Tag Archives: Picture books

Author Interview: Wanuri Kahiu

I’m delighted to welcome to the blog Wanuri Kahiu to talk about her first picture book and the inspiration behind it. The Wooden Camel is a beautiful story full of hope, written by Wanuri, illustrated by Manuela Adreani and published by Lantana. Wanuri is an internationally renowned filmmaker having won awards including five African movie Academy Awards, Best Narrative Feature at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, Best Short Film at the Cannes Independent Film Festival and the ‘Citta di Venezia 2010’ award in Venice, Italy. She is one of the TED Fellows of 2017. She currently lives with her partner and two children in Nairobi.

Thank you for joining us today! Can you tell us about the inspiration for writing The Wooden Camel? I am fascinated by Lake Turkana and I have been for a while. It is the largest permanent desert lake in the world and is under threat of extinction. so the people who have lived and based their culture and tradition around the lake will soon be pushed elsewhere. I write to draw attention to the region and the people.

The theme of family comes through strongly in the narrative; Etabo’s relationships with his father and siblings are beautifully reflected. Was this inspired by your own family relationships and feelings about the idea of family in general? I have a daughter and a son who are my most precious gifts and my husband has two other children. His relationship with them is truly exceptional to watch and I wanted to honour him. I also wanted to represent the creativity and kindness of the sister and her love for her brother as witnessed in the relationship between my daughter and her three brothers.

Etabo calls on the Sky God to help him keep his dream alive. How important do you think faith and belief is for people in achieving their dreams? Dreaming is unachievable without belief. We must believe in ourselves and in the universe that our dreams will be delivered and that whatever dreams we have are valid and that they are sufficient. And when dreams come true there is always an element of magic, of some unexplainable spirit like Akuj the Sky God.

The illustrations for the story are stunning. How did you work with the illustrator to achieve this? It must have been amazing seeing your words and come to life.

Working with Manuela was a dream. I had never worked with an illustrator before and watching her bring words to life was extraordinary. Sometimes she took the lead and I would rewrite the scene to add to her writing rather than the other way around. Her attention to detail in the clothes and the background and the world have made it the most pleasurable reading experience.

Do you have plans for any more children’s books and if so are you able to share with us what you’re working on? Yes. More books and more YA books to come. Too soon to talk about but I thank Lantana Publishing for taking a chance on an unknown writer and giving me the confidence to believe that I am capable of publishing and that my dreams are enough.

I can’t wait to read your next book and wish you every success with your writing; thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us!

Find out more at www.wanurikahiu.com. Read my review of The Wooden Camel.

New Review: Early learning at the Museum

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Nosy Crow and the British Museum are working in partnership to produce a range of books for children aged 0-12. Early Learning at the Museum – ABC and 123 are among the first to be released, the idea being to encourage young children to engage with early learning concepts.

A whole lot more than your average counting or alphabet book, these lovely board books celebrate the wonderful artefacts that can be found at the museum and indeed from around the world.

As well as teaching children number sequences and letters and words, they show some of the amazing objects that make up the museum’s collections. The lovely colourful photographs celebrate many cultures introducing little ones to the idea of the similarities and differences we share.

A helpful index at the back of the book shows where and when each item is from. Children and adults alike can marvel at the wonders from around the world and learn even more by using the QR code at the back of the book to visit the website – or perhaps even plan a visit to the museum itself! A great opportunity for early learning and encouraging curiosity, these are well worth adding to your little ones bookshelf.

Find out more www.nosycrow.com or visit the British Museum website. With thanks to Nosy Crow for sending me these lovely books to review.

Spring special round up!

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I’ve had a lovely few weeks finding out just some of what’s new and coming soon from the world of children’s books. Thank you to all those who’ve joined the blog over the last month and shared some book-ish inspiration; it’s great to see there’s so much to celebrate in the world of children’s and YA literature. We started with stargazing and ended with bananas and Beyonce!! With reviews, introductions to debut novels and author interviews, it’s been a busy month.

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A snapshot of our spring special interviews:

“I want my books to feel ‘realistic’ and address genuine challenges, but I also want to them to entertain and provide a certain amount of escapism for the reader.” Jenny McLachlan, author.

“When you get right down to it, every child is different but they all deserve the chance to become readers” Hannah Rolls, Editor, Bloomsbury

“..I think hope is important, because stories can be there to guide us through difficult times. They are a light in the darkness, and so it’s important not to switch out the light.” Gill Lewis, author.

“I’m concerned about the ways our loyalty to our own group can mean refusal to empathise and understand others.” Alice Broadway, author.

“Throw all the bad stuff you’ve got at your main character… and then make it even worse.” Simon James Green, author.

“Publishing is the most glorious random thing; no one really knows what will be ‘the next big thing’!” Rachel Hickman, author & Deputy MD of Chicken House

“Writing is a skill like any other–one which you get better and better the more you do. If your first attempt doesn’t quite make it, try again.” Hayley Barker, author.

“There’s so much to learn from hearing authors speak live about their writing, their influences and their experiences.” Victoria Henderson, Director of Chiddingstone Castle Literary Festival.

With an ever growing TBR shelf, look out for lots of new reviews coming soon!. Thank you to all the publishers for sending me these books to review:

Perfect picture books for tiny countryside explorers!

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Just in time for spring! These two lovely new picture books from Nosy Crow and The National Trust are all about encouraging young readers to look and see in the countryside.

Colours: A Walk in the Countryside by Rosalind Beardshaw, features a little boy and a little girl going for a walk and seeing what colours they can spot. On each page, a colour is identified and then the reader is encouraged to see what else they can find in that colour. With cheerful and vibrant illustrations, the two lovely characters and all the creatures they meet are brought to life on the lovely ramble through the countryside.

The final page brings all the colours together and young readers will delight in seeing what they can find for every colour of the rainbow! It’s an interactive read that could easily be reflected on your next walk through the countryside, encouraging children to notice the wonderful nature and wildlife all around them.

Look and Say what you see on the Farm by Sebastien Braun is a lovely and informative book encouraging youngsters to join in with animal sounds, spot various farm objects and practice saying words together. Interactive seek and find elements add will keep little ones thoroughly engaged and they’ll learn all about life on the farm.

The illustrations are bright and lively and each page describes the role of the different areas of a farm; from milking the cows to bee-keeping. Lots of questions will get the reader thinking and make this is a lovely book to share!

With a clear font and accessible vocabulary, Colours: A Walk in the Countryside and Look and Say what you see on the Farm could be enjoyed by very young children and those just learning to read. Perfect springtime reads, they would make a great addition to any young reader’s bookshelves.

For more information visit www.nosycrow.com or www.nationaltrust.org.uk

With thanks to Nosy Crow for sending me these books to review.

Sophie Finds a Fairy Door by Laura Sheldon, illustrated by Erica Jane Waters

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Sophie Finds a Fairy Door by Laura Sheldon illustrated by Erica Jane Waters

Tidying her Teddies, Sophie finds a secret fairy door hidden in her skirting board. Before she knows it she is flying through fairyland, where she is just in time to save the fairies day.

When Sophie uncovers a magic fairy door, she is taken on a magical adventure through fairyland with a beautiful fairy called Bella. Sophie cannot believe her eyes as she sees the fairy world, and even grows some fairy wings of her very own. And when the fairy tea-cup train is in trouble, it’s Sophie who comes to the rescue and finds out how to get the train working again.

Well I will admit my smile grew bigger and bigger as I read this gorgeous rhyming story with fairy magic galore! Sophie Finds a Fairy Door is a charming book and I can just imagine all little readers falling in love with Sophie, Bella the fairy, and their fairy adventures. The lyrical narrative carries you on a cloud of fairy dust and makes it a lovely story to read aloud. There’s just enough excitement to keep readers captivated, with the opportunity for Sophie to literally put the power of her dreams to the test. I love the use of imagination as the key to solving the problem! The story takes me back to childhood days of hoping I’d discover a fairy living at the bottom of the garden or a door leading to a secret magical world.

The delightful illustrations beautifully bring to life the fairy world and all its inhabitants. Published in March by Firefly Press, Sophie Finds a Fairy Door is perfect for all those little ones who dream of make-believe magical lands and hope to have a magical visitor one day. Although, be warned, this is the first in the series and once you ‘let the magic into your home’ you’ll be hooked!

Find out more at www.fireflypress.co.uk and on Twitter @LauraSheldon76 and @Ericajanewaters.

With thanks to Firefly Press for sending me a copy of this book to review.