New Zealand Spring Picture Books 2013

New Zealand Spring Picture Books 2013:

by Trevor Agnew

 

Magical Margaret Mahy  Betty Gilderdale, Puffin, 120pp, pb, NZ$19.99

Henry’s Map  David Elliot, Random House, 32 pp, pb, NZ$19.99 

Queen Alice’s Palaces  Juliette MacIver, ill. Lucia Masciullo, ABC/HarperCollins, 32 pp, hb, NZ$29.99 

Toucan Can!  Juliette MacIver, ill. Sarah Davis, Gecko Press, 32 pp, hb, $34.99; pb, NZ$19.99 

BANG  Leo Timmers, Gecko, 48 pages,  pb, $19.99; hb, NZ$34.99

One Little Fantail Anne Hunter, ill. Dave Gunson, Scholastic, 32pp, pb. NZ$19.50 

The Importance of Green  Leonie Agnew, ill Trevor Pye Puffin, pb, NZ$19.99 

 

 New Zealand Spring Picture Books 2013

 As many of the late Margaret Mahy’s picture books are currently being re-issued, it is valuable to have a freshly revised edition of Betty Gilderdale’s Magical Margaret Mahy.  First published in 1987, it has always been an excellent guide for young readers, answering the questions that Mahy was always asked. (Do writers ever get rich? Are you afraid of running out of ideas?).  Gilderdale has woven Mahy’s answers (and her own deep knowledge of Mahy’s books) into a lively readable account which explains everything from the origin of the lion in the meadow to why the teachers in her stories are often “of the old-fashioned bullying kind.”  Alan Gilderdale’s illustrations of Mahy’s home and toys add to the warmth of the anecdotes. This reader-friendly paperback brings the genius of the author fresh off the page for a new generation of Mahy readers.

 

David Elliott is well-known as an illustrator of Margaret Mahy’s work, and the frisky farm animals who first appeared in their award-winning The Moon and Farmer McPhee (2010) now return in Henry’s Map. Henry is a fastidiously tidy piglet, who is upset at the untidiness of the farm he lives on. ‘How could anybody ever find anything out there?’ His solution is to draw a map “so that everyone knows what will belong where.’ First Henry draws his own sty, and then he draws a picture of himself next to it. (Young readers like the fact that Henry’s drawing and labelling techniques are – ahem – childish. His spelling is pigletish.)  The other animals are delighted by Henry’s efforts and ask to be included in his map.  ‘Now,’ he said proudly, ‘we’ll know where everything is.’

Henry leads all the animals up the hill. They look at Henry’s map and then down at the farm.

‘But we’re not there,’ bleated the sheep. The matter is sorted out with a charming and satisfying ending.  Elliot’s colour illustrations are masterful, and full of little details like Henry picking flowers to put in his sty.  Young readers delight in the moment when they find that they are smarter than the farm animals.  At the same time, they learn all the basic principles of map-making. They also find satisfaction in Henry’s dictum, ‘A place for everything and everything in its place.’

 

By happy coincidence two of Christchurch author Juliette MacIver’s picture books have appeared simultaneously. Both are excellent.  Toucan Can! demonstrates MacIver’s flair for word-play and rhythm.  Toucan can do anything. ‘With the fry pan and a stew pan, he can juggle one-hand, two hand while he cancans on a fruit can.’ Readers are invited to join in Toucan’s frolics ‘Surely, you can?’ In Sarah Davis’s strikingly colourful illustrations, dozens of cute little birds dance along, and are joined, as the rhymes accumulate, by a kangaroo, a panda and an unidentified furry creature named Ewan who has some formidable aunts. The aunts can’t dance but everyone else can, so the result is a splendid jamboree.  This is a wonderful book for reading aloud – for anyone who can cope with splendid tongue-twisters..

 

 Queen Alice’s Palaces is a witty story, told in verse, about sneaky Sir Hugh’s plan to persuade Queen Alice to build a new palace, which he can then steal.

‘Why not build one no one’s thought of before?

Something, striking, original, new!’

Queen Alice builds no less than six strikingly original palaces – all brilliantly and imaginatively realised by artist Lucia Masciullo – but there is a hitch with every one. Delightfully each hitch involves a disaster for the ‘cunning, conniving and callous’ Sir Hugh. For example, when he tests the upper floor of the knitted woollen palace, both the palace and Sir Hugh come undone. The bamboo palace comes unstrung, the cheese palace goes rancid and a fire in the cockatoo feather palace leaves Sir Hugh ‘with a mouthful of plumes and a burn on the bottom.’ Juliette MacIver is already being called a rising star in the world of picture books, and these two bouncy and funny picture books confirm the claim.

 

Another Christchurch writer is Anne Hunter, who has produced an imaginative bird identification book, One Little Fantail, based on the rhyme ‘Two little birdies.’  Thus her rhyming text introduces familiar birds:

‘With their brown feather cloaks and keen golden eyes,

They skim over tussock and soar through the skies.’ 

And which bird is being described? Dave Gunson’s masterful double-page colour illustrations should leave no doubt, but in a clever move, the Maori and Pakeha names of the birds have been carefully camouflaged in their portrait. (Kahu and harrier hawk, as young readers will have deduced.)  The twelve subjects range from pukeko to kea, and a three page fact section includes further information on all the birds.

 

Sometimes it’s the picture books with the fewest words that provide the best incentive for close reading. Leo Timmers’ BANG contains only one word but young readers will be scrutinising every page for the hilarious details of cause and effect. Eight extremely eccentric vehicles, each driven by a different animal, become interlocked in a series of rear-end collisions. Since their loads include ice-cream, paint, fish, tyres, books, dresses, baby rabbits, fruit and vegetables, each collision – with its joyously repeated signal of ‘Bang’ – leads to a new round of mayhem and coincidence.  The results are colourful, imaginative and funny, concluding with a spectacular double-page pull-out that provides a happy ending for everyone except the fish.

 

Finally The Importance of Green by Leonie Agnew, is a charming and imaginative introduction to the concept of colour, in the story of Liam ‘who could not and would not paint without green.’ When Liam runs out of green paint, life becomes difficult inside his paintings. Cars are trapped by red lights and cows have no grass. As mayhem erupts in his pictures, Liam keeps experimenting with colours but nobody wants to drink blue milk and the grasshoppers don’t like being orange. Then he adds blue paint to yellow and makes an amazing discovery that brings happiness to the cows, motorists, grasshoppers and, of course, Liam.  Trevor Pye’s imaginatively-coloured illustrations are an important element of this picture book’s appeal. A colour wheel offers young readers a guide to future art experiments.

 

Trevor Agnew

 

 

 

 

Full Publishing details:

Magical Margaret Mahy  Betty Gilderdale, Puffin, 120pp, pb, $19.99 ISBN 978-0-143-56881-0

Henry’s Map  David Elliot, Random House, 32 pp, pb, $19.99  ISBN 978-1-77553-330-6

 

  Queen Alice’s Palaces  Juliette MacIver, ill. Lucia Masciullo, ABC/HarperCollins, 32 pp, hb, $29.99  ISBN   978-0-7333-3102-2

 

Toucan Can!  Juliette MacIver, ill. Sarah Davis, Gecko Press, 32 pp,
hb, $34.99  ISBN 978-1-877467-53-0

Pb, $19.99  ISBN 978-1-877467-54-7

  

One Little Fantail Anne Hunter, ill. Dave Gunson, Scholastic, 32pp, Pb. NZ$19.50  ISBN 978-1-77543-138-1

 

BANG  Leo Timmers, Gecko, 48 pages,

paperback, $19.99 ISBN 978-1-877579-17-2

hardback, $34.99 ISBN 978-1-877579-18-9

 

The Importance of Green  Leonie Agnew, ill Trevor Pye Puffin, pb, $19.99  ISBN 978-0-143-50571-6

 

 

Bridge Books: Books that bridge the gap between Picture books and Novels

Bridge Books:  Books that bridge the gap between Picture books and Novels:

 A Lion in the Meadow  Margaret Mahy, ill Jenny Williams, Orion, 49 pages, paperback, $14.99 

Wolf and Dog  Sylvia Vanden Heede, ill Marije Tolman, Gecko, 94 pages, pb, $24.99  

Lily Gets in a Pink Pickle  Elizabeth Pulford, ill Aki Fukuoka, Scholastic, 88pages, pb, $12 

Salto-scaredypus (Dinosaur Rescue 8)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic, 96 pages, pb, $12 

Megasaurus Mash-Up 1 (Dinosaur Rescue 1-4)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic, 374  pages, pb, $19 

Hercules, Champion of the World  Nigel Gray, ill Heath McKenzie, Walker Books, 109 pages, pb, $14.95 

The Day My Father Became a Bush, Joke van Leeuwen, Gecko, 104 pages, paperback, $19.

 

Bridge Books:  Books that bridge the gap between Picture books and Novels

by Trevor Agnew

Call them bridge books. Call them chapter books, early readers or young novels. The name doesn’t matter; it is the function which is important.  These are the books where words carry young readers across the gaping chasm between picture books and novels.  These are the books that show children the power of words to entertain, enlighten and amuse. These are bridge books.

The pictures in Margaret Mahy’s A Lion in the Meadow are certainly beautiful but, right from its first publication in the School Journal in 1965, this story has demonstrated the combined power of words and imagination to create a gripping story.  A little boy is frightened to go into the meadow, because of “the big, roaring, whiskery, yellow lion” there. His mother conjures up a story of a dragon to scare the lion away. It works – because stories are powerful – but the lion then seeks refuge in the broom cupboard. All ends well, with the boy and lion friends, playing in a different, dragon-free meadow. This story may be nearly 50 years old, but its charm and wisdom make it fresh on every telling.

Sylvia Vanden Heede’s Wolf and Dog (translated from the Dutch by Bill Nagelkerke) is a witty tale of two cousins: Dog who lives in a basket and menacing Wolf who lives in a forest and is wild. Wolf mocks at Dog’s possessions (like his cap and Guard Dog sign) while secretly lusting for them. Dog is fascinated by Wolf’s rough ways and fleas. When Dog cooks him some bacon, Wolf eats it straight from the pan! This tale, full of word-play and puns, is ideal for young readers, especially those with rough friends.

Elizabeth Pulford’s Lily Gets in a Pink Pickle has a highly appropriate title because little girls adore pink, and this book has pink-edged pages and a twinkly pink cover. Lily is a trainee angel at Amelia’s Angel Academy who always has cute mishaps, which turn out well anyway. Will Frumplepuss cause trouble at the Cherub Cat Show? The tone may be twee but Pulford knows how to tell a story and Aki Fukuoka’s pictures are charming. There are five earlier volumes in the Littlest Angel series for those who get hooked.

Kyle Mewburn’s Dinosaur Rescue series has more boy readers than girl readers because of its cheerful concentration on farts, snot and dinosaur droppings.  Salto-scaredypus is the eighth in this gleefully anachronistic series, which now has 120,000 copies in print and fans from Canada to Slovenia. Arg is a bright Neanderthal lad with a Swiss army rock and a low-brow family, who hinder his high-minded efforts to save the dinosaurs from extinction. It’s all messy, slap-stick fun, and Donovan Bixley’s brilliant illustrations add a whole new dimension to the silliness with features like ‘The Dos and Don’ts of Mammoth Hunting.’ For newbies, Volumes 1 to 4 have been bundled into Megasurus Mash-up 1. These are books that make kids want to read.

 Nigel Gray tells the story of Hercules, Champion of the World in a cheerfully flip way that lures young readers deep into Greek mythology. “Hercules was one of those kids who is best at everything. (Don’t you hate them?)” is a typical comment. When Hercules lies on his funeral pyre, a friend asks if it’s a good idea to start smoking at his age. The bits in between are just as amusing but also re-spin a good yarn.

 The best writers are those who can make an unpleasant subject readable. Joke van Leeuwen’s The Day My Father Became a Bush (another Bill Nagelkerke translation) faces up to the baffling world of war. “Before my father turned into a bush, he was a pastry chef,” says Toda, who learns about military camouflage when war overtakes her country. She becomes a refugee and has to avoid irritating those who care for her. Her list of things to avoid includes “not saying ‘thank you’ enough,” and “singing songs they didn’t like.” Her identity reduced to a number, forced to learn a new language (which the reader too has to pick up), Toda reflects the experiences of the world’s refugees. Her simple childish viewpoint makes sense to the reader, as Toda describes the turmoil of war as seen by one of its victims. The down-to-earth common sense which enables Toda to be reunited with her family also makes this a warm and touching story, which emphasises the power of words. It is a perfect example of a story that builds bridges.

 Trevor Agnew

Note: This review was first published in Your Weekend Magazine, The Press, Christchurch on 15 June 2013.

 

FULL  PUBLISHING  DETAILS:

A Lion in the Meadow  Margaret Mahy, ill Jenny Williams, Orion Early Reader/ Hachette NZ, 49 pages, paperback, NZ$14.99  ISBN978-1-4440-0926-2

Wolf and Dog  Sylvia Vanden Heede, Gecko, ill Marije Tolman, 94 pages, pb, NZ$24.99   ISBN 978-1-877579-38-7 

Lily Gets in a Pink Pickle  Elizabeth Pulford, ill Aki Fukuoka, Scholastic NZ, 88 pages, pb, NZ$12  ISBN 978-1-77543-099-5

Salto-scaredypus (Dinosaur Rescue 8)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic NZ, 96 pages, pb, NZ$12  ISBN 978-1-77543-121-3

Megasaurus Mash-Up 1 (Dinosaur Rescue 1-4)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic NZ, 374  pages, pb, NZ$19  ISBN 978-1-77543-121-3

Hercules, Champion of the World  Nigel Gray, ill Heath McKenzie, Walker Books, 109 pages, pb, NZ$14.95  ISBN 978-1-921529-89-4

 The Day My Father Became a Bush, Joke van Leeuwen, Gecko, 104 pages, paperback, NZ$19.99  ISBN 978-1-877579-16-5  

 

 

 

Classics: New and Old Some New Zealand Children’s Picture Books

Classics: New and Old     Some New Zealand Children’s Picture Books   

Swim  Chris Szekely, ill. Andrew Burdan, HuiaPublishing, 32 pp, hb, NZ$24.                 [Maori language version: Tahoe, NZ$24]

The Three Little Pigs  Gavin Bishop, Scholastic, 32 pp, pb. NZ$19.50. 

The Silly Goat Gruff  Scott Tulloch, Scholastic, 32 pp, pb, NZ$19.50 

Moose on the Loose  Scott Tulloch, HarperCollins NZ, 32 pp, pb, NZ$19.99

The Three Bears, Sort Of  Yvonne Morrison, ill. Donovan Bixley, Scholastic, 32 pp, pb, NZ$19.50 

The Wheels on the Bus  Donovan Bixley, Hodder Moa/ Hachette, board-book edition, NZ$14.99  

The Song of the Ship Rat  Ben Brown, Helen Taylor, Scholastic, 32 pp, pb, NZ$19.50

Luther and the Cloud-Makers  Kyle Mewburn  ill. Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson, Scholastic, 32pp, pb, NZ$19.50.

Classics: New and Old    Some New Zealand Children's picture books:    

 All good stories are told and retold.  The best become classics, enjoyed by generations of children.  Every New Zealander, for example, has heard of the famous Arawa love story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai.  The latest (and surely the most handsome) re-telling is Swim, retold by Chris Szekely (Chief Librarian of the Alexander Turnbull Library) and illustrated in sumptuous colour by Andrew Burdan. 

Interestingly Szekely uses Hinemoa’s viewpoint, emphasising the sacrifice she was making in leaving her people and the physical effort of her famous swim across Lake Rotorua to Mokoia Island.  “She swam until her arms grew heavy. She swam until her legs became lead.”  Burdan’s atmospheric illustrations add to the spirit of Hinemoa’s feat, as a symbolic kotuku (white heron) becomes her guardian.  This is a beautifully told story splendidly presented.  A Maori language version, Tahoe, is also available, translated by Scotty Morrison, who is a descendant of Tutanekai.  Modern technology meets ancient romance for both versions of this book; each carries a QR code, enabling access to an online MP3 sound-track in both English and Maori.

One of the earliest books by Christchurch’s talented artist and writer Gavin Bishop was his 1989 retelling of The Three Little Pigs. Nearly a quarter of a century later it has been redesigned and re-issued, as charming and amusing as ever. Bishop is faithful to the original tale, complete with straw, sticks and bricks, rolling butter churn and boiling soup pot. His illustrations, however, can only be described as cool-kiwi, with the wolf sporting sharp shades and a monogrammed windbreaker as he tries to outwit the pigs. The ink and watercolour pictures use a Canterbury foot-hills setting, and are rich in amusing details. The brick house has a turnip motif, while the stick dwelling is a historic Canterbury V-hut. Best of all the sharpness and clarity of Bishop’s prose is a perfect match for his illustrations. This is a book to treasure.

 As its title suggests The Silly Goat Gruff offers a variation on the well-known folk-tale.  The troll under the bridge prevents the three goat brothers, Willy, Billy and Silly from trip-trap-tripping across to greener pastures; that much is traditional. Scott Tulloch’s cheerfully bouncy verse version, however, has a surprising twist. Silly goat is not silly; his name proves to be a collection of surprises for the unfortunate troll. Tulloch’s gleefully exaggerated cartoon-like illustrations delight young readers.  (They will also enjoy Tulloch’s latest addition to his Willy series, Moose on the Loose, where Willy makes mayhem with pets real and imaginary.)    

The Three Bears, Sort Of is Yvonne Morrison’s highly imaginative retelling which older readers will relish. On one level a luckless narrator is trying to tell the familiar story. ‘Once upon a time there were three bears…’ His audience, however, has a well-stocked and enquiring mind. ‘What kind of bears? Grizzly bears? Sun Bears? Polar bears?’ The narrator then has to cope with a barrage of inconvenient facts. ‘Why is she cooking it? Wouldn’t bears just eat the oats raw? Or, better yet, go out to catch some salmon?’  The narrator extemporises brilliantly, suggesting that Baby bear is allergic to fish, and that the three bowls are different sizes so the porridge cools at different rates. Despite the inconvenient fact that bears can run at up to 50 kilometres an hour, a happy (and amusing) conclusion is reached. Donovan Bixley’s colour illustrations add a whole layer of fun to proceedings. The artist’s hands can be seen rapidly adjusting each illustration to match unexpected U-turns in the story. Sometimes hastily-clipped magazine pictures are superimposed on the paintings; there’s even a small hand adding crayoned corrections. Any child (or older reader) who has ever had doubts about Goldilocks will find constant pleasure in this book. (The talented Donovan Bixley’s Kiwi version of The Wheels on the Bus has just been released as a board book, which will give young readers something to get their teeth into.)

The Song of the Ship Rat matches Ben Brown’s bouncy verse with Helen Taylor’s exquisite artwork to bring to life a ship rat who is full of rich memories but weary of the sea. Yet the ship rat finds that the port which once welcomed him – it might be Lyttelton - is not as he remembered it. The result is a poignant classic of the future.

‘Unroll the maps to Far Away!

We’ll sail before the sun,

For I am a sea-worn ship rat, friends…

 

And I’ll sail until I’m done.’

Another classic of the future is Luther and the Cloud-Makers, skilfully told by Kyle Mewburn and dramatically illustrated by Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson. In this ‘eco-fable,’ life in Luther’s idyllic rural settlement is threatened by black clouds of pollution. ‘They were thick and black as tar.’  Young Luther bravely goes out to seek the cloud-maker. He finds lots of them – machines, tyre-fires and factories – but the people operating them all respond to Luther’s request to stop the black clouds with the assurance that, ‘There’s plenty of room in the sky for a little smoke.’  The genius of this story and its illustrations is that although Luther feels he has failed, the reader can see more than he can. Behind Luther people are talking of filters and re-cycling. He plods home depressed but a surprise is in store for him and the world he lives in. Young readers will enjoy this splendidly-presented allegory.

 Trevor Agnew, Christchurch, New Zealand

Note: This review first appeared in Your Weekend magazine, The Press, Christchurch on 7 September 2013

 

Full Publishing Details:

Swim  Chris Szekely, ill. Andrew Burdan, Huia Publishing, 32pp, hb, $24.00  ISBN 978-1-77550-079-7   [Maori language version: Tahoe]

The Three Little Pigs  Gavin Bishop, Scholastic NZ, 32 pp, Pb. NZ$19.50.  ISBN 978-1-77543-156-5

The Silly Goat Gruff  Scott Tulloch, Scholastic NZ, 32 pages, paperback $19.50  ISBN 1-77543-105-3

Moose on the Loose  Scott Tulloch, HarperCollins NZ, 32 pages, pb, $19.99 ISBN 978-1-86950-683-4

The Three Bears Sort Of  Yvonne Morrison, ill. Donovan Bixley, Scholastic NZ, 32 pages, paperback $19.50  ISBN 1-77543-068-1

The Wheels on the Bus  Donovan Bixley, Hodder Moa/ Hachette, board-book edition, $14.99   ISBN 978-1-86971-299-0  [Hachette, 4 Whetu Pl, Mairangi Bay, Auckland]

The Song of the Ship Rat  Ben Brown, Helen Taylor, Scholastic NZ, 32 pages, paperback, $19.50 ISBN 978-1-77543-048-3

Luther and the Cloud-Makers  Kyle Mewburn  ill. Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson, Scholastic, 32pp, pb $19.50.  ISBN 978-1-77543-144-2