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.
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.
It is a little self-appraising of a librarian to love a book about libraries, but that is not stopping me.
The Midnight Library, as you might imagine, is a library that is only open at night. It's regular customers include animals from all over town, and it is run by a lovely little librarian and her three assistant owls.
But things don't always run smoothly in the library. A band of musical squirrels come in, clashing their drums and banging their cymbals. But the kind librarian finds somewhere they can practice their music without disturbing the other visitors. In another corner, a wolf is crying that her story is so sad, but the librarian manages to convince her to see it through to the happy ending.
The illustrations by Kohara are gorgeous - bold and contrasting - it is the kind of book you really want to take care of.
It is a beautiful picture book about a magical library, though if you ask me, all libraries are pretty magical. Happy World Book Night!
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.
Varmints (pt. 1) Helen Ward and Marc Craste Docking, Templar, 2007 I haven't blogged about a picture book before! I stumbled across this one because my sister is reading it for her PGCE, so I thank her for letting me borrow this. Varmints is a dystopian tale of the world without life and light. It begins with large, beautiful images of bright blue skies and wide fields, with moles living throughout, tending their bees. But then a darker world is developed, tall buildings blocking the light and heavy noises stopping people from being able to think properly. The pages go from light and inviting to dark and terrifying - you can hardly read the words on the page. So one of the moles thinks it is time for a change, and sets out to bring back the life. The images in this picture book are engrossing and mesmerising, like artwork you'd be proud to hang around your home. I'm afraid that copyright law does not allow me to copy the pictures here, so you'll have to find it and read it. And here's a lovely video to demonstrate some of the visuals:
The story is tragicly beautiful, with a pace so slow and measured it entices you. It is powerfully visual, with few words on each page but so much bold and deep art to keep your eyes from wandering. And the tale has a moral, reminding the reader of the importance of nature and life.
Perhapsfor young readers, the font is rather difficult to read. The language is not very complicated, but the words are written in thin, scratchy type, and is especially hard to read on the darker pages. It is almost like this is a picture book for adults, with dark pictures, a thought-provoking story and a dystopian setting. But maybe this is the sort of book we need in order to make picture books popular amongst older readers, and to help a shift in attitudes towards acceptance of all varieties of reading formats.
