Author interview with Louise Gooding and review of Wonderfully Wired Brains

Sometimes there’s a book, that comes to you at time in your own personal life when you truly need it. The Circles in the Sky is the most poignant and heartfelt children’s book about death and grief that I’ve ever read. Dear Fox cannot sleep, but it is not the bright circle in the sky keeping him awake, it is a morning chorus of birdsong that is meant to be heard. Fox travels in the direction that the noise takes him to a place where wild flowers grow. There, a huddle of birds takes off in flight, leaving behind a forgotten bird. Fox tries all his tricks yet Bird cannot be woken and cannot be fixed. Moth watches Fox. She sensitively tells him that Bird is no longer here. But Fox doesn’t understand for Bird is there in front of his eyes. Kind Moth begins an analogy of the Sun and the Moon to help explain about death. This kindness when something is so hard to explain is what we do as adults to soften the blow, the grief, the finality of death. Young Fox however needs the truth, like all children do, and when it is delivered it brings tears to his eyes. And now Fox realises the wisdom of Moth’s earlier words. That in remembering Bird and Bird’s life, they will honour the Bird with hope and celebration. This is Karl James Mountford’s debut picture book, but you wouldn’t guess this from reading it. Powerful and evocative, with show-stopping illustrations that soar from the pages, it feels like this is a story that has been waiting to be written. Geometric and retro design with a limited colour palette, Mountford’s style is distinctive and effective such as the repeating circular motif representing the circle of life we find ourselves in. The changing landscapes that Fox travels through let the reader understand the uncertainty that death brings, yet when the text slows, and the characters, childlike Fox and wise Moth, pause in grief, the illustrations are pared back. This book offers so much to those experiencing a deep sorrow and helps children to build their understanding of how to live in hope when someone dies. If you haven’t come across this book yet, it’s one that you should definitely seek out for your bookshelf or classroom.

Is there an illustrator and author whose work you always look forward to? Well for us it is Paddy Donnelly a truly gifted picture book creator with 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙑𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙇𝙖𝙠𝙚 and 𝘿𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙨 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙩 amongst other books to his name, I hope you’ll enjoy finding out more about his newly published book. Rory’s Dad is a ‘tailer’ (notice the lovely play on words). Measuring, cutting and creating tails for animals has been the family’s profession for years so rules have been passed down through the generations. ‘Wedding tails have to be 7 feet 3 3/4 inches long and formal tails need to be 7/8 inch off the floor’, are the mantras that Rory hears continually. Creatures come from far and wide to have their tails made to measure by Rory’s Dad for all occasions including a first day at school tail! Now Paddy is a visual storyteller and the details in the illustrations through the pages where Rory helps his Dad in his shop are brim full of extra details that children will delight in. Rory is a maverick! He comes up with new and innovative suggestions for tails with bright colours, feathers, spikes and bounce! Rory’s Dad is unconvinced. Tradition is tradition in the noble profession he follows until a very important customer, Mr Peacock comes shopping for a tail like no other…will Rory’s imaginative ideas be what this customer is looking for? Honouring his Irish roots where mythical and magical creatures weave themselves into storytelling, Paddy’s new book is a gorgeous, colourful treat of a story! Reminiscent of the origin Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, I think you’ll love the satisfying ending in which an apology, a very happy peacock and a new generation of ‘tailers’ feature. We’ve loved reviewing Paddy’s author/illustrator picture books and hope that eagle eyed readers can spot a dodo within each of the books! Huge thank you to Paddy and Chloe at O'Brien Press who invited us to review this book.

A mouse took a stroll through a deep, dark wood…sounds familiar? Well this recently published picture book will stop you in your tracks for it is an utter triumph. It’s hard to do justice to the beauty Alice Melvin’s glorious artwork which sings from the pages showcasing the wonder and peace that nature can bring. Taking the reader through the seasons of the year, we follow Mouse as he visits his friends along the way. As the year progresses, the wood changes, showing the soothing cadences of nature at work. Gentle poetical text created by William Snow is the perfect accompaniment to Mouse’s journey. Children will delight in opening the flaps to reveal the intricacies of each woodland characters’ home. The dormice are busy making jam from wild fruits whilst at Rabbit’s house a freshly baked berry pie awaits. Each time you turn the page, there’s a new detail to spot and feast your eyes upon! At front of the book is a map of Mouse’s journey around the wood and at the back are things to spot whilst you’re out and about in nature throughout the year along with facts about each animal we meet. This would work so well as book to accompany a study of nature across a year. Alice Melvin conceived the idea for the book whilst grieving, and when she found nature to be the healing tonic that she needed. Sketching what she observed whilst out and about led to the creation of 𝑴𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆'𝒔 𝑾𝒐𝒐𝒅. Little hands will hold this book and take great comfort in it too. I bought this for my daughter’s birthday and I know it’s one we will treasure. Put 𝑴𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆'𝒔 𝑾𝒐𝒐𝒅 to the top of your wishlist for it is in my eyes picture book perfection!

What a brilliant title for a truly innovative and immersive non fiction book. From the outset, this book promises the reader a truly amazing adventure around the world and that’s what it delivers. Leisa Stewart-Sharpe has interspersed the wildest of journeys with diverse and interesting facts. Did you know that when Fedor Konyukhov flew his hot air balloon around the world, he survived 11 days on 30 minute naps! Pleasingly, Matthew Henson’s exploits reaching the North Pole, as an African American, are also celebrated. The illustrations by Aaron Cushley are full of detail to engage children’s interest and reflect the great range of amazing places the book takes in. What we loved most about this book is the reader is addressed directly and each of 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 senses is explored as 𝗬𝗢𝗨 discover the world’s hottest, coldest, darkest, highest, deepest, harshest, stinkiest and magical places using sights, sounds, taste, smell and touch. This really makes you feel like you’re transported to the actual place you’re finding out about. In just the right sized pieces of text, you’ll also encounter the longest river, the most electric and most secret spots and finally the most out of the world place! This is a book you can return to again and again especially if you’re spotting the hidden tarantula! Looking forward to reading more from the penmanship of Leisa who also wrote 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘼 𝙒𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙and 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙩 𝙄𝙄 book for children to accompany the series. And how does that chocolate taste? You’ll have to read to find out! Gifted for an honest review.

What’s your favourite childhood memory of a grandparent? I only knew my Grandma, and she lived far away, so she would write to me. I kept every one of her letters. Today I am sharing this beauty of a picture book that I featured as a book to gift. Based on an ephemeral lake in Northern Ireland, this is a gorgeous story by Paddy Donnelly, his debut as both author and illustrator. Meet Meara who visits her Granddad living beside a lake with his pet otter, Cara. Occasionally, the whole lake inexplicably disappears. Inquisitive Meara asks her Grandad where the lake has gone. Her granddad comes up with many imaginative reasons as to why the lake is vanishing, from swimming sheep soaking up the water with their wool, to mischievous mermaids removing the plug or gymnastic narwhals poking holes in the lake bed with their horns! Granddad keeps the guessing game going until Meara becomes frustrated. Then one day Granddad takes her high up into the mountains to find the answer to the mystery of the vanishing lake. Paddy Donnelly based this story on a real lake, Loughareema which disappears and reappears which is explained in the helpful author’s notes. The illustrations capture the magic and beauty of Ireland and are peppered with hints of Irish myths and legends that the author grew up with such as the four swans from The Children of Lir. For us, picture books must have heart, and this one sings with a love of childhood memories and the humour of grandparents who like to keep curious children guessing. Meara and her granddad’s relationship unfolds beautifully across the pages as the reader waits for the big reveal. What is causing the lake to disappear? You’ll have to read to find out! Pop this one on your Christmas wish list and you won’t be disappointed!

The beginning of this fascinating book offers the staggering fact that there are 8 billion humans on planet Earth. This number is inconceivable to our poor brains, even though we could all crowd into an area the size of Greater London, standing up! So writer Rob Sears and illustrator Tom Sears, turn that on its head and create a mega human in a Smooshing Machine! The reader is taken on a journey of self discovery with this incredibly original idea. The imagined human giant is approximately 3km tall and weights 390 million tonnes. Add into the machine animals of the planet such as the 80 remaining Sumatran rhinos in the world and they create one rhino the size of a double decker bus that could easily hide, undetected in the mega human’s eyebrow! The sense of proportion in the illustrations very cleverly helps the reader to see this. Once you’re fully immersed into the concept of this book, you cannot stop digesting the facts and figures being presented to you in such an understandable and engaging way. The Sears brothers cover so much including the extinction of species, our food usage and wastage, deforestation and plastic waste, our continual mining for gold and minerals to go inside our precious Smartphones and constant digging for sand and gravel for cement, concrete and glass, to build, build and build! And of course those fossil fuels, which we burn, burn and burn, until we can no longer breathe. At this point in the book, the mega human catches a nasty virus (see what they did there?) and falls into a dream like sleep where another creature ALOE (All Life on Earth) appears and teaches the giant human a pretty important lesson. Although this is a book which ultimately presents to us our failings as humans and how we are creating a huge carbon footprint on our beautiful planet, it also provides positive solutions to our selfish impulses. As the global leaders at COP26 wrestle with critical decisions about climate change, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 made me sit up and listen to its message. How can I be more responsible for my family’s footprint here on Earth? This book would be such a valuable read in schools from KS2 and beyond. Publisher @canongatebooks has produced learning notes go alongside this book which I have shown. #thebiggestfootprint #COP26KidLit #KidLitCOP26 #togetherforourplanet #climateaction #childrensbooksforCOP26 #COP262021

Danger at Dead Man’s Pass. Is there a series where you cannot wait to read the next book? I don’t remember experiencing this level of excitement and anticipation since the next Harry Potter books. Now, The Adventure on Trains series has had us gripped in its thrall throughout 2021. We have completed all four books. They are so good, my son has re-read them with his Dad as well. This latest instalment is just as brilliant as the previous exploits of Harrison (Hal) Beck and his Uncle Nat. From the accomplished writing duo, M G Leonard and Sam Sedgman, we catch up with our two protagonists who have been asked to investigate a family curse over in Germany that is plaguing the Kratzenstein family. From boarding the Eurostar, to their arrival at the family home, the spectre of being haunted for past wrongs, runs through the pages. Hal and his uncle, who stay in disguise through their investigation, find themselves at the centre of a mystery that threatens to unravel their own close relationship. The pages are interspersed with stunning black and white illustrations by Elisa Paganelli. The drawings are so detailed and intricate and mirror Hal’s special talent at drawing almost photographically. It’s a skill he has to keep hidden in this adventure, which adds another element to the storyline. What we love about this series of books is the depth of research that has gone into creating such a tightly packed plot and sense of mystery that keeps the reader in suspense until the very end of chapters. We adore the clever chapter titles, the coded messages, the way every family member becomes a suspect and the twists and turns which keep you guessing until the end! Safe to say we highly recommend this series. Let me know if you’ve read any of this series or are tempted to start!