Refuge

 

2016, first published 2015  

pre-school, Key Stage 0, ages 1-4,  Booth Anne, Usher Sam, Christian, Nativity,   

This tells the story of Mary and Joseph fleeing to Egypt with Jesus after Joseph dreams they are in danger.  It is told from the point of view of the donkey that carries them.

The donkey’s voice is strong and he recognises the best in humans – the kindness of the innkeeper, the affection of the parents for the baby Jesus, the encouragement of the shepherds who watch them set off on their journey and the refuge the Egyptians offer.

As always with picture books for this age group there is some much extra story in the pictures. Facial expressions tell a lot: we see the tenderness in the face of Mary and Joseph, the wonder in the wise men, hope and fear as they travel, peace and relief as they arrive in Egypt, and kindness in the Egyptians.

The pictures are mainly grey scale.  Much of the action takes place at night. There are touches of yellow and the daytime pictures show a yellow sky. Yellow symbolises light and comfort in the penultimate double spread.

There is a mixture of pictures going across double spreads and isolated pictures integrated into the text on single pages.     

The text is sparse and the pictures dominate. It uses an adult font though it is large.

The story is fundamentally Christian though deals with a less familiar part of the nativity story. Even for those who do not hold the Christian faith this supplies a story important to many cultures.

 £1.00 from each copy sold goes to War Child. There is page at the end of the book, addressed to adults reading with the child, that explains about the work of War Child.  

There is also a QR code in the front of the book that takes you to a free audio version of the book.

  

The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

2002, first published 1986   

Inn 1986 the Ahlbergs bring us here a book that interfaces with characters from nursery rhymes and fairy tales. The reader would need to be familiar with Goldilocks and The Three Bears, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. This is a novelty book and includes envelops with letters to some of these characters. We are given glimpses of real life here. Goldilocks spells badly. The witch who lives in the gingerbread house receives some targeted advertising. Cinderella, having escaped the cruelty of the stepsisters and stepmother is now exposed to the subtleties of the publishing world. Peter Piper is certainly aware of Cinders’ celebrity status and hopes that a book about her will bring in some cash. The wolf receives a solicitor’s letter concerning his behaviour towards Red Riding hood, her grandmother and the three little pigs. There are dark threats as well. Jack’s giant must be aware that there is one bigger and more violent than him around.

Is there a joke for adults there? At each home the postman is offered a beverage. At the palace when he visits Cinderella and the prince he drinks champagne. Is this what makes him jolly?

There are some bright points. The additional material in the pictures offers no threats. The final letter is a birthday card for Goldilocks and everyone enjoys a party at her house.

There are fourteen double spreads. The envelopes containing the letter form one half of some double spreads.

The pictures extend the stories. For instance, we see the cat washing up in the witch’s kitchen. At the palace the prince wears a bright floral shirt and is hoovering. The wolf-grandma is knitting.        

Though this has all of the attributes of a picture book and although it isn’t an emergent reader book it may well be suitable for lower primary school children as they will know these characters and the other types of text may make sense to them.            

   

Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

2008, first published 1978    

  

There is an “Each Peach Pear Plum” playground rhyme. Janet and Allan Ahlberg have combined this with details about characters from nursery rhymes and fairy tales to form a very rhythmical rhyming text.  It also an I-Spy book.  As the adult reads the child has to find the new character hidden in someone else’s story.      

   

As ever in picture books there is additional story in the pictures. Sometimes this is challenging: Cinderella as well as Goldilocks has broken into the home of the Three Bears, Baby Bear trips over his gun and Baby Bunting has been abandoned like Moses amongst the bulrushes.  However, all turns out well and everybody enjoys some plum pie.

The book comes in several formats including a small one that a young child could actually hold. There are fourteen double spreads. The text is in a simple and large font.      

A Walk in the Park by Anthony Browne

2013, first published 1977  

Mr Smith and his daughter Smudge take their dog Albert for a walk. Mrs Smythe and her son Charlie take their dog, Victoria for a walk.  Mr Smith and Smudge walk through a dreary neighbourhood with rubbish piled in front of dark little terraced houses.  Mrs Smythe and Charles walk past neat and tidy detached houses with bay windows. Even their clothing is different. 

The dogs do not hesitate to have fun and chase each other. Charlie and Smudge gradually get to know one another. Mr Smith and Mrs Smythe do not. 

There is a joke for the adults. Victoria chases Albert and Albert chases Victoria. 

As always with picture book for this age group there is some much more extra story in the pictures.  Not only do we have more detail but there are some quite extraordinary details. One double spread features four trees. The one on the far left has no leaves. The one on the far right is full of leaves. We see them growing in the two other pictures. This suggests that the trips to the park occur regularly over a period of time. When the children finally play together and “The whole world seemed happy” there are rainbows in the background. The final two pages show Charlie and Victoria arriving home.  Do they live near the park? On the opposite page Smudge and Albert have to walk through the middle of town to get back to their home.     

The text is sparse and the pictures dominate. It uses an adult font though it is large. This is a large format book.  

The Cat in the Hat by Dr Zeuss

2016, first published 1956  
(click on image to view on Amazon)  

Dr Zeuss brings us The Cat in the Hat in 1958 (Zeuss 2016). The story starts off down beat. The children cannot go out to play because it i pouring with rain. Sinisterly they hear a bump and then a giant anthropomorphic cat appears wearing a a hat. He promises to show them some tricks  and points out that their mother will not mind at all. The children are not sure what to do. Their mother is not at home. This would probably not happen in the 21st century. Indeed at this point the 21st century reader may think of stranger danger. The gold fish speaks up and tries to protect the children: “No, no.

         Make that cat go away

          Tell the Cat in the Hat

          You do NOT want to play”(p12)

The cat makes a terrific mess after trying to hold too many things at once. The fish constantly admonishes him and to some extent the children. The cat brings in a mysterious red box. It contain two curious humanoid creatures (p33). The fish becomes even more concerned. The Things are mischievous. They fly kites in the house (p37). Indeed, the Things make a mess (39). Mother is on her way home.  The children become afraid and try to catch the Things (49). Fortunately the cat helps them to get their house tidy just in time for mother coming home.  

It was Zeuss’s aim to create fun books for children.

The book is 61 pages long. It is written in rhyme.  The pictures are in just black, blue red and white illustrate and supplement the story. The text uses a quite large adult font.