Bear Has a Story to Tell

Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead (Allen and Unwin)
PB RRP $19.99
ISBN 978-1-74331-342-8
Reviewed by Ann Harth (www.annharth.com )

It’s almost winter and Bear is getting sleepy. Before he curls up for the season, he has a story to tell. He asks his friends if they will listen but they are caught up in a necessary whirlwind of chores and responsibility. Mouse has to gather seeds, Duck has to fly south, Frog has to find a place to sleep and Mole has already dropped off to sleep. Bear helps his friends with their tasks and tucks himself into his cave for the winter.

The days grow longer and warmer and the animals wake up. They are ready to listen to Bear’s story now, but Bear surprises them all, including himself.  He cannot remember his story. His friends help him begin a new story which brings this beautiful picture book full circle creating a gratifying ending.

Bear Has a Story to Tell will appeal to children aged 3-6 but adults will also love the language and simple structure of this story. It is a pleasure to read aloud. This book is a gentle story of friendship and patience as Bear puts his friends’ needs before his own. It also highlights the desire many of us have to tell our own stories.

Erin E. Stead’s subtle water colour illustrations add warmth and realism to the characters in this book. They are set against a natural backdrop infused with muted colour creating a calm, soothing effect.

Husband and wife team, Philip C. and Erin E. Stead are winners of the 2011 Caldecott Medal for their picture book, A Sick Day for Amos McGee. After winning such a prestigious award, they got straight back to work and created three more books in 2012 including Bear Has a Story to Tell. They each have a new book planned for this year. For more information on Erin E. Stead please visit http://erinstead.com/. To read about Philip C. Stead, an illustrator in his own right, his website is http://philipstead.com/.

Ann Harth is a published children's author and writing tutor at Australian College of Journalism. She loves to read and is committed to creating children's literature that inspires, entertains and triggers a tiny twist in the mind. Her latest middle-grade novel, The Art of Magic, is available from Amazon.

Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Inc)

HB RRP $34.99
ISBN9780545027893
Reviewed by Dawn Meredith

It’s 2:47am and I’ve just finished reading Wonderstruck. I couldn’t put it down. I had to read it all in one sitting. To hell with work the next day! I fell in love with Selznick’s debut novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, #1 New York Times children’s bestseller and winner of the 2008 Caldecott Medal among countless other awards. The 3D movie, Hugo Cabret, is due for release in 2012. I didn’t think it would be possible to produce something better, but this book captured me from the very first page.

The simplicity of the dialogue and uncomplicated style belies a complex criss-crossing web of emotions and unresolved conflict, exploring themes of struggle with identity, the meaning of family, modern attitude to marriage and children, friendship and loneliness and courage. So many aspects of human existence are touched upon in this book! It’s like an encyclopaedia, a reference book, available for children and their parents to explore together. A book of gifts. 

As with the first book, the drawings are spellbinding and tell great chunks of story just by themselves. Selznick is so clever in his ability to show a reader how to be an interpreter of visual imagery not just a reader of words. And this seemed particularly apt as the story centres around two main protagonists who are both deaf, for whom visuals are everything. I liked that juxtaposition. The grainy, black and white illustrations of this 460 page volume draw us in, mute, but with astonishing storytelling power.

The two stories involve Ben, a young boy recently orphaned, who sets out to find his father and Rose, a young girl whose mother was a famous actress and had little time for her daughter. These two characters are separated by time and also modality. Ben’s story is told in words, Rose’s in pictures. Eventually we find Rose is actually Ben’s grandmother and they meet in the present day. Ben follows a trail of clues to the city’s museum where he meets a young boy, Jamie. Homeless, Ben stays hidden in the museum for days. But it’s in those days that he gradually uncovers a secret.

Like unfolding layers of silk around a treasure, Ben realises the mysterious man from this very museum, Daniel, whose portrait is inside his mother’s locket, came to his home town by the lake to do research. And fell in love with Ben’s mother.  But just as Ben makes this amazing discovery he realises that his legendary father died. I had held my breath, hoping for the best outcome, but no. It was devastating to me, as reader, that Ben be denied his father, after longing to meet him his whole life! But with childlike acceptance, Ben keeps searching, following the clues, until he makes a delightful discovery which brought tears to my eyes – his grandmother Rose. A new chapter begins in Ben’s life—a sense of belonging, an intimate family connection, a place.

Perhaps more than anything, this book does not seek to shield children from an uncomfortable truth – that life sometimes contains sadness and regret that we do not have control over these things and that other joys may await us if we have an open heart and an inquiring mind. The delights of the old exhibits in the museum, the beautifully crafted cabinet, the ‘Wonderstruck’ in which his father displayed fabulous items and many other joys made this book fascinating to me.

It’s nice to think that out there somewhere, despite the loneliness and isolation of our individual journeys, that there is a warm soft place to land. Like a long-lost grandmother.

Dawn Meredith writes from the Blue Mountains and is a May Gibbs Fellow 2011. You can follow her exploits at www.dawnmeredithauthor.blogspot.com 

Lulu and the Brontosaurus

Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorist, illustrated by Lane Smith (Simon and Schuster)

PB RRP $16.99

ISBN 978-085707147-7

Reviewed by Peta Biggin

Lulu is an only child – and a pretty spoiled one at that. She decides that she wants a brontosaurus for her next birthday and won’t take no for an answer. Her parents however, despite Lulu’s ear-splitting tantrums, actually do say “No” and so she must set off into the forest to find one for herself. On her adventure she encounters several other animals before she finds what she is looking for. She tries to take the brontosaurus home as her pet only to discover that he has other ideas. In fact, he wants to have Lulu for his pet.  Her usual methods for getting what she wants simply don’t work. So now, Lulu needs to think of a plan that will get her home safely. If not, she will be spending the rest of her life doing cute tricks for a brontosaurus.

Lulu and the Brontosaurs is a fun new chapter book from best-selling author Judith Viorist.

The book starts out with Lulu as very unsympathetic character.  In fact, she is described in the first chapter as a “pain in the butt”. She learns a hard lesson at the hands (or should that be feet?) of a very polite brontosaurus: behaving like a spoilt brat does not always get you what you want.   

The story is delivered in a light and quirky way. I particularly enjoyed the way the reader is addressed directly with lots of little asides throughout the book. The message is clear – not demanding your own way all the time and treating others with respect. However, the unlikely way that Lulu gets her comeuppance makes for a highly enjoyable read.

The black-and-white illustrations are provided by award-winning illustrator Lane Smith. They have a Tim Burton quality to them that suit the quirky style of the story.

Lulu and the Brontosaurus is a great book that would suit younger readers – around 8 to 10 years old. Each page contains only a small passage of text and there are lots of illustrations to break things up.

Judith Viorist is the bestselling author of Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and several other works. She lives in Washington D.C. with her husband. Lane Smith is the Caldecott Honour-winning illustrator of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. He lives in rural Connecticut.