Showing posts with label Karin Littlewood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Karin Littlewood. Show all posts
Monday, 9 December 2019
Booky Advent Calendar Day 9: "Leah's Star" by Margaret Bateson-Hill and Karin Littlewood (Alanna Max)
Our Booky Advent Calendar Day 9 book is a rather brilliant version of the classic nativity story, brought to life through the eyes of a young girl at the time of Christ's birth.
In "Leah's Star" by Margaret Bateson-Hill and Karin Littlewood, young Leah has never seen Bethlehem so busy.
As the innkeeper's daughter she is rushed off her feet as so many guests have come to stay.
This beautiful, fresh new telling of the Nativity story, through the eyes of a young girl, brings a wonderful humanity to this familiar tale.
With a story as ancient and familiar as the Nativity, its easy to forget the human drama at its centre a young woman about to give birth for the first time, far away from home, her mother and the women who would usually help her; the older Joseph, concerned for his young wife.
By telling the story through the eyes of young Leah, Margaret Bateson-Hill allows the reader to see the humanity of the ancient story.
The Nativitys innkeeper is often portrayed as a callous business man, turning the vulnerable couple away.
But at the time of the census in Jerusalem, his rooms would have been packed with travellers not an ideal place for a young woman about to go into labour.
In Leahs Star, we see his humanity in offering Mary and Joseph a warm, private space in his stable.
Here is a young woman, about to go into labour who is helped by Leah and the local midwife.
These details bring the old familiar story to new life in a timely and relevant way, echoing what many parents may be going through as they move to a new country away from their homelands.
"Leah's Star" by Margaret Bateson-Hill and Karin Littlewood is out now, published by Alanna Max (kindly supplied for review).
Wednesday, 9 November 2016
A Visit to City Farm by Verna Wilkins and Karin Littlewood (Firetree Books)
Friday, 24 October 2014
ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week - Week Ending 24th October 2014 - "The Colour Thief - A Family's Story of Depression" by Andrew Fusek-Peters and Polly Peters, illustrated by Karin Littlewood (Wayland Publishing)
Labels:
Andrew Fusek-Peters,
Karin Littlewood,
Polly Peters,
The Colour Thief - A Family's Story of Depression,
Wayland Publishing
The Colour Thief - A Family's Story of Depression
Written by Andrew Fusek-Peters and Polly Peters
Illustrated by Karin Littlewood
Published by Wayland Publishing
Not to be confused with Gabriel Alborozo's awesome book, "The Colour Thief - A Family's Story of Depression" deals with one of the hardest subjects to broach for younger readers. It's also a very tough book to review without sounding slightly ham-fisted about the subject, but we will try our best.
Andrew Fusek-Peters and Penny Peters have written the story of a young boy who sees his father's behaviour and whole outlook on life radically change as he begins to suffer from depression.
The story, along with accompanying illustrations from Karin Littlewood, caringly and touchingly describes how the dad changes, subtly at first but more pronounced as depression takes hold - and reinforces the point that the boy may feel that he's somehow to blame (but obviously isn't).
Powerful allusions are made, comparing depression to feeling like being trapped in a block of ice, with life on pause though obviously life goes on.
The book's illustrations change in tone from colourful and happy, to dark and cloudy. Showing that help can be sought and that it takes a long time sometimes for that help to become effective, it answers many of the questions children might have but perhaps can't seek from their family members directly involved.
We've only seen one other book on the blog that touches on this most sensitive subject (Shaun Tan's "The Red Tree" also makes reference to depression in many ways), but "The Colour Thief" more directly maps to real-life situations that children can perhaps more readily and clearly identify with.
A hugely important book, expertly developed and written and something that would be a huge huge help for children struggling to understand the symptoms and the changes that depression can cause.
Charlotte's best bit: The slow transformation for the dad as he gets the help he needs, and slowly but surely heads on the road to recovery
Daddy's Favourite bit: An expert and sensitive treatment of a hugely difficult subject to put across in understandable terms for children, but a book that will be a real help to children in families where a member suffers from depression. Important, and deserving of a gigantic amount of recognition.
(Kindly sent to us for review by Hachette / Wayland Publishing)
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