Book seller blurb: An atmospheric prose-poem, shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal, about a child wandering out into the dark. A little girl looks out at the cold snowy night, while her mother is busy at the kitchen stove. "What's out there?" she wonders. "Don't go!" a voice inside her warns. But curiosity prevails over fear, and she steps out into the snow towards the dark wood. Who knows what scary things await her there?
It seems impossible to read every book in a school library but my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything actually does this! AND she has an encyclopedic knowledge of the books in her library and also their creators - authors and illustrators. This week, as she packed up her Halloween book display, she passed me Beware, Beware. I will confess I did have this book in my previous school library and while I might have flipped it open at some stage I had not sat down and read this wonderful book until this morning.
Very young children aged 5 and 6 often used to ask me for scary stories. I would give them a Dark, Dark Tale or The Flat Man but given this same opportunity now I would also give them Beware, Beware. Another book illustrated by Angela Barrett - The Hidden House - is one of my most favourite picture books. Angela Barrett has been shortlisted three times for the Kurt Maschler Award and has won the 1989 Smarties Book Prize 6-8 Category for "Can It Be True?", and the 1991 W.H.Smith Illustration Award for "The Hidden House". Her other titles include "The Snow Queen" and "The Walker Book of Ghost Stories". "Beware Beware" was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. She also illustrated another wonderful book which is fantastic to read aloud - The Night Fairy.
Of course, you know I am going to say Beware Beware (1993) is now out of print. IF you have a mint condition new copy it is worth more than AUS$200. I did find a copy from an Australian online seller for just AUS$4 so I have made an enquiry about the postage cost. I think I do need to own this very special book!
Versatile full-spread illustrations, delicate and haunting, reflect and enhance the text. The movement from the poetic calm of the salmon pink sky to the frenzy within the wood is graceful and realistic. Split pages in two spreads allow Hill and Barrett to intensify still further the suspense of their wintry drama. Publisher's Weekly