TSL-67-4-WINTER-2019

We are told that Eid al-Adha is celebrated at the
end of Hajj. A double page spread tells the story
behind the festival. Most of the remainder of the
book shows how it is celebrated, including
information about sacrifices, food and gifts. There
is a clear contents list, an index and a useful
glossary. This well produced book will be a
valuable addition to libraries and classrooms.
Anne Harding
Van Genechten, Guido.
Translated by Natascha Biebow
The Truth About Dinosaurs
Five Quills, 2019, pp32, £6.99
978 0 9935537 8 3
Belgian author-illustrator
Guido van Genechten’s
witty illustrations bring an
informative and irreverent
new perspective to the
subject of dinosaurs. The
narrating chicken is eager to
prove a relationship with
dinosaurs, pointing out shared features (webbed
feet, wings without flight, the laying of eggs) in a
family photo album, and crouching with
prominent comb to indicate a resemblance to the
scales of a stegosaurus. After rehearsing the
various theories on the extinction of dinosaurs,
our chicken waits for an enormous egg to hatch,
keeping it warm in all weathers until a terrifying
dinosaur leg begins to emerge.
It is unclear whether the title page rubric ‘English
text by Natascha Biebow at Blue Elephant
Storyshaping’ indicates a direct translation from
the Dutch, but this picture book is both a fun read
and a source of intriguing dinosaur facts.
Gillian Lathey
Viellé, Eric.
Translated by Daniel Hahn
Encyclopedia of Grannies
Gecko Press, 2019, pp32, £10.99
978 1 776572 43 4
This book, yet another pearl from Gecko Press,
was originally published in French. Here, in superb
translation by Daniel Hahn, it loses none of its
universal appeal for anyone who has, knows, or
is, a granny. Who would not want to understand
those mysterious, very loving people who are the
leading ladies of any family? This encyclopaedia
offers a mine of essential information; e.g. on
what to do when a granny is in a mood that
makes her look like a lump of old mashed potato.
There are pages full of ‘facts’, with lots of helpful
illustrations and diagrams adding deeper
knowledge on the topic. It is an hilarious book to
enjoy, full of words and pictures to make readers
laugh out loud. I can’t wait for similar books to
become available; perhaps on great aunts,
grandpas or weird uncles. Meanwhile, this book is
a must for reading shelves in primary schools. In
terms of its place in school, it is difficult to decide
the appropriate audience for this text. It will
certainly be enjoyed by children and, probably just
as much by the librarians, teachers and parents.
Prue Goodwin
Völker, Sven
A Million Dots
Cicada, 2019, pp44, £12.95
978 1 908714 66 4
The graphic design
background of the
author/illustrator make this
book striking from the start.
The book is bold and colourful
and delivers an exciting – and
somewhat different –
approach to visualising size and number through
the picture book format.
The book starts with the number 1 and on each
subsequent spread the previous number is added
to itself, up to a dramatic fold out last spread
showing 1,048,576 (‘get from one to one million
in 40 pages’ as the blurb says). The sum and its
result is shown in figures on the left side of the
spread, and the number is in words illustrated by
an image made up of that number of dots on the
right. The images develop from lollipop-like trees
for 1 and 2, gradually zooming in via apples on or
fallen from those trees for 4 and 8 (incidentally
showing seasons changing) to freckles on a face,
stars in the sky, grains of sand and more.
Eventually the dots are the screen pattern that
makes up the image; in the final 6-page long fold
out the dots form an impressive cityscape.
A book to promote interest in numbers and
wonder at the scale they can represent, with lots
to interrogate and talk about.
Sally Perry
Wood, John
Skin (My Body, Your Body)
Illustrated by Danielle Jones
Booklife Publishing, 2019, pp24, £12.99
978 1 78637 741 8
This is part of a new series for young children. The
stated aim of the series is to explore ‘all the ways
our bodies are different and wonderful’. The
stylised, colourful images of a variety of body
parts on the cover demonstrate from the start
that this is an unusual and striking publication.
The illustrations on the opening page are of an
enormous, simplified face in profile next to a
person lying down. The text reads: ‘This is my skin.
And that is your skin. We ALL have skin. The
subsequent page shows a feather landing on an
extended finger. ‘This skin is soft, just like feathers
and fluff.’ On the next page we see ‘skin that is
hard. It is bumpy and rough.’ Succeeding double
page spreads operate in a similar way: short
rhyming sentences in large, clear font, illustrated
with unusual pictures that just hint at realism. We
Under 8
see skin of many different colours, we see skin
that is smooth and skin that is wrinkled, skin that
is freckled, skin that is sunburnt, skin that is itchy,
skin with patches of white. We see a birthmark, a
scar, tattoos. ‘Some grown-ups’ skin has got
drawings or words or beautiful pictures or things
they have heard.’
The words on the final page and the very diverse
nature of the accompanying illustrations are
further indication of the inclusivity of the book,
and its positive tone: ‘We would go on. Oh, if only
we could! All skin is different and lovely and
good.’ An intriguing book, with very welcome
messages and a very innovative design.
Anne Harding
Wood, John and Duhig, Holly
The Incredible Smog (Planet
Protectors)
Booklife Publishing, 2019, pp24, £12.99
978 1 78637 651 0
Interestingly in this book Smog is our guide and
he is a Planet Protector. He is one of those who
have been protecting the planet since the very
beginning but now he, and his fellow Planet
Protectors, need our help, they need us all to
protect our planet. Living in a fortress made of
‘recycled stuff’ the protectors are set to give their
readers a test – they are going to ask a series of
questions across the pages and those readers
who can find the most eco-friendly answers will
find themselves being made planet protectors too.
With vivid photography of the devastation
pollution can cause this is, in some respects a
hard-hitting book but at the same time the
friendly character, his speech bubbles and the
questions posed make it all the more accessible
and less frightening to readers. Double page fact
spreads are interspersed with questions for the
reader so that they learn facts, learn about
making the right choices and about greenhouse
gases, fossil fuels, air pollution and of course the
supplies that a Planet Protector will need on their
journey. With answers to the questions and a
rating scheme, a short glossary and an index not
only will children learn how to use a non-fiction
title from a young age but they will discover how
engaging they are and can be – learning some
important lessons. Smog is not alone either, the
series includes Creature Keeper, Super Binman
and Hydro Hero. I would recommend having a set
of them all.
Louise Ellis-Barrett
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The SL 67-4 Winter 2019 225