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By: Dianne Hofmeyr,
on 8/1/2014
Blog: An Awfully Big Blog Adventure (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Not just the single story, Tamarind Publishers, The Boy on the Beach Frances Lincoln Chidlren's Books, Niki Daly, Dianne Hofmeyr, Karin Littlewood, Add a tag
Malorie Blackman has asked for more stories of people of colour in YA fiction. And in The Times on July 15th in My Hunt for Stories about Children that look a bit like mine, Nikita Lalwani quotes the Dominican American writer, Junot Diaz who says vampires reputedly have no mirror reflection and in his work he sets out ‘to make mirrors so that kids like me, might see themselves reflected back and might not feel so monstrous for it.’ And on TED the writer Chimamanda Adichie speaks on the danger of the single story and warns that ‘if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories.’
The exciting news – YA might be lagging in showing people of colour, but picture books aren’t. To kick off as its summer, I’m beginning with one of my favouritea – The Boy on the Beach published by Bloomsbury in 1999. Why is this book out of print? Safeguard it if you have a copy. Niki Daly has jumped across borders and shown us a boy on a hot summer’s day. Sheer joy and energy on every page. You can smell the sea, hear the seagulls and feel the sticky ice-cream running down your chin. Of course the boy gets lost as many children do on crowded beaches, and is found by a lifeguard and rewarded with an ice-cream but can’t interrupt licking it for one second to tell his name... which he writes with his toe in the sand.
Diversity needs to be unselfconscious – telling about children of all cultures and all skin colours in all situations. The Tamarind list has picture book stories like The Silence Seeker by Ben Morley, illustrated by Carl Pearce where a boy from a family of asylum seekers moves in next door, and Joe thinks they are ‘silence seekers’ and tries to find a quiet place in the city for the boy. Modern, dynamic, comic style illustrations.
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On their list too are: Mum's Late, by Elizabeth Hawkins illustrated by Pamela Venus, where a boy waiting for his mum, worries and imagines everything that might have happened to her, or My Mummy is Magic, by Dawn Richards, illustrated by Jane Massey which depicts a mixed-race family or Siddharth and Rinki by Addy Farmer, illustrated by Karin Littlewood, where Siddharth dreams of India where he used to live. Now in England when his toy elephant gets lost, he feels lonelier than ever.
Frances Lincoln has always forged ahead with picture books that represent children of all colour in a way that doesn't feel forced or pigeonholed, as in Mary Hoffman’s Amazing Grace books, illustrated by Caroline Binch, and Niki Daly’s Jamela stories as well as his The Herd Boy,
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Other books illustrated by Littlewood, like Chanda by Margaret Bateson Hill, Leah’s Christmas Story by Bateson Hill, Home for Christmas by Sally Grindley, and The Colour of Home by Mary Hoffman all present overlapping stories with abundant energy.
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By: Jenny Miller,
on 12/10/2010
Blog: Where The Best Books Are! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Immi's Gift, Julia Rawlinson, Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas, children's books about giving, Christmas books, 2010, Tiphanie Beeke, Karin Littlewood, Add a tag
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By: Zoe,
on 11/10/2010
Blog: Playing by the book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Fishing, Karin Littlewood, Cross cultural friendship, Polar regions, Friendship, Add a tag
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1. Escaping Conflict, Seeking Peace: Picture books that relate refugee stories, and their importance
By: Marjorie Coughlan,
on 11/20/2015
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Shaun Tan, Ziba Came on a Boat, Eve Bunting, Karen Lynn Williams, Khadra Mohammed, The Arrival, Holiday House, Catherine Stock, Ted Lewin, Robert Ingpen, Liz Lofthouse, Michelle Lord, Shino Arihara, Mary Hoffman, Four Feet Two Sandals, One Green Apple, John Marsden, R. Gregory Christie, IBBY Congress, Susan Guevara, Tony Johnston, Tilbury House, Jude Daly, Frances Lincoln, Playing War, Clarion Books, Shen's Books, Linda Gerdner, Sarah Langford, A Song for Cambodia, Rukhsana Khan, Matt Ottley, Home and Away, Karin Littlewood, The Colour of Home, Lea Lyon, Jeremy Brooks, Let There be Peace: Prayers from Around the World, The Island, Cinco Puntos Press, Sarah Garland, Armin Greder, Doug Chayka, Annemarie Young, Anthony Robinson, June Allan, children's books about refugees, Ronald Himmler, Pegi Deitz Shea, children's books about peace, Stuart Loughridge, Allen & Unwin, Azzi In Between, Tamarind Books, MWD article, Lee & Low (US), Grandfather's Story Cloth / Yawg Daim Paj Ntaub Dab Neeg, Eerdman's Publishing, Mohammed’s Journey: A Refugee Diary, Lothian Books, children's books about war, Voice from Afar: Poems of Peace, The Roses in My Carpets, Ben Morley, Boyd's Mill Press, Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Carl Pearce, Chue and Nhia Thao Cha, Debra Reid Jenkins, Dia Cha, Dia's Story Cloth: The Hmong People's Journey to Freedom, Frances Park & Ginger Park, Gervalie's Journey: A Refugee Diary, Joyce Herold, Kathy Beckwith, Mali Under the Night Sky: A Lao Story of Home, Mary Williams, Meltem's Journey: A Refugee Diary, My Freedom Trip, My Name is Sangoel, The Silence Seeker, The Whispering Cloth, Viking (Australia), You Yang, Youmi, Poetry, Young Adult, Anita Riggio, Picture Books, Articles, Non-Fiction, Middle-Grade, Add a tag
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Shaun Tan, Ziba Came on a Boat, Eve Bunting, Karen Lynn Williams, Khadra Mohammed, The Arrival, Holiday House, Catherine Stock, Ted Lewin, Robert Ingpen, Liz Lofthouse, Michelle Lord, Shino Arihara, Mary Hoffman, Four Feet Two Sandals, One Green Apple, John Marsden, R. Gregory Christie, IBBY Congress, Susan Guevara, Tony Johnston, Tilbury House, Jude Daly, Frances Lincoln, Playing War, Clarion Books, Shen's Books, Linda Gerdner, Sarah Langford, A Song for Cambodia, Rukhsana Khan, Matt Ottley, Home and Away, Karin Littlewood, The Colour of Home, Lea Lyon, Jeremy Brooks, Let There be Peace: Prayers from Around the World, The Island, Cinco Puntos Press, Sarah Garland, Armin Greder, Doug Chayka, Annemarie Young, Anthony Robinson, June Allan, children's books about refugees, Ronald Himmler, Pegi Deitz Shea, children's books about peace, Stuart Loughridge, Allen & Unwin, Azzi In Between, Tamarind Books, MWD article, Lee & Low (US), Grandfather's Story Cloth / Yawg Daim Paj Ntaub Dab Neeg, Eerdman's Publishing, Mohammed’s Journey: A Refugee Diary, Lothian Books, children's books about war, Voice from Afar: Poems of Peace, The Roses in My Carpets, Ben Morley, Boyd's Mill Press, Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Carl Pearce, Chue and Nhia Thao Cha, Debra Reid Jenkins, Dia Cha, Dia's Story Cloth: The Hmong People's Journey to Freedom, Frances Park & Ginger Park, Gervalie's Journey: A Refugee Diary, Joyce Herold, Kathy Beckwith, Mali Under the Night Sky: A Lao Story of Home, Mary Williams, Meltem's Journey: A Refugee Diary, My Freedom Trip, My Name is Sangoel, The Silence Seeker, The Whispering Cloth, Viking (Australia), You Yang, Youmi, Poetry, Young Adult, Anita Riggio, Picture Books, Articles, Non-Fiction, Middle-Grade, Add a tag
By: Marjorie Coughlan,
on 10/5/2015
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Books, Picture Books, Mary Hoffman, Frances Lincoln, Karin Littlewood, The Colour of Home, children's books about refugees, MWD Reviews, MWD book reviews, Add a tag
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Books, Picture Books, Mary Hoffman, Frances Lincoln, Karin Littlewood, The Colour of Home, children's books about refugees, MWD Reviews, MWD book reviews, Add a tag
Whist putting together my new interview with Mary Hoffman, I revisited my first encounter with her beautiful book The Colour of Home, which I … Continue reading ...
By: Marjorie Coughlan,
on 10/2/2015
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Ying-Hwa Hu, Cornelius Van Wright, Lord of the Rings, Moby Dick, David, Mary Hoffman, Amazing Grace, LeVar Burton, Karin Littlewood, The Colour of Home, Tolkein, Rhiannon Lassiter, June Allan, Malorie Blackman, Princess Grace, Ros Asquith, Janetta Otter-Barry, Elena Ferrante, MWD interview, Caroline Binch, Letterbox Library, An Angel Just Like Me, Boundless Grace, Bravo Grace!, Diverse Voices, Encore Grace!, Grace & Family, Grace at Christmas, Greystones Press, Lines in the Sand, Shay Youngblood, Starring Grace, The Great Big Book Of..., Interviews, Add a tag
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Ying-Hwa Hu, Cornelius Van Wright, Lord of the Rings, Moby Dick, David, Mary Hoffman, Amazing Grace, LeVar Burton, Karin Littlewood, The Colour of Home, Tolkein, Rhiannon Lassiter, June Allan, Malorie Blackman, Princess Grace, Ros Asquith, Janetta Otter-Barry, Elena Ferrante, MWD interview, Caroline Binch, Letterbox Library, An Angel Just Like Me, Boundless Grace, Bravo Grace!, Diverse Voices, Encore Grace!, Grace & Family, Grace at Christmas, Greystones Press, Lines in the Sand, Shay Youngblood, Starring Grace, The Great Big Book Of..., Interviews, Add a tag
Mary Hoffman is the best-selling author of picture book Amazing Grace, which is currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary, as well as its six picture-book and chapter-book sequels and other acclaimed picture books such as The Colour of Home, An Angel … Continue reading ...
By: Dianne Hofmeyr,
on 8/1/2014
Blog: An Awfully Big Blog Adventure (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Not just the single story, Tamarind Publishers, The Boy on the Beach Frances Lincoln Chidlren's Books, Niki Daly, Dianne Hofmeyr, Karin Littlewood, Add a tag
The exciting news – YA might be lagging in showing people of colour, but picture books aren’t. To kick off as its summer, I’m beginning with one of my favouritea – The Boy on the Beach published by Bloomsbury in 1999. Why is this book out of print? Safeguard it if you have a copy. Niki Daly has jumped across borders and shown us a boy on a hot summer’s day. Sheer joy and energy on every page. You can smell the sea, hear the seagulls and feel the sticky ice-cream running down your chin. Of course the boy gets lost as many children do on crowded beaches, and is found by a lifeguard and rewarded with an ice-cream but can’t interrupt licking it for one second to tell his name... which he writes with his toe in the sand.
Diversity needs to be unselfconscious – telling about children of all cultures and all skin colours in all situations. The Tamarind list has picture book stories like The Silence Seeker by Ben Morley, illustrated by Carl Pearce where a boy from a family of asylum seekers moves in next door, and Joe thinks they are ‘silence seekers’ and tries to find a quiet place in the city for the boy. Modern, dynamic, comic style illustrations.
Frances Lincoln has always forged ahead with picture books that represent children of all colour in a way that doesn't feel forced or pigeonholed, as in Mary Hoffman’s Amazing Grace books, illustrated by Caroline Binch, and Niki Daly’s Jamela stories as well as his The Herd Boy,
or in Piet Grobler's zany illustrations of a mixed race family 'Fussy Freya' by Katerine Quarmby.
Then there are older books like One Round Moon (Bodley Head 1994) written by Ingrid Mennen and also illustrated by Niki Daly. These books depict many overlapping stories of children both rural and of the city – children who have high aspirations, who believe they can do anything they imagine, children who love dressing up, herd boys who dream of being presidents, children who are fussy eaters, children who are jealous of new born brothers.
The illustrator Karin Littlewood's name pops up continually also on the Frances Lincoln list. Leslie Beake’s Home Now is about a little girl, Sieta, who has lost her mother to AIDS and finds comfort by befriending an orphan elephant. It shows the deep loss any child experiences at the death of a mother.
In the early 80’s when South Africa was in the midst of our apartheid years, I started collecting picture books that depicted black children as heroes and looked to the US (simple because I was travelling there more regularly than to the UK) with illustrators like Jack Ezra Keats, Jerry Pinkney and John Steptoe in his very handsome depiction of Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters – a Cinderella story of two sisters who compete for the hand of a king. (though I'm not fond of Steptoe's pastiche approach to the landscape of Africa with Mount Kilamanjaro, a jumping springbok and proteas all depicted on one page... things that occur some 2000 Km apart)
An all time favourite of mine from those years, is Ben’s Trumpet published in 1979 by Greenwillow Books, written and illustrated by Rachel Isadora, an ex ballet dancer. Set in the Jazz Age it tells of a little boy who hangs about listening to music and longs to play the trumpet but doesn't own one and so plays his imaginary trumpet. It’s as pertinent now as it was in the Jazz Age, or even in 1979 with its message of inspiration for all young musicians.
Picture books seem to encapsulate these overlapping stories in very visual terms. The heroes in them are every shade of brown and reflect all cultures. I'm neither an academic or a librarian. How can I ever hope to make this dip into picture books an entire rich experience of what's available and out there. Please add your titles in the comments below or your personal favourites on Twitter of Facebook, so we are armed with a list that won’t tell a single story but will tell overlapping stories, so that children don't risk 'critical misunderstanding' and will see themselves reflected back in all shades and from all cultures – heroes all of them!
www.diannehofmeyr.com
Dianne Hofmeyr's latest picture book, Zeraffa Giraffa, is illustrated by Jane Ray. On Twitter @dihofmeyr
Picture books seem to encapsulate these overlapping stories in very visual terms. The heroes in them are every shade of brown and reflect all cultures. I'm neither an academic or a librarian. How can I ever hope to make this dip into picture books an entire rich experience of what's available and out there. Please add your titles in the comments below or your personal favourites on Twitter of Facebook, so we are armed with a list that won’t tell a single story but will tell overlapping stories, so that children don't risk 'critical misunderstanding' and will see themselves reflected back in all shades and from all cultures – heroes all of them!
www.diannehofmeyr.com
Dianne Hofmeyr's latest picture book, Zeraffa Giraffa, is illustrated by Jane Ray. On Twitter @dihofmeyr
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By: Jenny Miller,
on 12/10/2010
Blog: Where The Best Books Are! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Immi's Gift, Julia Rawlinson, Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas, children's books about giving, Christmas books, 2010, Tiphanie Beeke, Karin Littlewood, Add a tag
Immi's Gift, written and illustrated by Karin Littlewood, Peachtree, $15.95, ages 4-8, 32 pages. In a frozen white world, an Inuit girl casts her fishing pole into an icy hole and pulls out magical treasures tossed into the surf by a boy faraway. First, she lands a wooden bird, then a red flower, orange starfish and green leaf, and soon her igloo is trimmed with tropical wonders every color of the rainbow. Polar bears, Arctic foxes and hares, a seal, a wolf, a walrus and magpies flock to her happy home and share stories, making Immi's world a brighter, more joyful place. Then as spring comes and the igloo melts, Immi drops her polar bear necklace into the hole as a thank you to the boy she never met. Touching and spare, Immi's Gift is a gift in itself, and makes you want to craft a garland of your own from nature's flotsam.
Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas, by Julia Rawlinson, pictures by Tiphanie Beeke, Greenwillow Books, $16.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages. A little fox with a big heart inspires his woodland friends to help a family of rabbits in need in this adorable third picture book in the Fletcher series. While bouncing through the forest, Fletcher is struck with a terrible thought, that Santa Claus won't be able to find his rabbit friends' new burrow, so he begins to lay sticks from one burrow to the next to point the way. As he scuttles back and forth, other animals scamper over and fly down to help, first a squirrel, then a flock birds and a family of mice. All lend a paw or a wing, and just as the sun slips out of sight, they arrive at the rabbits' new burrow. Delighted by their kindness, the rabbits invite them in to thaw out their noses, nibble on pie and sing carols. But as the merriment grows, snow begins to fall and soon very stick is covered. Blinking back tears, Fletcher turns to his rabbit friends and wonders, "What will happen to your presents now?" But Fletcher has an idea. He and his friends will stay awake all night so that when Santa comes to their homes, they can point the way. But cozy and warm in their beds, each drift off to sleep. Does Santa need a trail after all? Rawlinson's words patter on the page like delicate steps. Listen in as she sets the scene for the story: "Every tree in the forest was frost-sprinkled and sparkling, and frozen puddles creaked and crackled under Fletcher's paws." And later, "Fat white flakes tumbled softly from a heavy sky. They landed light and whisper quiet on the frozen ground."
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By: Zoe,
on 11/10/2010
Blog: Playing by the book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Fishing, Karin Littlewood, Cross cultural friendship, Polar regions, Friendship, Add a tag
A few posts ago I mentioned British illustrator Karin Littlewood’s latest book – Immi, as something I was looking forward to reading. Having typed those original words I was overcome by temptation and bought us a copy on spec – we’ve loved all of the books we’ve seen where Karin Littlewood has been the illustrator and that was good enough reason to take a punt on Immi. And Wow! wow! wow! Immi has immediately become my favourite new book! Here are some of the reasons why….
Photo: Margrét G.J.
Immi, an Inuit girl, catches fish through a hole in the ice. One day instead of fish she finds a small trinket, a little wooden bird, on the end of her line and is amazed by its beauty and colours.
As each day passes she catches another wonderful curio and so she starts to use them to decorate her igloo. Her home becomes a thing of wonder and animals from far and wide come to visit.
They always stayed for supper,
and they filled those long dark nights
with stories of faraway lands.And Immi’s world seemed a brighter
and more colourful place.
In the closing pages of this stunning book the mystery of the source of the treasures adorning Immi’s igloo is revealed and the generosity is reciprocated, leaving readers feeling both in awe at the beauty and diversity of the world, at the same time feeling touched by the possibility of being able to reach out across oceans and cultures to share something special.
This respect of and faith in humanity is a theme close to my heart, and then add to that the thread in this book of how sharing stories can move us and enrich our lives… well you can see why I love the tale told in Immi.
If the beliefs at the heart of this book weren’t enough to persuade me to encourage you to find this lovely book to read with your own children, then the illustrations would clinch it.
The watercolour and pencil illustrations sing out throughout this book. The brightly coloured treasures Immi catches glow like jewels against the icy, dark backdrop of a polar landscape, and yet their vibrancy never swamps the sense of peacefulness that the landscapes and night skies exude.
Immi reminds me of two other books I love – The Red Book by Barbara Lehman, (which I reviewed here) and Polly and the North Star by Polly Horner (which I reviewed 4 Comments on The ability of stories to transport us, last added: 11/11/2010
By: Zoe,
on 10/4/2010
Blog: Playing by the book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Colours, Water, Mud, Karin Littlewood, Anne Faundez, Africa, Animals, Rain, Add a tag
Today is the start of the UK’s Children’s Book Week, a celebration of reading for pleasure for children of primary school age (5-11) with special events taking place all over the country in schools, libraries and bookshops. 79 years old and going from strength to strength, the theme of this year’s Children’s Book Week is “books from around the world“.
Illustration: Shirin Adl for Children's Book Week 2010
As part of Children’s Book Week a special pack has been created (primarily with teachers in mind, but available to anyone to download) including book lists relating to this year’s theme for different age groups, for example:
For younger children:
For emerging readers
Poetry fro
3 Comments on Children’s Book Week, rain and cheerios, last added: 10/5/2010
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By: Aline Pereira,
on 10/6/2009
Blog: PaperTigers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Reading Aloud, reading aloud to children, Storytime, Somalia, Mary Hoffman, refugees, Karin Littlewood, The Color of Home, The Colour of Home, Add a tag
We came home from the library recently with a very special story: The Colour of Home by Mary Hoffman and illustrated by Karin Littlewood (Frances Lincoln, 2002). Our attention was first caught by the radiant smiles on the front cover but as soon as we leafed through the book, we realised that there was a darker side to the story. In fact, I was very glad that I then actually read it on my own first, as it proved to be a very moving story and I had to get my own tears out of the way before reading it aloud.
A new boy, Hassan, joins a class in an English school. He is struggling with everything being so different from his home in Somalia. The afternoon class is painting, which he has never done before. He sets about painting his house and family back home - “a lovely picture” - but then he paints in what happened to his house and family - the fire and bloodshed, and his uncle “smudged out”.
The next day, Hassan explains the painting and his family’s flight to England:
Hassan talked for an hour and then he ran out of words, even in Somali. When he finished Miss Kelly [his teacher] had tears in her eyes.
So did I… However, this story ends on an upbeat note: Hassan plays football with his classmates, who are welcoming and friendly; and paints another picture of his old house for his mother. Its bright colors help him to see the other colors around him and we know that he is starting to feel confident about his future.
So beautifully written and illustrated, this sensitive picture-book offers a focal point for children, who, increasingly, can empathise with its story through personal experience. I shared it with my own children; if you already know this book and have shared it at home or in class, do tell us.
And while writing this post, I have enjoyed discovering Mary Hoffman’s blogs (Book Maven and Mary’s Musings) as well as her website. I don’t know where I’ve been, but I realise I have a bit of catching up to do in terms of her books for older readers and know what I’ll be looking for on our next trip to the library! I also love all of the books I’ve come across illustrated by Karin Littlewood - her own website is under construction at the moment but here’s the link because one day…!
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SUCH A COOL (haha pardon the pun!) IDEA!!!
Thanks Carrie! Yes, the gloves were a real necessity, and to slow down the melting of the ice we turned off the heating whilst we were playing so everything was indeed cool! I had visions of the girls playing with it in the garden in the snow or at least with a good frost so that the whole world could be white (and even colder!)
Oh, this is such a “try-able” idea!
And I so agree with the idea of reaching out across cultures to share something special.
Hi Sandhya,
One of the things I love about Playing by the book is that there are quite a few of you in the community we have here who share this idea, and that makes me very happy!