How to Catch a Dragon

How to Catch a Dragon
Caryl Hart & Ed Evans

I have an incredible habit of pickling up picture books that end up being about libraries. This one has a beautiful big dragon on the front, and this month, Share a Story is celebrating the theme of dragons. I have been visiting nurseries and primaries, telling stories and creating opportunities for learning and creativity, with the book, Too Hot to Hug. But having read that a number of times, I thought I'd treat myself to another dragon themed story.

Albie's homework is to draw a dragon, but if he has never seen one, how can he draw one? When his mum takes him to the library, Albie tries to find a book that might help,  but a chance encounter with a young knight leads him on an adventure full of dangers and monsters - he must be very brave to make it through.

How to Catch a Dragon is a generous story, in which kindness and friendship is celebrated, and libraries are praised as sources of inspiration and fuel for the imagination. It is through his creativity and willingness to explore the library that Albie manages to make friends and complete his homework.

Too Hot to Hug

Too Hot to Hug
Steve Smallman & Gee Biscoe

This afternoon, I am welcoming a group of primary school children to their public library for Share a Story month. The theme this year is 'dragons', so I got to explore our collection of dragon picture books and find some favourites. 

Too Hot to Hug is an adorable book about a dragon growing up. He is found in a cave by a young boy, who takes him home to his family. Crumpet the dragon is quickly adopted by the family, using his warmth to keep them all comfortable during the cold winter months - drying laundry, heating toast. But as Crumpet gets older, he gets hotter, until he is just too hot to hug. 

As an adult, I love the subliminal messaging in children's books, and in this one, it isn't even subtle - the family find the best way to keep Crumpet cool is to have a bath, so bathtime soon becomes incredibly fun for all. 

The illustrations in this book are brilliant, and those children who have already visited the library for a dragony story time have loved colouring in the pictures of Crumpet. He is a lovely, friendly dragon; perfect for Share a Story month. 

The Dinosaur that Pooped a Planet

The Dinosaur that Pooped a Planet
Tom Fletcher & Dougie Poynter

This is one of my new favourite things of all time. McFly / McBusted fans will know that the gang are talented song-writers, but this step into children's literature has shown that they are also simply brilliant wordsmiths.

Danny and Dinosaur embark on an adventure into outer space, but, despite mum's advice, they haven't yet had their dinner. So when Dinosaur gets up amongst the spacemen and planets, he gets awfully peckish and finds himself craving some rather unusual tummy-fillers; the result of which is a rather full stomach that might just need relieving.

The illustrations by Gary Parsons are brilliant, especially considering the material with which he is working (i.e. a pooping dinosaur). It is not as crude as you might expect, and I actyually think that the silliness of the story is what makes it even more appealing - you can just imagine your child giggling as you read it together.

But the story is my the best thing - mainly because I madly decided that the dinosaur must be based on Harry, with Dougie and Tom being the authors and Danny being the name of the other main character.

And it rhymes, in some places rather creatively. Like all good things targeted at children, there are lots of things in this book to tickle parents, or anyone else who fancies a fun read.

I am so happy to be in a world where this book exists.

Howl, Kaddish, and other poems

Howl, Kaddish, and other poems
Allen Ginsberg

Andrew McMillan is the reason for me reading Allen Ginsberg - I am just ashamed that it has taken me so long!

Reading this so soon after finishing Kerouac has slightly messed with my brain - I am starting to feel like part of the Beat Generation, like a young, disillusioned man, endlessly searching for truth and honesty and beauty. 

Even now, Ginsberg's style seems unconventional - it must have shocked and awed when first published - with it's long, winding sentences, peculiar line breaks, and complete disregard for standard meter. 

But all this adds to Ginsberg's power. He is angry and passionate and contemporary, though some of his words resonate with society today. 

The images in Ginsberg's poetry are vivid and mesmerising. I can picture him sitting in a coach station on "great wooden shelves and stanchions posts and beams assembled floor to roof jumbled with baggage"; I see Ginsberg bent over his typewriter, wondering if his audience of the future "will [...] eat my poems or read them". 

As I read 'Kaddish', I was gripped by Ginsberg's depth, his love for his mother and his battle between the guilt and the responsibility he feels. My heart broke for his strength through such adversity.

But the poem I loved most was 'Sunflower Sutra', an account of a day spent with his friend, Jack Kerouac, mulling over the beauty of the tiny details in the world around them; finishing in a loud, uplifting call to arms:

"we're all beautiful golden sunflowers inside."

On the Road

On the Road
Jack Kerouac
London, Vintage

Oh the irony of this being the first book I am reading in my new life. This was meant to be the last book I read in my Staff Book Club, but due to life being mad over the holidays, I finished it a little later than usual.

In the late forties, Sal Paradise (what a name!) sets off from his aunt's home in New York on a series of national adventures. Dean Moriarty is the cause of each - an eccentric, energetic young man who inspires Sal to cross America to Denver, San Francisco and finally into Mexico. Their trips are fuelled with drugs, drink, and sex, and are enabled by hitch-hiking and borrowed cars. 

Along the way, the men tell share everything with each other, from childhood memories to lose change to women. The novel explores masculinity in a time and place where the future seemed uncertain and the past haunted your every step. Young men were better educated than past generations; the threat of nuclear war hung over their heads, but they were not sent to Europe to fight on the front lines like their fathers. Equally, the American dream thrived in post-war success; and Sal and his friends push the boundaries of this ideal to the very limit. 

On the Road is written in Kerouac's well-known stream of consciousness style (not that I would actually know, having never read his work before). Great paragraphs flow through the pages, describing scenes of marijuana-filled ecstasy or beer-crazed jazz clubs. 

I didn't particularly like the characters in this book - the men were all selfish and the women were uninspiring - but I loved the way the story was told. Each part contained a new trip, with new faces and new towns. And each journey felt like a struggle - a battle with long, dull roads, against broken down cars and jobsworthy policemen, with limited money and no end goal. 

But every time they returned to their normal lives, they found themselves bored of the mundane nature of the every day; so unable to stay still for long, Sal and Dean would set off again for another journey. 

All it makes me want to do is book some flights. Somewhere. Anywhere. 

Brand New Ancients

Brand New Ancients
Kate Tempest
London, Picador, 2013, 47p

I had the privilege of seeing Kate Tempest at the O2 in Oxford last Friday - apparently her first headline tour as a rapper. She was incredibly appreciative towards her audience, and her excitement was infectious. 

She is not just a rapper and a performance poet; she is a writer. Brand New Ancients won the Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry - it is a modern, honest story about characters that Tempest says live and breathe in her mind. 

Tempest's narrative poem argues that we are all heroes of our own lives. She draws on traditional ideas about gods from classic mythology - heroes who were human, flawed, real. Then she creates her own contemporary heroes: men and women struggling with relationships; young people feeling disenfranchised; artists looking for their big break and barmaids seeking fulfillment. 

Within just a few pages, these characters become fully rounded beings. They feel anger, regret and love; lines between good and bad are blurred. 

Brand New Ancients is so clever and relevant. It tells the story of the kinds of individuals that young people can relate to; it is solid and grounded, avoiding all the abstract ideas and images we are spoon fed in the curriculum. 

And if this doesn't convince you to find out more about Kate Tempest, watch this video - how can you not want to read the genius that comes from this mind?!

Oliver Fibbs: Attack of the Alien Brain

Oliver Fibbs and the Attack of the Alien Brain

Steve Hartley

ill. Bernice Lum

London, Macmillan, 2013, 181p

Oliver feels pretty average compared to his family. His mum is a brain surgeon and his dad is a brilliant architect. His sisters are great at dance and his younger brother is a maths genius. However much they try to work out what Oliver is brilliant at, he still finds himself escaping into the world of his comic books, dreaming of aliens and mysteries. 

At school, he tells epic tales of fantasy adventures, but the other kids just laugh and his teacher simply commends his imagination or tells him off. Unfortunately, being grounded isn't helping Oliver's mission for something real to show and tell. 

Oliver Fibbs is one of those books that is great for the younger or reluctant reader. As we wait for the next Wimpy Kid and Tom Gates books to come out, the boys in my school are occupying themselves with Hartley and Lum's mix of illustrations and comedy storytelling. 

Charlie Merrick's Misfits

Charlie Merrick's Misfits
Dave Cousins
Oxford, OUP, 2014, 201p

With a new cohort of eager year 7s, I have been trying hard to keep up with the latest publications for boys of this age (girls typically find it much easier to find a book they enjoy). I saw Dave Cousins talk about his new books at the SLA Conference back in June, so when they were delivered last week, I got reading!

Charlie Merrick's football team is made up of those who stayed behind when all the good players moved to the rival team, Goldbridge Colts. When Jack starts at school, fresh from an academy club, North Star are eager to snap him up, so Charlie tells Jack he will put in a good word with his sister, Emily. Unfortunately, things do not go according to plan, and as Charlie struggles to convince Jack to stay, it seems the rest of his squad are falling apart. 

Charlie isn't a flawless protagonist - in fact, as the novel goes on he realises that he has been responsible for the low morale in his team. He will put it before everything, even his friendships. 

Cousins has created an elaborate and original format within this book, which included written passages, illustrations, scenes in comic book form, snippets of fantasy commentary, and match player cards detailing strengths and weaknesses of each character. Personally, I struggled to take everything in, with so much going on, but I can definitely see the value in the variety for the more reluctant readers. 

I wish I had had this book during the World Cup, but I am glad there is still momentum in school for students to read in this area. And regardless, with humour and relatable characters, I know many junior boys who will love this.

After the First Death

After the First Death
Robert Cormier
London, Puffin, 2006, 275p

After the First Death begins with a narration from Ben, a young boy haunted by an incident we do not yet know much about, except that it has left him with a scar from a bullet wound and it has shattered the already fragile relationship he has with his father. With time, his monologue is augmented with the voices of two others involved in this fateful day - Kate, a girl held hostage on a bus full of children, willing herself to be brave enough to act; and Miro, following the commands of a man he reveres, recounting how it came to be that he 

The novel is emotive and tense - all of the action unfolds over a relatively short space of time, as we are drip fed details, unraveling the truth. The story focuses upon the thoughts and feelings of these three characters. Kate and Miro are battling to stay alive in the moment of the action, and Ben, place between the military and the terrorists, tells of the aftermath of the kidnapping. 

Particularly interesting is Miro's story. He seems strangely innocent, even though he is involved with the 'terrorist' group of the story. Even Kate feels pity for him, as he tells his story, though her feelings are conflicted with the anger she feels towards her captor.

It wasn't until I was halfway through the book that I realised this novel had been first published in 1979. This new knowledge added an incredibly dark slant to my reading of it - the realisation that a book written twenty five years ago could still feel so timely and current. Although the development of the character's internal identities are detailed and vivid, their physical appearances are left unspecified. As such, Miro and Artkin, with their made up names, are not linked to a specific race or nation or conflict. The fictional events of this story could be seen as a telling of many real situations, and a reader today, in the context of the current political climate, can relate as easily as a reader from twenty five years ago. 

It is terrifying that this book felt so plausible, and has felt this real for so long. But Cormier's exploration of the three sides to this story packs a powerful punch, illustrating how victimization and innocence subjective. 

Boom!

Boom!
Mark Haddon
London, Red Fox, 2009, 195p

At Oxford Spires, we will shortly be launching our 2013-2014 First Story anthology, and this year our special guest is Oxford local author, Mark Haddon. I adore his writing, but it has been some time since I have read anything from his repertoire, so thought I would rectify that by reading Boom!

Jimbo and Charlie are adventurous, mischievous boys, often up to no good. So when they land themselves in intergalactic trouble, they know no one will believe them, a little like the boy who cried wolf. It all starts when they use a walkie-talkie to listen in on their teachers' conversations, which leads them to discovering that some unusual staff members talk in a strange language. When Jimbo wants to back off, Charlie pushes full steam ahead, determined to find out what is going on. But Charlie disappears, and Jimbo knows he has to go and rescue his best friend.

'Strange' doesn't even begin to describe this book. It is the weirdest adventure story I have ever read, but so brilliantly crafted that I could not help but become engrossed. Haddon has created a weird and wonderful alternative universe - a planet recruiting human sci-fi fans to keep it going.

As Haddon notes in his introduction, this is not his first attempt at this story, but an intricately edited version. But he got it perfectly right with this peculiar adventure, mixing comedy, the supernatural, and 

Thirteen

Thirteen
Tom Hoyle
London, Macmillan, 2013

When stuck for what to read, I asked a colleague what she might choose at random from the shelves of my library. Being a lover of action stories, she selected Thirteen, the first novel from debut author Tom Hoyle.

The People are a mass of individuals who believe that a boy born at midnight at the dawn of the millennium will prevent the rise to power of The Master, leader of their cult. Thirteen boys were born at this hour, and The People have killed all but one: Adam Grant still walks free, completely oblivious to his fate. He is adopted, with no idea when he was actually born or what his birth is prophesied to cause. 

My colleague and I were both intrigued by the pretext for this novel. It reminded me of the pretense of Michael Grant's Gone series, which I have not yet read but have heard highly praised. I like the idea of a group of teenagers fighting for their lives, with little support or structure from the adult world - for young readers, this is a world they dream of living! 

And yet I couldn't engage with Hoyle's novel. I felt the pace lagged and the characterisation was incomplete, leaving me longing for more detail and drama. I skipped ahead, and still nothing seemed to be developing: though the plot jumped back and forth between The People's attempts to destroy the Thirteen and Adam's quest to stay alive, the action was stale. 

So despite thinking the pretext for this novel sounded incredible, I was disappointed that it didn't seem to go anywhere. And I hate being unable to finish a novel.

The Killer Underpants

A Jiggy McCue Story: The Killer Underpants
Michael Lawrence
London, Orchard, 2009, 145p

I haven't read any Michael Lawrence before, despite strong recommendations from many of my students. I suspect it is because I am not concerned about the content and am confident in their appeal to teenage readers, so feel little need to actively promote the Jiggy McCue books.

Jiggy hates new underwear - they just take way too long to wear in. Instead, he wears the same pair every day, even when they get holey and smelly. His mum is fed up, so buys him some new pants, only this new pair won't come off. And every now and then, they start to ripple and suddely whatever Jiggy says comes true! Unfortunately, what comes out of his mouth seems to always get him into trouble, and he's scared these pants are doomed to ruin his life.

This story is so ridiculous it is brilliant. I had no problem completely suspending my disbelief and falling right into Jiggy's strange world of killer underpants. In fact, there were moment when I strangely believed this might actually happen!

Reading Michael Lawrence was a welcome break from some of the heavier teenage fiction I have been reading recently, full of family drama and dystopian action. Jiggy McCue is a simple, comic character created to entertain, and it was delightful to read about such an unfortunate fool.

Extra Time

Extra Time
Morris Gleitzman
London, Puffin, 2014, 224p

It is a rare thing for me to enjoy a football orientated book, but there is so much more to Extra Time than sport. 

Matt and Bridie Sutherland are very close. Matt is a skilled soccer player, and Bridie acts as his manager - and she does a brilliant job! When Matt is spotted by an English club and given the chance of training with their academy, the siblings leave their parents behind and travel to London with their uncle for the opportunity of a lifetime. But at premiership level, football isn't as friendly as it is when played on the field by their house in Australia. 

Bridie is a wonderful story-teller - very observant and intuitive, able to read exactly what her brother is thinking and to articulate his feelings to the reader. She has a huge heart, and it breaks when she sees Matt changing under the pressures of the academy training routines. In the practice sessions, the young players are expected to demonstrate their best skills, even if it involves hurting others on the pitch. Friendship with team mates seems impossible, but Bridie and her uncle are determined to rectify this. 

I adore the relationship between Matt and Bridie in this novel - in fact, I am a little jealous - they are loving and honest through and through, and not in an annoying way! For Bridie, family and friends come first, and she is always seeking ways to make people happy, even if it proves to infuriate the mean-faced academy coaches. 

In Extra Time, football is just a means through which Morris Gleitzman can demonstrate the importance of family and friendship. The sport element will attract many boys or reluctant readers, whilst the beautiful protagonist will appeal to young girls. At the end of the novel, you feel a better person for reading it, rediscovering the value of love. 

The Bunker Diary

The Bunker Diary
Kevin Brooks
London, Penguin, 2013, 259p

*Possible spoiler alert*

It is hard to write this blog without giving too much away - and I desperately do not want to give anything away, since I was given a little warning regarding how haunting and spine-chilling it is and I worry that too much information might detract from the tension of the story.

When Linus wakes up in an abandoned bunker, he is angry at himself for being tricked by a blind man who kidnapped him. He finds himself alone, but, with five empty rooms around him, suspects that this won't be for long. The only way in or out is a lift, which comes up and down at set times through the day. As time goes by, more people are sent down to join him, each from vastly different backgrounds, each having been tricked in strange and well-planned ways.

And they are being watched; there is no way out. Together, the captives work out how to communicate with their captor, but every attempt at escape seems wrought with punishment. They struggle to be civil with one another, especially in the context of this unusual situation. As the characters sink into desperation and depression, the reader is trapped with Linus in this underground dungeon.

I have not read any Kevin Brooks before, though I have always been intrigued by the packaging of his novels. In fitting with the dark trend running through this year's Carnegie list, The Bunker Diary is a strong contender, full of mystery, tragedy and a slither of hope.

To see the rest of my Carnegie reviews, click here.