Category: Picture Books

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Super Duper You by Sophy Henn

I really liked Sophy Henn’s book, Pass It On, so when I saw she had written Super Duper You, we checked it out of the library and took it home for a read.

Before I start, talking about the book-proper, I just wanted to say that even though our house seems to be constantly overflowing with books, I don’t often buy them. Generally, we only really use the library, read a story until everyone is tired of it and then take it back, knowing that should we want to read it again we only need to place our order and then go to pick the book up.

Generally…

Every so often though, we read a book and I want to own  it. Super Duper You is one of those. It’s got shades of ‘Oh! The Places You’ll Go!’ by Dr Seuss to it, but it’s vastly more succinct and I love that it’s accessible to even the smallest of listeners. Again the art-work is modern and bright and pleasing. Again, I feel like my accent works against me with the rhyme.

I think I love the illustrations and the colours of this book most of all – especially the rainbows and the quirky background ‘grafitti’. I wish my big, special camera was more cooperative so I could take better photos for you, but for now you’ll have to make-do with my tablet’s lens and have a look the book for yourself… 😉

I think the page above is my favourite. It can be used in conjunction with other books to start conversations about the positives of neurodiversity, or about differences in family situations – or about anything, really..

I also really like the fact that it is a love-letter between siblings. There are lots of books which explore the parent/child relationship, but off the top of my head, the only nurturing siblings I can think of are Lauren Child’s Charlie and Lola or The Restless Girls by Jessie Burton. It makes a nice change from the usual ‘my brother smells’ dynamic that seems so prevalent in children’s books.

Have you come across Sophy Henn’s work yet? I’d love to hear what you think.

  • Farn ❤
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Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell by Sue Hendra

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Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell by Sue Hendra is the first children’s book I learned off by heart. Not because I think it’s a particularly fine piece of literature, but because it was the first – and if I’m honest, the only – book Daughter would have me read ‘on repeat’. That alone earns it a place in our household’s hall of fame.

I wrote the following on the 1st May 2012 – Daughter was one.

“Norman the slug idolises the snails and their wonderful shells. He longs to join in with their games, but can’t because his squishy body is unstackable. Norman takes it on himself to fashion his own shell from an old donut. Having done so, he inadvertently saves the lives of his new friends.

Daughter adored this book. After having read it to her three times, she snatched it off me and made Husband read it to her too. After her nap, it was the first thing she went for, stroking Norman on all the pages, finally kissing the cover.To begin with, keeping her attention on anything other than the shiny front page was difficult but after a single read through she was hooked.

The ‘moral’ of this story is somewhat ambiguous. I took it to be an overwhelmingly positive one –  Norman wanted a shell and used his imagination to create one – the old Back to the Future mantra of, “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything”. There are those, however, who will inevitably say that it’s a book about needing to conform in order to have friends. Until Norman gets a shell, no one is interested in being his friend but once he matches the rest of his peers, he is accepted. I suppose how you take it depends on your world view.”

I stand by my original assessment. And Daughter continued with her love for this tale.

And when she finally grew away from it, Son took up the mantle of Number One Norman Fan. It’s been nearly eight years since this book entered our home and I don’t think a week has gone by without my reading it.

Friends have even gone so far as to make us Norman-themed toys and decor…

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Happily, Sue Hendra has also written a large number of other books. Again, these are stories my children love and which they would heartily recommend. They’re all different – all bright and colourful and very fun.

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Which Sue Hendra is your favourite?

Farn ❤

 

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Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson

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Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson is a really fun introduction to gardening, and is one of those books which call for a high degree of interaction between reader and listener – something I absolutely love.

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Told in verse and requiring lots of finger actions, this is a fantastically fun little gem of a book. Beginning with the page above and ending with a row of flowers, there are all kinds of things to giggle at in between.

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There isn’t a great deal more to be said about this book – lots of bright illustrations, few well-chosen words… it’s a delight to read to small people.

It’s definitely one I would recommend getting a copy of and just trying for yourself.

Have you read Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson? Did you like it as much as me?

Farn ❤

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Korgi by Christian Slade

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What do you do if your bookworm child can’t read yet, but desperately wants to try (and succeed) without adult help? You give them Korgi by Christian Slade.

Whilst the introduction to the characters of these comics contain a handful of words, the story itself is told entirely through glorious artwork. The plot follows Ivy and her faithful companion, Sprout, as they adventure in the fairy realm.

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The books are full of humour and adventure, are beautifully illustrated and can be enjoyed by everyone – young and old. I’ve spoken before about how a great story doesn’t have an age limit and this definitely falls into that category – there are so many details in the pictures that you can simply scan for the story, or spend longer, looking for clues to the overriding plot.

Since we received these books and I took pictures, Slade has released the fourth episode of the series and I’m currently eagerly awaiting its arrival.

I’d love to learn more about similar books – stories without words, or great fantasy comics for kids – if you know of any?

Farn ❤

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Rosy’s Garden by Satomi Ichikawa

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Rosy’s Garden by Satomi Ichikawa should be a classic. I know that’s a pretty bold statement, but bear with me…

I happened upon our copy in a charity shop when Daughter was around two and ever since, we’ve read it regularly. In itself, this isn’t at all unusual. The difference between Rosy’s Garden and just about every other book, though, is that I have never once thought, “Oh, not again…” Time after time, this has been eagerly brought to me and time after time I’ve said – just as eagerly – “Ooh, good choice!”

At its core, the book chronicles the titular character’s summer holiday at her grandmother’s house. There’s no singular main event, nor is it a series of Milly-Molly-Mandy- esque episodes as I had first presumed on finding the book. The best description I can think of to describe the layout is a journal-cross-scrapbook. There are little notes about flower names, the language of flowers, how to make rose water, how Granny and Grandpa met, how to gather seeds…

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I think that’s what I love most about the book – the little snippets of information that is genuinely new and interesting. There are so very many books about planting a seed that grows into a flower but so few about the culture that surrounds our gardens and the things we plant. This book perfectly fills that gap.

And perfect as the writing is, the illustrations still manage to make it even better. Some of them look like botanical prints, they’re so accurate. But at the same time there’s so much character and warmth in them – so many details to spot.

The more I write about this book, the more I could write so I’m going to leave things here, before I get carried away. I maintain what I said though – this really should be a classic.

What’s your list of ‘would-be’ children’s classics?