Gerry Hunt - Blood Upon The Rose, At War With The Empire and 1913 Larkin's Labour War

I've  no idea why I haven't blogged about Gerry Hunts historical graphic novels before. We've had Blood Upon The Rose, the story of Easter 1916, since it was published in 2009. That was such a success that when At War With The Empire, the follow up came out, I ordered it straightaway. It was a no-brainer - my eldest son loved graphic novels and flew through them. And these books explained (in colourful detail) Irish history that he needed to know about, for school and for life.

This latest one, 1913 Larkin's Labour War which I found in the library last week is his favourite of the lot. He's thirteen now and not exactly chatty, so I couldn't find out exactly why he liked it so much. "Really, really good." was as much as I could get out of him.

I Am David by Anne Holm

We are in the middle of the first series of The Sopranos on boxset at the moment, so I'm itching to get down onto the couch in the evenings and as a result am not spending ages on nighttime stories. However, last night I got delayed, as my eleven year old was listening to this in bed.

Oh my goodness, its brilliant. I read it thirty odd years ago and with this reminder, would happily read it again. This audio version is very, very well read. Totally gripping.

The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. Again.

I mentioned a while ago that I had splashed out on the Taschen collection of Grimms Fairy Tales. Well, it was money well spent. We all love it. But especially my nine year and eleven year olds. This post is just to share a few more of the illustrations (all from various editions of the tales, from the 1820's to the 1950's). They are AMAZING.

What It Is by Lynda Barry

I've had my eye on Lynda Barry's One Hundred Demons for a while. I don't know where I heard of her first but when I did the Amazon "look inside" thingy on it, it looked very funny. Yet it really didn't seem that my boys of then twelve and under were the right audience. I thought a teenage girl would be the perfect critic but I don't have one of those. Then I saw this in the library and took my chance to have a look.

What It Is is Lynda Barry's latest book and has garnered great reviews. Already the price of One Hundred Demons has gone up.

This is a book written in words, paint, collage and other things I don't know how to name. Its clearly the work of a huge talent and is all about how she stared to draw and paint and also a manual on how to start writing. I found it in the adults graphic novel section of our library but have not seen anything too shocking in it. (Well, she does say her parents were not at all nice, so some may find that unsuitable.)

My nine year old, who recently has taken to drawing characters he copies from comics found a few pages where Lynda describes how she did the exactly the same. It stopped me "encouraging" him to draw from his imagination, which I knew he found irritating.

There is so much in this book - about thinking and drawing ..

reading fairy tales;

having not very nice parents;

wonder if ones own work is good, or crappy;

musing on playing, and toys;

and the mean mother again..

(my kids weren't shocked by how she speaks to the young Lynda, but they were horrified by the cigarette!)

Great for teens interested in art or really anyone with eyes and some curiosity about life. Also, I don't think I mentioned, there are LOTS of funny bits; the pictures of her hula dancing are hilarious and definitely worth the library reserve fee.

The Brixton Brothers by Mac Barnett

There are four Brixton Brothers book in the series so far, I just have three in the photo below because I didn't have time to find them all. No doubt it is under a bed upstairs but if I go up to get it I'll be waylaid by dust balls and old socks and every else that needs to be picked up. That's something that I'll face when I have finished my coffee and this post.

I got the first of these when my eldest son was ten. He gobbled it up. Then, for each birthday and Christmas stocking following, he got the next in the series. I moved the books to his brothers bedroom last year, assuming they were now outgrown but the other day saw them piled on his bedside table. He's thirteen now and started secondary school last week. He has to read The Outsiders and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas for his english class and was using the Brixton Brothers books as chasers. And, I think as something easy and relaxing to read before bed to take his mind off the challenges of the following day. I love those kinds of books. They're worth their weight in gold.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father; prepare to die!"

The second my thirteen year old finishes The Princess Bride, I'm going to buy the movie. I can't wait to see it again and I think most of my kids are old enough for it. Thus far he says he really likes it. "Its quite good, actually," he said.

Books from our camping trip

 In the days before making friends, reading X Men Misfits and American Born Chinese.

 I read this on the Cork to Roscoff ferry and can think of  no better way to pass a long day.

 We get one of these Drawn and Quarterly Moomin books every holiday. Small, light, easy to pack and read by everyone.

 I LOVED this. Pride and Predjudice from the servants point of view. Really brilliant. Remember how Elizabeth liked tramping through the mud without a care about  her appearance? Well in this book we hear from those who had to clean those boots. And didn't really think it was such a charming habit.

 I think this might have been the best kids book I bought with us. I think all three older boys(13, 11, 8) read it twice. Well, maybe joint first prize with The Great Brain, a lot of which I read aloud with a torch when everyone was tucked into their sleeping bags. Highly, highly recommended.

This was a nice poolside read, for those into American fiction. I had a few very enjoyable sunny days in its company as did another mum at the campsite. Its really nice when you pass a book along to then see it being read day after day on a sun lounger.

The Wheel on the School and The Winter Palace and a pretty good clock for teaching the time

I was trying to reduce my eleven year olds time on Youtube yesterday when I thought of this book.

The Wheel on the School by Meindert Dejong

I bought it last Christmas for his older brother and it has remained unloved on a shelf ever since. Two chapters, I said. Just read two chapters and if you hate it, I won't ask again. But there was absolutely no other way to gain access to my laptop. So off he went, with surprisingly little moaning. 

And as you can imagine, I wouldn't have even started writing this if he didn't like it. He did though. I was so pleased. Written in 1954 and based in the authors native Holland, its a lovely story about kids who don't have computers. For ages ten to twelve. 

Beside it on his bedside table is this wall clock (yet to be nailed to a wall.) 

Its part of Lidls' current 4th of July Special Offer, but its also a great clock if you have anyone in the house who isn't always quite sure of how to read the time. Plain, and all the numbers are there.  I should have put it beside the book in the photo to show its size, as its not huge (about the same height as a big paperback) and a nice colour for a boys bedroom. Anyways, who goes into Lidl without coming out with something? It was €6.99.

And this is what I got in the library today. The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak.

Chosen in a hurry, like everything when I have my three year old with me, its pretty good. So far I'd say if you like Tracy Chevalier and Phillipa Gregory, you'll like this. I do.

It's So Amazing! by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Michael Emberley and What's Happening To Me? by Peter Mayle, illustrated by Arthur Robins.

My twelve year old got the "sex talk" in school the other day. I had forgotten it was coming up and it was only when he said that his class were outside for a lot of the day, that I was reminded. Apparently its common for boys to find the whole thing makes them queasy (hence all the fresh air) and the majority of his class were no exception. But he said he was okay, there was nothing he didn't know already. Was any of it worrying though? Well, one bit. The boys were told that childhood is now coming to an end and it was time to learn to shoulder some responsibility. That was bit worrying. Well, I could understand him perfectly. I still feel like that sometimes! We agreed that the end of childhood can be postponed for a while. There's no rush, after all.
Anyways, I think one of the reasons the day went well for him was that we have had this book lying around the house for a while.

It's So Amazing! is a book about the facts of life. There are two main characters, a bird and a bee.The bird is curious and open and the bee is embarrassed and self conscious.

But they do talk about it, and throughout the book, in cartoon strip style, explain how babies are made,

how we all change as we get older,

 the differences and similarities between boys and girls, 

the many shapes of families can take,

and much, much more.

I discovered this book on Mrs Little, one of  my favourite book blogs. I've bought many books she mentions, and never been disappointed. She also reviewed What's Happening To Me? (its important to say that with a break in your voice, we all do.) which is about puberty. It's not as comprehensive as It's So Amazing! but the illustrations are very funny and will definitely bring a smile to any worried face.

This is why my youngest calls it "the boob book."

Bambert's Book of Missing Stories by Reinhardt Jung, illustrated by Emma Chicester Clark, translated by Anthea Bell

This is  beauty. And for a change, for older kids. The library marked our copy 12+ years, but I think confident readers of nine or ten could manage it. Written by Reinhardt Jung, former head of children's broadcasting in Stuttgart, it is translated (beautifully) by Anthea Bell. Good translations are so important!

Bambert's Book of Missing Stories is about Bambert, who lives alone. He is unusually small and can only wear childrens clothes. Tired of being misjudged by the  people he meets, he has become a reculse. Although he is relatively content, he has a nice house adapted to his needs, an extensive library that he loves and an arrangement with the grocer downstairs to have food delivered, he regrets none of the stories he has written have ever ventured out into the world.

And so he sends a note to the grocer requesting "eleven japanese tissue-paper hot air balloons." (just like the one that Danny the Champion of the World makes with his wonderful Dad!)

And waits for a cold night to send his stories off, one attached to each balloon (the settting has been removed from them, but the characters are intact). All are accompanied by a letter asking whoever finds it to send it back, telling where it was found, thereby where fate has decided the story should be set. Except for the last one, which was blank, waiting for someone to write it.

A year later, he gets the first story back, from Ireland. And the adventure has begun.

My son is at school, so I can't get a quote from him about this book. I do know though, that he wouldn't be parted from our borrowed copy last night for me to photograph it. And at seven this morning, when I went to see if he was awake, he was sitting up in bed reading it again. So I think that's a thumbs up.

P.s. It seems to be difficult to get a copy of this new, but most libraries should have one.

Arthur Quinn and Hell's Keeper by Alan Early

We were at the library last night, killing time while one of my boys did his Tae Kwon Do, when my twelve year old borrowed this one. I was very pleased.

You see, he started off at six, loving reading. Moving rapidly from the "I Can Reads", he was onto Harry Potter by eight and The Lord of the Rings trilogy by nine. Yes, I was one of those painful mothers at the school gates who tried to shoehorn these facts into every conversation. Anyway, no sooner had I bored everyone to death about it, he got an Xbox, and I got my comeuppance.

For the past two years he has read minimally, using all available time poring over cheat books, Xbox magazines and all that other console related crap. Nothing could tempt him and I gave up leaving books on his bedside table. He did often pick up his younger brothers choices; Louis Sachers' Wayside School books, maybe the odd graphic novel, so I suppose he was still reading a bit, but my boasting days were over. Although that's probably not a bad thing. I wondered though, did I now have a reluctant reader?

But things are looking up. He read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes the other day and when we got home last night, climbed into bed with this one. Its the third in the Arthur Quinn series and an absorbing, addictive read. When I peeped in at 6.45 this morning, he was awake and reading it again.