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.

Picture Book, Festivals, Hinduism Sue Wilsher Picture Book, Festivals, Hinduism Sue Wilsher

Happy Holi!

Holi marks the birth of spring and the harvest that it brings.

May this bounty multiply. Greet one and all with…HOLI HAI!

Join in the excitement and fun as a family prepares for, and then celebrates, the festival of Holi. Chitra Soundar’s lively rhyming text really captures the joy of this special occasion and is a joy to read aloud.

The book offers plenty to discuss and share as the family cook treats, tidy up and create the coloured powders which they will use in their celebrations. A real sense of community and togetherness is conveyed as everyone gathers to join in the fun. Extra notes at the end of the book offer more information about the festival and a glossary is included to explain some of the terms used, invaluable for both home and school.

Vibrant illustrations fill every page with colour and life, making the book a visual treat. The meaning of the occasion and the delight involved in its observation are clearly conveyed through both text and pictures, meaning this is a book which will be shared again and again.

Chitra and Amberin’s considerable skills have also been used in ‘Garland of Lights, a Diwali story’ also from Bloomsbury.

Happy Holi!

Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Amberin Huq

Bloomsbury ISBN: 978-1526642264

Out on the 13th February 2025

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St Austell Festival of Children’s Literature

Yesterday, I had great fun attending the St Austell Festival of Children’s Literature. Originally, I intended to go for the day, but as it’s nearly 3 hours from home, we decided to make a weekend of it, with my husband and son meeting up to walk some of the SW coast path, whilst I enjoyed the festival.

Festival events were being held in four different locations- the library, White River Cinema, Unit 4 and the Pop up venue. Never having stopped in St Austell before, I was delighted to find that the three venues where I had events were all really close together with parking nearby. The Festival Hub was also located in White River Place, using an empty shop, which offered a wonderful space for the bookshop and some creative activities to take place.

The bookshop was provided by Reading Rocks- and what a selection was on offer! It was lovely to meet up with Heather again and enjoy some book-ish chat with her in odd moments when she wasn’t being everywhere and doing everything with her wonderful team of helpers!

My first event was in the cinema! I have heard many, many authors speak over the years, but this was definitely one of the most comfortable locations! Having just reviewed the new Rosie Raja book, ‘Mission to Cairo’ for Reading Zone, I was delighted to have the opportunity to hear author, Sufiya Ahmed, talking about her writing. It was a great event with lots of thoughtful questions from the audience.

My next event was at the Pop up venue, another empty shop which was being used for the excellent purpose of hosting events. Non-fiction author, Isabel Thomas, treated the audience to a fascinating session which generated plenty of excitement. Having written over 250 books (including ‘Moth’ which I frequently use in Y6), she told us she often gets asked to write about things she knows little about and so has to start with questions, silly ones being the best as they often lead to really interesting science! The children in the audience came up with some brilliant ones- and she gave equally brilliant answers!

Next, I headed to Unit 4 which is a dance studio. Here, Rebecca Cobb read some stories, including a new book which she has illustrated for Julia Donaldson called ‘Who Lives Here?’. She showed everyone how to draw Aunt Amelia and shared the story behind her story ‘The Something’!

Back at the cinema, I joined an excited group listening to Clare Helen Welsh reading about Lenny the lemur in ‘Poo! Is that You?’. Illustrator, Nicola O’Byrne, sent a film showing how to draw Lenny and some lovely lemur pictures were created. Clare then read her new book ‘Sunny Side Up’ (review here) and everyone enjoyed making their own sunny-side specs!

There were so many events to choose from that I could easily have attended twice or three times as many had I been able to fit them in! I managed to catch up with Sarah Tagholm, but missed many others like Emma McCann, Justyn Edwards, Anna Wilson, Julie Sykes…there was so much choice! Unbelievably, tickets were only £1 each- I have no idea how the organisers managed it, but this was a wonderfully successful festival and I shall be back next year when I hope there will be another one! Huge congratulations to all concerned!

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Festivals, Bristol Sue Wilsher Festivals, Bristol Sue Wilsher

Storytale Festival, Bristol

The Storytale Festival began when Ellie Freeman decided to start a citywide children’s book festival in Bristol. She wanted to bring books, poetry and storytelling to children across the city and the festival launched with great success in 2019. Things had to be adapted when the pandemic hit, but Ellie and her team were undeterred, continuing with their inspirational programme on their YouTube Channel. This year, however, the in-person festival is back and yesterday, I headed to Bristol to join in the fun!

Bristol was looking particularly lovely on this autumnal morning as I made my way to Bookhaus on Rope Walk. My first event was listening to Alex Cotter, author of ‘The House on the Edge’ and ‘The Mermaid Call’ and this beautiful bookshop made the perfect venue.

Alex was excellent with the children in the audience, her warm and friendly manner keeping them engaged throughout the session. She spoke about where her ideas and inspiration came from and encouraged children to create their own plot ideas using both pictures and notes. Valuing each idea and offering plenty of praise and support, Alex worked with each child, listening to their ideas and making suggestions. The time flew past and a lovely time was had by all!

After a spot of lunch and a wander round St Nicholas Market, I headed for Stanfords for event number two- Lou Abercrombie, author of ‘Fig Swims the World’ and ‘Coming Up for Air’.

Lou’s talk was fascinating, showing how her real-life experiences, particularly her adventures in swimming, have helped her to develop her writing. From freediving to being a mermaid, the things Lou has done, the people she has met, the places she has visited have coloured and shaped her writing. Inspiring stuff!

I had a brilliant day of book-ish delight and have come away determined to get to know Bristol better as a city. The Storytale Festival is a fantastic event and one which I will be happily supporting next year! You can find out more on their website.

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Bath Children’s Literature Festival 2022

On Saturday, I went to the Bath Children’s Literature Festival, one of the book-ish treats I enjoy every year. Being limited by my crutches, I only managed one event this year, but it was lovely to be back and the perfect place to meet up with book-loving friends.

The Festival fills Bath with a lovely atmosphere- and you never know who you might bump into, particularly when you pop into Toppings for a few sneaky purchases between events! Jacqueline Wilson was as lovely as ever and once we had recovered from the shock of seeing her, she kindly signed Sally’s school author autograph book. I was not surprised that she didn’t remember having had dinner with me when I helped at Bournville Bookfest a few years ago!

The Guildhall is a lovely venue for events. Grade 1 listed, this spectacular Georgian building’s opulent interior is full of beautiful details and portraits. Held in the Banqueting Room, a wonderful space with glorious 18th-century chandeliers and intricate plasterwork on the ceiling, my event was ‘Magic and Mystery with Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Lucy Strange’, two excellent authors.

In a completely absorbing session, which flew past all too quickly, Lucy and Kiran discussed how they had come to writing. Both loved books when they were younger, but as most of the books she read were by ‘dead people’, Lucy felt that books came from the past and didn’t realise that writing was something you could do. Both had gone into ‘the hardest job in the world’ (Kiran’s description of teaching!) before coming to writing. Kiran felt that being married to an artist had a part in her becoming an author as he made her realise that you could follow your passion. He also helped in that he told her she didn’t have the patience to write and she was determined to prove him wrong! Cats are also useful as they ensure that you don’t move for long periods of time once curled up on your lap! After teaching for 15 years, Lucy found herself working in the Middle East and she started writing out of homesickness, writing about what she knew helped.

It was particularly fascinating to hear about the amount of words each lady had written which never made it to the final version of the book. Lucy’s editor helped her to cut 46,000 words from her first draft of ‘The Secret of Nightingale Wood’, getting rid of those bits Lucy described as ‘an indulgence’ whilst Kiran told a similar story about her writing, particularly ‘The Girl of Ink and Stars’.

Lucy told us that ‘Sisters of the Lost Marsh’ was inspired by Romney Marsh, which she described as having a feeling ‘like the sea wants it back’ and the poem, ‘Overheard on a Saltmarsh’ by Harold Monro. With her background in acting coming to the fore, Lucy read the poem so well- it was captivating! Giving advice for those who want to write, she suggested that ideas need to ‘simmer like a casserole’ and said that it helps if you really want to be the character you are writing about.

Kiran spoke of her love of mythology and how this has sparked ideas for her writing. Offering advice to writers, she explained how she doesn’t feel like a ‘main character’ herself- someone who’s always looking for adventure. She’s very content being at home, but if anything threatened those she loves then she would spring into action and do anything she could to save them. These are the sort of character she likes to write about.

It was the most inspiring session with some excellent questions from the audience. The relationship between Kiran and Lucy was warm and relaxed, making their conversation very natural and light-hearted.

Having had my books signed (my copy of ‘Leila and the Blue Fox’ was the first Kiran had signed), Sally and I bumped into some more familiar faces- James Carter and Cerrie Burnell.

My day ended in the perfect way. Having had a little stroll along the canal, I enjoying the afternoon sun sitting in the Pleasure Gardens by Holburne Museum, enjoying the beauty of the surroundings and the joy of a good book!

The Festival continues this week with lots of events for schools and again, next weekend with a programme full of interest for all the family.

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