Fallen Star Stories

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! On 27th April, The Book of Hopes: Words and Pictures to Comfort, Inspire and Entertain Children 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, incl...

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. 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 collecti...

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? 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...

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. 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. 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...

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! Cathy Cassidy has written so many wonderful books suitable for ages 9 to 99. Right now, Cathy is reading from the wonderful, heartfelt Love From Lexie . 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 o...

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. 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! 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! Malachy Doyle is sharing many of his pi...

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. 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. May I suggest you journal or "scrapbook" your story? Cr...