Yetis Don’t Exist!

When Iggy, the Yeti, hears the news that ‘Yetis Don’t Exist!’, he and his friends decide that they have to set off on a human search to prove that yetis are indeed real. But no matter how hard they look, there’s not a human to be found!

What a delightful romp of joy ‘Yetis Don’t Exist!’ is! It’s a wonderfully wintery read, full of fun and gathering giggles, and although not really a Christmas book, is sure to be quickly added to everyone’s favourite festive reads!

Illustrations and text work together perfectly with the pictures showing many details which the unobservant humans -or yetis- in the middle of the action completely miss, allowing those sharing the story to share the joke and explore the tales of other creatures which don’t exist…or do they?!

Showing new friends can be found anywhere and that there is magic in mystery, ‘Yetis Don’t Exist!’ is just the sort of brightly-coloured, fun-filled story which children- and their adults- love!

Yetis Don’t Exist!

Kate Thompson, illustrated by Loretta Schauer

Templar ISBN: 978-1800788237

The Circular Square

Square finds his edges and corners hard to deal with. They are always getting bashed and Square is quite miserable. However, he quickly realises that dwelling on his problems is not helpful and by making the best of things, he can be far happier. Every knock and tumble helps to make him a far more rounded individual.

‘The Circular Square’ is a wonderfully up-lifting and positive story which encourages readers to look for the positives in life even when things get tough. The lively rhyming text is accompanied by an appealing cast of shape characters who vividly bring the story to life.

Through focusing on the little things in life which make him happy in the moment and accepting that life is full of ups and downs, Square becomes a far happier individual, shaped by his experiences and the rewards of perseverance. The book is perfect for sharing in assemblies or as the basis for a PSHE lesson, and although targeted at a younger audience, carries a message which can be positively shared with older children too. The phrases describing the ‘little things that make him feel alive’ like ‘the sparkle of the sea’, ‘the gentle warmth of autumn sun’ or ‘the zing of homemade lemonade’ could easily be used to inspire the writing of precious things poems or lists. Further ideas for this are given at the end of the book where both the author and illustrator share a list of five things which make them happy - and offer a space for readers to do the same.

The story is brimming with a positivity which acknowledges that life is not perfect, but is definitely what you make it!

The Circular Square

Simon Philip, illustrated by Neil Clark

Templar ISBN: 978-1800785052

The Boy, the Troll and the Chalk

Everybody is so used to avoiding the bad-tempered troll which lives in the cave that they forget all about it. Everybody except for one boy who is determined to reach out and make friends. The boy collects his chalks and draws a flower, leaving one petal uncoloured. The following day, he returns and finds the petal coloured in- yet still the troll will not leave the cave. Day-by-day he returns, leaving his drawings incomplete for the troll to finish. At last, the troll leaves the cave and is revealed to be a boy who joins in with the other children.

Thoughtful and sensitive, ‘The Boy, the Chalk and the Troll’ is a real celebration of patience, kindness and hope. Isolated and struggling, the ‘troll’ is obviously struggling with difficult emotions, acting in a way which rebuffs friendship. However, the little boy’s persistent, non-threatening approach, using art and creativity to gain trust, gradually builds a relationship which is non-demanding and understanding. The story is perfect for developing empathy and encouraging acceptance, making it excellent for PSHE or an assembly as well as story time.

David Litchfield’s illustrations capture the heart and spirit of the story perfectly. Teachers - and family- may choose to use the book as a starting point for collaborative art work, perhaps developing a mural or a playground chalking project to encourage older and younger children to develop supportive relationships, perhaps encouraging them to explore and discuss their own emotions.

Gentle and reassuring, ‘The Boy, the Troll and the Chalk’ is a poignant, powerful tale.

The Boy, the Troll and the Chalk

Anne Booth and David Litchfield

Templar ISBN: 978-1800783058

You can read my review of ‘A Shelter for Sadness’ here.

NNFN2023: Great Minds

Presenting quite challenging material in a very readable, accessible format, ‘Great Minds’ offers a look at some of the greatest philosophers ever known. The introduction poses the question ‘What is philosophy for?’ - and concludes that it is a ‘tool to change the world’. The following chapters then tell the story of a philosopher, a group of philosophers or a collective philosophy, considering the time and place where they originated and what caused them to pose their questions and ponder their answers. The graphic style format works perfectly, framing the information in clear sections, making the text easy to navigate.

The book starts with Confucius, looking at his life and the development of his thinking. It raises the point that there are many sayings attributed to the man with no evidence of this being the case, pointing the reader in the direction of where to find the truth and highlighting other thinkers who have been influenced by his work. From this well-known name, the authors move to ‘the mysterious philosopher’, Zeno of Elea, details about whom might be sparce, but whose ideas ‘shook the world of philosophy’. The reader is introduced to his ‘paradoxes’ which are (once again) clearly explained. Philosophers from across the world are included- women and men- and readers are sure to return to this book again and again, dipping in and out as interest is piqued or honing in on a specific section to support learning in other areas.

As the book continues, each thinker is carefully introduced and their philosophy thoughtfully explained and explored. There is so much to learn here, so much to encourage questioning and reflection. The book clearly shows that philosophical ideas have developed across the world, throughout history and how these ideas can be key to change. The illustrations are bold, colourful and appealing; however, in places some of the background colours can make the text harder to read. That said, there is so much to recommend this to readers young and old!

Great Minds: 2500 Years of Thinkers and Philosophy

Joan Haig and Joan Lennon, illustrated by Andre Ducci

Templar ISBN: 978-1800783539

Also from this team is ‘Talking History’ which features the ‘stirring words’ of 16 speakers whose speeches have changed the world. From Jawaharlal Nehru to Helen Keller, Emmeline Pankhurst to Pearl Gibbs, the book is full of inspiring and passionate words and the impact that they had.

Talking History: 150 Years of Speakers and Speeches

Joan Haig and Joan Lennon, illustrated by Andre Ducci

Templar ISBN: 978-1787417328

Faruq and the Wiri Wiri

There was no better smell in the world than Ajee’s cook-up rice.

Faruq longs to be a chef when he grows up, but his family expect him to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a doctor. However, Mrs Joseph from next door offers to teach him to cook, starting with lime cookies ‘cause they easy peasy’. Every day, he slips through the fence and learns to cook, learning about new ingredients including the wiri wiri pepper and how to handle it carefully. When Ajee falls ill one day, Faruq decides to prepare lunch for his family. Cooking for his family fills Faruq’s heart with love and opens his family’s eyes to a different plan for his future.

This lovely story is a real celebration of family, food - and the importance of following your dreams. Faruq has a real passion for cooking and it is a joy to see him helping Ajee in the kitchen, preparing food for his family. His question, ‘Why can’t boys learn to cook?’ offers an excellent starting point for discussion about finding and developing passions and pursuits which follow interests regardless of pressure or influence to the contrary.

The story is rich in family love and a real celebration of Guyanese culture, even including a recipe for lime cookies- a treat which just begs to be baked and enjoyed and spreading Faruq’s joy in cooking! The illustrations are bright, colourful and engaging, showing the joys of cooking, eating and family life- all the ingredients needed to accompany this delicious story!

Faruq and the Wiri Wiri: A Celebration of family and food!

Sophia Payne, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat

Templar ISBN: 978-1800782624

The Ever-Changing Earth

Kûn loves dinosaurs and imagines them living when the sky ‘boomed with the wild beat of Pterosaur wings’ where he lives now. As he feeds the birds, descendants of these mighty creatures, the world is a very different place to that of the past, changed over time by asteroid strikes and collisions…The book takes the reader on an incredible journey through the Earth’s evolution.

‘The Ever-Changing Earth’ follows on from Grahame Baker-Smith’s previous books, ‘The Rhythm of the Rain’ and ‘Wild is the Wind’ and is every bit as gorgeous. Stunning illustrations combine with lyrical text to produce a book to treasure.

Each of these books makes a connection between children across the world. ‘The Rhythm of the Rain’ started with Isaac playing in his favourite pool, the water he was playing in travelling to Cassi as much needed rain. ‘Wild is the Wind’ picks up Cassie’s story and the swifts which swoop and dive on the wind and cross continents, bringing joy to Kûn who knows summer will follow. This story opens with Kûn and connects him with Solveig who is floating in a lagoon heated by the fires of the Earth’s core. I hope her story will come soon!

Exploring the wonders of our ever changing planet, ‘The Ever-Changing Earth’ is another must have for any classroom, perfect for using as the focus of an English unit, Science lessons or art work.

The Ever-Changing Earth Grahame Baker-Smith

Templar ISBN: 978-1800782211

You can read my review of ‘The Rhythm of the Rain’ here and ‘Wild is the Wind’ here.

Blog Tour: No Sleep for Bear

I love Duncan Beedie’s books and so was delighted to be asked to take part in this blog tour for his new book, ‘No Sleep for Bear’.

Bear (star of The Bear Who Stared’) is back in another story! As Winter approaches, Bear is looking forward to a very long sleep. He makes a list and settles down…but the more he tries, the more awake he feels. Eventually, he meets Frog, who shows him how to relax and soon he is snoring contentedly!

A new book from Duncan Beedie is always a delight! ‘No Sleep for Bear’ is completely adorable and is sure to become a firm favourite as a bedtime story. Full of gentle humour, Bear learns the importance of relaxing and being calm before going to sleep, brilliant advice for little ones and adults alike when thinking about bedtime. All of Bear’s friends try to help him in his quest for a good night’s sleep- even when it takes them all winter to do so!

There are obvious links between the story and hibernation, animal habitats and well being, making this a lovely story to include in a topic box as well as on class and library shelves.

The illustrations are full of visual jokes and plenty of details to keep readers entertained on every reading. I love the little family of ladybirds- they need a book of their own!

Bear is so lovely that he would make the perfect subject for a Book Group session. Here is an idea for a simple awake/ asleep Bear glove puppet which could be made with children at home or school.

You need some thicker paper (sugar paper works well, but any can be used really), thin card for the wheel (teabag box card is good), felt pens, scissors and a split pin. Bear is brown, but white could easily be used and coloured/painted.

Using your hand as a guide for size, cut two matching ‘mit’ shaped pieces (see middle picture) for Bear’s face/body. Now you need to create a ‘wheel’ so that Bear can gradually close his eyes as he falls asleep. Draw round something circular, which is just slightly wider than the mit shape, on white card and then cut this out.

Decorate Bear, carefully cutting out eye holes. I forgot to add his distinctive eyebrows! Cut two smaller circles out the the same material you used for the body to be his ears.

Position the wheel carefully so that it is not too high up or the pieces of the puppet will not be able to be glued together. When you are happy with the position, use the split pin to attach the pieces and then cover the sharp ends with a piece of masking tape so that little fingers will not get caught on them. Then stick the front and back sections of the mit together across the top (making sure you are above the wheel) and on each side (beneath the wheel). The wheel will poke out of either side so it is easy to turn.

Now, you need to draw the eyes in so Bear falls asleep as the wheel is turned. I copied the four stages from the pictures in the book. It’s worth doing this in pencil first to make sure they fit as the different eyes need to be drawn quite close together so they can be seen without the other eyes appearing (this might not sound like it makes sense, but you’ll see!). The wheel will need to be turned a few times to loosen it so it moves freely and then Bear can fall asleep as you turn the wheel one way and then wake up again as you turn the wheel back. Finally, glue his ears into position.

Now enjoy making Bear fall asleep and wake up again. You could use the puppet whilst reading the story or for retelling your own version! Have fun!

No Sleep for Bear Duncan Beedie

Templar ISBN: 978-1787419865

Thanks very much to Duncan and the people at Templar for asking me to be part of the Blog Tour for this lovely book. Make sure you look at the other posts!

You can read my review of ‘Oof Makes an Ouch! here, Molly’s Moon Mission here and ‘The Last Chip’ here.

One Tiny Dot

Kindness is a tiny blue dot. Whilst making his way along the street, he catches a ride on a boy’s new trainers. The boy welcomes him and this act of kindness causes the little dot to grow. Together they continue, receiving and spreading acts of kindness along the way until the tiny blue dot is tiny no longer. When they meet an angry little girl who feels she has been left out of the fun, Kindness knows exactly what to do. Recognising the sadness masked by the fury, Kindness reaches out and welcomes the little girl to the party.

See the thing is with KINDNESS

-it spreads if you let it.

When kindness is nurtured, it grows. As Lucy Rowland’s joyful rhyming text bounces along, this message is celebrated, showing how each nice act inspires others to smile, say thank you or help in a whole variety of ways, showing kindness comes in all shapes and sizes. The story is perfect for generating conversations about how we act towards others and how we can all try to make every day a little better for those around us.

The story also shows how kindness is able to empathise with others. When faced with anger, it looks beyond this and sees the sadness behind, offering understanding and support until the angry feelings are gone. Kindness worked its magic again!

The illustrations are fabulous! Full of colour and energy, they are instantly appealing, making everyone want to participate in the fun- and share kindness. The images clearly support the inspiring message of the story, making it perfect for discussing with children both at home and in school.

A delightful book with an important and inspiring message.

One Tiny Dot Lucy Rowland, illustrated by Gwen Millward

Templar Books ISBN: 978-1787418868