Many years before Michael Rosen sent a family on a bear hunt, three other children set forth into the British countryside under a low winter sun. They observe all kinds of natural sights, from cows to hungry birds, before discovering a brown knitted bear stuck up a tree. As the snow begins to fall, they … Continue reading
A favourite sub-genre of Christmas stories for children is the festive crime caper. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Home Alone and that episode of the Simpsons where Bart burns down the tree and blames it on burglars. Perhaps it plays into a sense of unease about a festival that allows a an old bearded man … Continue reading
I never had a cat growing up, which was a shame. But I didn’t really need one, I had Mog. Judith Kerr’s beloved tabby cat is that rare thing in children’s literature, an animal that doesn’t talk or embody all sorts of human characteristics. Instead she looks and behaves like a real animal. In Mog’s … Continue reading
Earlier this year I spoke to Rosemary Sandberg, the former editor of Picture Lions, the paperback publisher that gave Puffin a run for their money in the 70s and 80s. Along with classics like Dogger and The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Sandberg published a selection of Christmas favourites including Cops and Robbers and Mog’s Christmas. … Continue reading
Few people have contributed as much to children’s books as Helen Oxenbury. Best known for illustrating Michael Rosen’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, she has also won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice (most recently for her wistful, contemporary take on Alice in Wonderland) and pioneered (arguably invented) picture board books for babies. Tiny Tim … Continue reading
Last week saw the 50th anniversary of the hugely influential Puffin Club, the children’s book group that brought a generation of readers together with each other and their favourite authors. By coincidence I had arranged an interview that day with the woman who was responsible for many of the practical and creative aspects of the … Continue reading
This week a book that probably did save my life. One of my mum’s favourite stories about my childhood is the moment when dad came home to discover her standing at the top of the stairs brandishing her screaming baby. ‘I can’t stand it any more!’ she screamed, threatening to chuck me at him. Continue reading
In The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life, Andy Miller takes a long hard look at the books we read and the books that we say we read. Realising that the closest he has come to reading a book for pleasure since the birth of his … Continue reading
Roger Duvoisin, the Swiss born American writer and illustrator has great form when it comes to Christmas – with titles like White Snow, Bright Snow and the Santa revenge fantasy One Thousand Beards (‘Am I angry! . . . I’ll put an end to those false Santas! There is only one Santa Claus, and that’s … Continue reading
I never had a cat growing up, which was a shame. But I didn’t really need one, I had Mog. Judith Kerr’s beloved tabby cat is that rare thing in children’s literature, an animal that doesn’t talk or embody all sorts of human characteristics. Instead she looks and behaves like a real animal. In Mog’s … Continue reading
A favourite sub-genre of Christmas tales for children is the festive robbery story. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Home Alone and that episode of the Simpsons where Bart burns down the tree and blames it on burglars. I guess it plays into the underlying unease of a festival that allows a strange bearded old man … Continue reading
