Book Review: Ella by Alex T Smith





Last week I was a lucky winner of a Twitter contest to win an itty bitty calendar from Scholastic, but imagine my delight (and even more so, the girls’ delight) when the parcel arrived and it also contained a brand new picture book: Ella, by award-winning author and illustrator Alex T Smith!

The Twitter Review (140 characters or less)

A delightful, quirky re-imagining of the Cinderella story, featuring a spectacle-wearing ladybird, a spider and mean wasp stepsisters.

The full review

Ella is a quirky re-imagining of the Cinderella story. It’s about a little ladybird called Ella with two mean wasp stepsisters, Belladonna and Ivy. One day a famous Parisian artist called Pierre (who is a spider) decides to throw a grand bug ball. Belladonna and Ivy are invited and Ella tags along with them to Paris to carry their bags. 

There’s no fairy godmother in the story, just Ella’s friend Mrs Buzzbottom, and the glass slippers are instead a pair of funky glasses. I liked the fact that Ella wears glasses and this is what helps Pierre track her down rather than a glass slipper. I’m sure this would be a real thrill for any little girls who have to wear glasses and maybe feel a bit self-conscious about it. 

Although the story ends with Ella and Pierre falling in love, I liked the fact that there wasn’t too much emphasis on beauty as in the original fairytale. For example, the stepsisters are mean and spoilt, but there is no mention of ugliness.

The illustrations are gorgeous – they have a very modern feel and the evocation of Paris, with drawings of the Eiffel Tower is iconic and contemporary.

I think you can safely conclude we loved Ella!



Book Inspired Activities - You Can't Eat a Princess

There are quite a few blogs around that are either wholly or partially dedicated to wonderful book-inspired activities for children (Playingby the book is probably the best. Zoe’s creativity and dedication are very inspirational). Bookaholic Mum is most definitely NOT one of those blogs

I have neither the talent, nor admittedly the inclination, for doing craft-type activities either with or without my children.  I am a bookworm full stop. When I finish one book I like to get started on the next one in the pile or a newspaper or a magazine, or increasingly, another blog. I simply love reading. Frankly I can’t be arsed to do much else (although I’m quite partial to a bit of cooking/baking so may do something inspired by Playing by the Book’s recent Edible Book Festival in the future).

 

In the meantime however, I’ve been wondering if my children are slightly deprived by my lack of book-inspired craftiness, what with it being all the rage. In my saner/more defensive moments I remember that I work full time and the girls get to do lots of arty/crafty things at pre-school and with their fantastic childminder. In my guiltier moments I try to be arsed.

Last weekend I had one of those moments. Thankfully help was on hand from the illustrator of one of S’s favourite books - You Can’t Eat a Princess – Sarah McIntyre. The book is about a feisty spaghetti-haired princess who rescues her father, King Cupcake, from a gang of aliens on another planet and invites them to her birthday party to eat chocolate instead of people. S loves the story and I love reading it aloud – voicing the precocious Princess Spaghetti is a personal favourite!

Anyway, I recently discovered Sarah’s website and it has a ton of resources related to the book. You can design your own alien, draw your own spaceship and make a Princess Spaghetti tiara. There are even party invites and a party ideas pack!

It was a rainy afternoon and I was looking for something simple to do. So after reading the book again together I sat the girls down at the table and printed out some of the materials for them to colour in. As they’re only 3 and 18 months, colouring in is still lots of fun thankfully! And S in particular loved doing something related to a favourite book which wasn’t Gruffalo or a Charlie & Lola! When I have more time I think the design your own alien would be lots of fun – just need to take the time to cut out the bits and pieces on the downloadable template and perhaps glue them on some card.  

I think it’s great that Sarah has taken the time to create this resource on her website so thank you if you’re reading this! The girls' efforts are proudly displayed below!

Book Review: Second Glance by Jodi Picoult

Second Glance, published in 2003, is set in a small town in Vermont, USA, where a proposed development on an ancient Indian burial ground sparks off strange happenings in the town. Ross Wakeman – a ghost hunter searching for the spirit of his dead fiancé – begins investigating and uncovers some shocking secrets from the 1930s. Intertwined are various love stories – romantic, filial and parental.

The story here is a bit different to Picoult’s usual ‘what would you do if…’ scenarios (although I see that the most recent reprint has positioned it as such). However, it’s a big, complex plot spanning ghosts, Indians, a rare genetic disease, eugenics, an unsolved murder, modern times and the 1930s, as well as multiple key characters.  I’m always impressed by the amount of research Picoult has clearly carried out before writing her books but the breadth of subject matter here is remarkable! I wonder how long it takes her and how she organises all the notes...

Some of the facts that Picoult retells in this book are pretty shocking – the story of 1930s eugenics practice in Vermont has been buried for a long time and the way that Picoult links it to modern genetics is really thought-provoking. Were the intentions of the early eugenicists, who apparently inspired Hitler, good or evil? And how does that relate to modern genetics? The modern geneticist in the story, Meredith, is clearly trying to good with her science, but is that so different to the earlier scientists?

Like all of Picoult's books, relationships are the backbone of Second Glance and the tales of the various relationships, including a brother and sister, mother and daughter, grandmother and granddaughter, grandfather and granddaughter, uncle and nephew, burgeoning romances and friendships are all authentic and believable. 

I have to admit I wasn’t too keen on the ghost element of the story. I am open-minded on the issue but I think the lifelike nature of the ghost that Picoult describes and the abnormal occurrences that are seemingly linked to the paranormal goings on are pretty far-fetched. 

The complexity of the plot, with multiple twists and turns and the numerous characters meant it took some time to settle into this book, but I loved how all the strands of the plot and the characters’ lives were tied up by the end – I really hate to be left hanging, wondering what happened to someone or something in a story!

A Bag of Books from the Bargain Bookshop

Today I stopped by one of those bargain book type shops and picked up a bundle of new books for the girls. I do love a bargain bookshop – it’s a bit like a life-size lucky dip – you never know what you’re going to find! I’m not quite sure how these type of shops operate but they usually have a good variety of books – not usually the bestsellers but that’s not so important when you’re looking for children’s books.

Today’s stash consisted of:

• Centipede’s 100 Shoes by Tony Ross – S has a slight obsession with shoes (probably hereditary!) – in fact her first word was shoe! I kid you not! So I thought this would go down a treat.
• Click Clack Crocodile’s Back by Kathryn White and Joelle Dreidemy – I love a book which is fun and dramatic to read aloud and this one - about a very hungry crocodile and how the other animals stop him gobbling him up – seems to tick that box. I can’t wait to read it to the girls.
• The Somebody for Me by Minako Chiba – This is by a Japanese author so perhaps that is why the cover and inside illustrations stand out. It’s a very sweet tale of a doll in a toy shop waiting for her ‘somebody’ to come and buy her. I think the girls will love this one.
• Paddington buggy book by Michael Bond – We already have several Paddington books on our shelves but this one is perfect for B when we’re out and about. It attaches to the buggy and should help keep her amused if we’re at the shops or somewhere where she has to stay strapped in!

Check back soon to find out what the girls thought of the books!

Nursery Rhymes by Clare Beaton

A few days ago I came across some board books by Clare Beaton in a competition over at Babbleabout. I was instantly struck by the beautiful illustrations which are composed of needlework and appliqué. It’s a very unique treatment so I was compelled to investigate further. It turns out Clare has produced a range of children’s books with illustrations using felt, buttons, braid and fabrics. Everything is handstitched and made from vintage or recycled materials (apparently old aprons are a favourite!).

As it so happens the very same day I stumbled across Clare’s books online I also brought one home from the library without realising it. With 18-month-old B in tow a trip to the library doesn’t involve too much consideration in choosing books – it has more in common with a mad supermarket sweep, grabbing armfuls of books while chasing B as she whips books off the shelves and tries to climb them! Anyway, I digress!

The book we brought home is called Nursery Rhymes and comprises a selection of classic nursery rhymes such as Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo Peep and Hey Diddle Diddle. Nursery rhymes are a perfect introduction to books and reading for very young children, but they often come in large anthology formats. This gorgeous little board book is just the right size for little hands to hold and turn pages. There is one rhyme per double page spread with an accompanying illustration. B is a big fan. As am I. It’s a hard choice but I think my favourite illustration is the one for ‘There was a crooked man’ as there’s such a lot of detail. The original piece must be a real treasure.

Fingers crossed we win the bundle of books from Babbleabout but either way, I will be purchasing some more of Clare Beaton’s books.  I will also keep an eye out for any events she is involved in where we might see some original artwork or get involved in making collages.

If you want to find out more about Clare, her books and her other work you can visit her website.

How to Make Your Child a Better Reader

According to a new study from America, calling attention to the words and letters when reading to pre-school-age children, helps them become better readers in the future.

The two-year study found that children whose teachers most often discussed the print in books showed higher skills in reading, spelling and understanding.

I found this absolutely fascinating so I have been trying it out when reading to S (3). I must say it is not something that comes intuitively - I had to consciously make the effort as it feels much more natural to point at the pictures (or not even do that and just read the story!).

Apparently there are different ways you can focus on the text such as pointing out words, tracing letters with your finger, or talking about how words are written from left to right.

S is at the very early stages of learning her alphabet and has recently discovered that her own name begins with S and can recognise a ‘squiqqly S’ as she calls it. So naturally she has really enjoyed seeing Ss on the page and me telling her which words start with S.  This has been a good introduction to this technique but despite its value, it does tend to disrupt the flow of the story so I think it’s probably better suited to daytime reading rather than bedtime stories when I’m trying to settle her down for a sleep. Alas, we do most of our reading at bedtime because I work full-time but I'll definitely try to do this as much as possible.