Here is a review of three very different books from a publisher I recently had the pleasure of discovering- Tradewind Books from Canada.
Anna carries water by Laura James (Illustrator)
This book resonated with both my girls ( 8
and 4) and me. That is universal appeal, is it not? A lovely story of
conquering your demons ( or cows), set in Jamaica with vivid
illustrations in bold attractive colours.
To my four year old, Anna seemed to be her- faced with challenges that had to be dealt with to fulfill her ambition to be like her 'grown up' sister.
Anush, my eight year old, loved the lush and vibrant illustrations and felt that the story suggested that sibling encouragement and water conservation are universal needs.
I enjoyed this book with its uplifting possibility of how fear, unfounded as it may be, can be overcome if only we tried. And the illustrations are full of little authentic details that you can savour even if you belong to a different culture.
Check pictures from the book by clicking on the illustrator's name.
Night Sky Wheel Ride
by Sheree Fitch ( Author) , Yayo ( Illustrator)
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This book was what led us to Tradewind- the ferris wheel ride as a beautiful metaphor.
Wonder, sibling love and shared joys/ secrets, the urge to grow up and be allowed to do an exciting thing- imaginatively captured in words and art and interwoven to create an appeal that is larger than the sum of the two.
The large full spread art, the text setting, play with fonts and arrangement of letters, the words themselves, of course- all make this book poetry in motion.
A charming book that gave us a giddy high and made us take a trip to the local fair- not once but twice.
If I had a million Onions is a collection of poems, some silly and some serious but almost all engaging , by Sheree Fitch and Yayo again.
They
are inventive and clever and mostly drawn from everyday life. While many seem irreverent and fun,
there are a few profound serious poems among this set of 25 .
We enjoyed' A million onions' and thought of more possibilities of what we would do with a million onions...
'Sometimes' is simple and intense at the same time.
The girls loved 'Beggs and Acon' and again it provoked the kids to come up with their own spoonerism.
Anush had 'complicated' fun just trying to read the long concrete poem with its twists and turns.
'A prayer' moved me- an elegantly simple way of expressing what all a mother wishes for her children.
Yayo's illustrations open with a traffic signal on foot! Whimsical and minimalistic , the pencil sketches match with the poems, never distracting from the poems.
[Disclosure: I received the books as review copies; however, the views expressed and the decision to share it here are entirely my own. The book cover pics are from the publisher's site.]
Anna carries water by Laura James (Illustrator)
This book resonated with both my girls ( 8
and 4) and me. That is universal appeal, is it not? A lovely story of
conquering your demons ( or cows), set in Jamaica with vivid
illustrations in bold attractive colours.To my four year old, Anna seemed to be her- faced with challenges that had to be dealt with to fulfill her ambition to be like her 'grown up' sister.
Anush, my eight year old, loved the lush and vibrant illustrations and felt that the story suggested that sibling encouragement and water conservation are universal needs.
I enjoyed this book with its uplifting possibility of how fear, unfounded as it may be, can be overcome if only we tried. And the illustrations are full of little authentic details that you can savour even if you belong to a different culture.
Check pictures from the book by clicking on the illustrator's name.
Night Sky Wheel Ride
by Sheree Fitch ( Author) , Yayo ( Illustrator)
This book was what led us to Tradewind- the ferris wheel ride as a beautiful metaphor.Wonder, sibling love and shared joys/ secrets, the urge to grow up and be allowed to do an exciting thing- imaginatively captured in words and art and interwoven to create an appeal that is larger than the sum of the two.
The large full spread art, the text setting, play with fonts and arrangement of letters, the words themselves, of course- all make this book poetry in motion.
A charming book that gave us a giddy high and made us take a trip to the local fair- not once but twice.
They
are inventive and clever and mostly drawn from everyday life. While many seem irreverent and fun,
there are a few profound serious poems among this set of 25 . We enjoyed' A million onions' and thought of more possibilities of what we would do with a million onions...
'Sometimes' is simple and intense at the same time.
The girls loved 'Beggs and Acon' and again it provoked the kids to come up with their own spoonerism.
Anush had 'complicated' fun just trying to read the long concrete poem with its twists and turns.
'A prayer' moved me- an elegantly simple way of expressing what all a mother wishes for her children.
Yayo's illustrations open with a traffic signal on foot! Whimsical and minimalistic , the pencil sketches match with the poems, never distracting from the poems.
[Disclosure: I received the books as review copies; however, the views expressed and the decision to share it here are entirely my own. The book cover pics are from the publisher's site.]
1 comment:
Thanks for three beautiful books, Art! If I had a Million Onions is a favorite at home as well.
Another fantastic book by Tradewind is The Flute by Rachna Gilmore and late Sri. Pulak Biswas
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