THE CHILDREN’S BOOKS IRELAND MAGAZINE

issue 44

Editors: Aoife Murray, Jenny Murray and Elaina RyanReviews Editor: Síne QuinnEagarthóir Gaeilge: Siobhán McNamaraProduction: Jenny MurrayDesign: www.fintanwall.comPrinted in Ireland by Character Print

Articles © respective authorsThe views expressed in the articles and reviews are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent CBI policy.

Children’s Books Ireland Board:Irene Barber, Valerie Coghlan, Patricia Forde, Conor Hackett, Kim Harte, David Murphy, Steve Simpson and Sarah Webb

Children’s Books Ireland/Leabhair Pháistí Éireann receives financial assistance from The Arts Council/ An Chomhairle Ealaíon, 70 Merrion Square, Dublin 2, Ireland

Children’s Books Ireland/Leabhair Pháistí Éireann 17 North Great Georges Street, Dublin 1Telephone: 00 353 1 8727475info@childrensbooksireland.iewww.childrensbooksireland.ie

Contributors Róisín Adams Talya BakkerIrene BarberAmanda BellÚna BreathnachElizabeth BrennanEmma Burke-KennedyAvril CarrAlison CampbellValerie CoghlanRuth ConcannonCatherine Ann CullenAntonia DalyRegina de BúrcaCatherine DoyleCatherine DuffyRobert DunbarKieran FanningLydia GroszewskiClaire HennessyBob JohnstonJoan Kelly Joe Kelly

Cethan LeahyBecky LongVivienne LukeSeán Mac RisteairdOisín McGannEnda McKennaLiz MorrisMeadhbh Ní EadhraAlan NolanCaitriona O’BroinDiane OrrAmanda PiesseMary RocheMaedhbh Rogan-McGann Juliette SaumandeChris StokesSean TateDebbie Thomas MaryBrigid TurnerElizabeth Treacy Mags Walsh

Inis is the magazine of Children’s Books Ireland, the national children’s books organisation. Within these pages you will find features and articles on Irish and international children’s books as well as in-depth reviews of new titles for children and teenagers. With its range of expert contributors, this is a key resource for teachers, writers, illustrators, librarians, parents and everyone interested in children’s books.

Continue the conversation with us at www.childrensbooksireland.iewhere you will find more reviews, articles and up-to-the minute news.

Cover image and detail © Clive McFarland, from A Bed for Bear, HarperCollins, 2015.

This spring and summer, CBI will be travelling all over the island of Ireland, bringing the Book Doctors and, for the first time, the Doodle Doctors to festivals and arts centres in all four provinces. With support from the Arts Council, UNESCO City of Literature and Arts Council of Northern Ireland, we will be talking to children and striving to find that first great book that’s just right for them and that draws them into reading, or the book that keeps them reading once they’ve reached the end of a series. It’s a simple concept – children’s book experts in white coats ‘prescribing’ books that they think a child will love – which is hugely popular and very powerful. Spread the word, come and see us, and turn to page 16 to find a Book Clinic taking place near you.

In this issue you’ll find the CBI Book of the Year Awards shortlist. Now is the time that book clubs and school groups all over the island of Ireland begin to work their way through these ten excellent books by Irish authors and illustrators. Their discussions, debates and votes are a crucial part of the awards process – the Children’s Choice Award is considered by many to be the most important of all, because the choices and voices of children and young people are the ones that really matter when it comes to books that are, after all, for them. For ten years, this shadowing

scheme has been encouraging young people to read widely, to read outside of their comfort zones, to read more. We know that this year’s shortlisted titles will be a joy to read, and we look forward to hearing from groups who have found new and imaginative ways to engage with each book, from role playing to redesigning the covers to taking book-themed quizzes. The winners of the CBI Book of the Year Awards will be announced in May – sign up for our newsletter at www.childrensbooksireland.ie for more information.

Outside of our own awards, Irish authors and illustrators have been making their presence felt on shortlists and as award winners around the world. The brand new YA Book Prize has chosen Kim Hood’s Finding a Voice and Louise O’Neill’s Only Ever Yours for their shortlist, with Only Ever Yours named as overall winner. The latter also appears on the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize shortlist alongside

The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald. CILIP (The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) has shortlisted Sarah Crossan (Apple and Rain) and Brian Conaghan (When Mr Dog Bites) for the Carnegie medal and longlisted Chris Haughton (Shhh! We Have a Plan) for the Kate Greenaway medal. On the award-winning Irish illustration front, The Day the Crayons Quit, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, won the Red House Children’s Book Award and Chris Haughton’s title has won the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award. CBI has been proudly cheering on as the achievements of our extraordinary writers and illustrators are recognised.

Lastly, a date for your diary: the Children’s Books Ireland Annual Conference will return to the Light House Cinema in Dublin’s Smithfield on 12 and 13 September 2015. We hope that this time of year will allow many more of you to attend. For announcements about the line-up, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ChildrensBooksIreland or follow us on Twitter @kidsbooksirel.

A limited number of early-bird tickets for the full weekend are available at a reduced price to members only and are on sale now on our website. We hope to see you there!

Elaina, Jenny and Aoife

Scríobhdodhaoineóga –cothromcirtaaimSiú

reVieWS

cbibookclinicS

‘allthecolourSinone, atfullbrightneSS...’

giVingaVoiceto YoungreaderS

PurVeYorof bog-eYedloonieS

1 APRIL 2015

editorial

contentSAlan Nolan gets to grips with illustrator and writer Gary Northfield.

Celebrating ten years of shadowing the CBI Book of the Year Award and announcing this year’s shortlist.

Labhair Meadhbh Ní Eadhra le beirt scríbhneoirí rathúla, Áine Ní Ghlinn agus Anna Heussaff.

Debut Irish novelist Catherine Doyle interviews Jennifer Niven.

Touring Ireland in 2015, prescribing great books for every child.

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features 2

I first met Gary Northfield, illustrator, writer and self-confessed ‘purveyor of bog-eyed loonies’, around ten years ago at a comic convention in London. These conventions are usually filled with three types of people: comics industry professionals who work for Marvel, DC, IDW, Rebellion, etc.; self-published ‘small press’ creators who hoe their own row, but mostly ape the professionals; and fans, who are there to meet their comic book heroes, make disparaging comments about the small press and to buy buy buy. I was very much part of the small press crowd, hawking the first issue of Sancho, the comic I was doing at the time, and which, unfortunately, not many people were buy buy buying.

This left me with plenty of time on my hands to talk shop with other small press creators, and I mentioned my interest in children’s books and comics. ‘Oh,’ said nearly everyone, ‘You should talk to Gary, he works for the Beano.’ I followed their advice and chatted to the very amiable Mr Northfield, and ended up buying a couple of his gorgeously produced hand-made comics. Both were full of his trademark bog-eyed loonies, but were written and drawn with an all-ages sense of humour and a strong feel for storytelling-through-sequential-art that was missing in most of the other small press stuff available at the time. They were the find of the convention for me, and I have been an avid follower

of his work ever since, from his Derek the Sheep in the Beano, to his work for Horrible Histories and The Magical World of Roald Dahl magazines, and his Gary’s Garden strip in The Phoenix comic. His The Terrible Tales of the Teenytinysaurs book was released in 2013 to deservedly fantastic reviews, and his latest opus, Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans (the first in a series of Julius books), is sure to garner the same high calibre of praise.

I caught up with Gary recently and we chatted about how he works, his influences and his plans for the future.

Can you describe for me your typical day as an author/illustrator – do you work 9–5 with weekends off, or do you work as the muse takes you?

At the moment I’m working quite a lot from home, so after my girlfriend goes off to work in the morning I’ll have breakfast and catch up with all the goings-on in the world on social media and the news. I’ll normally have a deadline or two to be cracking on with, so I’ll start writing, drawing or researching whatever is the most pressing.

Around lunchtime, my dog Stan will start coming over to my desk and putting his head on my lap and staring at me with his big puppy dog eyes. This means he’s desperate to go for a walk, so I relent and

we trot off to the local woods and ruined abbey (I live in Abbey Wood, which actually has an abbey and a wood!). We both have a brilliant time, as Stan gets to chase squirrels and sniff everything to his heart’s content, and I get to enjoy the delights of an ancient woodland, with all its woodpeckers, blue tits, jays and hundreds of other birds. In the summer I also get the thrill of being buzzed by huge, colourful dragonflies.

Once we get home, Stan falls asleep and I carry on with my work, carefully timing any washing and cleaning to be done before my girlfriend gets home, with minutes to spare! I’ve also turned into a bit of a domestic goddess and in the last few months have been baking my own bread and making jam and cakes.

You have famously worked with fellow illustrators and creators Sarah McIntyre, Ellen Lindner and Lauren O’Farrell in the Fleece Station studio; are there benefits to working with peers that you don’t get working on your own, and which do you prefer?

Alan Nolan gets to grips with illustrator and writer Gary Northfield.

PurVeYorof bog-eYedloonieS

© 2015 Gary Northfield

I’ll normally have a deadline or two to be

cracking on with, so I’ll start writing, drawing or

researching whatever is the most pressing

3

You can actually go a bit potty working on your own (which I’m starting to rediscover!), so working in a studio is a great boon. I’m quite a sociable chap, so I love being around people, especially other creative types. We all help out each other when we’re stuck on our work, but mainly it’s brilliant for the gossip!

The reasons I’m working on my own at home these days are: 1) I’m writing the book series Julius Zebra, and I find it very difficult to write when there are others around. I can quite happily work on my art in the studio, but I find it impossible to conjure sentences when there’s chatter or music playing. 2) Stan my new dog. Stan gets bored and bothers everyone at the studio, so I get anxious when he’s there and consequently find it difficult to work. Stan also fell between the train and the platform once when I got off the train at Deptford and I had to jump down and rescue him. This left me very traumatized and reticent about taking him on trains again. Stan, on the other hand, was completely unfazed by it all!

I remember meeting and chatting to you at a comic con in London many years ago, and remember well the beautiful hand-made comics you used to produce – did you enjoy the process of self-publishing at the time?

I used to love making those little comics! I got quite obsessed with buying different fancy papers to suit each new comic. I would go into a big Paperchase and buy all the weirdest hand-moulded papers I could find, with petals or sticks pressed into them. I was really inspired by small pressers in America, like Ron Regé Jr, Souther Salazar and Greg Cook, who focused on the aesthetic of the comic being just as important as the stories being told.

Their sketchy styles also gave me the confidence to free up my artwork and draw more honest comics. Until then I’d drawn very derivative comics that tried too hard to be ‘well drawn’. I would spend a whole day trying to draw the perfect panel, which I would find incredibly stifling. Out of this frustration, I created something called A Little Box of Comics, which deliberately harked back to a naïve, loose style of drawing I had as a kid, and which I would still occasionally use to create birthday cards for my friends. With this style I could write and draw a story in one evening, photocopy it and have a

batch of comics the very next day! It was a seismic epiphany in my career and I never looked back.

Some people loved my new drawing style, some people hated it, but I was working in a style that made me very happy and that’s what really mattered. It was only a year or two later that I got my job on Horrible Histories Magazine, then a year after that, on the Beano with Derek the Sheep!

Have you ever come across anyone at a con or event who was a particularly dedicated fan of your work – a Derek the Sheep cosplayer for example?

I’ve never met a Gary Northfield cosplayer, but I’ve definitely met crazed, excitable ‘Number 1’ fans, especially for Derek the Sheep! When I do comic conventions, I get excited teenagers who loved Derek as a kid and insist on having selfies with me and repeating back their favourite stories. It makes me very happy that my comics meant something to them when they were kids. One little fan even told me that he took his Derek book to school every single day, despite the other kids taking the mickey out of him. That sort of devotion makes all the hard work worth it!

You are also well known for your workshops and events with children – how do you find working with kids?

I love working with children at events. And the more the merrier, I say! We have so much fun coming up with mad characters and funny stories. I also really love it when the crowd are rowdy and screaming out ideas; it saves me from doing all the hard work! I have a bit of a structure I work with, but I have to be pretty malleable with it, keeping in mind the ages of the children and how long the event will last. I like to think on my feet and, depending on how well the workshop is going, I can tailor it to that particular crowd.

I’ve read out my stories a couple of times and I found I get quite carried away with it all! So, I’m really looking forward to giving readings of Julius Zebra and hopefully the kids will appreciate my OTT bad acting!

The 2013 graphic novel The Terrible Tales of the Teenytinysaurs and last year’s Gary’s Garden were received extremely well. Your new book, Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans, is more of an illustrated book (with comic strip elements) than a pure comic strip – do you find writing prose an easier or harder process, and why the change?

I’ve been over the moon with the reaction to Gary’s Garden and Teenytinysaurs! I’ve loved working on both projects dearly, both coming along straight after my seven-year run on the Beano came to an end (due to a newly appointed editor having a clean sweep of contributors). My confidence was a bit low after my Beano exit, so I was keen to prove to myself that I was still capable of writing and drawing funny stories, so I totally threw myself into both projects.

Julius Zebra came about after I found myself an agent, Rosemary Canter, who recommended I look seriously at writing prose books. After my meeting I headed straight to the bookshop to research the sort of chapter books Rosemary was talking about. I immediately fell in love with Neal Layton’s Mammoth Academy series and found myself laughing out loud at his books on the train home, and I couldn’t wait to have a go at writing a ‘proper’ book. It took me a little while to find a subject that really excited me; but I’d written a comic strip for National Geographic Kids about the Colosseum and was really tickled by a panel I’d drawn showing a motley crew of wild beasts going mad in the Roman arena. So, immediately after I’d finished Teenytinysaurs (and with great encouragement from my friend and fellow author, Alex Milway), I pitched Julius Zebra to my very eager publisher, Walker.

It’s not been easy writing a book after years of writing comic strips, but I definitely had great fun on a very steep learning curve (I do relish a challenge!) and can’t wait to dive in with book two. In fact, whenever I think of a new project for the future, I automatically think of the story in terms of a chapter book and not comics. I now have at least three new book ideas I’m desperate to write once I’ve finished Julius Zebra and Teenytinysaurs two!

I was really inspired by small pressers in America, like Ron Regé Jr, Souther Salazar and Greg Cook, who focused on

the aesthetic of the comic being just as important as the

stories being told

APRIL 2015

THe FleeCe STaTion

Located at an old police station in Deptford, The Fleece Station is the home-away-from-home studio space for four ‘Fleece Officers’.

• elissa elwick, author and illustrator• Gary northfield• Sarah Mcintyre, comic artist, author and picturebook creator. • The founder of Stitch and Bitch London, lauren o’Farrell.

The original three founders Sarah, Gary and picturebook creator Viviane Schwarz – hit upon the name for the studio when they first met and realised that all three of them were working on comics starring sheep: Sarah’s ‘Vern and Lettuce’ for the Phoenix comic, Gary’s ‘Derek the Sheep’ for the Beano and Viviane’s graphic novel, Sleepwalkers. Cartoonist and illustrator ellen lindner is also a former Fleece Officer. For updates from the Fleece Station and its residents, follow @fleecestation on Twitter or like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fleecestation

CHILDREN’S BOOkS FROM THE FLEECE STATION:

elissa elwick • The Princess and the Sleep Stealer

Sarah Mcintyre• There’s a Shark in the Bath• Oliver and the Seawigs• Jampires• Cakes in Space• Superkid• You Can’t Scare a Princess• You Can’t Eat a Princess• When Titus Took the Train• Morris the Mankiest Monster

Gary northfield• Teenytinysaurs• Julius Zebra series

Viviane Schwarz• There are Cats in this Book• There are No Cats in this Book• Is There a Dog in this Book?• Welcome to your Awesome Robot• A Place to Call Home• Rabbit Stew

What comic strips did you love as a child and teenager?

I absolutely grew up on comics since year dot! I lapped up every Asterix and Peanuts book I could find. And I devoured every Marvel comic I came across, especially The Avengers and Ant Man (my favourite Marvel character! To say I’m excited that there’s going to be an Ant Man film is an understatement). I was also really inspired by the TV cartoon Hong Kong Phooey, and still have all my drawings of my own superhero dogs from when I was a kid.

What comic strips or illustrated books would you recommend for children in 2015? Alex Milway’s Pigsticks and Harold picture book series is a real gem and laugh out loud! Sarah McIntyre and Philip Reeve have a fantastic looking new book on the way all about pugs in the North Pole (Pugs of the Frozen North). And my other studio mate Elissa Elwick is working on a secret project with bearded author extraordinaire Philip Ardagh, which I’m very excited about! Watch this space…

alan nolan is the writer and illustrator of Fintan's Fifteen from The O'Brien Press. He is currently the Bringing to Book Illustrator-in-Residence in CICE, Rathmines.

4features

Wow! Welook wicked!

I thinkI needa belt.

This is howI’m going to dressALL THE TIME!

It’s not been easy writing a book after years of writing

comic strips, but I definitely had great fun on a very steep

learning curve

Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans!Walker Books, March 2015

iSBn 9781406354928

© 2015 Gary Northfield

Gary Northfield

5 APRIL 2015

The CBI Book of the Year Awards are twenty-five years old this year, and the shadowing scheme has run for ten of those years. Dedicated, enthusiastic primary and secondary school classes and library and bookshop reading groups await the announcement of the shortlisted titles and, with the help of a special pack of resources provided by CBI, they discuss, debate, fight for their favourites and eventually score the books, feeding into the process that gives every shadower in the country a voice and decides the winner of the Children’s Choice Award. Behind each shadowing group is a leader who facilitates the process and helps to bring the joy of reading for pleasure to young people in their school, library or shop. We asked five teachers, librarians and booksellers about their experience as shadowing leaders – what they loved, what the challenges are and why they keep coming back to shadowing year after year.

Kieran Fanning is an author and a teacher in Skryne NS, County Meath. ‘In a world full of distractions,’ he says, ‘I’m always looking for new ways to get kids into books, and shadowing the CBI Book of the Year Awards is up there in my teacher’s armoury. We’ve been doing it in our primary school since 2008 and it has proven to be a successful way of generating literary discussion, developing critical thinkers and getting children engaged with books.’

Other groups, run in libraries and bookshops, are established book clubs who choose to read the shortlist from March through May each year. Maedhbh Rogan-McGann is an executive librarian with Meath County Council Library Service. Based in Trim Library, she helps to run three junior book clubs for children aged 8–12. ‘We meet once a month and we’ve been involved with the shadowing process since 2006. It’s a lovely initiative and the kids look forward to taking part every year. The shadowing process always creates a buzz in the library book clubs.’ Antonia Daly is the owner of Antonia’s Bookstore in Trim, County Meath. ‘Being in a bookclub in a bookshop is an extracurricular activity for kids and therefore every child in our groups is there because they love reading and want to discuss books with other like-minded children,’ she says. ‘When I first brought

the idea to them of being part of the shadowing scheme they were very excited to be a part of something so important and they have taken their roles very seriously when considering what mark to give each book.’

Giving a voice to young readers – whether they are experienced or reluctant – is the overall aim of the shadowing scheme: to give power and agency to children and young people and to recognise their opinions by collating their scores and giving the Children’s Choice Award based on their preferences. ‘The children love the importance of contributing to the judging process,’ Maedhbh says. Knowing that their votes matter, shadowers – like the adult judges – put real effort into forming and articulating their arguments: ‘This is a chance for the bookworm, who seldom gets to partake in inter-school events, to come into his/her own,’ says Kieran. ‘How great it is to see a child champion their favourite book and argue its merits with his or her peers. How great it is to hear kids talk about illustration and poetry with the passion and gusto of literary critics. As a former judge of these awards, I understand the thrill of this debate, and its value as an oral-language and self-esteem exercise cannot be underestimated.’

For Antonia, another benefit of shadowing with her book clubs is highlighting excellent writing and illustration that comes from Ireland. ‘We read a wide range of genres and authors from all over the world each month and the shadowing scheme lets me show the children how many books are available from Irish authors when we focus one month on the

Children's Books IrelandLeabhair Pháistí Éireann

giVingaVoice toYoungreaderS celebratingtenYearSofShadoWing

I’m always looking for new ways to get kids into books,

and shadowing the CBI Book of the Year Awards is up there

in my teacher’s armoury

6features

CBI Book Awards. This has really opened their eyes as the books are mostly set in Ireland so they can relate to them more than a book set in an entirely different culture. I think it has also encouraged them in their own writing (they often bring me short stories they have written themselves) to see how many great Irish authors we have.’ For school and library groups, access to Irish-based authors or illustrators can be hugely motivating, either as part of a visit or at a local festival. ‘The year Celine Kiernan won [the Children’s Choice Award] with Into the Grey, she came in to school soon after we voted and the atmosphere was electric,’ says Joan Kelly, School Librarian at Kings Hospital School, Palmerstown, Dublin.

Up to ten books can be shortlisted, ranging from picturebooks to young adult novels, in English and as Gaeilge. Faced with a ten-book list and a deadline, what is the reaction from young people who do not consider themselves strong readers or who don’t have an interest in reading? ‘In truth, the class responses ranged from delight to horror,’ says school librarian Alison Campbell, who job shares at Loreto High School Beaufort and who took part in the shadowing scheme for the first time in 2014 with groups of first year girls. ‘One student in particular couldn’t hide her displeasure and said emphatically “But I DON’T read.” I emphasised that everyone should read at their own pace and not be swayed by what any other student was doing. We set a target that everyone would try to read at least two books from the shortlist. We also agreed that an hour per day should be set aside for reading and this would mean turning off phones, games and other devices to prioritise reading time, as many students believe that they don’t have time to read a book.’ Time constraints are a concern for many of the shadowing groups: the nature of the judging process is such that the shortlist

can only be announced in March of any given year, owing to the large volume of books that the adult panel must read before they arrive at a shortlist. This gives the shadowing groups approximately two months to source, read and score the books before sending their votes to CBI. Many groups are also faced with the challenge of limited funding – Skryne NS usually buys a couple of copies of each book to share between students in each participating class, funded by a generous annual donation from their parents’ association, whereas Trim Library struggles with not being able to allocate budget in advance without knowing how many age-appropriate books will be on the shortlist. Joan believes that the books

are worth the investment if the group has the means to buy them. ‘The initial outlay is not that expensive when you consider that you are going to have a few copies of great books that you can use for a paired reading activity in the future or for book clubs.’

Not every group reads every book on the shortlist; books at the upper end of the age scale will not be age appropriate for younger readers, for instance. ‘This can be difficult when many sixth class pupils are already reading YA, and would be fine with these titles,’ says Kieran. ‘But I, as teacher, can’t be seen to hand these books out, as I learned to my cost in 2012 when I received a letter of complaint from a parent about the bad language in a certain novel.’ On the other hand, many older children may also express an initial reluctance to read picturebooks. ‘One part of the shadowing scheme which I find great fun every year is when I tell them that we're going to read a picturebook or two, if they are on the shortlist,’ says Antonia. ‘The reaction from the children, whether they are 8+ or teen is usually the same: “Picturebooks are for babies!”

By the time I have finished reading the picturebook, and telling them to consider the story, illustrations etc. in deciding what mark they will give the book, the reaction is almost always the same – they are amazed at how much they liked listening to the story and looking at the illustrations!’

Kieran agrees: ‘While only a small percentage ever read the entire shortlist, almost everyone reads at least one book, usually a picturebook. In fact, one of the positive results of the shadowing scheme has been the exposure of older kids to picturebooks they’d normally never read. This is great for children interested in art and I can say without a doubt that

Oliver Jeffers has become a household name in our school because of these awards.’ Indeed, in 2014, despite the fact that a majority of the shadowing groups were comprised of older children, the winner of the Children’s Choice Award was Oliver Jeffers for his illustrations in The Day the Crayons Quit (written by Drew Daywalt). The shadowers’ ability to look critically at and appreciate a book for which they were not necessarily the intended audience showed that they picked not just their favourite book, but a book that they thought was excellent, just as the adult judging panel do. ‘Because the books are on the poster,’ says Joan, ‘students are willing to try them all. Last year I hesitated about getting the Oliver Jeffers picturebook, but the [first year] class requested it and loved it. It gives the struggling reader a chance to get through more than one book and broadens the overall aesthetic experience.’ Maedhbh has had similar experiences of young readers thinking they were ‘a bit too old and a bit too cool’ for picturebooks, whereas Alison found that, after The Day the Crayons Quit won the award, she regretted not including it in her discussions with a

Her Mother’s FaceRoddy Doyle

illustrated by Freya BlackwoodScholastic, 2008

Taking FlightSheena Wilkinson little island, 2010

The Day the Crayons QuitDrew Daywalt

illustrated by oliver JeffersHarperCollins, 2013

Under Fragile Stoneoisín McGann

The o’Brien Press, 2006

7 APRIL 2015

first year shadowing group who were in attendance at the awards ceremony and were disappointed that they hadn’t read the book.

According to Kieran, the scheme also encourages children to read outside their comfort zone, allowing them to discover new authors, new genres, poetry, illustration and books as gaeilge. The Irish language may be perceived as a barrier, however, for shadowers who are not confident Irish speakers. ‘I love Irish, though I couldn’t claim to be fluent,’ says Maedhbh, ‘and I’m always keen to find a way to give Irish-language books parity in the process . . . but it can be tricky. We have a Gaelscoil in Trim, so there

are usually one or two Irish speakers in the group, but most of the others would struggle to get the most out of an Irish story in its original state. One parent kindly translated Ó Chrann go Crann [by Andrew Whitson and Caitríona Hastings] for me a few years ago, so we read that in both Irish and English, discussing the text and illustrations. But in translation, we lost a lot of the richness of the original language, so this isn’t an ideal way to discuss these kinds of books.’

Each shadowing group is provided with posters, bookmarks and a pack of resources which are put together specially for the awards and include imaginative ideas for engaging with the shortlisted books. ‘The shadowing packs are brilliant, and invaluable in the process,’ says Maedhbh. ‘The discussion questions and suggested activities are really excellent. They’ve taught me, and the other facilitators of our book clubs, how to really examine a book, how to better analyse the text and lead an in-depth discussion. The packs are particularly helpful when analysing the visual aspects of a picturebook. I’ve long been fascinated by the relationship between pictures and

text, how the writer and illustrator work together (though sometimes they’ve never even been in contact with each other) and how, when it’s done well, the words and images each tell a different version of the story, the combination of which makes it greater than the sum of its parts. Watching the children start to appreciate and read into this interplay is one of my favourite parts of the process.’ CBI is available by phone and email to support the process from start to finish, and a small number of shadowing groups are invited to attend the awards ceremony and present the Children’s Choice Award in Dublin each year. Being part of the ceremony ‘proved to be a huge motivating factor in the final push to get the books

read’, says Alison. ‘They were genuinely excited to visit the IFI (the awards ceremony venue) where they got to meet and talk to the authors of the books they had read. ‘This was a fantastic chance for them to make the connection between book and author.’

Comparing their own favourite books to the ones chosen by the adult judging panel, and indeed the winner of the Children’s Choice Award, is an extension of the process for Kieran. ‘When the overall winner has been announced, our shadowing group either nods approvingly because the choice was the same as theirs, or shakes their heads in disgust because it wasn’t. ‘I heard Patrick Ness say that he often opens his talks with young people by asking this question: “Did you like Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight series?” To those who answer “yes”, he tells them they’re correct, and to those who answer “no”, he tells them they’re also correct. Because often the point of a book award is not to find out the best book, but to generate a conversation about what makes a “best book”. The CBI Shadowing Scheme certainly does this, and so much more.’

Antonia has been asked why she gives up so much of her time to run the book clubs in her shop and she says the answer is simple: ‘When a child joins the group and they can’t finish the book each month or they sit quietly in meetings because they are too shy to speak up, it is so rewarding six months later to see the same child not only finish a book but tell me about another book or two they have read that month, and not only speak up but argue a point that might differ from another person in the group. Parents and teachers have both commented on how being part of a book club has improved not only their child’s level of reading but also their confidence and social skills.’

Did the shadowing leaders notice a change in their groups as a result of the process? Alison says that ‘Once they got started, the students became very competitive in their reading with some strong opinions emerging. The fact that many of their peers were also reading the same book contributed to the competitiveness. The enthusiasm of the class grew as the weeks went on and even the reluctant reader was becoming more animated. It was great to watch them become invested as readers and hear them advocate for the book they believed should be the winner. The reluctant shadower came into the library at the start of the new school year in September, and said, “Remember me? I told you that I didn’t read, but I have spent all summer reading.” I can’t think of any better way to illustrate the value of the shadowing scheme as experienced by this particular class.’

The alchemystMichael Scott

Doubleday, 2007

ChalklineJane Mitchell

Walker Books, 2009

GroundedSheena Wilkinsonlittle island, 2012

into the Grey Celine Kiernan

The o’Brien Press, 2011

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Once you receive your shadowing pack from CBI, a great starting point is to read through the shortlisted titles and choose those that are most relevant for your group. There is no need for everyone to read every title but remember that picturebooks aren’t just for toddlers!

CBI provides a ballot with each shadowing pack: a great idea is to make copies of this available to your shadowing group so they can ‘score’ the books they have completed as they read. Monitor progress regularly. After about a month of reading, make sure shadowers are ready to discuss the shortlisted books. This activity mirrors that of the adult judging panel and generates great debate about books and reading.

Let the young readers decide how they wish to present their responses – in pairs, groups or on their own. Share the shadowing process. Some schools video or blog about their debates and share them via websites, facebook and twitter. You never know, the shortlisted author or illustrator might comment or like your opinions!

Finally, young readers are interested in how their decisions compare with those of the adult judges. After the awards ceremony in May, make sure they know who the award winners are. This is a great way to keep them engaged with reading after the shadowing process has ended.

All young reading groups from across the country are invited to take part in CBI Book of the Year Awards Shadowing. Sign-up via CBI from mid-February each year. This year, CBI has made an arrangement with IES so that all participating shadowing groups will receive 20% off any purchases of shortlisted books.

To order, visit iesltd.ie or call (01) 621 0310.

alison Campbell is the School Librarian at Loreto High School Beaufort, Rathfarnham, Dublin.

antonia Daly runs Antonia’s Bookstore in Trim, Co. Meath and is currently involved in the programming of the children’s programme at Hay at kells Literary Festival.

Kieran Fanning is a primary school teacher and author for children. His novel, The Black Lotus, will be published by Chicken House in the summer of 2015. Joan Kelly, School Librarian, The king’s Hospital, Palmerstown, Dublin / job-sharing at Loreto Beaufort.

Maedhbh Rogan-McGann is an executive librarian with Meath County Council Library Service. She’s been running children’s book clubs in Trim Library since 2005. She loves picturebooks, running and GAA!

2014: oliver Jeffers The Day the Crayons Quit

2013: Sheena Wilkinson Grounded

2012: Celine Kiernan Into the Grey

2011: Sheena Wilkinson Taking Flight

2010: Jane Mitchell ChalklinePrevious to this we have the Shadowing awards (not officially children’s choice)

2009: Roddy Doyle Her Mother’s Face

2008: Michael Scott The Alchemyst

2007: John Boyne The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

2006: oisín McGann Under Fragile Stone

PReVioUS CHilDRen’S CHoiCe WinneRS

ToP TiPS FoR

SHaDoWinG GRoUPS

CBI Book of the Year Award winner Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick with students

from Loreto High School Beaufort, Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin and Scoil San

Carlo, Leixlip, Co. Kildare.

So much to do, so many demands, so many students, so little time… How to fit ‘shadowing’ into already overcrowded days!? The ten outstanding books on this year’s shortlist open ‘the world of imagination’ through which young people may ‘glimpse the infinite possibilities of the human condition’ (english language curriculum, p.14, 1999); they encourage reflection, curiosity, sensitivity and empathy from the reader, thus meeting the requirements of even the most demanding (or discerning!) of box-ticking cigirí…

DAIDEO by Áine Ní Ghlinn (Cois Life) Gearrscéal fada nó úrscéal gearr? Is cuma – is scéal fíorchliste soléite é a gheobhaidh greim docht agus a rachaidh i bhfeidhm ar léitheoirí d’achan aois. Agus iad ag éisteacht le scéalta a chéile ar thraein go BÁC, cothaítear caidreamh idir seanfhear agus gasúr óg (12) atá ag éalú óna thuistí. Cuireann rithim na rothaí ar ár suaimhneas muid agus ní bhraitheann muid i gceart an teannas agus dorchadas ag bagairt. Gaeilge den scoth, do dhaltaí meánscoile sa 1ú/2ú bliain.

PRIMPERFECT by Deirdre Sullivan (Little Island) Life, death and everything in between. Young people reading the final instalment in the diaries of Primrose Leary (and, in this book, of her mother) will wish more final instalments were as insightful, as honest, as touching and as laugh-out-loud funny. Few writers deal so sensitively, so convincingly and so intelligently with the ups and downs, hopes and disappointments – the realities – of young adulthood. Read these diaries – laugh, and weep.

SHH! WE HAVE A PLAN By Chris Haughton (Walker Books)

Three determined but incompetent baddies and a whole world of humour in a story that is perfectly paced and revealed visually with the minimum of words through

vibrant, carefully chosen colours and inventive collage. A perfect picturebook that provides space for the reader to make predictions, to draw inferences, to activate prior knowledge, to discuss, appreciate and really enjoy the expressive (and impressive) artwork. Every art-room, every classroom, every home should have multiple copies

THE APPLE TART OF HOPE by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald (Orion)

Twenty chapters make up twenty ‘slices’ of a deep-filled apple tart: the interwoven and beautifully written alternating narratives of Meg and of her best friend Oscar. He is missing, presumed dead by his own hand. The sliver or two of magic realism adds piquancy to the story, gradually revealed, of how sustained bullying combines with insecurity and poor communication skills to (almost) destroy even the most popular of students.

BEYOND THE STARS compiled by Sarah Webb (HarperCollins)

A beautiful collection of twelve proper short stories, no textbook excerpts here! There is a great freshness and variety to the stories and the illustrations, donated by twenty-three of Ireland’s best and best-loved authors and illustrators to raise funds for Fighting Words, the creative writing centre in Dublin where so many young people have written and illustrated their own stories. The stories range in subject from dogs in space to invisible cats and ancient warriors, most suitable for the 8–12 age group. The anthology includes a story from competition winner Emma Brade, age 14, who will surely be an inspiration to young students with ambitions of writing and publication.

HAIku MÁS é DO THOIL é by Gabriel Rosenstock, illustrations by Brian Fitzgerald (An Gúm) Saothar fíorshuimiúil, fileata é seo. éiríonn leis an údar (agus is file é féin) an léitheoir a mhealladh gan aon stró i saol agus filíocht haiku ón 18ú haois sa tSeapáin go dtí an lá atá inniu ann. Ní fada go mbeidh an léitheoir faoi gheasa ag draíocht an fhile, í/é beo i saol liteartha aoibhinn álainn, ag féachaint ar an dúlra agus ag smaoineamh faoi, agus sleachta Haiku ag rith go tréan léi/leis.

ONCE uPON AN ALPHABET by Oliver Jeffers(HarperCollins)

Again, every school, every home, every person should have at least one copy, as this is a book that bears repeated readings. Each letter of the alphabet is introduced with its own story, weaving in and out of one another, asking the reader to make connections and cross-references. Although this is an alphabet book, the cleverly constructed stories and quirky line drawings make this a perfect read for children of all ages.

APPLE AND RAIN by Sarah Crossan(Bloomsbury)

Sarah Crossan’s insightful, thoughtful, heartfelt poetry is juxtaposed against prose that is stark by contrast. Both poetry and prose work together to paint a vivid picture of a teenage girl coping with the loss of and subsequent reunion with an

absent, occassionally untrustworthy mother. This first-person narrative completely captures Apple’s pain and anger, bewilderment and confusion. There is much to discuss and to explore, touching on themes of immigration, prejudice, love, family and coming of age.

ONLY EVER YOuRS by Louise O’Neill (Quercus)

A powerful debut novel set in a dystopian future which reflects many of the most worrying issues in our own world. The novel gives a terrifying insight into a dark and unsettling world where young women are powerless in choosing the direction of their own lives, where their self-worth depends on their diet, their wardrobe and whether they are chosen to be a wife. Suitable for older teenagers, this novel highlights the inequalities and double standards of our own society, making it a thought-provoking read for both girls and boys.

WHEN MR DOG BITES by Brian Conaghan (Bloomsbury)

Dylan Mint is a sixteen-year-old living with Tourettes Sydrome. This coming of age story is by turns touching, hilarious and innovative in its use of language. Conaghan writes with a finely tuned ear to the true ways in which teenagers communicate; some shadowing leaders may wish to review the book before handing it to younger readers because of this. The book delivers some excellent talking points for teenagers and young adults around the nature of masculinity, friendship, family and love.

9 APRIL 2015

features 10

‘Cad é an dúshlán is mó a bhaineann le bheith ag scríobh do dhaoine óga?’ a fhiafraím de Anna Heussaff agus Áine Ní Ghlinn, fad is atá muid ag ól cupán breá tae i dteach Heussaff i gCill Mhaighneann. ‘Cé mhéad dúshlán atá uait?’ a deir Ní Ghlinn, ag gáire. ‘An dúshlán is mó ná scéal maith a scríobh,’ arsa Heussaff. ‘Má tá an smaoineamh féin láidir, spreagfaidh sé spéis. Caithfidh rudaí a bheith sa scéal a chuirfidh iontas ar an léitheoir, nó a bhainfidh geit astu.’

Dúshlán eile, a deir Ní Ghlinn, ná coincheap agus teanga. ‘Nuair atá leabhair Bhéarla á léamh ag páistí, sleamhnaíonn siad thar na bhfocail nach dtuigeann siad. Scanraíonn sé sin iad le leabhair Ghaeilge. Má bhíonn an iomarca focal nua, bíonn deacracht acu,’ ar sí. Is scil ar leith é, mar sin, an coincheap a bheith oiriúnach d’aoisghrúpa áirithe, agus ansin an teanga a bheith chomh hoiriúnach céanna.

‘Is dúshlán é a bheartú cé chomh simplí is atá muid ag iarraidh na leabhair a dhéanamh. Tá ceist ann chomh maith, an mbímid ar fad ag iarraidh é a dhéanamh róshimplí dóibh? Tá léitheoirí a bheadh in ann dó, ach go minic, más sa seomra ranga atá sé, bímid ag plé le leibhéal lár an ranga, seachas na daoine is fearr. Go minic ní dhéantar freastal ar na léitheoirí is fearr.’

Luann Heussaff fad, nó giorracht, na leabhar Gaeilge. ‘Má bhreathnaíonn tú ar leabhair Bhéarla, bíonn leabhair le cúig chéad leathanach iontu!’ ar sí. ‘Is ochtó nó nócha leathanach a bhíonn sna leabhair Ghaeilge. B’fhéidir go bhfuil sé in am, luath nó mall, do dhaoine againn leabhar trí chéad leathanach a scríobh i nGaeilge.’

Níl Ní Ghlinn ró-thógtha leis an smaoineamh seo. ‘Má scríobhann tú leabhar trí chéad leathanach, ní léifidh éinne é, agus ní thógfaidh foilsitheoir é,’ a deir Ní Ghlinn. ‘Ar bhealach leis an nGaeilge, caithfimid a bheith praiticiúil agus féachaint ar an mhargaíocht – mar caithfimid maireachtáil.’ ‘Bhuel caithfidh, agus déantar i mBéarla é,’ arsa Heussaff, a bhfuil taithí aici freisin ar shaol foilsitheoireachta an Bhéarla. Tá leagan Béarla dá húrscéal, Buille Marfach, ar fáil faoin teideal ‘Deadly Intent’.

Dúshlán eile a bhaineann le bheith ag scríobh do dhaoine óga, dar le Heussaff,

ná go gcaithfidh an scéal a bheith inchreidte. ‘Ní gá go mbeadh sé inchreidte sa chiall go bhféadfadh sé tarlú sa domhan ina maireann muid, ach caithfidh sé a bheith inchreidte laistigh den scéal – agus sin an áit a bhfuil an dúshlán,’ ar sí. ‘Caithfidh an léitheoir a bheith gafa agus creidiúint sna carachtair. Tá sé tábhachtach go n-oibreodh an scéal as a stuaim féin.’

Tá Ní Ghlinn ag plé leis an dúshlán áirithe sin faoi láthair i leabhar nua dá cuid – Hata Zú Mhamó. ‘Tagann Mamó amach as an teach altranais le dul go dtí an zú,’ ar sí. ‘An fhadhb is mó atá agam ná an scéal a bheith inchreidte – fantaisíocht amach is amach atá ann.’

Luann Heussaff an tábhacht a bhaineann leis an ‘dara súil’ agus tú i mbun scríbhneoireachta, agus tá Ní Ghlinn ar aon intinn léi. ‘Cloisim roinnt scríbhneoirí ag rá nár mhaith leo seans a thabhairt do dhaoine eile a leabhar a léamh [sula bhfoilsítear é], ach tá siad ag iarraidh ar na céadta míle duine na leabhair a léamh. Iarraim ar chúigear nó seisear mo scéal a léamh i gcónaí sula bhfoilsítear é,’ arsa Heussaff. An iad na daoine céanna a léann roimh ré i gcónaí é? ‘Braitheann sé cén cineál leabhair atá i gceist – i gcás leabhair do dhaoine óga, mar shampla, bheinn ag iarraidh ar pháistí é a léamh,’ ar sí.

Bhí mac Anna Heussaff ina leanbh nuair a rinne sí a céad iarracht leabhar a scríobh do léitheoirí óga. Bhí sí ag obair le RTÉ

Labhair Meadhbh Ní Eadhra le beirt scríbhneoirí rathúla, Áine Ní Ghlinn agus Anna Heussaff, faoina gcuid taithí féin ag scríobh as Gaeilge do dhaoine óga.

Scríobhdodhaoineóga -cothromcirtaaimSiú

Má tá an smaoineamh féin láidir, spreagfaidh sé spéis. Caithfidh rudaí a bheith

sa scéal a chuirfidh iontas ar an léitheoir, nó a

bhainfidh geit astu

ag an am agus cé gur chuir sí an leabhar chuig teach foilsitheoireachta, níor glacadh leis. Tá Heussaff thar a bheith macánta agus í i mbun cainte faoi. ‘Ní raibh teagmháil agam le cultúr na léitheoirí ag an am – ní raibh mé timpeallaithe ag páistí. Deich mbliana ina dhiaidh sin – 2006 – scríobh mé mo chéad úrscéal bleachtaireachta do dhaoine fásta. Bhí mo mhac aon bhliain déag d’aois ag an am, agus bhain mé triail as scéal a scríobh dó. Bhí sé mar shlat tomhais agam – agus criticeoir an-dian! Bhí cur chuige difriúil agam, agus bhí mé ag dul sa seans i bhfad níos mó. Bhí mé ar mo chompord leis i bhfad níos fearr, agus leis an timpeallacht.’

Claonann Ní Ghlinn a ceann agus í ag éisteacht le Heussaff ag caint faoina mac. ‘Is iad mo pháistí na léirmheastóirí agus criticeoirí is géire dá bhfuil ann. Bhíos ag scríobh dóibh siúd nuair a bhí siad óg,’ ar sí. ‘Ansin thosaigh mé ag déanamh ceardlanna le daltaí scoile, agus thug mé faoi deara nach raibh an oiread sin ábhair ar fáil dóibh.’

Thosaigh Ní Ghlinn ag scríobh dánta agus gearrscéalta a bheadh oiriúnach le húsáid sna scoileanna, agus í ag iarraidh an réimse litríochta do léitheoirí óga Gaeilge a fheabhsú.

‘Is fáinne fí é, ar bhealach,’ ar sí. ‘Caithim leath mo shaol ag plé le ceardlanna do dhaoine óga anois. Tá an t-aiseolas a fhaighim ó na daltaí go hiontach agus tugann sé níos mó smaointe dom.’

Go deimhin, bhí dhá chríoch éagsúil scríofa ag Ní Ghlinn dá leabhar nua do dhaoine óga, Daideo, a bhuaigh Gradam Réics Carló 2014. Thug sí deis do dhaltaí scoile an dá chríoch a léamh. ‘Bhí an chéad chríoch i bhfad níos dorcha,’ a mhíníonn sí. ‘Thaitin sé go mór leis na páistí, go háirithe daltaí rang a sé.’ Cén fáth, mar sin, ar roghnaíodh an dara críoch don leabhar? ‘Bhí an foilsitheoir ag rá nach gceannódh éinne é. Dar leis na múinteoirí, ní cheannódh scoil ar bith é. Bhí eagla orthu,’ a deir Ní Ghlinn.

Agus muid ag caint ar litríocht do dhaoine óga, tá ceist amháin ag crochadh san

aer. An bhfuil an iomarca tionchair ag múinteoirí, scoileanna agus tuismitheoirí ar na leabhair a scríobhtar agus a roghnaítear dár ndaoine óga? I gcás Daideo, braitheann Ní Ghlinn go ndearnadh an cinneadh ceart. ‘Cé gur thaitin an críoch dhorcha leis na daltaí, bhí siad lena chéile, i ngrúpa, agus iad ag léamh. Nuair a léigh mo mhac féin é, ina aonar, cheap sé go raibh sé ró-dhorcha.’

Níor smaoinigh Heussaff ar na scoileanna ar chor ar bith nuair a thosaigh sí ag scríobh do dhaoine óga ar dtús. ‘Nuair a scríobh mé Vortex [a céad leabhar do dhaoine óga], bhí mé ag smaoineamh ar na páistí, nó ar dhaoine a cheannódh dá bpáistí féin é,’ ar sí. ‘Ní raibh mé ag smaoineamh ar scoileanna. Ansin, ag staid éigin, luaigh an foilsitheoir na scoileanna agus cheap mé gur cheart dom a bheith airdeallach orthu.’

Luann Heussaff ceist a tháinig aníos agus í ag foilsiú Vortex. ‘Bhí sé beartaithe agam go mbeadh roinnt Béarla in úsáid ag carachtar amháin sa scéal,’ ar sí. Nuair a

labhair sí le daltaí faoin smaoineamh, bhí go leor acu an-dearfach faoi, ach mar a deir sí féin, bíonn duine nó beirt nó seisear i ngach rang a cheapann i gcónaí nár cheart focal Béarla a úsáid i leabhar Gaeilge. ‘Táim cinnte go bhfuil múinteoirí ann nár cheannaigh an leabhar nuair a chuala siad faoi sin,’ ar sí. ‘Bíonn an tionchar sin ann.’

Iarraim ar Heussaff agus Ní Ghlinn cad a cheapann siad faoin réimse leabhar Gaeilge atá ar fáil do dhéagóirí. ‘Is cinnte go bhfuil bearna ansin,’ a deir Heussaff. ‘De réir mar atá an páiste ag dul in aois, tá an soláthar leabhar ag dul i léig. Tá soláthar an-mhór do pháistí óga, ach déarfainn fós, do dhéagóirí, go bhfuil muid ag caint ar idir deich agus fiche leabhar atá an-mhaith. Tá cúpla leabhar scríofa ag Éilís Ní Dhuibhne don aoisghrúpa sin.’

Tá Heussaff an-dearfach maidir le leabhair a aistriú go Gaeilge. ‘Táim lánchinnte faoin am seo go bhfuil éileamh ann,’ ar sí. ‘Sa Bhreatain Bheag, áit a bhfuil traidisiún láidir aistriúcháin, an rud a tharla ná gur thosaigh scríbhneoirí Breatnaise ag scríobh leabhair do na seánraí sin iad féin - ar bhealach nach raibh ag tarlú an oiread sin roimhe sin.’

Deir Ní Ghlinn go dtaitníonn sé léi go bhfuil leabhair de chuid Enid Blyton á n-aistriú go Gaeilge (ag Cló Iar-Chonnacht), ach níl sí chomh cinnte sin faoi na clasaicigh. ‘Nílim iomlán cinnte faoi na clasaicigh a aistriú, cosúil leis An Hobad, mar is daoine fásta a léann iad,’ ar sí.

Cad faoi chúrsaí margaíochta? Déanann an triúr againn gáire searbh. Ceist chasta, gan amhras. ‘Tá sé thar a bheith deacair,’ arsa Ní Ghlinn. ‘Go leor de na siopaí, diúltaíonn siad leabhair Ghaeilge a chur ar na seilfeanna, mar nach bhfuil siad ach ag tógáil suas spás seilfe agus tá an spás róchostasach dóibh siúd. Tá sé deacair. Is ceist an-chasta í!’ ‘Tá brú ar shiopaí leabhar i gcás leabhar Béarla, freisin,’ a deir Heussaff. ‘Is minic a théim isteach in Eason chun leabhar áirithe a cheannach agus ní bhíonn sé acu ar an tseilf.’

Tá feachtas nua tosaithe anois, darb ainm Love Leabhar Gaeilge, agus cuirfear seilf ar fáil do leabhair Ghaeilge i siopaí leabhar áirithe ar fud na tíre. ‘Ach nach bhfuil sé brónach go mbíonn ‘seilfeanna Gaeilge’ ann, le leabhair do gach aoisghrúpa measctha le chéile,’ arsa Ní Ghlinn. ‘Tá a fhios agam. Chonaic mé mo leabhar féin (do dhaoine óga), Hóng, taobh le leabhair

11

Is iad mo pháistí na léirmheastóirí agus criticeoirí

is géire dá bhfuil ann. Bhíos ag scríobh dóibh siúd

nuair a bhí siad óg

Daideo Áine ní Ghlinn Cois life, 2014

iSBn 9781907494420

Tromluí Áine ní Ghlinn Cois life, 2009

iSBn 9781901176957

APRIL 2015

features

eile de mo chuid, Buille Marfach agus Bás Tobann (leabhair do dhaoine fásta),’ arsa Heussaff. ‘Tá daoine ag teastáil atá fostaithe le dul ag plé le bainisteoirí siopaí leabhar. Tá gá le traenáil agus spreagadh a thabhairt do shiopaí leabhar. Tarlaíonn sé i mBéarla. Tá comhlachtaí ag íoc as spás san fhuinneog do na leabhair. Tá tionscal ag baint leis anseo agus caithfidh tú bheith páirteach ann.’

Is léir go bhfuil an-chuid fadhbanna leis an margaíocht, nó easpa margaíochta, atá ar siúl do leabhair Ghaeilge. ‘Tá easpa airgid ag na foilsitheoirí Gaeilge,’ a deir Ní Ghlinn, ach mar a deir Heussaff, tá an fhadhb chéanna ag go leor foilsitheoirí Béarla in Éirinn.

Aontaíonn an bheirt scríbhneoirí gur ‘cleas margaíochta’ maith atá sna sraitheanna leabhar, cosúil leis An Cúigear Cróga (The Famous Five, scríofa ag Enid Blyton agus aistrithe go Gaeilge ag Máirín Ní Ghadhra.) ‘Is nós a bhíonn sa léitheoireacht,’ a deir Heussaff. ‘Bíonn léitheoirí óga i gcónaí ag lorg an chéad leabhar eile, agus má thaitníonn an chéad leabhar leo, beidh siad sásta leanúint ar aghaidh ag léamh faoi na carachtair chéanna. Is rud é sin, measaim, gur cheart go mbeadh coimisiún ar leith ann dó. Ba bhreá liom daoine a fheiceáil ag scríobh deich leabhar sa tsraith chéanna.’

Ó thaobh na scríbhneoireachta féin de, deir Ní Ghlinn go gcaitheann sí beagán ama gach lá ag scríobh, agus ansin lá nó dhá lá sa tseachtain, bíonn sí ag scríobh go lánaimseartha.

‘Athraíonn an próiseas scríbhneoireachta ó leabhar go leabhar,’ ar sí. ‘Breacaim síos na mílte smaointe i leabhar nótaí. Uaireanta bíonn dialann lae agam do mo charachtair. Bíonn an scéal cosúil le cara samhailteach, ag taisteal liom i mo cheann. Tá sé ar nós císte a chur san oigheann – fágann tú ann é agus ansin nuair atá tú réidh, tosaíonn tú á scríobh.’ Scríobhann sí suas le fiche dréacht sula gcuireann sí chuig foilsitheoir é. ‘D’fhéadfadh dhá bhliain a bheith i gceist le leabhar ó thús deiridh – níos faide uaireanta,’ ar sí.

Cosúil le Ní Ghlinn, scríobhann Heussaff a lán nótaí, agus is cinnte go mbeadh gá leo, mar gheall ar na plotaí breátha agus an mhistéir a bhaineann lena cuid leabhar. ‘Bíonn orm na noda a scaoileadh de réir a chéile,’ ar sí. ‘Nuair a thosaím ag scríobh, ní bhíonn gach rud oibrithe amach, mar má bhíonn, bí lánchinnte go n-athrófar é

ar aon nós.’ Tá daoine áirithe a scríobhann an chéad dréacht ó thús go deireadh. ‘Ní dhearna mise sin fós, agus níl a fhios agam an ndéanfaidh mé riamh é,’ arsa Heussaff. ‘Scríobhaim an chéad chaibidil nó dhó, ansin téim siar ar na caibidlí sin. Is cineál céimeanna siar agus céimeanna ar aghaidh a bhíonn ann. Braithim, dá scríobhfainn an rud iomlán ón tús, go mbeadh an oiread de chomh holc sin agus chomh as alt, go mbeinn ag cur amú mo chuid ama agus chaillfinn misneach go hiomlán. Más féidir liom feabhas a chur air agus mé ag dul ar aghaidh, coinním mo mhisneach!’

Tá neart oibre ar bun ag an mbeirt scríbhneoirí seo, agus leabhair nua ar an mbealach. Tá Ní Ghlinn ag obair ar dhá leabhar do pháistí faoi láthair, chomh maith le leagan véarsaíochta de chuid de na seanscéalta. Tá sí ag obair, freisin, ar leabhar i mBéarla do dhaoine fásta, bunaithe ar shaol a seanmháthair. ‘Ach,

táim ag smaoineamh le tamall anuas, go mb’fhéidir go ndéanfadh sé tríológ mhaith do léitheoirí Gaeilge,’ ar sí. ‘Nuair a fhaighim an t-am, bainfidh mé triail as tosú arís, á scríobh i nGaeilge, féachaint cad a tharlóidh.’

Tá úrscéal nua bleachtaireachta á scríobh ag Heussaff faoi láthair. ‘Táim ag obair ar úrscéal do dhaoine fásta,’ ar sí. ‘Nuair atá saothar fada á scríobh agat, leathshlí tríd bíonn tú ag rá leat féin – an dtiocfaidh mé as seo go brách? Bíonn sé ar nós dul ar shiúlóid an-fhada trasna an fhásaigh.’ ‘Nó cosúil leis an Camino ar fad a shiúl!’ a deir Ní Ghlinn. Déanann an triúr againn miongháire. ‘Tá an scéal suite sa cheantar ina bhfuilim i mo chónaí – Cill Mhaighneann,’ arsa Heussaff. Breathnaím amach an fhuinneog. Tá an dorchadas ag titim agus muid ag caint. ‘Beidh na príomhcharachtair chéanna ann is a bhí sa dá leabhar eile. Tarlaíonn eachtraí áirithe sa phríosún. Tá a lán machnaimh déanta agam air. Baineann sé leis an lá inniu ach tá snáth staire agus mistéir staire ann chomh maith.’ Tá sé i gceist ag Heussaff úrscéal nua do dhaoine óga a scríobh chomh maith, agus luann sí go bhfuil caint ar leagan Béarla de Bás Tobann a scríobh, mar aon leis an úrscéal nua atá idir lámha aici. ‘Coinneoidh sé sin ag imeacht ar feadh cúpla bliain mé!’ ar sí, ag gáire.

Leagaimid na cupáin tae agus na cístí uainn agus iontas ar an triúr againn go bhfuil sé éirithe chomh déanach sin. Am dul abhaile. Baineann fuaim an tráchta geit asam agus mé ag fágáil an tí, ach is láidre i bhfad na smaointe i mo chloigeann tar éis chomhrá an tráthnóna.

Is scríbhneoir agus múinteoir í Meadhbh ní eadhra, ón Spidéal, i gContae na Gaillimhe. Tá dhá leabhar Gaeilge scríofa aici do dhaoine óga.

12

Bíonn léitheoirí óga i gcónaí ag lorg an chéad leabhar eile, agus má thaitníonn an chéad leabhar leo, beidh siad sásta

leanúint ar aghaidh ag léamh faoi na carachtair chéanna

Fuadach Áine ní Ghlinn Cois life, 2005

iSBn 9781901176551

Vortex anna Heussaff Cois life, 2006

iSBn 9781901176674

13

In early January, I heard through the bookseller-grapevine that there was a stack of pre-release All the Bright Places sitting in my local bookshop waiting for their pride of place on the shelves. Well, I’m not one for waiting if I can help it. Within minutes there was a cloud of dust where I had been standing and I was in a coffee shop in town experiencing that giddy feeling you get when you’re just beginning a book and it’s already better than your high expectations. By page 10, I was completely invested in Theodore Finch. By page 100, I was wandering across Indiana with the characters. By 200, I was rooting for them to be together. By 300, I was starting to get scared. By the end, I was at home, staring unblinkingly at my bedroom ceiling. It felt like I had been punched in the heart. I had been affected, uplifted, wrung-out and struck with every kind of emotion there is. I felt tired. But I was satiated.

When the opportunity to interview the author, Jennifer Niven, arose the following week, I jumped at the chance. Her book had left a lasting impression on me, and the thought of finding out more about how it came into being was an exciting one. All I had to do was mould my general sense of awe into a framework of questions and then we’d be well on our way. Much like her book, the author herself did not disappoint. Far from it.

Jennifer has said that the primary creative influence in her life was her mother, acclaimed author Penelope Niven, who sadly passed away in August 2014. As a child, Jennifer enjoyed ‘writing time’ (with crayons) while her mother sat close by, writing at her ‘grown-up’ desk. This was the very beginning of what would one day turn into a successful writing career for Niven. She can even remember the first piece she ever wrote: ‘One of the earliest was All About Me, an autobiography I wrote when I was eight. (Followed by another memoir when I was ten: My Life in Indiana: I Will Never Be Happy Again, which was written shortly after my parents moved us from Maryland to Indiana.)’

Guided by her mother and propelled by an abundance of natural talent, Niven is now an award-winning author of eight novels, with the ninth one in development. The secret to her success? ‘Write, read, and work hard. Remember to enjoy it. Don’t get hung up on making it perfect, because

there’s no such thing. Write the kind of book you’d like to read. Write what inspires you. Write what you love.’

Jennifer has been writing full-time for fifteen years. She’s mastered nonfiction and fiction, both historical and contemporary, adult and YA. Her books might seem varied, but she points out, ‘If you look closely, they share a common theme: they are stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.’

Her latest offering, YA runaway success All the Bright Places, is no exception to this. It’s a book about two ordinary people looking for the extraordinary in life, and finding it in each other. Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death. When Finch, as he is known, and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the ‘natural wonders’ of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries. It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself – a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can

‘allthecolourSinone, atfullbrightneSS...’

Debut Irish novelist Catherine Doyle interviews Jennifer Niven.

Write, read, and work hard. Remember to enjoy it. Don’t

get hung up on making it perfect, because there’s no

such thing. Write the kind of book you’d like to read. Write what inspires you.

Write what you love

APRIL 2015

14

forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. Described as The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park, this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story is about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.

Perhaps most importantly, All the Bright Places brings mental illness and suicide into the foreground, shedding light on topics that are often shied away from in society. By targeting the YA audience with this story, Niven shows how astutely aware she is that teenagers understand the depth of pain and loneliness, grief and depression, and will gravitate towards a book that confronts these topics head-on in a meaningful way. I asked whether it was a conscious decision to portray these themes so openly, or if they arose naturally as she was writing. ‘I really just wrote the story I knew,’ she answers. What she says next makes it easy to understand why the story about a boy suffering from bipolar depression feels particularly authentic. ‘Years ago, I knew and loved a boy, and that boy was bipolar. I witnessed up-close the highs and lows, the Awake and the Asleep, and I saw his daily struggle with the world and with himself. The experience was life-changing.’

All the Bright Places is an important book, not least because of what it explores but also because of the openness it brings to stigmatised topics. Niven recalls her own teenage experience: ‘Back then, I didn’t talk about it, but it’s important to talk about. I experienced first-hand the stigma associated with mental disorders – both from his perspective and from mine – and I realized that we need to make people feel safe enough to come forward and say, “I have a problem. I need help.” If we don’t talk about suicide or depression or mental illness, how can we expect anyone to reach out for help when they need it most?’

With a story as powerful as this, which is both personal and universal, Niven undertook an ambitious task. However, once she started, the story flowed. The novel, which she began writing in the summer of 2013, took only six weeks to complete. ‘A lot of that had to do with the deadline I gave myself… When I first started writing, I didn’t let anyone know what I was working on, in case it didn’t go anywhere. I thought, “I’ll just try to write a chapter and see what happens.” And then I heard the first line of the book: “Is today a good day to die?” And I saw Finch

standing on the ledge of his high school bell tower looking down at the ground and contemplating jumping. And suddenly there was a girl up there with him.’

When asked whether the characters preceded the story in her imagination, or vice versa, Niven says that often both come up simultaneously. In this case, she comments, ‘There’s usually at least one character I want to write about and a story I want to tell about him/her.’ So, how easy was it to find these new voices, and which character was the loudest in her head? I was unsurprised to have Niven confirm my guess. ‘Finch’s voice came out pretty much fully formed, as if he’d been waiting for me to write him. Violet took a bit more work, but for the most part, the writing of the story just flowed.’

It is interesting then that Niven ended up identifying with Violet more than Finch. ‘Like her, I hated my small Indiana town when I was living in it, and didn’t feel as if I truly fit in, and sometimes I kept my feelings too bottled up because I was always trying to be perfect.’

Knowing someone like Finch and setting out to tell his story is no easy feat, particularly with a story that resonates on such a deep and often dark emotional level. Thankfully, Niven found some catharsis in the process, though she points out that this wasn’t why she wrote it. ‘A young writer asked me recently, “How did you write All the Bright Places without crying over it?” The answer is that I did cry while writing it, but I also knew that it was okay to cry because that meant I was tapping into all of the emotion that was going to help me write what I needed to write.’ The emotion Niven refers to is easy to feel. It engulfs you and sweeps you up so that by the end there is a keen sense of understanding between the author and the reader, an experience shared, something raw and real. To present All the Bright Places as simply melancholic would do a great injustice to the extraordinary love that is shared between Violet and Finch. Despite the sadness, there are great pockets of joy

within the story. In fact, Niven’s favourite scene to write is a perfect example of the beautiful and the sombre meshed together. ‘I loved writing the scene in which Finch has left his dad’s house and is just driving and driving, and then gets out of his car and starts running until he ends up at a nursery where he collects flowers for Violet.’

Being an author, I am obsessively curious about the things that don’t quite make it past the editing stage. Characters have around 300 pages to make an impression on the reader but in the author’s mind, there are endless pages of information, dialogue and background that don’t make the cut. It’s always nice to gain a further insight when you can, to get a glimpse behind the scenes. I asked Jennifer to tell me something I didn’t know about Theodore Finch. Happily, she obliged. ‘For his first few Hallowe’ens, Finch’s mom and dad dressed him up as a hockey player (like a mini version of his dad, “the Slammer”). At seven, Finch was still small enough to wear the same costume, but it was his idea to go as Zombie Slammer. The year after that, he was Vampire Slammer. The year after that, he was Emo Slammer, an event that prompted his dad to retire the Slammer costume once and for all.’

What about deleted scenes, I asked her then, equally and shamelessly curious about the moments that ended up on the imaginative cutting-room floor. Niven offers a kernel of one, which shows the careful balance of morbidity and hopefulness, how a darker moment was swapped out for a more uplifting one – and even better than that, a scene involving the importance of books. ‘I originally had a scene in which Finch and Violet visit a cemetery where many of the grave markers are dollhouses. But my editor felt like I needed a happier place for

If we don’t talk about suicide or depression or mental illness, how can we expect anyone to reach out for help when they

need it most?

features

all THe BRiGHT PlaCeSPenguin, 2015

iSBn 9780141357034

them to visit at that particular point, and so I deleted the dollhouses and replaced it with the scene at the bookmobile park (the one Indiana landmark I invented for the book).’

Wandering forms the crux of Theodore and Violet’s bond with each other. Thrown together for a school project about discovering the hidden gems of Indiana, they find themselves travelling further afield and to increasingly quirky places, threading new experiences into a blossoming relationship. Niven herself has enjoyed her own exotic wanderings, travelling to the remote Siberian Arctic, which formed the setting of her first two books. Anywhere left to wander? ‘I’m itching to go to Romania,’ she answers. I’m sure she will and, who knows, we might see evidence of it in her next book. Not one to sit idle, now that All the Bright Places is out in the world, Niven is already hard at work on her second YA novel. ‘It’s about a boy who can’t recognise faces and a very visible girl who feels invisible.’ Does it have another message that will resonate with her rapt audience? That answer is easy to guess. ‘It’s about seeing, being seen, and learning to recognize what’s important,’ Niven explains. ‘It’s about what makes us love someone.’

For now, though, Niven is caught up in the excitement of the upcoming film adaptation of All the Bright Places, which is set to become a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning. So, what part of

the book is she most looking forward to seeing on the big screen? Simple, really – the one that started it all. ‘I can’t wait to see that opening scene when they are both standing on the school bell tower ledge.’ Like many, I’m already eagerly awaiting the movie adaptation of All the Bright Places, and am intrigued to see how this unflinching portrayal of mental illness will be married with a story of love and redemption in a new medium. For Jennifer, it will be the culmination of something profoundly important. Rather than shying away from the toughness, she embraces it. ‘That boy I once knew. He was equal parts dark and light, and I saw in him how those elements can co-exist,’ she comments, offering a poetic insight which can just as seamlessly be applied to the book itself.

What does she hope readers and moviegoers will take away from their experience of All the Bright Places? She answers with an anecdote. ‘One early reader wrote to tell me that as soon as she read the book, she ran downstairs and hugged her mother. Another reader wrote, “I found after reading this that I wanted to do so much more with my life than just live. This has kick started the bucket list for me.”’

Niven, an award-winning author whose most admired literary heroine is Alice in Wonderland, whose favourite words include ‘lovely’ and ‘sunshine’ and who knows the words to every ABBA song, has

delved into a painful past and offered her readers a compelling look at the darkest parts of life and the brightest kind of love. She has created something brave and authentic that she hopes will ‘inspire us to look deeper at the people and places around us. I hope it inspires discussions about teen mental health.’ Most importantly, Niven says, ‘I want readers to know that they aren’t alone, that help is out there, that it gets better, that high school isn’t forever, and that life is long and vast and full of possibility.’

The story’s message, quiet and implicit, encourages us to take stock, to value ourselves and those around us. It’s about loving life and loving yourself, and finding those bright places, whatever and wherever they may be.

Catherine Doyle is from Galway. Her debut novel, Vendetta, was released in January. Her second will follow early next year from Chicken House.

15

ReCoMMenDeD ReaDS Ya & MenTal HealTHCompiled by Claire Hennessy

All the Bright Places – Jennifer niven (Penguin, 2015)A relationship between a grief-stricken girl and a bipolar boy prompts an adventure into seeing the beauty in life, without dismissing its pain.

Wintergirls – laurie Halse anderson (Scholastic, 2011)An intense and difficult journey inside an angry anorexic mind. Haunting and beautiful.

I Was Here – Gayle Forman (Simon & Schuster, 2015)When your vibrant best friend commits suicide, there are questions that need answering.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson – John Green & David levithan (Penguin, 2012)Alongside zany musicals and romance, this dual-viewpoint novel explores depression.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story – ned Vizzini (Disney, 2007)A suicidal high-achiever finds himself in a psychiatric hospital, where he begins to recover.

Thirteen Reasons Why – Jay asher (Penguin, 2009)This sometimes-problematic but thought-provoking novel explores the reasons behind suicide and our responsibilities to one another.

Scarred – Julia Hoban (Piatkus, 2010)After the loss of her parents, Willow turns to self-harm.

I Don’t Want to Be Crazy – Samantha Schutz (Scholastic, 2010)A novel in verse relates surviving the first year of college with panic disorder.

Improper Order – Deirdre Sullivan (little island, 2013)Sullivan’s second novel handles self-harm and grief with a light but sensitive touch.

Tyranny – lesley Fairfield (Walker, 2011)This graphic novel conveys the horrors of anorexia and the gap between perception and reality.

WeBSiTeS: www.spunout.ie www.yourmentalhealth.ieClaire Hennessy is a YA writer and Puffin Ireland editor (@clairehennessy).

APRIL 2015

Finished a series and not sure what to read next? Just can’t find a book that interests you? Then the Children’s Books ireland’s Book Clinic is the place to go!

Young readers of all ages are invited to drop in and meet the Book Doctor – it’s free, no appointment needed, and no nasty jabs or tablets, we promise. After a chat about your favourite books, comics or things to do, the doctor will make a diagnosis and write a prescription for your next reads. This year for the first time ever the Book Doctors will be assisted by the Doodle Doctors at some Book Clinic locations. Every visit with the Doctors will end with the patient receiving a Reading Passport to take with them on their book adventures!

The Book Doctor has lots of ideas and there’s a book out there for everyone. So far in 2015 the Book Clinic has been to…

10th January dlr LexIcon Family Day, Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin

7th February Ballina Arts Centre, County Mayo

21st February Roscommon Arts Centre, County Roscommon

28th February Island Arts Centre, Lisburn, County Antrim

8th March Belfast Children’s Festival, Belfast, County Antrim

14th March glór, Ennis, County Clare

28th March Humdinger! Festival, County Derry

STIll TO COMe!

18th april Towers and Tales, Lismore Story Festival, County Waterford

19th april Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, County Kildare

25th april Cúirt International Festival of Literature, County Galway

4th May Drogheda Arts Festival at Beaulieu House, Drogheda, County Louth

17th May International Literature Festival Dublin at The Ark

28th May 1st June Bloom at Phoenix Park, County Dublin

29th – 30th May Listowel Writers’ Week, County Kerry

13th June Bookworms Children’s Literary Festival at Roscommon Arts Centre, County Roscommon

14th June Cork Midsummer Festival at the Glucksman Gallery, UCC, County Cork

20th June The Source Arts Centre, Thurles, County Tipperary

14th July West Cork Literary Festival, Bantry, County Cork

For more information, see www.childrensbooksireland.ie

16 APRIL 2015features

Children's Books IrelandLeabhair Pháistí Éireann

Pantone Red 032 cPantone 3005 cPantone 116 cPantone 376 c

CMYK ColoursPantone Colours

Red C-0 / M-90 / Y-86 / K-0Blue C-100 / M-34 / Y-0 / K-2Yellow C-0 / M-16/ Y-100 / K-oGreen C-50 / M-0 / Y-100 / K-0

‘The books we read as children are arguably the most important books we read in our lives. They shape how we see the world and ourselves in it; they enrich the imagination and broaden the mind. If a child catches the reading bug early, they’ll be a reader for life but finding the right book at the right time is vital. At the Book Clinics we help young readers to find books that are just right for them and it’s especially wonderful to have repeat visits from “patients” who read all the books previously prescribed for them and are back for another dose!’ Kim Harte, CBI Book Doctor

‘Having hosted a number of Book Clinics at Riverbank Arts Centre, it never fails to surprise us to see how popular the Clinic is - Queues of families waiting to see the Doctor, and “patients” who skip home happily with their literary prescriptions in hand. A joy to host.’ Linda Geraghty, Director, Riverbank Arts Centre

‘The book clinic is a brilliant idea, thanks to their expert help my daughter was able to find just the right book, a book she didn’t know she needed but was guaranteed to love.’ Colm Keegan, dlr Writer-in-Residence and Book Clinic attendee

17 APRIL 2015

Some of you will know that there are many unsung heroes in the publishing industrysuch as the tireless editor, proofreader, production manager and publicity department, but when it comes to translations, it often seems that the translator is the most unsung of them all. Anyone who has read a badly translated book which is hailed a classic in its country of origin will know how disappointing and frustrating it can be to have to try and decipher a book you know should be easy to read and to understand, particularly a picturebook. In this issue, I would like to draw your attention to the work of a number of translators for their wonderful work and skill in order for English language readers to enjoy these marvellous children’s books. I would like to thank the following translators: Ginny Tapley Takemori (The Whale That Fell in Love with a Submarine), Ann Drummond (Poka and Mia: At the Cinema), Margaret Jull Costa (Shola and the Lions) and Anthea Bell (Erich Kästner).

Cuirtear go mór le litríocht Ghaeilge na n-óg nuair a aistrítear go Gaeilge, agus le déanaí in Inis táimid tar éis ómós a thabhairt do shaineolaithe na ceirde ar nós Máire Nic Mhaoláin agus Gabriel Rosenstock. San eagrán seo tá nuacht mhór eile againn daoibh: leagan nua Gaeilge de Asterix na nGallach, aistrithe go sár-mhaith ag draoi eile aistriúcháin, Antain Mac Lochlainn. Is é aistriúchán litríocht na n-óg go Gaeilge atá faoi chaibidil sa leabhar ceannródaíoch acadúil Tíortha na hÓige le hÓrla Ní Chuilleanáin chomh maith.

Fans of children’s literature appreciate the value of each word and image contained ina much-loved favourite novel or picturebook. In this issue there is a vast range of magnificent books published and soon to be released, but The Whale That Fell in Love with a Submarine stood out as being an extraordinary book, not only in text,translation and illustration, but also in its overall look and format. Following on fromthe value of words or meanings being maintained in translation, author Patricia Forde’s fantastic first novel for older readers, The Wordsmith, examines the power of words and the richness of language.

Dóibh siúd a dtaitníonn scéalta faoi ainmhithe leo, tá dhá leabhar nua Gaeilge againn a mbeidh spéis acu iontu. Sa leabhar Drubal le Maolíosa Ní Chléirigh buailimid le madra atá an-chairdiúil, ach cuirtear an milleán air i gcónaí sa teach, mar sin réitíonn sé éalú ón mbaile, agus sa phictiúrleabhar An Gabhar a Raibh An-Ocras Go Deo Air le Máire Ní Chualáin, pléitear cé chomh contúirteach is atá sé iarraidh ar ghabhar a bhfuil ocras air cabhrú le hobair an tí.

Finally, I, Síne, would like to thank all the reviewers and readers of Inis over the last year. I will be finishing up as Reviews Editor with this issue. It has been a wonderful opportunity and an immense privilege to work on Inis, especially to witness its new look. Thanks to all the many people involved in the process of getting Inis to print as well as online: Siobhán, Emma, Emily, Jenny, Aoife, Elaina, Fintan and all our hard-working reviewers. You will be glad to know that our own unsung hero, the wonderful Juliette Saumande, will be returning to the magazine. I look forward to seeing some of you at a children’s book event very soon.

Síne & Siobhán

reVieWS

akiyuki nosakaillustrated by Mika Provata-Carlone

Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori THe WHale THaT Fell

in loVe WiTH a SUBMaRine Pushkin Children’s Books, February 2015

Paperback, 112pp, £9.99iSBn 9781782690276

Pushkin Press is a leading UK independent publisher of literature in translation, and places a strong emphasis on book design. In 2013 they established a children’s imprint. The collection under review is sure to instill in young readers a love of books as well as of reading; its striking turquoise cover, satin-feel pages, elegant layout and arresting illustrations make it a pleasure to hold and look at as well as to read.

Akiyuki Nosaka, best known for his novel Graves of the Fireflies, was born in Japan in 1930. At the end of WWII he witnessed the deaths of his adoptive parents during the firebombing of Kobe, and subsequently watched his sister starve to death. The seven stories that make up this collection, published here in English for the first time, are moving snapshots of moments in the

life of a shattered nation. Each story is set on 15 August 1945, the day that Emperor Hirohito’s radio broadcast announced the surrender of Japan to the Allies. The day is celebrated as ‘the day for mourning of war dead and praying for peace’.

Evocative of Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince and Other Tales, these stories exemplify the bittersweet Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi. Each one focuses on relationships between humans and the natural world. The vulnerability of the Japanese on this momentous day resonates with the plight of endangered animals, leaving a lasting impression of the increasing fragility of existence on this planet of ours. These are unforgettable stories in a book to be treasured. 10–12, 12–14, YA Amanda Bell

Máire ní ChualáinMaisithe ag natasha Rimmington

an GaBHaR a RaiBH an-oCRaS Go Deo aiR

Futa Fata, Mí na nollag 2014Clúdach crua, 32lch, €9.95

iSBn 9781906907914

Is leabhar snasta agus gleoite é An Gabhar a Raibh An-Ocras Go Deo Air a bhaineann le gnáthchaidreamh ár linne, is é sin, fear leisciúil nach bhfuil fonn oibre air agus a bhean a bhíonn de shíor ag tathant air cabhrú léi timpeall an tí! Eascraíonn sraith d’eachtraí greannmhara agus tubaisteacha as plean a chumann an fear gabhar a cheannach chun an féar a lomadh ionas nach mbeidh air aon stró a chur air féin agus a bhean as baile don lá.

Is í teist an leabhair seo ná go bhfuil sé dírithe ar an gcluas chomh maith leis an tsúil. Tá an stíl reacaireachta ann thar a bheith dúchasach agus fileata. Tá abairt ag deireadh gach eachtra ‘[m]ar bhí ocras air i gcónaí, an-ocras go deo...’ a fheidhmíonn mar a bheadh curfá ann chun an plota a ghríosú. Is cinnte go mbainfeadh páiste agus tuismitheoir araon an-sult as an toise rannpháirtíoch sin den insint. Tá an leabhar seo maisithe go héifeachtach freisin, rud a chuireann go mór le samhlú eachtraí an ghabhair agus é ag ithe leis feadh an scéil. Tá na híomhánna seo lán le carachtair agus siombail bhreise a spreagfadh plé agus comhrá samhailteach idir an tuismitheoir agus an páiste ar na rudaí a d’fhéadfadh titim amach sa scéal dar leo féin.

Tá an leabhar seo dírithe go príomha ar pháistí óga idir aon bhliain d’aois go cúig bliana d’aois. Cé gur leabhar barrúil é tá ceacht dóite ann don pháiste agus, b’fhéidir níos tábhachtaí fós, don tuismitheoir leisciúil chomh maith! 0–4, 5–7

Lydia Groszewski

18reviews

Jonarno lawsonillustrated by Sydney Smith

FooTPaTH FloWeRS Walker Books, May 2015Hardback, 28pp, £11.00iSBn 9781406362084

A small girl walks home with her distracted but patient father through a grey city landscape. As they walk, the red-coated girl gathers flowers from the footpath – dandelions, daisies and weeds that are routinely overlooked by the adult world – and, as she picks them and treasures them, she brings colour into the lives of those she passes by.

The pair walk on beyond the confines of the grey city, through suburbia and towards home, with the girl bestowing her love and regard, in the form of floral gifts, on the lost, the lonely and the lucky alike. Upon reaching their destination the pair are greeted warmly by their family.The wonderful and deceptively simple story by poet JonArno Lawson is beautifully rendered in silent sequential art by Canadian illustrator Sydney Smith, starting off with the red clad girl in monochrome streets, with each subsequent panel becoming more and more colourful as the book progresses, until the story seems to explode with colour at its climax.

This beautiful, touching book looks through the eyes of a child whose innocent delight at the world brings a sense of child-like wonder into humdrum everyday life.Lawson is a two-time winner of the Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Children’s Poetry, for Black Stars in a White Night Sky in 2007 and again in 2009 for A Voweller’s Bestiary, and he excels himself with Footpath Flowers, a truly exceptional visual poem that children of all ages and adults alike will love. All ages

Alan Nolan

Steve antony PleaSe MR PanDa

Hodder Children’s Books, January 2015 Hardback, 28pp, £11.99 iSBn 9781444916645

Mr Panda has a box of alluringly colourful doughnuts. Despite his sullen expression, he wants to share them with everyone. But no one has impressed Mr Panda enough to merit one of these delightful delicacies. What have they done wrong?

This is a rich picturebook with simple yet textured illustrations of the various creatures represented. Although quite minimalist in layout, the attractively coated background and clever use of typography give the pages plenty of style and content. And against this subdued background, the vibrant array of doughnuts looks all the more tantalizing! Little mouths will surely be watering as they try to figure out why no one yet has been deserving of a tasty treat.

So while Mr Panda (clad in only a little square hat, as if selling ice creams in an old-time cinema) has asked his friends if they would like a doughnut, no one has remembered to use the magic word!

Finally, we meet a lemur who remembers how important it is to be gracious when offered pleasant pastries. He not only says, ‘PLEASE Mr Panda’, but remembers to say ‘Thank you very much!’ His reward is the entire tray of doughnuts (and the little square hat).

This makes for a simple and gentle reminder to all of us who sometimes forget our manners when presented with unexpected bounties. Mr Panda’s very glum expression brings a quiet sense of humour to the pages. And because Lemur has been so polite, it’s a delight to see him revel in his reward. 0–4

Emma Burke-Kennedy

Clive McFarlanda BeD FoR BeaR

HarperCollins, February 2015 Paperback, 32pp, £6.99iSBn 9780062393326

We meet Bernard, the young bear in the title, on the cover of this bright, inviting picturebook, as he stands on a rock looking around for a suitable bed. His stance invites us to open the book to follow his search for someplace where he can sleep for the winter. The cave is noisy and crowded, not at all suitable for a bear, who, the pictures imply, might hope for better things. In typical early-years style, his quest takes him to various spots where he meets a number of animals, but none of their beds match Bernard’s requirements. Eventually, he begins to looks a bit dejected. Observant readers will have noticed that he is trailed by a mouse, who eventually recommends just the place: dry, calm, with lots of other bears to cuddle up with.

McFarland’s wax pastels and watercolours, blended in Photoshop, give a collaged feel to his illustrations, stylistically reminiscent of Eric Carle and Leo Lionni. His palette is autumnal and atmospheric, set against a white background which allows Bernard plenty of space for his journey, while giving a hint of the coming winter. At the end in a dramatic reversal, everything becomes black as night falls, and we enter the dark cave to see Bernard snuggling down for a long sleep.

The blend of pictures and words creates a very satisfying picturebook for adults and children to share. Illustrator and author McFarland is new on the children’s books scene, but we will surely be seeing a lot more of his work. Let’s hope so! 0–4 Valerie Coghlan

19 APRIL 2015

Davina Bellillustrated by allison Colpoys

THe UnDeRWaTeR FanCY-DReSS PaRaDeScribe Publications, March 2015

Hardback, 32pp, £12.99iSBn 9781925106206

Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys’s beautifully designed picturebook captures perfectly how it feels to be small and shy in a big brave world. Alfie wants to be brave enough to be Captain Starfish in the Underwater Fancy-Dress Parade but really he just feels like hiding. Alfie’s mum’s gentle response to his worry is refreshing, and together they discover a beautiful underwater world at the aquarium which helps him to find his own place. Anyone who knows or has been a shy child will empathise with Alfie’s plight, and Bell’s descriptions of his anxiety are realistic yet simple.

Colpoys’s exquisite illustrations draw on a palette of coral, turquoise, navy and silver, making for a really unusual look which is simultaneously slightly retro and very contemporary. She portrays Alfie beautifully, from his worried little face to the shyness of his stance and his downcast eyes. Details like a happy family photo on the wall in Alfie’s house give a sense of his comfort in the familiar. The underwater creatures are beautifully rendered and their appearance on the bus home from the aquarium is a charming blurring of lines between imagination and reality.This is a gentle portrayal of a little boy finding his place in the world. The dedication from the author tells children who wish they were braver that when the time is right, they will be. Its message is clear: it’s okay to be shy and, given time, everyone finds their place. A must-read, particularly for children who feel a little unsure. 0–4, 5–7

Avril Carr

emily MacKenzieWanTeD! RalFY RaBBiT,

BooK BURGlaR Bloomsbury, January 2015

Paperback, 32pp, £6.99 iSBn 9781408843130

I showed this book to a 60-year-old, a 40-year-old, a 30-something-year-old and an 8-year-old and they all loved it. It has humour, great language, a thoroughly lovable protagonist and gives a huge thumbs up to books, reading and libraries. Ralfy is a book addict. His favourite book titles are arranged in lists: The Hoppit, The Rabbit with the Dandelion Tattoo and Gone with the Carrots, among many others. But his addiction gets out of hand and he resorts to getting his ‘reading fix’ illicitly. He ‘crept off with comics and cookbooks, dashed away with dictionaries, nabbed novels and pinched poetry’. Then disaster strikes... and the police are involved.

MacKenzie’s illustrations are a joy. Ink and watercolours combine gorgeously. She is a genius at conveying expression. Young children will find Ralfy’s emotions easy to discern and, using the illustrations, will be able to retell the story for themselves. Like all great picturebooks there is far more going on in the illustrations than is conveyed in the text. The text’s font itself is written in different formats – big, small, bold and italics as well as some of MacKenzie’s own hand-drawn type.

Seven year-olds and competent readers will chortle aloud as they read. The book is a perfect read-aloud for younger children so long as you allow for close scrutiny of the illustrations and read out all the book titles as well – though they probably won’t mean as much to the child as they will to the adult. 0–4, 5–7

Mary Roche

Karla StrambiniTHe eXTRaoRDinaRY MR. QWeRTY

Walker Books, January 2015Hardback, 32pp, £11.99iSBn 9781406355901

Author-illustrator Karla Strambini encourages readers to have confidence in their ideas, eradicating fears of rejection and exclusion through the clever use of hats and character development. Mr. Qwerty’s head is bursting with wonderful ideas in a world of people he believes are completely ordinary. He is afraid that others will find his ideas too strange and different. But Mr. Qwerty learns that his mind is not the only one bursting with imagination.

Strambini emphasises the visual and exploratory nature of the imagination through sketchbook-style pencilling on a speckled monochromatic background. She externalises the beauty of interior creation by adorning characters with different hats. Blues and reds are used sparingly in a scarf and cravat, allowing the detailed inventions to take centre stage. Clouds on a blue sky contained in the scarf use bright colour to connect Mr. Qwerty’s quirky mind to equally inventive thoughts of those around him. The mechanical and natural worlds merge as Mr. Qwerty’s imagination takes flight, symbolised by a mechanical bird. Visual elements within The Extraordinary Mr. Qwerty are complimented by sparing text, as typography bends and twists around illustrations to mirror the creative nature of Strambini’s message.

By combining minimal text with highly detailed scenes, Strambini is able to add depth and sophistication to a seemingly simple message. Using hats as a symbol similar to Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, the reader is assured of their value and that they, like Mr. Qwerty, have valuable ideas that can transform the world we live in. 0–4, 5–7

Talya Bakker

20reviews

Chris Van allsburgTHe MiSaDVenTUReS oF SWeeTie Pie

andersen Press, February 2015Hardback, 32pp, £11.99iSBn 9781783441884

The Misadventures of Sweetie Pie is an apt title for this picturebook, written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, who is well known for his previous picturebooks, including The Polar Express. It tells a story full of action: the hamster Sweetie Pie is bought from the pet shop by a pigtailed girl who squealed that ‘he’s sooo sweet!’, hence the name Sweetie Pie. The girl soon tires of her new pet and sells him on. Sweetie Pie endures several different homes, each one worse than the last. Eventually Sweetie Pie is able to break through, and so the story has a happy ending.

The Misadventures of Sweetie Pie is a distinctly moral tale about caring for a pet. It warns of the dangers of falling in love with a pet only to discard it a short time later.

The story is clear, fast-moving and progresses with each page turn. The tension is enhanced by large illustrations on each page which illustrate in pictures what is occuring in the text. However, even though the illustrations are clear with bold lines, the colours are subdued, Chris Van Allsburg preferring soft browns and greens to bright vivid colours. Sometimes the expressions on the faces of the children and animals are unusual.

This book is a ‘must’ for pet lovers, or a child wanting a pet for the first time. 0–4, 5–7

Diane Orr

Tom MclaughlinTHe SToRY MaCHine

Bloomsbury, January 2015 Paperback, 32pp, £6.99 iSBn 9781408839348

Tom McLaughlin says that this book was inspired by his own memories of what it feels like to be a child with dyslexia, and also by his experiences of speaking with children about writing and drawing and what these mean to them.

Elliott is curious and creative and prefers pictures to words for telling stories. Then he comes across an old typewriter in an attic…

The story unfolds in pictures and a small amount of text (written in an old typewriter font). McLaughlin uses a mixed-media effect which works really well, echoing Elliott’s curiosity and DIY streak. McLaughlin uses gorgeous colour – the luminosity of the pale sea-glassy, turquoise/green and the warm burnt orange/water-melony shades on the cover contrast very effectively with the deep inky shadow of the attic where Elliott is exploring. Very pleasing compositions are created throughout by use of space and curving lines that are reminiscent of typewriter tape. The playfulness and bright, exuberant quality of the illustrations would definitely inspire readers’ own imaginations and creative instincts – just as Elliott’s own hands-on, ‘getting stuck in’ approach does.

The Story Machine is a treasure for any creative child (which is pretty much every child), and will remind them of the whole wonderful world waiting for them – or yet to be created by them. 5–7

Mary Roche

Kitty CrowtherTranslated by ann Drummond

PoKa anD Mia: aT THe CineMa Tate Publishing, october 2014

Hardback, 32pp, £6.99iSBn 9781849762434

Kitty Crowther is a Belgian writer and illustrator who has a very strong international reputation, including as recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Alas little of her work has been translated into English until now. Poka and Mia: At the Cinema is part of a series featuring insect family Mia and Poka, and is a truly welcome development.

Mia and Poka inhabit an insect world which gives Crowther plenty of opportunities for interesting characters and settings. The dynamic between the two is both playful and reassuring, and both characters offer the reader something. The text is primarily dialogue, and would particularly entice a newly independent reader keen to show off newly acquired skills.

Crowther’s distinctive illustration style is at once gentle and powerful. Her choice of simple strokes of pencil and light colour washes could seem at odds with the emotion or action she seeks to convey, but her skill brings the two together seamlessly. She captures atmosphere in small details and, in a particularly striking series of images of a cinema audience, conveys humour, frustration, restlessness and romance all at once. Crowther’s illustrations reward close and repeated examination and will keep a reader returning to spreads time and time again.

The series is a long overdue introduction to the skills of Kitty Crowther, and Tate have produced handsome small-scale hardbacks which will appeal to readers up to the age of seven, as well as those with an interest in illustration. 5–7

Mags Walsh

21 APRIL 2015

Bernardo atxagaillustrated by Mikel Valverde

Translated by Margaret Jull CostaSHola anD THe lionS

Pushkin Children’s Books, March 2015Paperback, 56pp, £7.99iSBn 9781782690641

Shola and the Lions focuses on the wonderful relationship between an elderly gentleman, Señor Grogó, and his pet, a small dog called Shola. In this delightful tale, we delve into the fantastical world of Shola’s imagination. This limitless imagination creates much situational comedy between man and dog.

Señor Grogó is a highly educated man whose acquaintances are widely travelled, interesting individuals. A certain visitor to Grogó’s household introduces Shola to a new world. As Shola eavesdrops, she learns of African wonders such as tribal peoples, savannahs and strange animals. Shola’s ears prick up when lions are discussed. The visitor describes the species’ attributes and strengths. Shola has a eureka moment as she matches her own characteristics and traits perfectly to those of a lion. Shola is shocked. For years her owner has deceived her, calling her a mutt when she was, in fact, a lioness.

Although Shola can talk to her owner, she chooses to ignore him and begin a new life as a lioness. Señor Grogó is bemused by Shola’s transformation but goes along with the act. Shola’s capers provide many humorous situations.

This work is the second collaboration between writer and illustrator published by Pushkin Children’s Books. Valverde’s illustrations seep softly into Atxaga’s lyrical text. His use of a warm palette and delicate watercolour technique adds an exotic feel to the tale. It is easy to transport ourselves from Ireland to the African plains. Valverde expertly conveys Shola’s gesticulations, expressiveness and pomp. 5–7, 8–10

Catherine Duffy

Jenny Colganillustrated by Thomas Docherty

PollY anD THe PUFFinlittle, Brown Books, February 2015

Paperback, 91pp, £5.99 iSBn 9780349131900

It’s a cruel feature of the feathered world: some birds are just more interesting than others. And none more so than the puffin with its outrageous beak and chubby body. Jenny Colgan captures its chunky charm in Polly and the Puffin, a warm tale of a young girl caring for a wounded puffling (the wonderful, wish-I’d-invented name for a young puffin).

When Polly hears a crash in the night, she creeps downstairs to find a smashed window in the front door and a puffling with a broken wing on the mat. The quaintly named Neil wreaks merry mayhem as he eats and explores his way through the house, fighting with the watering can and swimming in the cooking pot, until the sad-happy day comes when Polly must set him free.

There are lovely touches in this story for early readers: Polly’s motherly love for Neil that mirrors her own mum’s care; Neil’s response of ‘Eep’ to everything; and the arrival of Wrong Puffin, a toy substitute for Neil when he flies away. Thomas Docherty’s bold, simple orange-and-black illustrations reflect the story’s gentle atmosphere, culminating in a jubilant double-page puffin dance. With recipes at the end, including one for puffins (pancakes and muffins), and puffin jokes, facts and crafts, Polly and the Puffin is a warm-hearted book that celebrates family, freedom and an already adorable bird. 5–7, 8–10 Debbie Thomas

Maolíosa ní ChléirighMaisithe ag Kieron Black

DRUBalan Gúm, Mí na nollag 2014 Clúdach Bog, 38lch, €7.00

iSBn 9781857918922

Cairdeas agus grá atá mar phríomhthéamaí Mhaolíosa Ní Chléirigh ina téacs álainn Drubal, foilsithe ag An Gúm. Le tacaíocht na n-ilmheán agus léaráidí gleoite, cuirtear scéal deas atá lán le Gaeilge agus scéalaíocht chumasach os comhair léitheoirí óga agus tuismitheoirí. Tá an leabhar seo ag teacht le traidisiún ardchaighdeánach An Ghúim agus iarracht á déanamh ag údar an leabhair téacs nua-aimseartha a chur i gcló dírithe ar léitheoirí comhaimseartha.

Madra deas dílis é Drubal, madra mhuintir Uí Mhaoláin. Saol an mhadra bháin atá aige lena theaghlach. Mar sin féin, feictear do Dhrubal go gcuirtear an milleán air i gcónaí sa teach! Ar deireadh, tugann Drubal aghaidh ar shráideanna an bhaile mhóir toisc go bhfuil sé i gceist ag máthair Uí Mhaoláin Drubal bocht a chur go teach na madraí, cé nach raibh sí dáiríre faoi! Is anseo a bhíonn ar mhuintir Uí Mhaoláin teacht ar Dhrubal bocht agus é ar shiúl timpeall an bhaile.

Ach ar ais linn go dtí an cheist is tábhachtaí duit, a léitheoir, an fiú an leabhar seo a léamh le páistí? Is fiú agus is fiú go mór! Leabhar álainn is ea Drubal a chuireann Gaeilge shaibhir in iúl agus a luíonn in aoisghrúpa do pháistí níos sine (8–10 bliana, measaim). Le dlúthdhiosca deas agus léitheoir den chéadscoth, molaim iarracht Ní Chléirigh go hard na spéire! 5–7, 8–10

Seán Mac Risteaird

22reviews

Patti Kimillustrated by Sonai Sánchez

HeRe i aMCurious Fox, February 2015

Paperback, 40pp, £6.99iSBn 9781782022268

A young Asian boy arrives with his family in New York City. He regards his new home and school as places where little makes sense, until the day he goes in pursuit of a girl who has picked up a dropped seed which reminds him of home. His search leads him through the city, which he finds is not such a threatening place after all, and eventually he and the girl plant the seed together. Now, New York is home and he has a new friend.

The images in framed and unframed sequences are expressive, capturing the moods of the boy and of the city he inhabits. Well-defined line, and colours which vary from sludgy tones to vibrant reds and greens, bring this captivating story to life in Sanchez’s eloquent artwork.

Here I Am holds many possibilities for working with children who cannot read verbal text, or, in the case of migrant children, who do not have the language of the host nation. Evelyn Arizpe et al. in Visual Journeys Through Wordless Narratives show how using texts such as this one with immigrant children can have extraordinary beneficial results, and it should work well too in helping children to understand the experiences of those who come to their country.

Definitely a ‘must’ for home and school. 5–10

Valerie Coghlan

Gary northfieldJUliUS ZeBRa:

RUMBle WiTH THe RoManS! Walker Books, March 2015

Hardback, 288pp, £8.99iSBn 9781406354928

Julius is a zebra (definitely NOT a horse) and while his life is not perfect, it’s not so bad either. All right, so eating grass on the African plains all day is boring, his brother is a bit of a pain and going for a drink at the lake could get you killed, what with the lions and the crocodiles. But all of these things become fond memories when Julius is captured by the Romans to perform in the circus (definitely not the kind with juggling monkeys or dancing ostriches), along with a very talkative warthog, a grumpy and cynical lion, a slightly dim giraffe, a rock-collecting antelope and a vegetarian crocodile.

When they discover they are to serve as gladiators in the Colosseum, promised a life that will be violent, bloody and short, this gormless gang seem doomed... until Julius, who gets called ‘horse’ once too often, discovers a talent for berserk combat.

This offbeat comedy avoids the forced humour often found in books of this level – Gary Northfield’s easy-going comedy flows naturally, with a cast of lively, quirky characters. His text also works well with his scrawly style of illustration, full of movement and expression. At over 280 pages, it might tax the stamina of weaker readers, but it is otherwise a rowdy, rousing, slapstick tale, recommended for readers of 10–12. 10–12

Oisín McGann

Phil earleillustrated by Sara ogilvie

DeMoliTion DaD orion, May 2015

Paperback, 192pp, £6.99iSBn 9781444013863

Jake’s dad is a big man. He sits in a crane all day knocking down buildings while poor Jake deals with the bullies’ taunts about his father’s weight. But little do the bullies know that Jake and his dad have a secret. At the weekend, Jake’s father becomes Demolition Man, an amateur wrestler playing to tiny audiences in town halls across the country. Winning all around him, Demolition Man soon gets noticed by W.O.W!, or World of Wrestling, and is catapulted into the professional arena. But can he perform on a world stage in front of thousands of people?

Pitched at fans of David Walliams, this hilarious story will have readers of 8+ (especially boys) firmly planted in the corner of Jake and his dad. The writing is laugh-aloud funny, as are the antics. Earle has a lovely turn of phrase and, like a good pantomime, the book has jokes that will appeal to adults and kids alike. I especially liked the author’s witty asides to the reader.

But it’s not all slapstick humour and comic catchphrases. The novel also deals with the rather dark issue of depression. When things don’t work out for Demolition Man, he falls into the depths of despair, despite his son’s best interests to keep him afloat. The father-son relationship is particularly touching.

My proof copy only gave us a taste of Sara Ogilvie’s amazing black-and-white illustrations, so the final edition is sure to be a visual feast, as well as a side-splitting, heart-warming tale. 8+

Kieran Fanning

23 APRIL 2015

anna WeltmanTHiS iS noT a MaTHS BooK

ivy Kids, april 2015Paperback, 95pp, £9.99iSBn 9781782402053

This is a maths book really, but the way into the maths is through art and design. It is an activity book on how to draw really complex and interesting designs based on mathematical formulae. With clear instructions, the reader explores pattern, shape and symmetry in order to create 3D webs, parabolas, mandalas, tessellations and spiral shapes. (There is an excellent glossary, if you are a bit rusty on the terms.) Perspective and illusion are explored to produce mind-bending 3D shapes.

Anna Weltman is a maths teacher who is passionate about integrating maths with art and music. She has co-created a maths web resource (well worth a look, mathmunch.org). The tasks are challenging and exciting and, most importantly, look like they have been road-tested on real live children. This would be a wonderful resource for senior primary school maths or art, and would also be invaluable for children who need practice with any of the following: developing fine motor skills, following instructions, maintaining concentration or developing spatial awareness.

The pages are bright and inviting and the slightly gritty matt paper is just begging for the imprint of a freshly sharpened pencil. There are blank and graph pages at the back for further practice.The book concludes with practical ideas for project work and for further development of the patterns and with suggestions on how to recreate this art using a variety of media.

I usually donate my review copies to a perfectly matched reader. This one I’m keeping for myself! 8+

Irene Barber

John ChambersTHe SeVen DeaDlY FinnSWalker Books, January 2015

Paperback,160pp, £5.99iSBn 9781406350081

The Seven Deadly Finns charts ten minutes in the life of the craziest family in Ireland. The ten minutes in question is told and retold from the point of view of each of the family members. There are seven in total, starting with crazy schemer Mickey Finn, who is building the scariest snowman this side of Rialto. Next is Lazy Finn, who is doing his best in every way not to help Mickey, or any other member of the family. Mister Finn is the long-suffering dad. Then there’s Big Finn, the rambunctious older brother, who never seems to leave a room by the door. Weasel Finn is the family ferret, who may or may not be the reincarnated spirit of dear, departed Grandpa Finn. ‘Whirling’ Dervla Finn is the sharp-toothed and quick-witted baby of the family. Last but not least is Ma Finn, who just needs a holiday from the lot of them.

When Mickey Finn’s plan to make the neighbour’s blood run cold with a spine-chilling snowman skids off the ice, all hell breaks loose in this rib-tickling book by Berlin-based Irish author and illustrator John Chambers.

The Seven Deadly Finns moves along at a fair rate of knots, with great characters, tons of action, and plenty of substitutes-for-bold-words from my childhood (‘Fizz!’ ‘Crisps!’) thrown in for good measure.Chambers’s black-and-white illustrations are as sharply drawn and frenetic as the text, and bring this fast moving, exciting book to life. 8–10, 10–12

Alan Nolan

René GoscinnyMaisithe ag albert Uderzo

leagan Gaeilge le antain Mac lochlainn arna chur in eagar ag Gabriel Rosenstock

aSTeRiX na nGallaCHDalen Éireann, Mí na nollag 2014

Clúdach Bog, 48lch, €9.95 iSBn 9781906587444

An t-am: 50 bliain roimh Chríost. An áit: an Ghaill.

Tá an Ghaill agus na Gallaigh go léir cloíte ag Iúil Caesar ach amháin cúinne daingean na tíre ina bhfuil Asterix agus a chompánaigh ina gcónaí. A bhuí lena ndraoi, Ogamaix, agus an t-éilicsir a dhéanann sé, ní éiríonn riamh leis na Rómhánaigh an lámh in uachtar a fháil ar an laoch beag bídeach ná ar a bhuíon.

Is cuimhin liom go maith an chéad uair a tháinig leabhar grafach Asterix isteach sa teach s’againne agus mé trí bliana déag d’aois. Toisc na léaráidí cheap mé gur leabhar do pháistí óga a bhí ann. Ach níorbh fhada gur thuig mé an greann agus an chlisteacht a bhain leis. Caithfidh go bhfuil croí óg agam; ní túisce leagan Gaeilge Asterix á léamh agam go raibh mé ag gáire liom féin arís.

Tá aistriúchán Mhic Lochlainn thar a bheith cliste agus taitneamhach. Tá an greann chun tosaigh fiú ón gcéad leathanach; Dándírix atá aige ar an bhfile, agus Taoisix ceannaire na treibhe, dar ndóigh. Déantar an t-éilicsir as duilleoga an drualusa. Nuair a thagann Asterix aniar aduaidh ar Ogmamaix agus é i mbun duilleog a bhaint, deir sé le hAsterix gan teacht ar fhear ‘agus é ar an drualus’. Níl dabht ar bith faoi ach go bhfuil cuid mhaith den ghreann in oiriúint don léitheoir fásta, ach níl fáth ar bith nach dtaitneodh idir stair agus spraoi na n-imeachtaí le lucht léitheora ní b’óige freisin. An ceacht atá le foghlaim ó Asterix? An té nach bhfuil láidir, ní foláir dó bheith glic – nó an t-éilicsir a ól! Tá Asterix agus an Corrán Óir aistrithe ag Mac Lochlainn freisin. 8–10, 10–12, 12+

Enda McKenna

24reviews

erich Kästnerillustrated by Walter TrierTranslated by anthea Bell

DoT & anTonPushkin Children’s Books, april 2015

Paperback, 160pp, £7.99iSBn 9781782690573

Dot is a girl with an unbridled imagination! An only child, she lives with her father and mother – neither of whom could be described as attentive – and also her governess and the maid. Not forgetting Dot’s playmate – her pet dachshund, Piefke. Her friend Anton is from a much less well-off family. Unfortunately, his mother has been unwell for a while, which hasn’t helped the situation. There have been rather peculiar goings-on in Dot’s household recently. Dot’s family is wealthy, so it is a bit of a mystery as to why she sells matches on the streets of Berlin in the evenings...

I really enjoyed this novel, full to the brim with memorable characters and a villain or two for good measure! Erich Kästner’s first children’s book, Emil and the Detectives, will be known to many. Dot and Anton was originally published as Pünktchen und Anton in Germany in 1931. The bold line drawings by Walter Trier enhance the story wonderfully, and have stood the test of time. I especially liked the ‘Afterthought’ pages at the end of each chapter, where the author talks about what happened during the chapter along with a short life lesson. What I found most interesting is that nearly a century later the messages of courage, pride, respect and friendship remain equally relevant today. 8–10, 10–12

Vivienne Luke

Kevin Stevensillustrated by Sheena Dempsey

PUCKeR PoWeR: THe SUPeR-PoWeReD SUPeRPUG

little island, May 2015Paperback, 101pp, €7.99

iSBn 9781910411308

Globetrotting, talking dogs, dog-nappers, flying and magic-making humans all make Pucker Power: The Super-powered Super Pug a fantastic story for young and not so young readers. What begins with a simple walk in Stephen’s Green quickly explodes into a saga of kidnapping and romantic liaisons between the dogs. After a rocky start, their owners also fall for each other.

Pucker Power the dog is the hero of the story. He speaks to his fellow canines in English, French, German and Russian.Pucker Power is beautifully written. The play with words is most appealing to young readers and adds an element of fun to the reading: JP, the main human character, has a problem with letter sounds and gets a lot of initial letters mixed up. Examples include ‘nog-dapped’ for dog-napped and ‘stat-caring’ for cat-staring.

The language, particularly the superb use of adjectives throughout the book, draws the reader into the story and gives a vivid picture of the characters and places, so much so that the descriptions would inspire those with a flair for art to take out their paint brushes.

Sheena Dempsey’s watercolour and pencil illustrations are very effective, and blend in really well with Kevin Stevens’ wonderful story.

This is a fantastic book, and would be great as a class novel. Not only is the story and the language suitable for reluctant readers, it offers great potential for creative art in the classroom. 8–10, 10–12

Úna Breathnach

Debbie ThomasClaSS aCT

Mercier Press, april 2015Paperback, 224pp, €8.99

iSBn 9781781172629

Debbie Thomas, author of excellent and zany children’s books Dead Hairy, Jungle Tangle and Monkie Business is back with Class Act, a story every bit as hilarious and original as her previous books. This time we meet hapless Brian O’Bunion, a boy who never succeeds at anything and is trying to come to terms with a very guilty secret. Bullied by his teacher and classmates, Brian’s life is one long humiliation until he encounters Dulcie, the talking fossil. (According to her website, Thomas studied fossils in England, which might explain Dulcie’s well-drawn, if slightly offbeat, character.)

When some of his classmates go missing, Brian and his sidekick Dulcie are on the case. As they piece the mystery’s solution together, Brian grows in confidence and makes peace with his troubled past. Amidst a fascinating backdrop of information on the biology of bees and other insects, this book introduces many memorable and enjoyable characters. An unputdownable story, Class Act reads like a classic children’s book in the vein of Roald Dahl with its quick humour and fun plus Thomas’s use of quirky language. I defy anyone to read Class Act without laughing out loud. Brilliant. 8–10

Regina de Búrca

25 APRIL 2015

Tony BradmananZaC BoYS

Barrington Stoke, February 2015Paperback, 92pp, £6.99iSBn 9781781124345

Tony Bradman has created a beautiful and poignant account of two orphaned brothers’ intertwined lives. Beginning in 1906 and covering the period up to and immediately after the First World War, Bradman weaves a story that captures the reader instantly as they follow the twists and turns the brothers’ lives take on their journey from London to Gallipoli. The story is told using simple and engaging language, a trademark of Barrington Stoke books; this quickly draws in the reader and makes it easy to follow the historic setting and the foreign characters.

The novel features chapter titles taken from the folk song, ‘And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda’, written in remembrance of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought and died at Gallipoli. ANZAC Boys is inspired by a true story, and the reader will, on reflection, note that each chapter title is befitting of the events that unfold within. This highlights the tragic truth the words of the song hold when paralleled with the lives of young men who fought in the war. This plot device makes for interesting post-reading discussion and encourages further historical research.

There is another wonderful touch added to the novel: the page ends are illustrated; each of the black silhouette motifs represents the mood and events of the four parts of the novel. These illustrations offer a visual accompaniment to the progression of the story, further enriching the reading experience. Overall ANZAC Boys is a truly compelling read. 10–12

Elizabeth Treacy

Dan GemeinhartTHe HoneST TRUTH

Chicken House, March 2015Paperback, 240pp, £6.99

iSBn 9781910002131

Books about children with cancer, written for other children to read, are tough to review, and I also imagine that they’re very tough to write. But they’re also very necessary. Fiction, and especially fiction for children, helps us deal with our worst fears in a controlled environment. From fairy tales to contemporary fiction, stories about scary subjects arm us mentally against life’s struggles.

Dan Gemeinhart’s debut novel The Honest Truth starts with a young thirteen-year-old boy, Mark, running away from home. With his trusty dog Beau by his side, he is determined to fulfil a promise that he made to his grandfather whilst he is still well enough to do so. As his parents, his best friend Jessie and the police desperately try to find him, we follow Mark and Beau as they travel towards their final destination, overcoming trials along the way and ultimately discovering the real value of life and the people that surround them.

The Honest Truth is well written, with a strong, fast-paced plot that compensates for the slightly overplayed end message. It’s a sad story in many ways but also a positive and life-affirming one, and it manages to tackle its serious subject matter in a manner appropriate for its reading age range. 10–12

Bob Johnston

nicola PierceBeHinD THe WallS

The o’Brien Press, March 2015 Paperback, 366, €8.99 iSBn 9781847176462

War is on everyone’s lips as turmoil rages throughout Europe. King Louis XIV, the Catholic King of France, seeks to assert his dominance over those who don’t share his faith. This means trouble for the Protestant community in the City of Derry. What will happen to those who won’t bow before a Catholic King if he were to achieve his goal? There is already King James ruling over England, and he would like nothing better than to see King Louis XIV succeed. This series of events has everyone on edge. Subterfuge is rife within Derry as trust is thrown into question.

Placed before you is an example of how far humanity can fall and, ultimately, how far it can soar in the face of adversity. Nicola Pierce’s novel allows us to experience the highs and lows of a community living in uncertain times. She has presented a story that allows us to relive history as if we were there. Pierce keeps the reader interested by drip feeding fragments of information and never giving too much away. This causes the reader to turn the page in anticipation of what will happen next. Pierce has created characters that the reader can connect with on an emotional level.

Behind the Walls will appeal to those who want a high octane story that’s rich in historical fact and memorable characters. 12–14

Sean Tate

26reviews

Sarah WebbMollie CinnaMon iS noT a CUPCaKe

The Songbird Café Girls Series: Book 1Walker Books, March 2015Paperback, 192pp, £5.99

iSBn 9781406348354

Mollie Cinnamon Is Not a Cupcake is the first book of Sarah Webb’s new series, The Songbird Café Girls. Mollie finds herself leaving Dublin on her way to the tiny island of Little Bird. Her great-grandmother, Nan, lives on the island. Nan has agreed to look after Mollie for three weeks while Mollie’s mother, Flora, travels the world working for a TV travel show. Mollie can only imagine how life will be on an island – nothing to do, no cinema, no broadband, no friends. She is very sad. To Mollie’s surprise, her great-grandmother turns out to be very ‘with it’. Mollie meets the locals, who welcome her, but she also runs into Lauren, who is less welcoming.

The novel deals with a range of emotions, including sadness, jealousy, selfishness and happiness. The themes of new friendship, kindness and bullying are explored. The reader soon discovers that Mollie’s mother is a most self-centered character, and throughout the story the roles of mother and daughter are reversed: Mollie looks out for her mother, while Flora acts like a teenager. (Neither Mollie’s father nor her grandfather are mentioned throughout the novel.) Some readers may find the storyline helpful, while others may find it difficult to handle due to some of the issues raised. Jacqueline Wilson fans will enjoy Mollie Cinnamon Is Not a Cupcake. 10–12

Úna Breathnach

Daniel Hartwellillustrated by neill CameronTHe PiRaTeS oF PanGaea

(The Phoenix Presents)David Fickling Books, February 2015

Paperback, 96pp, £8.99iSBn 9781910200087

In 1717 on the Caribbean sea, Sophie Delacourt is on board a ship en route to the newly discovered island of Pangaea, where she will stay with her uncle, the Governor. Sophie’s innocence mirrors our own as she is abruptly thrown into a fantasy world that time forgot, where dinosaurs walk the island and where lawlessness and piracy prevail.

The Pirates of Pangaea was originally published in the weekly Phoenix comic, and this edition collects the first story arc. I should admit to being a big fan of the weekly comic and what it aims to do – give children a quality weekly serial, something that falls between the Beano and 2000 AD.

The action is kept moving but this collected volume does well not to feel rushed, as reprinted serials often do. There is a great blend of fact and fiction, mixing colonial expansion, piracy and dinosaurs, and the book establishes its own reality quickly; for example, each chapter is headed with an excerpt from the journal ‘Indigenous Fauna of the Pangaean Land-Mass’. This journal also turns up later in the narrative with its own backstory, one of numerous elements and characters that, one assumes, will reoccur in later volumes.

Sophie grows in adventure throughout, steadily becoming a strong female lead, itself unusual in a comic, and something that hopefully may attract younger female readers too. There will be plenty more adventures to come from the island of Pangaea as the creative team work their socks off to create a charming fantasy. 10–12, 12–14.

Chris Stokes

Sally nichollsan iSlanD oF oUR oWn

Scholastic, april 2015Paperback, 216pp, £6.99

iSBn 9781407146911

Sally Nicholls’s books never shy away from portraying children living in difficult circumstances, and although the tone of her latest novel is light, at its heart is a family struggling to get by since the death of their mother. Jonathan, the eldest sibling, is 19 and the legal guardian of 7-year-old Davy and the 12-year-old narrator, Holly; despite the nominal support of social workers and extended family, the three kids are essentially on their own.

The death of their eccentric great-aunt Irene, followed by the news that she’s left the kids her jewellery – which has gone missing – sparks a treasure hunt and ultimately an adventure to the Orkney Islands. There’s a knowing balance here between the old-fashioned children’s story feel of this plot and the modern updates Nicholls employs: modern technology, scientific creativity and the Internet help solve many aspects of the mystery. Holly’s love of adventure stories is coupled with a passion for science and a concern about the environment – she wants to travel the world and have exciting voyages, but is also conscious of how environmentally unfriendly many modes of transport can be. As a heroine she’s passionate and resourceful (and a far cry from many of the girls in traditional adventure stories). The quest for missing treasure occasionally hovers on the boundaries of plausibility, but ultimately this is a page-turning and moving account of siblings becoming less isolated than they have been. Readers aged 10–12 and 12–14 will adore An Island of Our Own. 10-12, 12-14

Claire Hennessy

27 APRIL 2015

Dan SmithBiG GaMe

Chicken House, January 2015Paperback, 256pp, £6.99

iSBn 9781909489943

On his thirteenth birthday, Oskari heads off on a quest into the icy wilderness of Northern Finland. Here, a boy is not considered a man until he has spent a night in the forest hunting with the ancient bow. Men are judged by what they bring home from the hunt, and Oskari’s challenge is made all the more difficult by the fact that his own father returned with a bear. However, not long after his hunt begins, Oskari finds that he is the one being hunted after he stumbles across terrorists who have shot down Air Force One. Using all of his knowledge of the wilds, he must lead the president to safety.

Written at the same time as the film of the same name (starring Samuel L. Jackson), the book has the feel of an action movie in that the chapters are short and packed with chases, shootings and explosions, which attempt to constantly grab the attention of the reader. The first-person narrative allows us an insight into the hopes and fears of Oskari, a likeable character you cannot but root for. The same cannot be said of the president, who is far from heroic and at times seems downright naive. The dialogue between the characters can come across as forced, and some of the action scenes feel out of place and far-fetched when compared to the realistic and well-written descriptions of life in the wilderness.

Big Game makes for an exciting read and the inclusion of Bear Grylls-style survival skills will increase its appeal, especially to boys. 10–12, 12–14

Joe Kelly

aidan ChambersBlinDSiDe

Barrington Stoke, January 2015Paperback, 100pp, £6.99

iSBn 9781781124642

First published in 1967 ‘in a different form’ as Cycle Smash, the early Aidan Chambers novel now known as Blindside is a welcome addition to the Barrington Stoke lists. At its centre is 15-year-old Nate Clark, determined to make a name for himself in the world of athletics. Initially, all the indications are that he will succeed, but his dreams are shattered when, following a cycling accident, he is confined for a lengthy period to hospital.

Chambers catches extremely skilfully – and realistically – the boy’s frustrations as the various stages of his treatment proceed. The fluctuations in his moods and his changing relationships with his visiting friends and with the nursing staff are traced with compassion but without sentimentality. Similarly, the atmosphere of hospital life, complete with its sounds, smells and boredom, is convincingly portrayed, as are the details (often quite gruesome) of Nate’s injuries.

The boy’s meeting with Jamie, another young patient, and its consequences provide the novel’s resolution, a development which brings an emotional poignancy to its closing pages. ‘Dyslexic friendly’ and primarily aimed at the teenager with some degree of reading difficulties, this is a novel which should appeal to a wider readership than this might at first suggest. 12+

Robert Dunbar

Patricia Forde THe WoRDSMiTH

little island, april 2015Paperback, 288pp, €9.99

iSBn 9781908195999

The Wordsmith is the first novel from Galway writer Patricia Forde, author of picturebooks including the popular Mise agus an Dragún. Little Island punches above its weight as usual with this post-apocalyptic tale set in the village of Ark after the Melting. Letta is a wordsmith’s apprentice, tasked with transcribing words and their definitions for the approved List. The ruling gavvers insist that words make trouble and that five hundred of them is enough for humans to speak. Children who breach the language laws get a notch on their tally stick (a reference to the ‘bata scóir’ used to tally and punish children for the use of Irish words instead of the prescribed English in nineteenth century schools).

Letta and her master, Benjamin, however, speak hundreds of other words together. From their makeshift shop, they dispense specialist words to craftspeople and others. When Benjamin disappears, Letta finds herself harbouring a young man on the run from the gavvers, a young man who turns out to have a beautiful vocabulary. Letta realises that the richness of language, and through it much of human heritage, is threatened by the regime. There is a black humour here, in non-List words like ‘L.O.L. ... It means laugh out loud... an ancient expression that was handed down through the family.’ This gripping story has the dark atmosphere of books such as the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, and ends on an intriguing note that might promise a sequel. And that would be another fine thing. 12+

Catherine Ann Cullen

28reviews

Stephen DaviesBlooD & inK

andersen Press, June 2015 Paperback, 240pp, £7.99

iSBn 9781783442706

Timbuktu is besieged by Islamic radicals, one of which is a 16-year-old boy whose mission is tested by an independent-minded girl. This is not typical subject matter for YA, as writing in this milieu is a precarious task: avoiding being preachy, offensive, flippant or simply dull. Fortunately, Stephen Davies’s Blood & Ink avoids the traps, providing a thoughtful and entertaining exploration of a difficult topic, and serving as a vital corrective to the frequent misrepresentation of Islam in the media.

Based on true events, the book does a sterling job of plunging the reader into a world with which many would be unfamiliar, giving just enough information to avoid hand-holding. The use of two narrators provides contrasting insight into the two sides of the conflict: Ali, a serious boy who is slowly realising that his faith is used by hypocrites, is sympathetically drawn, and Kadija is a winning young woman whose brave actions demonstrate that feminism and Islam are not mutually exclusive, as often portrayed.

This may sound like worthy stuff, but don’t worry, the story is an exciting combination of sweeping romance, adventure, danger and history, and it whizzes by at a galloping speed.

One minor quibble though: I’d like to have learned more about the background and motivations of Redbeard, the charismatic villain of the piece. However, I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the world we live in today, especially the parts we don’t hear about in the news. 12+, YA

Cethan Leahy

Frances HardingeTHe lie TRee

Macmillan, May 2015 Paperback, 416pp, £6.99

iSBn 9781447264101 Rejoice, book lovers everywhere! Frances Hardinge is back with a new offering and it is tremendous.

The time is the 1860s and the place is Vane, a small island with paleontological treasure in its soil and a hunger for gossip and superstition in the minds of its inhabitants. Enter Faith and her family, chased from England by the threat of scandal.

Always the wordsmith and expert tale-spinner, Hardinge weaves seamlessly the strands of her narrative, from the investigation into a mysterious death to a reckless search for a mythical plant via the battles of a terrific heroine against prejudice, the weight of conventions as well as her own grief and rage.

Delightfully strong and competent, Faith is clever, knowledgeable and doesn’t recoil from her own dark side. She is supported by a cast of equally well-rounded protagonists whose strengths, flaws and obsessions provide material for rich, unexpected and sometimes volcanic relationships such as that between Faith and Paul Clay, the budding photographer who knows a lot about taking pictures of the dead.

The introduction of magic into a story that seemed rich enough without it feels, very briefly, problematic, especially as the darkness and scariness attached to it were already present. But it provides fantastic imagery and underlines the starkness of a cruelty that is all too real.

The Lie Tree is an empowering read for any teen who feels equally excited and awed by the world of possibilities that opens to them when they reach the brink of adulthood. I cannot recommend it highly enough. 12–14, YA

Juliette Saumande

Susin nielsenWe aRe all MaDe oF MoleCUleS

andersen Press, May 2015Paperback, 306pp, £12.99

iSBn 9781783442324

We Are All Made of Molecules tells the story of 13-year-old Stewart and 14-year old Ashley, who become de facto step-siblings when his widowed father and her divorced mother move in together. Their story takes the teething difficulties of blended families as a starting point, and transcends them.

Stewart has been attending a small school for gifted children but moves to Ashley’s much larger high school when he, his father and his beloved cat, Schrödinger, move in with Ashley and her mother. Moved up a grade because of his abilities, he has difficulties adjusting to mainstream schooling.

Ashley’s parents split up because her father came out as gay. He is living in a mews at the end of the family’s garden, causing excruciating conflicting emotions in his daughter, whose main interest is fitting in at high school. Things get worse when it transpires that the boy she falls for has a history of homophobic bullying.

The narrative viewpoint alternates between Stewart and Ashley from chapter to chapter. As they tell their story, Susin Nielsen movingly explores bereavement and attachment, homophobia, social media bullying and the need to fit in.Nielsen excels at characterisation: all of the characters, including Stewart’s late mother, are richly developed, emotionally compelling and often very funny. The book itself is unputdownable, and when you reach the very satisfying ending, it is a relief to know that Nielsen, an award-winning Canadian author, has a back catalogue to which you can turn for more. Highly recommended. 12–14, YA

Amanda Bell

29 APRIL 2015

Sophie KinsellaFinDinG aUDReY

Doubleday, June 2015 Hardback, 304pp, £12.99

iSBn 9780857534583

Finding Audrey is the latest novel from bestselling author Sophie Kinsella. It’s the story of Audrey, a teenage girl who finds herself unable to leave her house – or even look her family in the eye. Between her mother’s Daily Mail-inspired rants, her father’s inept attempts at maintaining order in a house built on chaos, her brother’s online gaming addiction and her therapy sessions, Audrey somehow has to find herself again. That’s where Linus comes in – and that’s how love finds Audrey.

Kinsella’s trademark acerbic wit and insight are present in abundance; from overbearing yet well-meaning mothers to issues of bullying and mental health, the standard themes of the YA genre are dealt with convincingly and with a refreshing originality.

This portrayal of everyday family life is both charming and emotionally demanding – Audrey’s life is peopled with larger than life characters who are well-drawn and fabulously colourful. Audrey herself is an engaging and compelling narrator and her teenage voice is wonderfully authentic. The novel’s unusual structure – Audrey’s narrative is interrupted at times by snippets of a home-movie script she’s filming for her therapist – is well handled and adds yet another layer of perspective to Audrey’s first-person narration. Often bitingly funny, the novel offers the reader an immersive and affective account of one girl’s personal struggle to take control of her life again.

A satisfying read from an established author, making her first foray into Young Adult fiction. YA

Becky Long

Jennifer nivenall THe BRiGHT PlaCeS

Penguin, January 2015 Paperback, 400pp £7.99

iSBn 9780141357034

Violet is ‘popular’; Finch is a ‘freak’. Both are suffering: Violet is mourning the loss of her sister in a road accident; Finch is battling his depression on his own. They meet at the top of the school bell tower, but neither of them has a real intention to jump. Finch helps Violet back to safety and their love story begins.

The compelling story is character-driven. The depiction of Finch is vivid and colourful – he leaps from the page, this energetic, imaginative, original mind. The fact that he’s moving closer and closer to taking his own life is a tragic irony that deepens the emotional impact of the end of the novel. Violet is an ordinary girl in abnormal circumstances, which allows Finch’s character to sing all the more.

One of the strengths of the novel is its portrayal of Finch’s mental illness and how it is misread by his friends and family, even by Violet whom he protects from this part of himself. Late in the story, the school counsellor mentions the term ‘bipolar disorder’, which appears to be news to Finch but likely not to the reader. But All the Bright Places revels in characters stepping outside of their labels and finding their own voice – and Jennifer Niven’s depiction of Finch allows us to see him not as someone with manic depression, but as a unique, memorable, big-hearted character who helps Violet back to life, but who cannot, in the end, help himself. YA

Elizabeth Brennan

Celine KiernanReSonanCe

The o’Brien Press, april 2015Paperback, 464pp, €9.99

iSBn 9781847175779

Ireland, 1890: a mysterious creature has been held captive for over 200 years by Cornelius and Vincent, who seem to be partners in crime. But as the pair use more of the creature’s power, its hold on them begins to grow and they will do almost anything to keep it alive.

More characters are introduced into the story: Tina, a young seamstress who works at a theatre in Dublin; Harry, an American trying to make a career as a magician; and Joe, Tina’s best friend, who works as a stable-hand. The story unfolds through alternating chapters, telling the characters’ individual stories until they begin to blend into one complete whole. But just who does Vincent think Joe is? And what is it about Tina being a seer that makes her so important to the creature?

With lots of vivid historical detail, Celine Kiernan’s latest novel spins a tale that is rich, dark and full of intrigue, and that takes the reader on a wonderful, magical journey of exploration and adventure.

There is a jarring disconnect in the middle of the novel when one of the characters starts telling his story in the first person, unlike the rest of the story which is told in the third person. It breaks the flow of the story, and I’m not sure if it’s necessary. With its dark and sometimes complex themes, Resonance is a great book for young teens, especially those who enjoy historical fantasy. YA

MaryBrigid Turner

30reviews

alex WheatleliCCle BiT

atom, March 2015Paperback, 284pp, £6.99

iSBn 9780349001999

Being the second shortest guy in his class earns Lemar the nickname Liccle Bit. Though short in stature, Lemar has big ambitions. He dreams of dating the prettiest girl in his year and using his artistic talent to rise above the bleakness and criminality of his council estate. But when he gets caught up in a local gang war, these dreams come crashing down. Is Lemar destined to follow his ‘brethren’ to jail or an early grave?

The drive-by shootings, popular culture references and bad language give this novel a contemporary, hard-hitting, edgy feel that will immediately appeal to teenagers. But the real strength of the story is in the richness of Lemar’s language, which at times reads like the lyrics of a hip hop song: ‘Bruvs’ get ‘deleted’ in a tit for tat gangland war, resulting in the feds banging on ‘drawbridges’, but everywhere mouths are ‘stapled’. Fighting is described as ‘Game of Throning’. And a guy doesn’t talk to a girl on his own – he ‘chirp(s) to this chick on his Jack Jones’. Brilliant!

The voice is wonderfully authentic and when you read Wheatle’s bio you realise this is a man who knows exactly what he is talking about. And though the world of Liccle Bit may be alien to many readers, at its heart is a story about friendship and family. Strong females rule the roost in Lemar’s flat, and his relationship with his buddies is akin to that of The Inbetweeners – humorous, deprecating and real. A most impressive YA novel. YA

Kieran Fanning

lisa WilliamsonTHe aRT oF BeinG noRMal

David Fickling Books, January 2015Paperback, 353pp, £10.99

iSBn 9781910200452

Lisa Williamson’s thoughtful debut fits nicely into a gap in the YA market; while homosexual characters are no longer uncommon, a transgender protagonist was virtually unheard of until 2015, and following calls for greater diversity in children’s literature, her offering is a welcome one.

David Piper has always known that he was meant to be a girl, in spite of his body telling the world otherwise. The only two people in the world who know his secret are his two best friends. That is, until Leo Denton, the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks, transfers to Eden Park School in mysterious circumstances and barrels into David’s life.

Both David and Leo are very believable characters and are easy to relate to. Their unique experience of adolescence is never alienating, and Williamson skilfully weaves into her novel very normal teenage problems: David struggles with maths and hides it from his parents when he gets in trouble at school, while Leo obsesses over Alicia Baker, the prettiest girl in his year, and stresses over his mum’s annoying new boyfriend.

The Art of Being Normal is warm, funny and charming, and deals sensitively with the problems faced by transgender teens. It isn’t particularly factual, but it isn’t trying to be, either. A rare and important book in terms of the subject matter it broaches, but equally a very enjoyable read with a lot of heart. Highly recommended. YA

Caitriona O Broin

Jeannie Waudbyone oF US

Chicken House, January 2015Paperback, 359pp, £6.99

iSBn 9781908435637

Growing up in a world divided by terrorism and extremism, 15-year-old K is a civil war orphan living every day fearful of those around her. Rescued from a bomb attack by the enigmatic Oskar, K agrees to join ranks with him and spy on the culprits of the violence. However, K soon learns there are two sides to every story and begins to question who the true enemy is.

Jeannie Waudby’s debut novel One of Us is a YA dystopia that is not too far removed from our own world. The divisions between the Citizens and the Brotherhood are often reminiscent of religious extremism and intolerance that focuses more on the social and cultural implications of the divide rather than any spiritual differences. In this case, Waudby’s novel raises questions of right and wrong in warfare and retribution – by putting a human face on both victims and villains, K’s story critiques the ‘us and them’ prejudices that often permeate society.

K’s journey is an ethical coming of age; her original beliefs are challenged as Waudby weaves her narrative around the issues of blame, intolerance and misunderstanding. Although some elements of why and how the divide between the Brotherhood and the Citizens came about could have been more explicit, the fact that the reader only ever knows as much as K does allows us to make up our own mind with regard to the rights and wrongs K uncovers.

An excellent and often times topical debut shrouded in suspicion and paranoia. YA

Ruth Concannon

31 APRIL 2015

Clare BradfordTHe MiDDle aGeS in CHilDRen’S

liTeRaTURe: CRiTiCal aPPRoaCHeS To CHilDRen’S liTeRaTURe

Palgrave Macmillan, January 2015 Hardback, 224pp, £55.00

iSBn 9781137035387

Clare Bradford’s significant and substantial interventions in the critical history and theory of children’s literature over the past 15 years continue with this new study. ‘The idea of the present past [italics in original],’ she suggests, ‘…offers a useful way of thinking about how fictions of the past are shaped by world views and ideologies of the present times of their authors.’ Each chapter offered here is at once an integral part of the unfolding argument but each is deep, rich and interrogative enough to prompt a separate a study in its own right.

Clearly articulated theoretical perspectives – Hayden White on historiography; Foucault on spatiality and temporality; Botting on neoGothicism; Bergson and Critchley on humour; Garland-Thomson on disability – deconstruct a range of texts. How I Live Now manifests as an exemplar of the manor house as locus for alterity; Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon juxtapose with Sutcliff’s The Witch’s Brat as case studies for the disabled protagonist as ‘an agential and complex protagonist’; the Horrible Histories series’ manipulation of its audiences exemplifies how ‘comic medievalism’ sometimes ‘distances audiences… to the safe vantage point of modernity’.

Bradford’s incisive accounts prompt fresh consideration of how present understandings of the theory and criticism of children’s literature should direct and connect with our historical understanding of historical fiction for children. Academic

Amanda Piesse

Órla ní ChuilleanáinTÍoRTHa na hÓiGe; liTRÍoCHT

GHaeilGe na nÓG aGUS CeiSTeanna an aiSTRiÚCHÁin

leabhairCoMHaR, Mí na nollag 2014 Clúdach bog, 416lch, €16.00

iSBn 9780992731304

Fearaimis céad míle fáilte roimh an leabhar ceannródaíoch seo le hÓrla Ní Chuilleanáin, an chéad mhórshaothar taighde (seachas cnuasach aistí) le dul i ngleic le léann litríocht Ghaeilge na n-óg. In Tíortha na hÓige, tugann Ní Chuilleanáin faoi ghort spéisiúil atá, mar a deir sí féin, mionlaithe faoi thrí – is é sin léann an aistriúcháin taobh istigh de léann litríocht na n-óg taobh istigh de léann litríocht na Gaeilge. Cé gur imeallaithe an gort taighde é, léiríonn Ní Chuilleanáin nárbh áit imeallach a bhí ag na haistriúcháin féin i gcruthú chorpas litríocht Ghaeilge na n-óg, ach a mhalairt. Is i lár an aonaigh a bhí an t-aistriúchán Gaeilge do pháistí ó thús na hAthbheochana suas go dtí an lá atá inniu ann.

Tosaíonn Ní Chuilleanáin le cuntais chuimsitheacha ar na haistriúcháin iomadúla a foilsíodh i nGaeilge don aos óg i dtréimhsí éagsúla ó thús na hAthbheochana go dtí an lá atá inniu ann. Bogann sí ar aghaidh ansin le dul i ngleic le cuid de na ceisteanna is íogaire a bhaineann le leabhair a aistriú go Gaeilge do pháistí, ina measc tábhacht (nó easpa tábhachta) na dílseachta don bhuntéacs agus ceist chonspóideach an aistrithe ón mBéarla. Críochnaítear an saothar le haistí le beirt aistritheoirí gairmiúla, ina bpléann siad a dtaithí phearsanta féin le haistriúcháin don aos óg.

Bua mhór de chuid an leabhair seo ná a chuimsithí is atá sé agus a ealaíonta is a fhíonn Ní Chuilleanáin a taighde fairsing féin leis an gcritic ó réimsí éagsúla. Is acmhainn thar a bheith luachmhar é an leabhar seo, ní hamháin dóibh siúd a bhfuil spéis acu i litríocht Ghaeilge na n-óg, ach freisin dóibh siúd a bhfuil spéis acu i litríocht na n-óg trí chéile, i léann an aistriúcháin agus i bhforbairt litríocht na Gaeilge. Leabhar acadúil

Róisín Adams

Blanka GrzegorczykDiSCoURSeS oF PoSTColonialiSM

in ConTeMPoRaRY BRiTiSH CHilDRen’S liTeRaTURe Routledge, november 2014

Hardback, 135pp, £85.00iSBn 9780415720274

This critical text is a consideration of contemporary British child culture and how books for children engage with some of the major cultural and social debates that have been ongoing for over a decade.

The author has chosen to focus on the idea that Britain’s colonial past continues to influence representations and depictions of race, identity and history in literary terms.

Blanka Grzegorczyk’s style is simultaneously accessible and substantial; her arguments are well structured, insightful and increasingly relevant in a multicultural social context that is constantly changing. With chapters examining the politics of children’s literature, issues of migration and integration, colonial history, the connection between fantasy and postcolonialism in literature for the young, and representations of the exotic in contemporary adventure stories, the book offers an expansive perspective on the dynamics of children’s fiction in Britain today. Grzegorczyk tackles a complex and often controversial topic with a critical zeal and a refreshing originality, analysing the transgressive and revolutionary potentialities of post-colonial children’s literature while simultaneously interrogating its ideological complicity with dominant structures of power.

This is insightful and innovative criticism. Grzegorczyk finds ample support for her argument in a diverse range of primary texts, providing the reader with an enlightening and meaningful critical framework for engaging with children’s literature. She argues convincingly here for the centrality of the colonial past in British fiction for children and young people today, highlighting the importance of children’s literature’s role in portraying contemporary culture in all its complexities. Academic

Becky Long

32reviews

ReVieWeRS

Tá Róisín adams díreach críochnaithe le dochtúireacht ar fhorbairt litríocht Ghaeilge na n-óg idir 1926 agus 1967. Bíonn sí ag teagasc i gColáiste Phádraig agus le Gaelchultúr.

Talya Bakker is a New Zealander and Masters student in Children's Literature at Trinity College, Dublin.

irene Barber (MEd.) is a retired primary school teacher and a former principal.

amanda Bell, freelance editor and children’s books aficionada, is working towards a doctorate in contemporary poetry.

Úna Breathnach is a retired primary school teacher and a former vice-chairperson of CBI.

elizabeth Brennan is an editor and writer.

emma Burke-Kennedy has an honours degree in Visual Communications from Dublin Institute of Technology.

avril Carr is a children’s arts manager and currently works with Helium Children’s Arts & Health.

Valerie Coghlan is an independent researcher in children’s literature.

Ruth Concannon has an MA in Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama, owns too many books and is a proud Gryffindor.

Catherine ann Cullen has published two children's books with Little, Brown and two poetry collections with Doghouse.

Cakes and books are Regina de Búrca’s favourite things. Imagine how excited she feels about book-shaped cakes.

Catherine Duffy works with Dublin City Public Libraries.

Robert Dunbar writes a monthly column on children’s books for The Irish Times.

Kieran Fanning’s new novel, The Black Lotus, will be published by Chicken House in August 2015.

Is múinteoir meánscoile Gaeilge agus Béarla i gColáiste Íosagáin, Baile Átha Cliath, í lydia Groszewski.

Claire Hennessy is a writer, creative writing facilitator, editor and compulsive tea-drinker from Dublin.

Bob Johnston is the owner of The Gutter Bookshop. When he’s not selling books, he’s reading them!

Joe Kelly is a JCSP Librarian in Trinity Comprehensive School, with an interest in books for reluctant readers.

Cethan leahy is a writer, filmmaker and assistant editor of literary magazine The Penny Dreadful.

Becky long is pursuing a PhD in Irish Children's Literature at Trinity College Dublin.

Vivienne luke is a children's bookseller at Dubray Books, where she runs a junior book club.

Is Cúntóir Gaeilge é Seán Mac Risteaird ar an Máistreacht Ghairmiúil sa Bhunoideachas i gColáiste Hibernia. Tá PhD ar bun aige freisin faoi láthair in Ollscoil Mhá Nuad ar scríbhneoirí Chonamara.

oisín McGann is an award-winning writer-illustrator who has produced over thirty books for all ages.

Is máthair, múinteoir, agus bean chéile í enda McKenna. Tá suim aici i spórt, ceol agus saol na Gaeilge. Gnóthach i gcónaí!

alan nolan is the writer and illustrator of Fintan's Fifteen from The O'Brien Press.

Caitriona o’Broin is a Trinity College Dublin Children’s Literature graduate, currently working in online content creation and management.

Diane orr is a modern language teacher and librarian, currently working in Rathmines Library, Dublin.

amanda Piesse is Associate Professor and co-ordinator of the MPhil in Children’s Literature at Trinity College Dublin.

Mary Roche is an Education lecturer, ex-primary teacher, picturebook addict and author of Developing Children’s Critical Thinking through Picturebooks.

Juliette Saumande is a French children’s writer and translator living in Ireland.

Chris Stokes is a JCSP Librarian at St kilian’s CS in Bray.

Sean Tate studies in uCD and likes to spend his free time reading and writing.

Debbie Thomas’s book Class Act for 9-11 year-olds will be out in April 2015.

MaryBrigid Turner, originally from New Zealand, is a passionate bookseller at Dublin’s Hodges Figgis Bookstore.

elizabeth Treacy is a second level English teacher with a master’s degree in Children’s Literature.

Mags Walsh, former Director of CBI, is currently adviser for Young People, Children and Education at The Arts Council.

Children’s Books Ireland is the national children’s books organisation of Ireland. Our mission is to make books a part of every child’s life. We champion and celebrate the importance of authors and illustrators and we work in partnership with the people and organisations who enhance children’s lives through books. Our vision is an Ireland in which books are a part of every child’s life and where meaningful engagement with books is supported by passionate and informed adults in families, schools, libraries and communities all across the country.

Children’s Books Ireland is a registered charity, and becoming a member supports the work we do.

Tá CBI tionanta do obair a dhéanann i nGailge agus i mBéarla araon.

What do we do?We publish Inis magazine online and in print to provide a focus for children’s books discussion and review.

We run the CBI Book of the Year Awards, along with the shadowing scheme for schools and groups of young readers, to recognise excellence in the work of Irish authors and illustrators.

We run an annual conference featuring some of the most exciting speakers in writing, illustration, publishing, reading promotion and critical discussion of books for children and young adults.

We coordinate an annual celebration of reading throughout the month of October. We strive for live literature events to be made available for children in every county on the island of Ireland. We commission an original illustration each year to showcase an Irish illustrator for use on bookmarks, posters and Recommended Reads – a guide to the best books published in any given year, especially highlighting Irish-published books and books by Irish authors and illustrators.

We provide professional development for authors, illustrators and storytellers.We partner with a wide variety of festivals, venues, libraries and organisations throughout the year to bring authors and illustrators together with young audiences, and we bring young readers together with great books through our Book Clinics.

We respond to general queries and requests and share information, book-related activities and useful resources through our website, newsletter and other publications.

What do our members get?• Three issues of Inis magazine every year• A copy of Recommended Reads • Posters and bookmarks featuring an original illustration by an Irish artist each year• Reduced entry fees to the annual CBI conference and any live literature or professional development events organised throughout the year• Access to excellent resources via the CBI website, including book-related activities and discussion notes• Regular updates by post from Children’s Books Ireland

MEMBERSHIP RATES 2014

Student Membership (Ire) €30

Individual Membership (Ire & UK) €40

Overseas Individual Member (Europe & R.O.W) €60

Institutional Membership (Ire & UK) €80

Overseas Institutional Membership (Europe & R.O.W.) €100

www.inismagazine.ie

ISBN – 978-1-872917-77-19177717818729