/FboG48PS3HAwRRlCW_73ob8mgXN9kGFRgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/sky%2Bis%2Beverywhere1.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I was, and still am completely captivated by this book. Far more than just a light summer teen read, <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Sky Is Everywhere</span></i></b> deals with bereavement, family and social issues and trying to find your own place in the world. It is written with such a powerful, genuine voice that cuts to the heart of all of these issues that all of us, at one time or another, have struggled with. It wraps the reader in a comforting blanket and calls on you to cope; to deal with it and lets you know that somehow, it will be okay...okay to look at the hard truths, okay to move forward, okay to feel and be who you are and to accept yourself. And it brings back the joy; to be happy after loss is okay, too. There is so much texture and beauty in this book that it begs to be read again and again. Filled with the thoughts and emotions of 17-year-old Lennie, exquisitely accented with "poems no one will ever read" building the tone, tension and resolution as you go through her journey, <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Sky Is Everywhere</span></i></b> is simply magnificent. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.walker.co.uk/The-Sky-Is-Everywhere-9781406390933.aspx">https://www.walker.co.uk/The-Sky-Is-Everywhere-9781406390933.aspx</a></span></span>Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-13399040615584106152020-05-20T04:39:00.001-07:002020-05-20T04:39:37.676-07:00KPMG-CHILDRENS BOOKS IRELAND AWARDS 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It can seem a very strange and challenging time to be presenting a childrens' book awards ceremony, or any kind of ceremony for that matter. Covid_19 restrictions make it impossible for us to gather and celebrate in the traditional way. So we think of something different...<br />
Yesterday at high noon (!), the childrens' books people of Ireland gathered in front of their computers, laptops and phones for the 30th annual (and first ever online) presentation of the Childrens Books Ireland Book Awards. Partnering with KPMG (another first), CBI reached out in the joy and excitement that is always present at these events to celebrate the finest additions to an extraordinary canon of literature for children and young people produced by Irish authors, illustrators and publishers.<br />
The shortlist of outstanding books (shown above) has now been carefully considered, discussed and perused and, with Rick O'Shea presenting the worthy winners were announced in each of the five categories. Young people played a significant part in awards announcements this year, sharing their thoughts on the winning titles and giving us a fresh, vibrant assessment of them. Many thanks and a huge "well done!" to the Junior Jurors for their impressive insight and enthusiasm.<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FtUDkb5asGk/XsURzlh-FII/AAAAAAAAJjc/Xsr29XJJ8ukDc8ARg96-E3PBmHXV3nOsACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/reading%2Bheroes.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FtUDkb5asGk/XsURzlh-FII/AAAAAAAAJjc/Xsr29XJJ8ukDc8ARg96-E3PBmHXV3nOsACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/reading%2Bheroes.png" width="320" /></a>Before I continue with the book awards, I must mention the addition of a new award this year; the KPMG Reading Hero award. Nominated by his friend and classmate, this award went to Harry Darcy of Gorey, co Wexford. Known as a "book guru", Harry can always be found with a book in hand and ready with recommendations for all. Well done, Harry!<br />
And now the awards...<br />
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The Honour Award for Fiction goes to Sarah Crossan for the wonderful novel, Toffee. Covering issues such as dementia, homelessness, abuse and questions of identity, this is an emotional, exquisite teen novel.<br />
The Honour Award for Illustration was given to The Tide by Aisling Lindsay. Junior Jurors Phoeba and Freya Fallon noted that this beautiful picture, about a young girl coming to terms with her beloved grandfathers memory loss, is "nice and cosy".<br />
The Eilís Dillon Award for a debut childrens book went to illustrator Kim Sharkey for Mor agus Muilc. Written by<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">John Óg Hiúdaí Neidí Ó Colla, this is a retelling of an old Irish tale as gaeilge given new vibrancy.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The Judges Special Award was received by Meg Grehan for her lyrical verse novel The Deepest Breath. It is the story of 11-year-old Stevie as she struggles with issues of identity, sexuality and social perception...and it is gloriously beautiful.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">And finally, the winner of the Book of the Year Award is Máire Zepf for the wonderful book Noinín. This verse novel as gaeilge covers the story of a shy, lonely teenage girl caught in the vicious web of online grooming. Timely, urgently important and beautifully woven.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">And as you can see, women authors were heavily represented this year, with all five awards going to women. A brilliant statement, as well as being an exposé of the finest childrens books in Ireland.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">If you would like to catch-up on the awards themselves and feel the excitement as it happened, below is the link for the KPGM Childrens Books Ireland Awards 2020.</span></span><br />
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<br />Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-89771224952067556582020-05-05T04:20:00.000-07:002020-05-05T04:20:10.576-07:00BRING OUT YOUR PAPER LANTERNS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dear readers,<br />
Here's something a little different for you. And, I must add, very exciting.<br />
Answering a call to address the lack of YA related platforms and publications for young people in Ireland today, Ruth Ennis, Grace Kelley and Amy O'Sullivan put their brains, enthusiasm and talents together and came up with...<b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Paper Lanterns: The Teen and Young Adult Literary Journal</span></i></b>.<br />
Creating a space for teenage writers, artists and readers, this is a journal especially for them. It taps into the vast body of talent among Irelands' youth to allow a forum for expression and to <i><span style="color: #20124d;">"hear what they have to say about loss, love, magic, books, the environment and the universe."</span></i> This is no mean feat, especially launching such a project in the middle of a global pandemic. But with the challenge accepted, the response is glorious.<br />
Within the 50 plus pages of <b><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">Paper Lanterns</span></i></b>, there is some very fine writing indeed. The Creative Writing section is separated into Under 18s and Over 18s, featuring poetry and short stories that will move the heart, give pause for thought and even make you giggle. Complex, gutsy and refined, these young people have given genuine voice to an array of feeling and observation that is somewhat staggering and deserves to be celebrated. Each and every contribution by young writers is a thing of wonder, but I give special mention to <i><span style="color: #351c75;"><b>A Pipe Dream by Jessica Dunne (age 15)</b> </span></i>for an insightful, stirring glimpse behind the simplest of moments and <b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">The Truth of Power by Celia Jenkins</span></i></b>; an intrepid fantasy piece that left me wanting more.<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Paper Lanterns </span></i></b>also seeks to relay interviews, essays and information of interest to young people with the Features section. The interview with out-going Laureate na n'Og, Sarah Crossan gives insight into her time in the position and the #WeAreThePoets project encouraging young people to express themselves through verse. (Judging from the offerings here, it has been an incredible success.) It speaks of her previous writing and queries the approach taken as Sarah moves from writing teen/YA novels to writing for adults. There is a marvelous interview with Karina Clifford (bookseller extraordinaire and a former colleague of mine) discussing her online incentive, #ReadIrishWomenChallenge. An intriguing essay on adolescent mental health in YA fiction, <b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Breaking the Silence by Ben Screech</span></i></b> brings a very powerful view to light. And an essay on discovering diversity in ballet, <b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">A Poppy in a Field of Daffodils by Rebecca Downey</span></i></b> (age 14) shows a staggering depth of consideration, poignancy and writing skill while opening a point of discussion that clearly filters throughout many aspects of the social structure left fundamentally unconsidered.<br />
Add to this a cracking reviews section covering books that are, in my opinion, "must-reads" and you have a well-rounded, fascinating journal that really is the full package. The reviews by young people themselves are of particular interest as they are the ones who can truly express the qualities of a 'good book' for them.<br />
An urgently important and positively wonderful new literary incentive for young people, <b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Paper Lanterns</span></i></b> gives a voice to the interests, talents and concerns of a desperately under-represented group. It is with great anticipation that I look into the future to view the journeys it will take us on. In a time of even greater uncertainty than we have faced before, we need to understand the views of young people...for it is really their world. And it has always been the writers and artists that have held up the light for us to follow.<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YRni57vfDzw/XrFLud8MUZI/AAAAAAAAJiA/_HriX5yYcQwskkAmFDJzqK47K3wT9yvPACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/paper%2Blanterns%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="960" height="242" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YRni57vfDzw/XrFLud8MUZI/AAAAAAAAJiA/_HriX5yYcQwskkAmFDJzqK47K3wT9yvPACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/paper%2Blanterns%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></a>I will end with a quote from the opening editorial of<b><i><span style="color: #741b47;"> </span><span style="color: #38761d;">Paper Lanterns</span></i></b> because I believe it expresses so much more about this labour of love presented to us. From the author Carole Borges;<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #741b47;">"No my friend, darkness is not everywhere, for here and </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #741b47;">there I find faces illuminated from within;</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #741b47;">paper lanterns among the dark trees."</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">Paper Lanterns</span></i></b> was launched online on Wednesday, 22nd April and is available now, online and in print.<br />
<a href="https://paperlanternslit.com/">https://paperlanternslit.com/</a>Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-69561784488564016262020-04-30T09:55:00.003-07:002020-04-30T09:55:32.893-07:00BREAKING THE LOCKDOWN BLUES WITH THE BOOK OF HOPES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Being in lockdown is hard on all of us. With the world staying home, we are missing our families and friends, venturing out to new places, even the mundane things like going to work and school. It's easy for restlessness and boredom to set in as we wonder how long will this go on, only to hear things like "for quite some time to come." It's easy to lose hope. But help is at hand with something marvelous!<br />
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On 27th April, <b><i><span style="color: #bf9000;">The Book of Hopes: Words and Pictures to Comfort, Inspire and Entertain Children</span></i></b> in Lockdown was launched by award-winning (and completely brilliant) childrens' author, Katherine Rundell. Here, Katherine has curated the work of more than 110 authors and illustrators in a volume that is utterly wonderful. This is a collection of poems, short stories, essays and pictures from many favourites like Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz, Jacqueline Wilson, Emily Sutton, Jonny Duddle, Sharna Jackson, Michelle Paver, Ross Montgomery and so many more, including Katherine herself. A book that can be shared in bits and pieces, depending on your mood and whim, it is a great gift to each and every family stuck at home and is sure to lift everyones' spirits, regardless of age or situation.<br />
Now, are you ready for the best part? <b><i><span style="color: #bf9000;">The Book of Hopes</span></i></b> is being hosted exclusively on the Family Zone on the National Literacy Trusts' website. That's where you'll find it...<b><i> COMPLETELY FREE FOR ALL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.</i></b> That's right. 377 pages of all this hope, completely free. All you need to do is follow the link (below), which you can visit at any time and open yourself up for any one (or two or three...) of a myriad of adventures.<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #bf9000;">The Book of Hopes</span></i></b> is dedicated to all the doctors, nurses, porters, cleaners and everyone currently working in hospitals to help and support us all in these strange and trying days. Bloomsbury intends to publish a gift book based on this special project in the autumn, in support of NHS Charities Together.<br />
A wonderful gift to us all, here's the link for you. Read <b><i><span style="color: #bf9000;">The Book of Hopes</span></i></b>...you'll feel much better.<br />
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<a href="https://literacytrust.org.uk/family-zone/9-12/book-hopes/">https://literacytrust.org.uk/family-zone/9-12/book-hopes/</a>Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-44947770361341103422020-04-25T09:56:00.000-07:002020-04-25T09:56:45.526-07:00WHY PICTURE BOOKS MATTER: There Are No Words In This Book!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wordless picturebooks an incredibly significant contribution to our literary canon. But how, you may ask? There are no words, and isn't literature about words? Well, yes and no. Of course words are important in getting ideas across, but if you look at what words are in their most basic sense, then you begin to get an understanding of the absolute urgency of pictures; of visual literacy.<br />
The written word itself is made up of letters. Letters are simply a visual representation of a sound; they are symbols. A somewhat random symbol conceived by someone (or someones) a long time ago that have gained enough significance to stand the test of time and that we all (or most all) accept as a given thing. We know what letters are; we know what they mean. Then, to make a word you gather together these random symbols to create another random symbol; like dog or run or beautiful; that we have over time accepted as meaning what it means. These word symbols are put together to make collections of symbols we call sentences, then paragraphs, then books...it's quite a drawn out process when you think about it. Random symbols with an agreed upon meaning creating more random symbols with an agreed upon meaning and so on and so forth until we have a written language.<br />
Now stop for a minute. Have you ever thought that all of these random symbols, right back to letters are actually pictures? So, in essence, we are reading pictures.<br />
Wordless picturebooks have a history of being discounted; dismissed as too easy and lacking in value when it comes to developing literacy and communication skills. But nothing could be farther from the truth. In reading wordless picturebooks, the child (or indeed adult) develops a keen eye. They learn not just to read the words, but to read the environment, situation and emotion portrayed in the story. They develop their own system of meaning and discernment; to make connections; to question what they see. In short, wordless picturebooks teach us to look deeply and with intention. From this, a very sophisticated level of literacy develops. Not only does reading appear, but interpretation and understanding.<br />
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Now, for the books (just a few.)<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OWBJOt8ns-U/XqLHrrQxQrI/AAAAAAAAJgQ/qzqynbCuVXgqKvZtET4lG__6Ittj7lYdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/owl%2Bbat%2Bbat%2Bowl2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="960" height="140" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OWBJOt8ns-U/XqLHrrQxQrI/AAAAAAAAJgQ/qzqynbCuVXgqKvZtET4lG__6Ittj7lYdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/owl%2Bbat%2Bbat%2Bowl2.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Owl Bat Bat Owl by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick</span></i></b> is a deceptively simple story of community and friendship; of getting along , letting go of preconceived notions and helping each other. And of curiosity. A beautiful, joyous book for even the youngest readers, the tale it tells is eloquent. Through the colour palette, the simple lines of action and the facial expressions, we read clearly what is happening and why. Though I have heard quite a few variations from children reading the book...and none of them were wrong.<br />
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Pictures can be far more eloquent at expressing moods and emotions than the written word. By having no words to fall back on, we must look, really look at the pictures to discover what is going on.<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WaYqgIwsgyA/XqRJ8jtsCtI/AAAAAAAAJgc/Z0Ony8sarSApONF5bP61_-9v-aAd2wargCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/la%2Bla%2Bla2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="960" height="99" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WaYqgIwsgyA/XqRJ8jtsCtI/AAAAAAAAJgc/Z0Ony8sarSApONF5bP61_-9v-aAd2wargCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/la%2Bla%2Bla2.jpg" width="200" /></a>In the exquisite book,<b><i><span style="color: #741b47;"> La La La by Kate DiCamillo; illustrated by Jaime Kim</span></i></b>, DiCamillo conceived the story of a little girl who stands alone and sings...but there is no response. She gathers her courage and steps boldly into the world. Calling to the trees, the pond, all the nature around looking for someone to sing back to her. The only "words" in the book are "la la la"; standing alone as symbols for her singing. The way they are worked into this silent, thought-filled story allow them to become, not so much text as part of the illustrations themselves, with the subtlety of change in colour palette, artfully displaying the emotion behind them as she meets her feelings of loneliness, determination, frustration, uncertainty and ultimately joy and comfort along the way. With such a sensitive illustrator as Kim at the helm, it is an utterly perfect book.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-McuGM5g06Sc/XqROwIC_31I/AAAAAAAAJgs/X-h_E2XQwPcnqGKnq3cvPgR1bCIghy4kgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/footpath%2Bflowers2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="960" height="163" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-McuGM5g06Sc/XqROwIC_31I/AAAAAAAAJgs/X-h_E2XQwPcnqGKnq3cvPgR1bCIghy4kgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/footpath%2Bflowers2.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a>Likewise when we look at <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Footpath Flowers by Jon Arno Lawson and Sydney Smith</span></i></b>, we see both message and emotion woven into a story of a little girl taking a walk through the city with her father. The little girl easily finds the flowers, the simple, colour-filled beauty that all the others they encounter, including her father, seem to miss. It is a treasure of a book that speaks of observing, really seeing, joy of discovery and the lovely relationship between parent and child by juxtaposing stark black and white ink paintings with the touch of vivid colour that grows throughout the book. There is an implication of how these things effect others, spill out into the greater world. And through pictures alone, we are compelled to come to our own conclusions as we reflect on the events we have just witnessed. It is a quietly reflective book and one filled with wonder.<br />
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Wordless books can tell us time-honoured tales, allowing us to see them with 'new eyes' and bring them into an exciting new level of understanding. The old Aesops' fable, <b><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">The Lion and the Mouse</span></i></b> was given a new lease <b><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">by Jerry Pinkney</span></i></b>, retelling the tale in a way that is both moralistic and action-packed entertainment. The 'words' used in the story, like those in La La La, are simply sounds; those made by the animals and injecting a sense of action and movement into the pictures. The images of the majestic lion in a spot of bother and the humble mouse with the solution are easily relatable. Flowing, naturalistic representation will cement this story firmly into the memory and the consciousness of any reader, young or old.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eJHTOLNJORo/XqRjFz3LAPI/AAAAAAAAJhI/diMtWuaTEegtbwmZmus6ootqJIdGZiBLwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/flotsam2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="960" height="131" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eJHTOLNJORo/XqRjFz3LAPI/AAAAAAAAJhI/diMtWuaTEegtbwmZmus6ootqJIdGZiBLwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/flotsam2.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Flotsam by David Weisner</span></i></b> is an exquisite journey into the past and the imagination. The intricate, expressive illustrations offer us a day out beach-combing with a boy collecting flotsam...any old thing that may wash up along the shoreline. The adventure begins when he finds an old, barnacle-encrusted camera, complete with film inside. He develops the film. When he looks carefully at the results, the boy uncovers an entire world of history, archaeology, imagination and the most unlikely occurrences...so much more than he would have dreamed possible, dating right back to the original owner of the camera. It is an amazing story, calling on us to expand both own imagination and literacy skills to another level, it fires the heart, mind and imagination, developing our sense of what is real and what is not. And, it really does call us to look <b><i>closely</i></b>.<br />
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And now we come to <b><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">Journey, Quest and Return by Aaron Becker</span></i></b>, a trilogy of wordless picturebooks that stands as an incredible testament to the power of illustration. This magnificent tour-de-force demonstrates the skill and sheer love of the story. With an ability to appeal to all ages, we are given the story of a lonely girl, left on her own to occupy her time. She begins by taking her red crayon and drawing a door on her bedroom wall. Through this door, she enters a world of adventure, beauty, danger and wonder where she discovers companionship and an ability to rely on her own wits and resourcefulness. Throughout the trilogy she travels to far-off lands, meets an evil emperor, develops survival skills, sees things she could only dream of and learns much about about navigating through life and towards an uncertain destiny. In the later books, when her disappearance, and the door, are discovered, others enter through as well and join her on her quest, including her father who finds they must learn how to rescue each other. The books are unbelievably beautiful. Intricate, refined and painterly, the illustrations pull on all the senses, with their luminous colours, exacting line-work and breathless sense of possibility. And something I discovered courtesy of one dear child close to me, you can 'read' the story differently every time.<br />
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Of course you can...and why wouldn't you? For that is the real gift of wordless picturebooks; the ability to tell them again and again in new and different ways, each time gaining new skill, vision and knowledge; putting a new and different piece of yourself into them time after time.<br />
<br />Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-87814083543771668682020-04-22T14:23:00.002-07:002020-04-22T14:23:39.742-07:00EARTH DAY 2020: SOME FAVOURITE PICTURE BOOKS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy Earth Day, everyone! It's a very special Earth Day in a very strange time. I find it quite poignant that Earth Days' 50th anniversary should fall as the world is called to stay at home during the Covid_19 pandemic. We are looking past our immediate surroundings out into a world that is quiet...not filled with the constant hum of human busy-ness and we actually have time to look; to consider. And when we look at the planet, the environment, the climate crisis, we see that slowly but noticeably, Earth is healing. Pollution levels are that little bit lower. The sky is quieter and clearer. The water, cleaner. It is amazing that, without human interference, she is getting better. What would she be able to accomplish if we remained conscious of this and limited our activities in an effort to help?<br />
But I did promise you some favourite picture books to celebrate. While there are loads of wonderful nonfiction books to inspire you and your children, I am going to focus on a few story books. Having raided my shelves, here are some that (for me in my quiet little corner of the world) really take me on a magical, wonder-filled journey and bring me joy, understanding and appreciation of the natural world, cause my imagination to dance and sing and they make me consider how we humans behave and interact on the planet. Fictional stories bring much to the table. See what you think....<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TwT7Vr3yMd4/XqCysuPjkaI/AAAAAAAAJf0/pRfvfVOp0ZgBDxRYnB3IWqM1iWD9pj-jwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/magical2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="313" height="102" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TwT7Vr3yMd4/XqCysuPjkaI/AAAAAAAAJf0/pRfvfVOp0ZgBDxRYnB3IWqM1iWD9pj-jwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/magical2.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tA1XTbz7fnI/XqCoIIpYzeI/AAAAAAAAJfM/vSpslTKXUOkVdSnoyM7rM6G-KbZOXh-0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/magical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="193" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tA1XTbz7fnI/XqCoIIpYzeI/AAAAAAAAJfM/vSpslTKXUOkVdSnoyM7rM6G-KbZOXh-0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/magical.jpg" width="147" /></a><b><i><span style="color: #274e13;">On A Magical Do-Nothing Day by Beatrice Alemanga</span></i></b> sees a child taken<br />
away from their game of zapping aliens and thrown into the the forest surrounding their home. Here, for maybe the first time, eyes are opened to the intricate patterns and events of nature. Meeting small, busy creatures, hearing the squelchy sounds of tramping through the rain and marching across a mushroom covered hill, the child finds a joy and wonder previously unknown and something of themselves that they were completely unaware of...all in the natural world.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_9RNzKb3ODE/XqCqOy_DcaI/AAAAAAAAJfY/MSdPAiOB1NcaDrqJk_4Ivfdt6cynSDO3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/little%2Bgardener2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="112" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_9RNzKb3ODE/XqCqOy_DcaI/AAAAAAAAJfY/MSdPAiOB1NcaDrqJk_4Ivfdt6cynSDO3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/little%2Bgardener2.jpg" width="200" /></a>Likewise, <b><i><span style="color: #274e13;">The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes </span></i></b>invites the reader into the earthy, busy place inhabited by a very little gardener. He loves his garden and works very hard to make it grow, but discovers he can't do it on his own. The garden needs much and working day and night takes its' toll on the little fellow. But, wondrously, help is at hand. This book is filled with detailed illustrations that express a great deal about the life of plants and the little creatures in the garden. And there is a charming message about cooperation and how working in harmony with each other and nature can create amazing results.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Jeanne Willis and Gwen Millward</span></i></b> teamed up to write and illustrate <b><i><span style="color: #274e13;">The Bog Baby</span></i></b> and <b><i><span style="color: #274e13;">The King of Tiny Things</span></i></b>. These books are a sheer delight as they tell stories of little creatures that live and flourish in the outside world. In The Bog Baby, we are enchanted when the girls bring home a wild bog baby, hoping to keep him and taking very good care of him. But the bog baby is a wild thing and not meant to live inside. If they truly want the best for him, they must set him free. The King of Tiny Things introduces us to the wonderful nighttime lives of bugs and grubs and creepy crawlies, while showing our two girls that the dark is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, the nature is full of night magic. Both of these beautiful stories give a good look at our role and responsibilties in protecting and understanding the natural world.<br />
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If there is one book that expresses an essence of Earth Day, it has to be <b><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Grandad's Prayers of the Earth by Douglas Wood, illustrated by PJ Lynch.</span></i></b> This book, with its' glorious, natural illustrations in a palette that evokes the world around us, takes us on walks through the woodlands and fields shared by a grandfather and grandson. Here, the world seems vast and somehow, right. As the boy sees how tall the trees are, how they reach for the heavens, which must be a prayer; he wonders what the trees are praying for...and do their prayers get answered? Through Grandad he learns that sometimes, a prayer is its' own answer. The sense of the natural world, its endurance and its urgency rings strongly throughout this tale of intergenerational love. Simply exquisite.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4RFXFALJqlw/XqChq_67caI/AAAAAAAAJfE/PUZJohThTGcQAvtblVJbCVJMw5atDrQBQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/LB%2Bearth%2Bday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="960" height="326" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4RFXFALJqlw/XqChq_67caI/AAAAAAAAJfE/PUZJohThTGcQAvtblVJbCVJMw5atDrQBQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/LB%2Bearth%2Bday.jpg" width="400" /></a>Just a few favourites here, but I wanted to show that giving a sense of environmental awareness doesn't just inhabit the realm of nonfiction, "fact" books for children, nor should it. While nonfiction books are an amazing, exciting journey for children in and of themselves, to give kids a story touches a different part of their imaginations and sensibilities that bring knowledge in a more full-bodied way. It is all in how you share a story. And please, please...share a story for Earth Day.<br />
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And...a very <b><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Happy Earth Day 2020</span></i></b> to you all...Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-84070642871720743572020-04-01T14:10:00.000-07:002020-04-01T14:10:07.875-07:00MARIE-LOUISE FITZPATRICK: ON MIDNIGHT BEACH<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick is a very familiar name in the world of childrens' books. She has gifted us with so many extraordinary picture books; each one filled with wonder, exceptional storytelling and delightful illustrations expressing complex issues and feeling. Books such as I'm A Tiger, Too; Izzy and Skunk; There; The New Kid and (my personal favourite) I Am I simultaneously touch the heart and paint longstanding pictures in the imagination and thought.<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nNrg4fiGCjE/XoTs2XtcfII/AAAAAAAAJd0/A6fNU1BpKOQS3597LO27GbylMJQqNrBpgCEwYBhgLKs0DAMBZVoC40zmpn6z-jPkjf8VG41MzUsxNPzzW2CKjCtk5XgKHf-x_LH_AzO2u2UMk41v4KgpfGr6eqJidPY_6JRagbwS_K_MeOKSCyYWp5eqAxKshvn3KDEMwzPNKbDbh9o69SaFa4tk9y7n03yighhB-pqPG6-OeLkJUwUPT9YcWzwHKxXbpeN7LXlzLzP78E_cOBF0FQrb0bd3OHCSoFF7b9VgxW-2EZAdc2nM43xV8jE5i2AHcCtsbW2XgxFET-q7ENecpk1wHCeoRCTpnARAWk2Kk93Q3Ss62I4HcygF0PL151jOxRtoxLt_x_-BeqV7RmVyxJ3AJnwinlbrNobBUKF2elqCzlfP0hrrdaQCg190SI_4P4Q8PlsMU4Wsg7uWeV2wyQvHW2wixkm2XB77C8YIheWBGHEg0nVpgHPeWO4Ubny2e8cFroMfrbmln9fG6MDqCs0CpL0XqYLHCk1WF9WZlIGPim8pMBQE3lwiAOh_JqnTtVaR1-Rgk7gMnRMkaCD-Kz-IKKFerRGIT7ieqM1zYEPkVez0_7-UQCdeUuOYg-wXkCyWENzmXUkc7-H_hajWQlNL98ZGzbO-wxI0sojh7cTxGSs2zdB0w4OST9AU/s1600/owl%2Bbat%2Bbat%2Bowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1181" height="143" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nNrg4fiGCjE/XoTs2XtcfII/AAAAAAAAJd0/A6fNU1BpKOQS3597LO27GbylMJQqNrBpgCEwYBhgLKs0DAMBZVoC40zmpn6z-jPkjf8VG41MzUsxNPzzW2CKjCtk5XgKHf-x_LH_AzO2u2UMk41v4KgpfGr6eqJidPY_6JRagbwS_K_MeOKSCyYWp5eqAxKshvn3KDEMwzPNKbDbh9o69SaFa4tk9y7n03yighhB-pqPG6-OeLkJUwUPT9YcWzwHKxXbpeN7LXlzLzP78E_cOBF0FQrb0bd3OHCSoFF7b9VgxW-2EZAdc2nM43xV8jE5i2AHcCtsbW2XgxFET-q7ENecpk1wHCeoRCTpnARAWk2Kk93Q3Ss62I4HcygF0PL151jOxRtoxLt_x_-BeqV7RmVyxJ3AJnwinlbrNobBUKF2elqCzlfP0hrrdaQCg190SI_4P4Q8PlsMU4Wsg7uWeV2wyQvHW2wixkm2XB77C8YIheWBGHEg0nVpgHPeWO4Ubny2e8cFroMfrbmln9fG6MDqCs0CpL0XqYLHCk1WF9WZlIGPim8pMBQE3lwiAOh_JqnTtVaR1-Rgk7gMnRMkaCD-Kz-IKKFerRGIT7ieqM1zYEPkVez0_7-UQCdeUuOYg-wXkCyWENzmXUkc7-H_hajWQlNL98ZGzbO-wxI0sojh7cTxGSs2zdB0w4OST9AU/s200/owl%2Bbat%2Bbat%2Bowl.jpg" width="200" /></a>Even the wordless Owl, Bat, Bat Owl exhibits this unique storytelling ability. And these only scratch the surface of an incredible catalog of her books.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AeBXEuxxv78/XoTwEteOS8I/AAAAAAAAJd4/VvLgMsqzrC8CMpfJ1_MN4CugqENwnniMgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/timectcher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AeBXEuxxv78/XoTwEteOS8I/AAAAAAAAJd4/VvLgMsqzrC8CMpfJ1_MN4CugqENwnniMgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/timectcher.jpg" width="130" /></a>Then when we turn our attention to her novels for young people, we find something more. In addition to her outstanding capability as a storyteller, we discover a voice that is resonant, strong, evocative and yet uncluttered, pure. From her first novel in 2010, Timecatcher, she really had something...different, wonderful...that 'oh wow' that I so hope for every time I open the pages of a new book. Her subsequent novels; Dark Warning and Hagwitch, tell very different stories in very different voices. But each are so well-told that they seem to eek out of the pages. Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick has never disappointed.<br />
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And now, we arrive at her latest novel:<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #0c343d;">ON MIDNIGHT BEACH</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #0c343d;">author: Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #0c343d;">Faber & Faber (2 April 2020)</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #0c343d;">ISBN: 9780571355594</span></i></b><br />
The summer of 1976 was a summer different to any other. The sun sat in the sky turning each day into long, hot, sweltering ones, the like of which Carrig Cove, Donegal had never seen. This quiet seaside town seemed set to linger on the fringes of the country waiting for relief. And then, a dolphin appears in Ross Bay and soon, visitors flock to the town in hopes of catching a glimpse of the wild visitor and Carrig Cove sees an economic boon. Emer Monoghan sneaks to the beach every night at midnight to swim with the dolphin...and to meet Dog Cullen; a boy she had kept clear of all her life, until this summer. But Emer no longer cares what those in the small village may think. Nor does she care if the posh, neighbouring town is raging about the change in fortune 'dolphin fever' has brought to Emers' village. But as the temperature continues to rise, the long-standing rivalry reaches the highest possible level and explodes one fateful night with tragic consequences...for everyone.<br />
This story unfolds with such a self-assured pace that the reader experiences every moment completely. The landscape, the people, the circumstances are painted with clear, pinpoint accuracy of language that creates not so much a book, as an experience. You believe and feel on a almost physical level that you are right there, part of the story. And what a story it is! The beautiful wildness and ensuing events mirror the 'growing-up' as it happens to Emer, along with all the trepidation, self-realisation, loss of innocence and the grief that comes with seeing life in a new, not at all comfortable way. For adult readers, it will take you back to that time in your own life; for young adults, it gives a feeling of connection...you are not alone in this. The story has all the power, all the joy and all the pain of that moment in time. And this is accentuated when you understand that what Fitzpatrick has given us is a retelling on the pivotal Irish legend; the Táin Bo Cuailnge. It adds an understanding of the relevance and importance of myth...of why we still tell them...and how these ancient stories are what makes us human. Wonderful characterisation; incredible, gripping plot and writing that transfixes the reader; compelling, powerful and beautiful. I loved every single page.<br />
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<a href="https://www.marielouisefitzpatrick.com/">https://www.marielouisefitzpatrick.com/</a><br />
<a href="https://www.faber.co.uk/author/marielouise-fitzpatrick/">https://www.faber.co.uk/author/marielouise-fitzpatrick/</a><br />
<br />Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-72635383082585034102020-03-30T02:58:00.003-07:002020-03-30T02:58:28.197-07:00MORE ONLINE STORYTIMES AND AUTHOR READINGS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello! I'm popping in once again with a few more of my favourite links for online storytimes and author readings. These are doing so much to spread joy, relaxation and to give us a different focus for our time and energy in this time of isolation. Even the most adult among us will dip into to these tales and gain a sense of relief from the constant onslaught of news and information about the pandemic. It allows time for your mind to rest and to regain a sense of wellness and peace. Stories take us away into different worlds. And who doesn't like to be read to? So let's go! Choose a story; choose another place to be!<br />
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<b><i>Cathy Cassidy</i></b> has written so many wonderful books suitable for ages 9 to 99. Right now, Cathy is reading from the wonderful, heartfelt <b><i>Love From Lexie</i></b>. It is a lovely and comforting tale for these stressful times; addressing a lot of feelings we all have in common and bringing hope and beauty right into your home. Here's the YouTube link for chapter one... and the others are available, as Cathy reads to a chapter a day.<br />
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If you're in the mood for a bit of (bunny) madness, join <b><i>Philip Ardagh</i></b> over on YouTube for a <b><i>Bunnies On The Bus</i></b> read-along! This will become an immediate favourite and it's so much fun! He reads it three times, it's easy to learn the story and join in. It's just brilliant!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gr1SEFyHKwo/XoG9whSZW0I/AAAAAAAAJdE/T6GsXyKmfZwvgHvcYamn5em6EwGauxolwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/lubna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="207" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gr1SEFyHKwo/XoG9whSZW0I/AAAAAAAAJdE/T6GsXyKmfZwvgHvcYamn5em6EwGauxolwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/lubna.jpg" /></a><b><i>Wendy Meddour</i></b> has written some beautiful, thoughtful stories that will speak to the heart of many of us. If you pop over to www.wendymeddour.wordpress.com , you find "Story Time for Little Ones". Here, she's posting readings of her picturebooks. Currently there's <b><i>Stefano the Squid</i></b>, <b><i>Lubna and Pebble</i></b> and <b><i>The Glump and the Peeble</i></b>... and no doubt there will be more!And you'll feel like your sitting right in her back garden!<br />
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<a href="https://wendymeddour.wordpress.com/story-time/?fbclid=IwAR1pIMsqHNdP0HjOuc3SRQpV8NS4Q5_56-n_AuSTDoBU94Uv2BR3pDHXW44">https://wendymeddour.wordpress.com/story-time/?fbclid=IwAR1pIMsqHNdP0HjOuc3SRQpV8NS4Q5_56-n_AuSTDoBU94Uv2BR3pDHXW44</a><br />
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Before I go, if you are homeschooling right now (which I know you are), Here in Ireland <b><i>The O'Brien Press</i></b> has a link that just may help. Their <b><i>Home-School Bundle</i></b> contains a set of fantastic books covering a range of topics and interests and teaching guides available now at a discounted price to help parents make the most of the books. Included are <b><i>Dare To Dream</i></b>, <b><i>The Great Big Book of Irish Wildlife</i></b>, <b><i>Race the Atlantic Wind</i></b>, <b><i>The Making of Mollie </i></b>and <b><i>Let's Colour Ireland</i></b>!<br />
<a href="https://www.obrien.ie/home-school-bundle?fbclid=IwAR12hs1NSf65QZSG-AKzL7MoBdYQuU-mMfoT7gQYByIDlCzG9d9VCyCQm_s">https://www.obrien.ie/home-school-bundle?fbclid=IwAR12hs1NSf65QZSG-AKzL7MoBdYQuU-mMfoT7gQYByIDlCzG9d9VCyCQm_s</a><br />
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Before I go, I'm going to leave you with a story reading by Malachy Doyle (who is giving us something beautiful everyday.) I put his link on the previous post, but this is one of my absolute favourites. Hearing Malachy read it warmed my heart and made me smile. Here is <b><i>Molly and the Stormy Sea.</i></b><br />
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<br />Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-65372368154857366152020-03-27T03:35:00.001-07:002020-03-27T03:35:06.022-07:00ONLINE STORYTIMES AND AUTHOR READINGS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Who doesn't love having a book read to them? Now that many in the world are staying at home, reading to each other is an even greater joy. We should all be sharing books and stories, for even a few minutes every day. It helps soothe the nerves, calm the mind and brings us closer together at a time when we may be feeling far apart.<br />
Authors love to share their stories and there is nothing better than having a book read to you by the person who created it. But of course, going out to see your favourite author is not a possibility at the moment. Fear not! The authors will come to you. As you may or may not know, many writers and illustrators have taken to the job of posting videos of themselves sharing their books. There is literally something there for everyone; every age group; every genre. And it is brilliant!<br />
I want to share the links of some of these wonderful people and their marvelous books. Let's give them all a big shout-out!<br />
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Malachy Doyle is sharing many of his picture books, songs and poems online from his home on Cruit Island. You can find him on YouTube or on his Facebook page and you can't find better. I love all of Malachys' books! Here's The Dancing Tiger...one of my favourites. But there are many others.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpsG7naIUhA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpsG7naIUhA</a><br />
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Pop over to YouTube for James Mayhews' #StoryTime4HomeTime. James is quite an iconic figure in the childrens' book world and listening to him is a sheer delight. Here's his first; The Half Chicken (a Spanish folk tale.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awVpVMHFl5Y">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awVpVMHFl5Y</a><br />
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Over on Instagram (and you can find the link of Facebook, as well), local author and Tribes Press founder, Marguerite Tonery will be reading from her first book, Kapheus Earth every day at 3pm. I can't think of a better place to escape to in these strange days than the fantastical world of light, Kapheus!<br />
Here's the link to the first chapter over on Facebook:<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=731087547422439&external_log_id=0789ee44a64a0e82d7c1681f49b82541&q=kapheus">https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=731087547422439&external_log_id=0789ee44a64a0e82d7c1681f49b82541&q=kapheus</a><br />
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Lindsay Sedgwick is sharing something for those a bit older. She's reading from her wonderful, uplifting book The Angelica Touch. A chapter or two a day and it's the perfect book break!<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FzwvJ2BFyE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3oun4RaD-4uCa7Qcaf4hB-RnlGWYtabIg89ukaWurBg3OwwR0JC9Xs_zk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FzwvJ2BFyE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3oun4RaD-4uCa7Qcaf4hB-RnlGWYtabIg89ukaWurBg3OwwR0JC9Xs_zk</a><br />
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Sarah Moore Fitzgerald is over on Facebook everyday reading from her amazing book, The Apple Tart of Hope. This wonderful, warmhearted and amazing story is just the right book for these strange times...really brings the hope and light into these strange, uncertain times. (Link to the first chapter below.)<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/gerandsarah/videos/10156750583665824/">https://www.facebook.com/gerandsarah/videos/10156750583665824/</a><br />
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You can find Irish author Maria Burke over on YouTube reading a chapter or so a day of her series, The Ark of Dun Ruah. This is a mysterious, magical story combining fantasy with the natural world to create something unique and wonderful.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDz4AjI7K8A&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1kO6cfiHiGVRR7vZd8IR3qQ_a-f3VQ3DlRiuKMfffEz0CxYM01vZE5zxA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDz4AjI7K8A&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1kO6cfiHiGVRR7vZd8IR3qQ_a-f3VQ3DlRiuKMfffEz0CxYM01vZE5zxA</a><br />
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There's six suggestions for you. I will be adding more as we move along...the authors are really pulling out the stops to help you make these stay-at-home days filled with journeys to the most incredible places.<br />
Keep reading and keep reading together...and keep listening!<br />
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<br />Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438933506718818492.post-73646522736864154752020-03-25T05:16:00.005-07:002020-03-25T05:23:06.434-07:00THE TIME THE WORLD STAYED AT HOME...RECORD YOUR HISTORY, YOUR VOICE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We are living through an unprecedented moment in time...well, in our lifetimes, anyway. Many in the world are isolated at home due to the spread of Covid_19; as well we should. It seems this isolation is the only way to curtail its' spread and save lives. And we don't know how long this will go on; weeks, months? The uncertainty can make it all very stressful. Especially for the kids. (The stress of it all could be why they are bouncing off the walls.) Strange and scary times, indeed.<br />
But consider this, we are part of history. We don't know it as we live through it. We don't know whether it will end up the stuff of legends or simply a footnote. But whether we are young or old, children or adults, we do all have our stories; our own personal stories. And they deserve to be recorded. Yes! Your own little voice in the grand sea of information flailing around deserves to be heard, to be held, to be kept.<br />
May I suggest you journal or "scrapbook" your story? Create your own tale of "the time the world stayed at home."<br />
While going online to journal is an 'attractive' way to do this, it doesn't have the permanence of actually, physically writing it all down. Many of us will already have some lovely blank books knocking around the house (I have dozens!). Or there are composition books, copy books, loose-leaf binders and paper. So you can get started right away. But I suggest you take it a step further. Make your own "junk journal". This makes your efforts truly personal and something to hang on to.<br />
<b><i><u>What is a "junk journal"?</u></i></b><br />
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a"junk journal" is a handmade book that can be made as simply or elaborately as you like. It fires a sense of personal creativity, confidence, imagination (and dare I say, it's educational in many ways.) It is made from recycled items such as; papers from magazines, old gift wrap, brochures, patterned papers, paper bags, music papers, maps, greeting cards, postcards, paper doilies...basically anything you have lying around. You can fashion the covers from cardboard boxes, old cereal boxes, old book covers or any hard-ish cardboard you can lay your hands on. I know a few junk journalers who have used old (in distressed shape) picture books and added pages to them using the previously listed items. You can embellish these by added scraps of material, ribbons, old lace, yarn and embroidery thread, stickers...you name it. You really are creating a beautiful object that speaks in your voice.<br />
Make yourself a junk journal and then get busy recording. (I usually write on a separate piece of paper, then glue it down on the "junk journal"...but that's up to you.) Even the youngest can have their own journal. Write down how you feel, what you did that day, create short stories or poems, drawings or paintings. Record new recipes you've tried; seeds you've planted (you can include the empty seed packets). Be sure to include happiness; those moments of joy, and acts of kindness. Add photographs, charts, reading lists or book reviews...whatever you want. It's your journal, after all.<br />
And it makes a great 'family project' that can help lift our spirits and get us all through tough times. You may even find a lifelong habit has begun; one that is creative, expressive and filled with information and joy.<br />
This may not seem important now, but in the future..... This is your history. You deserve to own your bit of it.Mary Esther Judyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16794885676365609304noreply@blogger.com0