| THISISAWAR.COM: FEBRUARY - JULY 2012 | ||
VELVET Mary Hooper, Mary Hooper, Mary Hooper. I reviewed Fallen Grace, and was a goner. My husband failed to understand why every week, a new Mary Hooper novel arrived at the door. "Why are you always reading Mary Hooper?" Because she is one of the few YA novelists who loves and deeply understands adolescent girls. Because her novels are perfectly executed. Because there is a deep humility in her work, a genuine outrage at injustice. Because I like the primacy she accords emotion. Velvet is more of the same: entirely delicious. Set in London in 1901, it is the story of a poor girl whose willingness to believe in others gets her into terrible trouble. Or does it? 12+
THE ERAGON SERIES ERAGON ELDEST BRISNGR INHERITANCE "Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world. A tall Shade lifted his head and sniffed the air. He looked human except for his crimson hair and maroon eyes." So begins Eragon, the first volume in Christopher Paolini's grave and riveting 25+ million-selling fantasy epic. Polished blue stones that hatch into dragons, cruel rulers, elves, dwarves, the beguiling and eternal sweep of magic, and the final battle... Predictably, Inheritance has been the most anticipated book of the last twelve months. Close to a thousand pages long, Inheritance is magnificent in its breadth, and Paolini's passion for his characters - and for adventure - is evident on every page. If your child has not yet discovered this glorious series, introduce it immediately.
CLARA BUTTON AND THE MAGICAL HAT DAY Professor Amy de la Haye, a former curator at London's V&A, has written one of the most engaging picture books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Clara embarks on a quest to fix her grandmother Elsie's hat. No fairies here; Clara finds her magic in the real world, along with a possible vocation. "'I would like a magical hat day, please,' she said. Mum was not expecting this and so racked her brains as to where they might go." Emily Sutton's illustrations perfectly complement the story. A fashionista's delight. 3+
DEAR ME: A LETTER TO MY SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD SELF I sat down to read Joseph Galliano's book and looked up a long time later. In fact, I liked the book so much I trotted out and bought another copy for a close girlfriend's daughter, who has suffered intensely over her parents' divorce. "Always heed the following advice from family and mentors," the superstar interviewer and wit Piers Morgan writes. "From your grandmother Margot: 'One day you're the cock of the walk, the next a feather duster.'" With contributors as varied as JK Rowling, Alice Cooper, Stephen King, Armistead Maupin, Gillian Anderson, Jerry Springer and Alan Rickman, Dear Me was never going to be a slow read. 13+
THE LAWS OF MAGIC: MOMENT OF TRUTH A Children's Book Council of Australia Notable Book for Older Readers in 2011, Michael Pryor's latest Laws of Magic installment, Moment of Truth, had fans hissling in anticipation. Albion is at war, and the dashing Aubrey and George have been claimed by the military, if not in the way they expected. Pryor's prose - elegant, unflinching - makes the novel a seamless read. "Several dozen? Each one would have taken hours to construct. Aubrey couldn't see the rogue sorceror standing at a conveyor belt casting spell after spell ... He wouldn't have the patience for such repetitive stuff." Brilliant stuff. 8+
AOKI On first seeing Annelore Parot's book, I assumed it would be essentially without merit, a collection of pretty pictures and nothing more. Instead, I was startled to find myself swept into Aoki's ingenious little world. The contents of her suitcase, her visit to Tokyo, the unfolding beds in her friend Yoko's tiny flat: all witty, all gorgeous. The aesthetic is traditional, if filtered through a modern lens, and introduces the reader to Japanese words and ways in all their delicacy and charm. And Pouny is adorable. Catnip for little girls.
IN THE SEA THERE ARE CROCODILES Our children cannot imagine what it is to be left to fend for oneself at ten; in other countries, such an experience is far too common. At the age of ten, Enaiatollah, an Afghan boy, is told three things by his mother: don't use drugs, don't use weapons, and don't steal. The next morning, she is gone. Italian novelist Fabio Geda, who works with children in difficulties, took his five-year quest for freedom and fictionalized it. Geda's prose is spare, the themes universal. "But this time, at one of the roadblocks on the way back - one of the roadblocks where the traffickers paid the police to turn a blind eye - something went wrong. As well as taking the money agreed on, the police started body-searching us, looking for things to steal." Profoundly affecting. 9+
CHRISTMAS TIME Alison Jay is my very favourite children's book artist, if only because her delicate oil paintings will always evoke for me the earliest days of Monkey's childhood. Chancing upon her book If Kisses Were Colours, I hunted down all her other works and read them repeatedly to Monkey, who simply loved/s them. Christmas Time is another showcase for her beautiful art, a book that should be purchased now and stored for Christmas (I've already bought most of Monkey's presents for Christmas this year). Soaring angels, gentle children, portly Scotties who walk on their hind legs, elves in green: Jay's world is one in which I want to live. 0 - 4
TALES FROM THE TOWER, VOLUME TWO: THE WICKED WOOD The second in Allen and Unwin's stunning Tales From the Tower series, The Wicked Wood features the bewitching poetry and prose of six celebrated fantasy writers: Catherine Bateson, Victor Kelleher, Cate Kennedy, Maureen McCarthy, Nan McNab, and Kate Thompson. Their six reclaimed fairytales dizzy with their ferocity and beauty. "A squall of darkness on that particular horizon," Bateson writes, "a rough swell, monstrous under the surface, thrashing upwards under the ship, a whipping foam frenzy, the fairy lights extinguished, then lightning and crack, crack, the captain hears the great bow sunder." Words by which to swoon. 13+
THE LITTLE REFUGEE Where does one begin to extol the virtues of this book? Comedian Anh Do and his wife Suzanne were implored by lovers of their multi-award-winning book The Happiest Refugee (over 120,000 copies sold) to write a simplified version for children. The Little Refugee is the result. To call it inspiring would be too easy; Anh's true and ultimately triumphant story of love and poverty and exile had me entranced. "A pirate grabbed hold of a baby. He lifted up the baby and ripped open his nappy. A tiny slice of gold fell out. The pirate dangled the baby over the side of the boat, threatening to throw him in. My father screamed, 'We must save the child!'" All the profits are donated to Sister Trish Franklin, who runs a shelter for orphans and disabled children in Vietnam. I dare you to make it through this beautiful book - available here - without crying. Let me know how you go! 4+
THE GHOST OF MISS ANNABEL SPOON My six-year-old Monkey's hands closed around this volume as soon as it appeared. "Oooh, what's that?" she cried, mesmerized by the promise of strange and thrilling spookery. And The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon does not disappoint; in it, the villagers of Twee (seven miles from the sea) learn to overcome fear and the loneliest of ghosties makes a friend: "But just at this juncture Sensitive little souls need not worry; the illustrations never get TOO spooky. 3 - 7
TERRY DEARY'S PIRATE TALES THE PIRATE LORD + THE PIRATE QUEEN My question: how is it possible not to madly love Terry Deary, the man responsible for making history fun? When I was at school, history was killingly dull - a series of dates and wars and men in powdered wigs. Deary, who has sold over 10 million books published in 32 languages, breathes life into the subject, plunging into the terrible, horrible and plain old grotesque with infectious appetite. And he's really funny. In his Pirate Tales series, he brings more swashbuckling ruffians to life. "'When I was a girl, my mother wanted me to be a lady. She taught me sewing and mending, painting and playing the lute, curling my long red hair in ringlets and making perfume from rose petals. I was so bored I could have jumped off the top of Clare Castle tower!'" he writes in The Pirate Queen, the story of Grace O'Malley. My one complaint? They're all too short. I wanted Deary to continue writing forever. 6+
TALES OF TERROR FROM THE TUNNEL'S MOUTH British author Chris Priestley is a dark box teeming with dark things. Or so his books suggest. From the Tunnel's Mouth is the third volume in his Tales of Terror series, and one all lovers of Victorian chills will relish. Robert makes the mistake of catching a train by himself for the first time, and finds himself with a young woman inclined to tell him stories that quickly build to awful crescendos. "In spite of its force, the blow did not knock him over, because it had been dealt by a two-foot-long thorn that sprang up from the roots of the dreadful plant with startling speed and with the shocking snap of a mousetrap." Not for the easily perturbed. 12+
LITTLE BLUE Gaye Chapman's story of a lost girl is lovely, both in terms of execution and the sweetness of its plot twist. "My home has a blue river twinkling under willows. I miss my river," says Little Blue, who drifts about in search of home. Beautifully illustrated, this book will engage your little girl completely, transporting her into a world of feminine delicacy and belonging. Monkey loved it. 3+
BAMBERT'S BOOK OF MISSING STORIES Tender, disabled, reclusive Bambert lives alone in an attic. His only solace is found in the stories he writes. One day he sends them out into the world to find their own, true setting. "The Black Angels of Death knew no mercy. They had their orders and they obeyed them. For angels, even black angels, are always obedient. There was no doubt at all that they would drive their flock on to the very end. Multiplied a hundredfold, the shadow of fear hastened ahead of them, settling frostily on the roads." Too dark in parts for for little ones, Bambert's Book of Missing Stories was named by the Daily Telegraph as one of the hundred books that every child should read. Author Reinhardt Jung is no longer with us, but his poignant, ingeniously lovely dream will always survive.
OPERATION EIFFEL TOWER Operation Eiffel Tower, Elen Caldecott's third book, is a sad and sweet and heartfelt book about divorce that will resonate in children undergoing the same situation. Lauren, Jack, Ruby and Billy live by the sea. Their parents are constantly fighting. "That night, Jack woke suddenly," she writes. "He stared up at the ceiling. His glow-stars had faded and moonlight the colour of sour milk spilled across it. Noise seeped up through the floorboards. Dad yelled something. Mum shouted back. Then sobs, Mum crying." The four children conjure a plan to restore harmony to their home. Does it work? Whether it does or not is not the point; Operation Eiffel Tower helps children understand that they can survive what at first seems like the destruction of the universe. 8+
ALISON JAY'S NURSERY TALES Confronted by the glut of substandard works for toddlers and babies, it is difficult to know what to buy. The key is this: AVOID JUNKY BOOKS. And if you see anything illustrated by Alison Jay, buy it. Her Nursery Tales are so beautiful they make me want to have - or foster - another baby. These dreamy oils of lighthouses and hot-air balloons, apples and rainbows will not only enchant your little ones, but teach them all about colours, numbers, words and the alphabet. And I imagine they taste just as good.
THE CHIMNEY CORNER COLLECTION Enid Blyton's books have sold in their millions, and rightly so: I can think of no other author who wrote so well - and without condescension - for children of all ages. One of the great joys of having Monkey has been rediscovering Blyton and her magical worlds. The Chimney Corner Collection anthologizes some of my favourite Blyton stories - The Snoozy Gnome, The Little Paper Folk, The Tiresome Poker (very funny), The Disagreeable Monkey, The Golden Enchanter and dozens of other stories, all irresistible. "It didn't like being in the museum after all," Blyton writes in The Enchanted Table. "It was dreadfully cold; there was no fire there, as there had been at the tailor's, and a terrible draught blew along the floor. The table shivered so much that all the dishes on it shook and shivered too." Both a joy to read and a joy to read aloud, Chimney Corner Stories should be purchased without further ado.
THE EXTRAORDINAIRES The prolific and imaginative Michael Pryor has created a new universe, one in which lupine escapologists triumph, floors stretch, time machines flourish, and Neanderthals prove less than accomodating. His Demimonde - a world parallel to ours in 1908 - is, frankly, unforgettable. "A crackling of newspapers swept through the room as, one by one, the walrus gentlemen lowered their reading matter in profound astonishment." Weird and wonderful and tightly-written? As if Pryor were capable of anything else! 9+
A BOY CALLED M.O.U.S.E Penny Dolan once visited an ancient boarding school set in a wild, remote landscape. "The real school was happy and cheerful inside, but as I drove away a dark thought crept into my mind. What might life be like in such a lonely place for a young boy long ago, when there was no easy communication or travel? What if the school was a very, very terrible place indeed?" A Boy Called M.O.U.S.E is the result. "The boy was taller and older than I expected, and as skinny as two crossed broomsticks," Dolan writes. "The filthy sleeves on his worn-out shirt reached halfway down his arms, and his brown eyes, rimmed with dirt, peered out of the thin, pinched face. Two grubby ears stuck through fronds of tufty, matted hair. Was this sad, greasy creature who I wanted to be?" Awash with wicked plots and evocative Dickensian detail, this brilliant romp will leave your child wide-eyed with excitement. 7+
... and for mama ... A SKY FULL OF KINDNESS I only recently became acquainted with British papercut artist Rob Ryan's work, and fell in love (we now have two of his prints on our walls). And then I discovered A Sky Full of Kindness, one of the most moving picture books I have ever read. The title reflects the scope of the work, a fairytale for all ages. Two birds become parents for the first time, and so the adventure of a lifetime begins. "The Father-to-be turned upon the window ledge to face the city (if not the entire world) that lay spread out beneath him. And swelled up with pride he burst out into song - louder than he had ever sung before." I was in tears. Ridiculously beautiful.
PLAYFUL PARENTING This one's for parents - Lawrence J. Cohen's beautiful guide to playing with your child. Have you forgotten how to be lighthearted? Forget the usual tedious list of games for a rainy afternoon; this one's simple, full of love, and fun for you, too. Not only that, but it helps strengthen your child's self-esteem. Entirely essential reading for every caring parent and guardian.
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This month, the internationally published literary critic, author, and devoted mom 
