A Christmas Round-Up

What a wonderful selection of Christmas books have been made available this year for readers of all ages and whilst for the younger members of our audience many of these have a Christmas theme some are just very good books that Christmas allows the leisure of time to read!

It is with enormous thanks to Macmillan books that I present you with the first part of my selection, a wonderful parcel of goodies that arrived in my office just this week , part two is a pair of books from Hot Key Books and Picacdilly Press' Christmas highlights, then if you head over to Armadillo Magazine you will see a great selection from a variety of publishers to read this Christmas (these are featured as a round-up in the Also Out section but don't forget all the other great books that we feature too!)

Now back to my current selection, sitting next to me on the desk and begging for readers just like you are ...

The Macmillan Alice, Advice for Modern Women: What Would Alice Do? with a foreword by Lauren Laverne.  In this wonderful pocket-sized book are selected quotes from Alice on the themes of Inspiration, what to do when having a bad day or a tough day at work - keep your sense of humour and remember that each day will come to a natural end!.  And so it goes on with plenty of wit and humour these selected quotes will help you get through the day and maybe even encourage you to read Alice all over again, a real treat and beautifully illustrated too.

If getting through the day means having a good colouring in or doodle session then Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: A Colouring Book could be just what you need and in fact is featured in the Winter edition of Armadillo.  Or why try something from our current Children's Laureate, Chris Riddell's Doodle a Day should keep many a doodler happy for an entire year ... packed with Chris' own illustrations and plenty of tips and hints this book could create some master doodlers in a year's time!

Three stories in one slim book make up the very special The Christmas Star: A Festive Story Collection from Eva Ibbotson.  Read and discover how a young Viennese girl discovers the magical meaning behind the family celebrations or how the words of a fortune teller can change the life of a family and finally a heroic fish who, destined for the Christmas dinner plate wins over his would-be eaters!

For comedy at Christmas try William at Christmas by Richmal Compton or for comedy of a non-christmasy but still very funny type why not pick up Mooneboy: The Fish Detective by Chris O'Dowd and Nick V. Murphy, the hardback has a great front cover cut out feature and the story - well it is just a laugh a page!

A Thousand Nights by E. K, Johnston is a classic re-imagining of the famous 1,001 Arabian Nights story and has been reviewd in Armadillo so I won't go into detail again here suffice to say it is an arresting, clever and unusual read.
Another title already mentioned in our main magazine is Julia Donaldson's What the Ladybird Heard Next with its glorious glittery cover this is a must read for fans of the little ladybird and the wonderful creative imagination of Julia Donaldson and her illustrator Lydia Monks.

From Hot Key and Macmillan not only two charming books but they were in a delightful red envelope complete with snowflakes and a mini candy cane, quite charming.  snowball: The Baby Bigfoot is a delightful addition to The Secret Animal Society series by Ruth Symes and illustrated by Tina Marchington.  The story is perfect for younger readers with its mix of fantasy and reality, the delightful characterisation and the warm appealing story.  Lily and the Christmas Wish by Keris Stainton is a magical Christmas story abut how wishes really can come true, in the most unexpected of ways.  This magical story of mix-ups is a delightful read, perfect for sharing at Christmas and ideal for helping to realise that there are many ways in which wishes can come true - not always for the best ...

To conclude this blog two very Christmasy titles, from Macmillan imprint Campbell books Busy Santa a board book introducing the youngest of readers to the busy time that Santa has every Christmas with plenty of options to 'push, pull and slide' keeping little fingers busy... then The Best Christmas Present Ever by Ben Mantle with its glorious glittery snowy cover and wonderful story of love and friendship at Christmas what could be a better way to round off this Blog?

As always your comments welcomed...

Celebrating Difference

As the summer holidays - for teachers and children at least - draw to a close what better way to be invigorated for the academic year ahead than by reading?  The government may be doing all that it can to encourage reading in all the wrong ways but thankfully authors, booksellers, readers, reviewers. librarians and many teachers are continuing to ensure that children of all ages develop a love of reading that will stay with them for life.

By Celebrating Difference in teen fiction three writers are ensuring that the older readers have plenty of story as well as many issues to get to grips with.

R J Palacio, Sally Gardner and Laura Jarratt were interviewed by Catherine Woodfine from the Booktrust and grilled by an audience of new and avid fans at an event held at Waterstones Piccadilly (London) on Wednesday 14th August.

R J Palacio had quite literally just stepped off a train from Edinburgh where she and Sally Gardner had been part of a panel event.  Laura Jarratt and her husband were just in London for the event and a short overnight stay, the first without the newest addition to their family!  All were wonderfully enthusiastic and full of insightful thoughts on children's literature and how to celebrate difference.

Beginning the evening with a challenge - how to get on the very comfy but high chairs - certainly broke the ice for all and was followed by a brief introduction from Catherine Woodfine to the authors, their books and the concept of celebrating difference - looking at characters who are profoundly different from those around them.

For R J Palacio it is Auggie a 10 year old boy with a cranial facial difference.  Sally Gardener introduces Standish Treadwell, a severe dyslexic and Laura Jarratt uses Jenna, an average teen who wants to fit in and Ryan a traveller boy.  The books, Wonder, Maggot Moon and Skin Deep are all fantastic reading, gripping from page one despite an apparent lack of quest, detective or spy thriller or even vampirical theme!  It just goes to prove that great writing is great writing and can be gripping for itself.

Back to the books and the discussion ...

In Wonder Auggie feels that he is normal, and RJ explores the way in which he faces a world who do not know how to react, this theme of courage is one that is shared by all the books.  So what motivated the authors?  For R J it was personal experience - not knowing how to react when her son was upset at seeing a girl with a facial deformity.  for Sally it was having become so cantankerous when on a diet that she had to shut herself away and write whilst for Laura it was pastoral work with children.

In each book the celebration of difference becomes a strength for the character in question, they begin to accept themselves, gain more empathy with those around them and think outside of the traditional box.

Writing outside the 'box' is however not easy.  R J explained how she had a book about gay characters rejected as marketing were not convinced it would sell and Sally explained how she felt many were too quick to judge.  Read and understand, allow writers to challenge and children to think from within the safety of fiction - this is the message.  A message that is beginning to break through, certainly for R J who has seen a shift in the US book market towards a celebration of difference that does not mean turning into a vampire or werewolf!

For the authors exploring and celebrating difference is not only important for their audience it is important for them too.  Readers can use the books to explore, find themselves, have fun, be individual.  It is a challenge, to create a character who, on the surface appears not to fit in but in reality with a little work, does.  In effect all fiction is about difference, it is the way in which authors approach it that really matters.  Difference is a common theme in humanity and deserves to be celebrated.

So to all those in the audience and now to those of you reading this Blog the message was to be a good writer extrapolate.  Write about what you feel from the gut, imagine.  Believe in your story, tell it over and over again until you get it right and when it burns inside you don't ignore it - write it!