Reviews
There are so many incredible books available at the moment that it is impossible to read them all, no matter how hard I try! Here are my thoughts about some of the books I have read and how I think they could be used in school as well as Q and A sessions with authors and illustrators.
Scary monsters…and Jennifer Killick
Yesterday, I joined an excited audience at Sidcot School to hear Jennifer Killick speak about her books. Although pathetic by nature and very easily scared, I love her ‘Crater Lake’ and ‘Dread Wood’ stories and know that children do too, finding them just scary enough and relating well to the characters in them.
For someone with such a deliciously twisted and wicked imagination, Jennifer is a warm, lovely person, full of enthusiasm and energy. Her talk was the perfect mixture of interaction, inspiration and fun which keeps the audience engaged. She introduced everyone to ‘Geek, Robot, Overlord’, a game from ‘Crater Lake’ based on ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’, and I could see children playing this in the signing queue at the end of the event.
Jennifer treated us to a reading from ‘Dread Wood’ and even though I knew what was coming (having read the book!), I still jumped at the end! As she read, there was not a sound from the audience who were completely engrossed by the story. All too soon, the event was over and Jennifer was faced with a huge signing queue! Although book three of the ‘Dread Wood’ series is not yet released, Alistair from Books on the Hill in Clevedon had worked his magic once more and ‘Flock Horror’ was available (it’s so good!).
Thanks to Andrea and Bev at Sidcot for letting me join the event. ‘Flock Horror’ (Farshore ISBN: 978-0008538545) is out on the 2nd March- don’t miss it!
The Animal Lighthouse
Washed up in a barrel of rum on a tropical island when a baby, Jim has been brought up by his animal family ever since. He helps them to run the island’s special lighthouse which has the dual purpose of keeping ships from hitting the rocks and completely hiding the magical island from the wrong eyes. But trouble is on the horizon as someone has stolen the lighthouse bulb filaments, exposing the island. To make matters worse, a pirate ship is on the way…
Bursting with humour and heart, ‘The Animal Lighthouse’ is a swash-buckling adventure sure to capture the imagination of its readers. A wonderful menagerie of animals support Jim in his action-packed quest and the story is peppered with Ciara Flood’s brilliant illustrations.
Recently, I was delighted to be asked to organise some school visits for Anthony- and these were incredibly successful! Both schools he visited were effusive with their praise for Anthony and the pleasure he had given to their children. One teacher told me: Anthony was fantastic! He had the children captivated and engaged. There was a real buzz from staff and children about his visit. It was interactive and very funny! Another said that her son had enjoyed the talk so much that he has had his nose in the book all weekend.
Lots of happy children were enthused by the event and enjoyed having their copies of the book signed as these comments show!
Alicia: The author was really funny; he made funny voices for the characters.
William: He was really good-he was just the best! I read a whole chapter of his book last night.
Mia: I liked that he was funny. He read the story to us in different voices.
Jenny: He tried to make us all laugh and it actually did work!
High praise indeed!
Many thanks to Anthony for his wonderful visits, to Liz Scott for her support and to Alastair at Books on the Hill in Clevedon for book sales!
The Animal Lighthouse Anthony Burt
illustrated by Ciara Flood
Guppy Books ISBN: 978-1913101527