Tails of Tangleby Gardens 1
Sue Heazlewood
Jane Smith
Tails of Tangleby Gardens
Sue Heazlewood (2022)
Illustrator: Jane Smith
Picture book, 210 pages
Aukram Publishing, Ohoka
Hardback
ISBN 978 0 473 62580 1
Tails of Tangleby Gardens is visually stunning
combination, bringing together a story book for young readers and a recipe book
for young cooks. The mixture sounds odd but the proof is in the pudding; it
works.
The story begins as Marmalade rabbit organises a huge
birthday party for her husband, Montgomery, attended by his extended family.
Food is important of course. ‘There was fairy bread, fruit skewers, muffins
and a big tub of homemade strawberry ice cream.’ The party is interrupted
by the arrival of a large yellow digger which destroys the warren. Marmalade
and Montgomery have to find a new home. A pair of skylarks, Skye and Lark lead
them to Tangleby, where they set up their new home in the playhouse, bringing
in their rescued belongings, ‘lots of cooking pots, tins, aprons and recipe
books.’ Two mice from Southland, Vincent and Violet (with a nod to Beatrix
Potter) move into the three-story dolls’ house. Other animals join them at
Tangleby, including Monica the monarch butterfly and Hemi, Fleur and Finn the
tangata whenua frogs.
Each chapter presents a new challenge to be dealt
with. Two magpies bully the creatures and steal their food but an act of
kindness makes them change their ways, so they become useful by dealing with
the slugs damaging the garden plants. Montgomery is swept away in a flood but
is rescued by Leo the next-door poodle in his helicopter. When spring arrives,
so do baby rabbits and mice and skylarks. Naturally this is celebrated with a
picnic on the lawn. A pair of Southland hedgehogs arrive to act as teachers (and
pass on the secret of cheese rolls).
The story culminates in an attempt by Montgomery’s
unpleasant cousin to take possession of the playhouse. Can the animals retain
the happy home they have created?
There are colour illustrations on every page, the work of
Jane Smith, a Mapua artist and designer, who has succeeded brilliantly in
creating the various animals, dressing them appropriately and fitting them
together in scale. The best picture shows Montgomery and Hemi exchanging a
hongi; the rabbit and the frog are formally dressed, complete with bowler hat
and cufflinks but both have carefully removed their spectacles so they can
press noses.
Each chapter is, of course, interspersed with the recipes
for the meals and picnics the animals were enjoying so much a few pages
earlier. The recipes are graded from ‘Very easy’ to ‘Some skill required.’
Neil Smith’s fine photos of the food have been carefully
adapted so that the animals painted by Jane Smith also appear in them. The
various animals can be seen cutting up sausage rolls and cakes, squeezing lime
juice on to rainbow fruit salad, or simply enjoying the first bite of various
dishes.
Sue Heazlewood also deserves an artistic credit for the
appearance of the various dishes, with the golden spoon going to Chapter 2’s
Vegetable Owl and Dips.
Note: Volumes 2 and 3 followed the success of Tails of Tangleby Gardens.
Trevor Agnew, 7 Nov 2022 [Review 3513]
Tails of Tangleby Gardens 2
Sue Heazlewood Jane Smith
Tails of Tangleby Gardens 2
Sue Heazlewood (2023)
Illustrator: Jane Smith
Auckram Publishing, Ohoka
Illustrated story,
Picture book, 173 pages
Hardback
ISBN 978 047368 096 1
This combined illustrated story and recipe book for young
readers is a sequel to Tails of Tangleby Gardens (2022). Like its predecessor
it is set in Tangleby, a large Canterbury garden, which has acquired a
community of creatures whose main interest in life is eating. And cooking. And
sharing food.
Marmalade and Montgomery Rabbit are the leaders of a
group of animals who have taken informal possession of the playhouse in
Tangleby Gardens. The story begins just before Christmas, so all the young
animals are busy making decorations or helping rescue Molly the cat from up the
tree. Eight Christmas recipes follow, offering everything from Gingerbread
Playdough (‘very easy’) to Chocolate Santa Boots (‘some skill required’).
As the story develops, more characters appear, including
the ducks, Yoyo and Peking, whose car broke down. Peking’s clumsiness often
triggers events in an amusing way. There are also regular minor excitements
such as rescuing Henrietta Hedgehog when she falls down the well or helping
Basil out of the rose bush when he crashes his new bicycle.
The animals have great fun, going on trips to the seaside
(Kaikoura), taking a camping holiday and even fly south to attend a grand ball
at Larnach’s Castle.
There are some challenging moments. Rats kidnap baby
mice, Tommy and Poppy, who are duly rescued. Then there is the dreaded return
of Montgomery’s annoying cousin, Wilson and his wife, Lady May, who plan to
take over the playhouse for themselves. Of course, all ends well, usually with
a celebratory feast. And appropriate recipes.
Sue Heazlewood’s simple narrative style works well and
ties the recipes neatly into the story.
Her child-chef-friendly recipes are accompanied by Neil
Smith’s handsome colour photos of each dish. As in volume 1, illustrator Jane Smith’s
colour paintings of the animals are charming and attractive by themselves. Even
cuter, however, is the way that she has introduced the various animals into her
husband’s food photographs. Thus, we see
Yoyo sampling her Nutella Crunch while a Kaikoura seagull is caught in the act
of stealing a Chip-Coated Fish.
This handsomely-produced book is an eye-catching,
mouth-watering experience.
Trevor Agnew, 14 September 2023 [Review 3590]
Tails of Tangleby Gardens 3
Sue Heazlewood Jane Smith
Tails of Tangleby Gardens 3
Sue Heazlewood Ill.
Jane Smith
Tails of Tangleby Gardens 3
Sue Heazlewood
Illustrator: Jane Smith
Aukram Publishing, Ohoka (2024)
Illustrated story, Recipe book
Hardback, 170 pages
ISBN 978 0 47372 315 6
Spot the food in this story:
‘Marmalade had made her delicious paprika chicken and
a scrumptious apple crumble for dessert.’ Before the story goes much
further, the young readers encounter a picture of Marmalade the rabbit
preparing the chicken dish and Violet the mouse pouring custard over a generous
helping of crumble. Recipes are included. Suddenly a mealtime crisis erupts
when naughty Basil the bunny has a tantrum and runs out into the snow. A search
party of animals has to be formed to rescue him. Saved from drowning in an icy
pool, Basil is reinvigorated by a mugful of Chinese chicken and corn soup (with
recipe). And that’s only Chapter One.
This charming combination of storytelling and cooking has
now reached its third instalment. Tails of Tangleby Gardens 3 once again
mixes an illustrated animal fantasy with a recipe book. The result is
a thoroughly enjoyable adventure involving talking rabbits, frogs, dogs, cats
mice and hedgehogs, with a food bonus. The playhouse (cubbyhouse to Australian
readers) at Tangleby Gardens has developed from being a home for a pair of
refugee rabbits, Marmalade and Montgomery, and has become a bustling multi-species
sanctuary for a wide range of homeless creatures. And they all enjoy good food.
The animals face the challenge of winter with aplomb,
using Leo the poodle’s balloon to fly in nourishing meals to some hungry local
mice. With warmer weather, the whole Tangleby family of animals goes on a
camping holiday to Foxton Beach, where the little blue penguins, Mr and Mrs
Winterbottom, have made a new home. This jaunt enables the animals to enjoy a
road trip in their camper-van as well as some amusing adventures and
misadventures at the beach. Peking Duck’s big feet do cause mishaps such as falling
into the chocolate cake, but they also prove useful in rescuing Basil and Belle
from the perils of surf and wind.
The attractive colour illustrations on almost every page
are by Jane Smith, who has created a full array of well-dressed animals. Her
husband Neil Smith’s tasty food photographs have also been populated by
animals, so Violet mouse is shown decorating her Jelly Slice with pansies.
A great deal of thought has gone into the organisation of
this book. There is a double-page pictorial identification guide to the cast of
characters, to remind readers that Louie is a cat, Hemi is a frog and Basil and
Belle are rabbits. The recipes have two indexes. One offers the usual
alphabetical order, while the second has them listed in page and chapter order.
The recipes themselves are well set out with clear instructions and ability
levels that range from one strawberry (‘Very easy’) to three strawberries
(‘Some skill required’). Each recipe has its own QR code, so that there is no
need to take this handsome book into the food preparation area.
There is a two-page reference guide to liquid and weight
measures, oven temperatures for cooking different meats and a list of
alternative names for various ingredients.
Tails of Tangleby Gardens 3 is an ideal gift for fond
grandparents to hand out.
Trevor Agnew
2 Dec 2024 [Review 3732]
