'I, Coriander', alternative jacket design.

If you've been following this blog you will know that it has always been my hope that the bookclub would encourage kids to respond to books in interesting ways. I asked the older group this week to write something for me, and was delighted when instead I received this illustration from one of our members.

I love the way she has captured the elements of the 'fairytale'; the mirror and the silver shoes.

I, Coriander

This book was pretty weird. As it was not what you would have expected. The cover and blurb don't tell you anything about what the book may be like, and I am constantly getting cross with publishers and writers for giving away too much about the book on the cover and blurb. The book began like a journal, as it is first person narrated by the heroin of the book, Coriander Hobie. She writes of her family and her surroundings. You will learn about the history and politics of the time as it is talked about a lot during the book. So from the beginning you think it's going to be a book about a girl growing up in London in the sixteenth century. Well, with the introduction of a magical land and various magicians appearing here and there you end up with a fairytale. And for me it took some time to start reading it as a fairytale and not a historically accurate girls journal. Overall a good read. Read if you enjoy the Studio ghibli films or the book 
Mortlock by  Jon Mayhew.

Review by Lol. 

Mr Stink

Our most recent bookclub book (younger group) achieved a positive response from all the children. They all warmed to the character of Mr Stink; one boy particularly appreciated the scene where Mr Stink appeared on television. Other than that, they admitted that they did not find the book 'laugh out loud' funny.

I was slightly disarmed by the fact that this book was clearly designed to look like a Roald Dahl book, and felt this set the story up to be something it was not. I can see the marketing angle, but to offer comparison between the talents of both men was unhelpful. David Walliams failed to be a 'Roald Dahl' for me, but having been encouraged to make the comparison, I failed to hear his voice, and felt the whole book was derivative, which I think is probably unfair.

It is however always delightful to see Quentin Blake's illustrations, so for the session, I chose to look at some of Quentin Blake's own illustrated stories, by exploring the role of the 'eccentric' in children's stories.

In groups we read, 'Mrs Armitage and the Big Wave', 'Mr Magnolia', and 'Cockatoos'. From these we came up with a checklist of things that an eccentric character needs to have; obsessive behaviour or unusual interest, unusual appearance, interesting way of speaking, unusual name....

The group then brainstormed ideas for two characters, which I drew on the whiteboard, and they drew their own versions on paper. I must admit there was a tendency to prefer to design unpleasant characters, but we agreed that eccentrics are likeable, so had to ditch many of the more unpleasant suggestions....

Here were our brrainstormed ideas:

Name: Darling McDuck.

Appearance: a Top hat with champagne corks hanging from it, jester shoes, a duck beak shaped nose, webbed hands.

Unusual behaviours: collects Champagne corks but hates Champagne. Talks nonsense, such as, "Propesous is necessary". Makes random animal sounds. Keeps ducks and gives away their eggs.

Name: Doctor Macaroni.

Appearance: Overweight, with clown shoes, and a Top hat.

Unusual behaviours: Always eating macaroni. Confuses his festivals (Christmas at Easter etc.). Makes friends out of macaroni, which he then eats.Greets visitors by throwing macaroni over them. Doesn't speak, but has a constant supply of paper speech bubbles, which he writes his speech on.

The stories for these characters have yet to be written.....

Skellig

I love this book, and happily so did the bookclub.


Essentially Skellig is a fairy story, with much to make you believe in the power of wonder and friendship, in a real world that's full of sadness and pain. Don't let 'fairy story' mislead you, it is the realism that makes the magic so intense.

The adult characters are all living through painful conditions, which impact on the children at the centre of the story. They are growing up with the reality of loss, and issues of mortality. Through the discovery, nurture and rescue of Skellig, a disgusting man with wings, they learn that their own possibilities are enhanced through love and friendship.

The book features the extraordinary 'Mina', who we have to focus on because she is home educated. In some ways it could be argued that Mina reflects the world's negative view that home education can be isolating, and that home educated kids are by default 'extraordinary' or weird. As a group we explored these ideas, but had to admit that ultimately Mina is a wonderful creation, and that many of the specific home ed. issues are a positive endorsement of autonomous learning. We all went on to really enjoy the prequel My name is Mina which is an unusual narrative; in some ways an indulgent but clever exploration of creativity and learning.

At the time we read Skellig back in 2010, I was still asking the teen readers to bring in something they had made, or written, or drawn, in response to the book. I would include something of my own to show them, and made some sketches of a man with wings, and a detailed one of the anatomy of a birds wing. I found a copy of Blake's poem The Angel in an untouched copy of his works on our bookshelves, and did some reading around his interest. Although this was a very self-conscious investigation, an attempt to model a process, it has become part of a more intuitive journey involving observation, bird anatomy, drawing, painting, plucking and eating, and serves to demonstrate something about creativity as I experience it.



It excites me to see how so many threads are pulling together in this way. At the same time my oldest son (Lol.) is developing his own interest in birds, and my youngest (Little Plum) in animal anatomy. There are collections of bones, and bird books growing around my own paintings and sketches, and currently when I begin to work, I listen to 'Birdgirl' by 'The Unthanks'.


Skellig plays its part in that tapestry, and that's what I love about books.

Storm Catchers

Storm Catchers was one of the first books we had at book club, and it got us off to a great start. It is an incredible book that runs on fear and threat. The book begins with a kidnapping, which immediately leaves you wanting to read more. As the story progresses, the kidnapper makes contact with the victims family by making several spooky phone calls. At this point you really get a sense of how the family feel, and it's told in a way that is so real that it gets to the point where you almost understand what they are going through.

Partway through the book the theme changes from a realistic crime thriller to a spooky psychological horror! For example, the youngest character Sam begins to see a ghost. The change in genre is handled well by the writer. It is slow and gradual rather than sudden, and stays true to its realistic theme. Though the ending was a little bit disappointing and somewhat odd, I would still recommend it to pretty much anyone.                 

Book review by Lol. Age 12.                 

Varjak Paw

It's a very long time since we read this book at bookclub. Back then we hadn't split into two groups, and were reading books on a shared theme. This book stood out that month, and I decided I had to bring in printmaking equipment for us to experiment with monoprint illustrations, in honour of the artworks within the books pages. The drawings by David McKean really sell this book and make it a beautiful object. I will admit to a slight fear that the story would not match the illustrations, but there cannot really be any doubt that they belong together on the page; both are beautiful and extraordinary.

The Scarecrow and his Servant

This book makes contemporary children's literature the most exciting place for any reader. For me it stands out as a work of extraordinary skill and imagination. The younger bookclub took to it with enthusiasm too.

It's a long time since we read it, and although etched in memory as a great read, I have turned to the internet to remind myself about it. This is what Pullman says:

If it were set to music, it would be played on mandolins, and be in the rhythm of a tarantella.


What a lovely description. And yes, I found it to be evocative of a complete world in which the scarecrows eccentricities are fully explored with great humour and theatricality. 

In response to the story what else could we do other than make 3d scarecrows in pop-up scenes? The pop up scene has long since been recycled, but my youngest's scarecrow still hovers in my studio...as if ready to take off for an adventure.

This book is very highly reccomended. 'Little Plum" (youngest's name for himself) became immersed in other works by Pullman after this; it was very amusing to see him propped up in bed for nights on end with a huge volume of collected works on his knees....

"It's a complete adventure book. It easily goes from one event to another, and every event is exciting, and throbbing with adventure" Little Plum 03/2012.