This Bear, that Bear!

This Bear, That Bear! written and illustrated  by Sian Wheatcroft, , published by Templar Publishing 2017. Ages 2+ 

This band of adorable bears caught my eye on the way to the issue desk at the library last week. Bear themed books, toys and clothes are a firm favourite in our household these days, so I decided to borrow it to read to my son immediately!

The bears in the story are on their way to a parade (there is a robot bear with them, which was very cool) ! I think it's spring or summer in the book, the imagery is joyful, the bunting, balloons and playful use of colour left me longing for family fetes, festivals and community events in nice weather.  There is a magical firework display at the end of their evening at the parade.

The fun pictures, are complemented by a playful and simple rhyme scheme which was a lot of fun for our one year old to listen to and kept him occupied during story time. The use of descriptive adjectives was educational yet also enhanced the enjoyment of the story . The various bears are a joyous celebration of individuality!

This book is a bed time book in disguise, at the end of the story , the baby bear is tucked up in bed, exhausted after a wonderful day at the bear parade.

The Night Box

The Night Box written by Louise Greig, illustrated by Ashling Lindsay, published by Egmont 2017. Ages 3+ 

This book is about the mystery of night-time. I saw discovered it on display in Curious Fox Book Shop  while on holiday in Berlin last week (the beautiful illustrations caught my eye) and after a quick flick through and an encounter with an urban fox the night before, I decided that I would purchase it as a present for my son. (It's recommended for ages 3+ but I have been enjoying reading it to my nearly 1 year old regardless.)

I have recently been reading him a lot of bedtime books which follow a certain pattern, a sleepy baby going to bed or animals at bedtime, all in rhyme and my curiosity was peaked by a more playful book that did not fit this pattern.  It is written in a poetic style, where day and night are personified. Day is getting tired after a long day and needs to go to sleep, just like Max, the little boy in the story. Max has a night box in his bedroom and he releases night time! The night and the darkness aren't scary, but playful, mischievous and kind:

'Darkness tumbles in the air,

It dances and whirls around the room,

It goes under the bed, under the chair -

everywhere!'

It is an imaginative image of dusk falling. The nocturnal world is explored using images of a darkened landscape and features the cats, badgers, owls and foxes who inhabit it.  It is so positive to portray night and darkness as something magical rather than the stereotype of it being frightening. It touches on the child entering the magic of dreaming when going to bed.

The language is striking, modern and really complements the illustrations. It wasn't a surprise when I found out that writer Louise Greig is a poet (this children's poem by her always makes me smile.)  Illustrator Ashling Lindsay has previously won illustration awards and also works in animation. Her work feels really modern. My favourite aspect was the contrast between the detailed pictures of the cosy, domestic sphere (even the mother looks really safe) and the night time pictures which convey a wild space. Colour is used well too, different shades of dark for the evening and bright splashes of colour, such as the boy's red hair and the magical fox.

The fusion of text and illustration works so well and is one of the things which made me fall in love with this book, that and how original it seems. I am really pleased to see that this book was long-listed for the Kate Greenaway Award 2018 and that Louise Greig and Ashling Lindsay have a new picture book coming out in May!