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Day 11 and we’re still going strong! Today’s book is When I Coloured in the World by Ahmadreza Ahmadi, illustrated by Ehsan Abdollahi, translated from Persian by Azita Rassi (Tiny Owl Publishing Ltd).

Dominic: I like this book because the pictures make a nice effect and they also go with the words. They are trying to make the world happier by changing sad words to happy ones. My favourite page is the orange page which is all about Spring and when it starts to get nice and warm. 

Emma: I like all the colours. I like the yellow page at the end.

According to the back of the book, it was selected as one of the best children’s books of 2015 by the Guardian. It’s easy to see why.  The story begins with a child being given a “box of crayons for colouring, and an eraser to rub things out with”. Each double page then features a different theme represented by a different colour. Over the course of the book, the child rubs out words like “crying”, “war”, “hunger” and “boredom”, replacing them with “playing”, “peace”, “wheat” and “playing”. The text on each page follows the same pattern, allowing the reader to join in and finish the lines off – something Emma enjoys doing. The illustrations are beautiful and while the features of people are unusual, they are really eye-catching. I love colour and each page is a celebration of that. My personal favourite is the pink page about illness and health. The last page signs off with: “I gave the world hope” – such an important message for us all.

As well as admiring the illustrations and reading the text, this book also led to discussions, particularly with Dominic, about global issues such as drought (they weren’t really sure what this meant) and hunger. We also went on to talk about the book first being written in Persian, leading on to a talk about freedom of speech and how fortunate we are to be able to speak freely. Interesting topics that we probably wouldn’t have otherwise mentioned at this stage.

Definitely a great addition to the 30-day challenge!

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Today’s books is not in translation; however, it does teach our children about the world hence why it’s on our list. We came across this one on a thread started by Rob Smith about beautiful non-fiction for kids. Introducing World of Cities by James Brown (Walker Studio).

Dominic: It is interesting because it shows you different landmarks in cities around the world and it tells you lots of facts about them. The book is nice and colourful. The writing is in different shapes, for example, in the moon, on the bus, on Big Ben. The writing on each page is different. Each page tells you how many people live in each city. Shang Hai in China is the biggest with around 24 million people.

The large-scale front cover impresses right from the start. Bold and striking, it leaps at you from the shelf. Each double spread turns 90 degrees to display stunning artwork. Each individual image could easily be used as a poster. The book covers 30 cities from around the world, including places like Sydney, Dubai, Tokyo, Amsterdam and Cape Town. As Dominic mentions above, facts are cleverly woven into each page: along the edges of the page border, under bridges, on boats, along a surf board. Dominic loves non-fiction and he has spent hours poring over this book, turning his head this way and that to read all the finer details and then sharing what he has learnt with us. This is a really special book!

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Today’s choice is picked by Dominic: Applesauce by Klaas Verplancke, translated from Dutch by Helen Mixter (Groundwood Books).

Dominic: It is funny because they use funny words to describe his Daddy’s body, for example, his tummy as a pillow. I like it when the daddy turns into monster. And when they say, “a cactus grows out of his chin”.

Emma: I like it when he says “I’ll cook your homework in the soup”. Daddy turns into a gorilla but Daddy turns back into a Daddy. It’s not scary at all. 

Laura Taylor from Planet Picture Book (www.planetpicturebook.com) commented that she wasn’t sure if this book “will suit everyone’s taste”. Intrigued by such a review, this was one I had to get my hands on.

Daddy is loving and kind, most of the time. But sometimes Daddy is tired and sometimes he turns into “thunder Daddy”, who shouts and tells the boy what to do. “Stupid Daddy”, thinks the boy. After the shouting though, kind Daddy returns, holding out an olive branch in the shape of applesauce. After all, Thunder Daddy “doesn’t last forever”.

As a parent, I can really identify with this book. While it’s something we’re not proud of, as parents we do lose it sometimes, or we bark out those instructions. I love that it shows the reconciliation at the end; despite the temporary tension in the relationship, the son smells the applesauce from afar, feeling the warmth on offer. As the boy knocks on the door, Daddy welcomes him back and, using the applesauce as the link between them, they make up again.

The pictures are great and Dominic and Emma both enjoyed this one. We read it before my husband returned home from work and they took great delight in pointing out the similarities between Daddy in the book and real Daddy – much to his dismay! This is another one the children keep asking for – a great recommendation!

 

 

 

As well as including more recent titles in our challenge, we also included some of the classics. Today we are reviewing Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, translated by Edna Hurup (Oxford University Press).

Emma: Pippi made me laugh. I like climbing trees like Pippi.

While Pippi Longstocking has been around for years, I had never read it before. So much has already been said about this, but it deserves to be repeated. What a fabulous role model for our girls today! Emma loves climbing trees and getting messy and I get a real bee in my bonnet about excessive pinkness, prettiness and princesses. What a great place for her to meet a girl who climbs, stands up to bullies and wears whatever she wants because she likes it.

There were points in this where Emma had proper belly laughs, asking us to repeat sections of it again over and over while she roared with laughter. We loved Pippi’s imagination when she’s drawing her horse on the floor because the paper is too small.

An amazing book, and while Dominic decided he wasn’t too fussed about reading this one, I think it’s great for girls and boys alike!

We came across this one at the Just So Festival earlier in the summer. Travelling children’s bookshop How Brave is the Wren had loads of titles in translation on offer for all to buy – fabulous to see them all! So, today’s books is As Time Passes by Isabel Minhós Martins and Madalena Matoso, translated from Portuguese. Translator unknown (Design For Today).

Dominic: The pictures are well illustrated. There’s not many words written but lots of pages. It looks at how things change over time. I can relate to the boy who grows. Pictures appear differently. A picture is shown at the beginning and later it’s the same picture but things have changed – a person grows old, shelves change.

Emma: I like reading this one. My favourite page is the sprouting potatoes because we have sprouting potatoes and I like the snail. 

This book appealed to me from the titles on offer because of its bold colours – lots of blue, yellow and red. The illustrations are striking and the printing of the book itself is lovely – the pages feel really thick. Each page suggests a way that we mark time: “A boy grows.” “A pencil gets shorter”. A particular favourite of mine is “Ugly might become beautiful”, and over the page, “Beautiful might become ugly”. I like the idea that while we can’t see time, we can see how things change over time. The book finishes with the reminder that while many things change, some things are forever.