Meet the illustrator Komako Sakai

Image from the book "As if Listening"

I was visiting a friend recently and she showed me her review copy of The Bear and the Wildcat (Gecko Press) which will become available here in Australia today! Her review will appear in the next issue of Magpies Magazine.

Blurb: When the little bird dies, his friend the bear is inconsolable. Full of grief, he locks himself in his house and ventures out again only when the smell of young spring grass blows through his window. He always carries a small box, which he opens for no one. He meets a wildcat who understands his need to carry the box. As the cat plays on her violin, the bear remembers all the beauty he experienced with the little bird. Now he can bury his friend, keeping him alive in his memories and feelings. The Bear and the Wildcat shows a way through paralysing grief and simultaneously tells the story of a hopeful new friendship.

When I saw this book I recognised the art. I have read another book by Komako Sakai - The Snow Day. I will talk in more detail about this one soon after I borrow it from a library. I am puzzled why I haven't shared it previously.

Komako Sakai was born in Hyogo, Japan, in 1966. After graduating from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Sakai worked at a kimono textile design company. She is currently one of the most popular author/illustrators in Japan. Her books Emily's Balloon and The Snow Day have received starred reviews and much acclaim. Sadly many of her books are either not available in English and many are also out of print. Take a look here to see some of her Japanese titles.  Here is a Pinterest collection with over 200 illustrations. 

In this post from Seven Impossible things Before Breakfast you can see art by Komako Sakai and read an interview with Jules. And in this Kirkus column Jules talks in depth about her favourite books. 

Here are some other books illustrated by Komako Sakai:

Blurb: This charming story follows two children who go looking for their jump rope and discover that a group of foxes have claimed it as an answer to their wish. With beautiful, classic illustrations and lyrical text, here is a subtle, sensitive piece of magic that proves to sisters, brothers, and foxes alike that the trusted familiar often lives right next to the truly extraordinary–if only you have the eyes to see it.

Kirkus star review: It’s a charming, unlikely tale, made appealing by Sakai’s sensitive artwork in lustrous acrylics and grease pencil, embellished with striking fine magenta ballpoint touches. The subtle coloration perfectly complements the simple language; the sky turns “peachy” as the sun sets, and the “light was golden and the air was warm” as the happy children run home.

Blurb: Little Bunny is VERY MAD at his mommy. She sleeps too late. She talks too much. She watches her silly shows instead of cartoons. And she gets mad for no reason – just a few little bubbles on the floor. The only thing left to do is run away. But does he really want to leave Mommy behind forever?

See inside this book here - Enchanted Lion - sadly this is out of print

Kirkus Review: The paint-and–coloured-pencil illustrations stand out, with Sakai achieving a textured, scratchy, smudged look that wonderfully captures both the humans’ and the cats’ personalities; the adorable, blue-eyed kitten is marvellously realistic and winsome, 

its coat palpably soft.

We are Together by Britta Teckentrup

"When life is confusing,

and our way seems unclear,

The horizon is distant

but our friends will stay near."

We are Together seems like the perfect for our times right now (COVID-19).  Each page celebrates our humanity.

As you can see in the example above each page has four lines of text following the format of alone then together. Here are some of the other lines that resonated with me:

"If storm clouds gather,
and we'e caught in the rain,
Let's splash through the puddles
till the sun shines again."

"Hear the song we sing
to encourage and inspire.
If we all sing together,
one voice becomes a choir."

The pages of this book are die cut so each one reveals sets of children peeping into the scene culminating on the final spread where we see all the children together. 

This is a book to treasure in a library and on your family book shelves.

Teckentrup is one of the most innovative picture book artists working today. Her intricate collage style is striking, original and perfectly brings to life a simple message of unity. LoveReading4Kids

If you don't know the work of Britta Teckentrup from Germany I recommend you add her name to your list of illustrators to explore. Her work is enchanting. Taking a look at her body of work I have discovered Britta did the covers for books I have read in the past and loved such as Dog by Daniel Pennac and Love Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles along with a page the new book Kind. Here are some picture books and non fiction titles previously mentioned on this blog:

Birds and Feathers

Little Mouse and the Red Wall

How big is the World?

Bee

Happy by Nicola Edwards illustrated by Katie Hickey

Happy is a children's book of mindfulness.  Each page contains a topic, a rhyme and a suggestion or question accompanied with joyous and colourful illustrations. While I do like the text of this book - the rhyming parts, I especially love the illustrations.

Topics: Listening, Feeling, Relaxing, Tasting, Touching, Discovering, Smelling, Loving, Appreciating, Breathing, Happiness

Rhyming text - here are two examples of pages I liked:

Touching
Touch calms the wildest emotions,
We connect to the world all around,
When we dip out toes into the ocean
Or crunch crisp golden leaves on the ground.

Appreciating
It feels good to give thanks at the day's end
For the pink blushing sky overhead,
A hot meal, comfy shoes or a good friend,
And the warmth of a soft cosy bed.

A fine resource for sharing moments of mindfulness, empathy, and reflection with young children. Kirkus

In a society full of stress and pressure it’s often difficult to find time to stop and appreciate our surroundings and the people in our lives. Screen time is increasing, outside play is decreasing and many children now have anxiety and mental health problems. Teaching them mindfulness can help them to slow down, relax and find ways to cope with stress. Story Snug

Here are some additional Mindfulness books to explore from Megan Daley.

I talked about another book by Nicola Edwards here recently - Goodnight World.

I love the illustration style in this book so I have added a Christmas book illustrated by Katie Hickey to my ever expanding shopping list.

Here is a Christmas Lighthouse illustrated by Katie Hickey for an art challenge in 2017.

I am also very keen to see this book by Nicola Edwards:

The Yark by Bertrand Santini illustrated by Laurent Gapaillard

The Yark loves children.

He loves the crackle of their little bones between his teeth, and to suck on their soft eyes which melt like chocolate truffles.

He adores their tiny fingers, their tiny feet, their tiny tongues, which he chews with a sprig of mint for a sweet and deliciously sticky treat.

The Yark eats children BUT the children must be very good. Bad children upset his stomach. "When children do something wrong, their hearts ferment a violent poison and their flesh becomes more toxic than a vipers venom." But where are all the good children? The world has changed and they are hard to find. Wait a minute Santa has that list of good boys and girls. The Yark needs that list!

He fights with Santa but somehow the list sticks to his bottom as he is thrown out into the snow. Now he has the names. Charlotte from Provence in France and Lewis in London.  Sadly for Yark, in each case, things go horribly wrong. In Chapter 6 for example, he eats Jack, twin brother to Lewis. Jack is a bully and a horrible child and so the Yark becomes violently ill.

"His legs are trembling, his stomach is gurgling, his ears are buzzing and his buttocks are starting to itch. He coughs, he drools, he suffocates, he breaks out in pimples, pustules and blisters."

Yark flees and crashes near a lighthouse.  A lonely child called Madeline rescues him. She showers him with kindness. Yark cannot bear the idea of eating Madeline even though she smells delicious:

"Violet and anise are the heart notes that reveal an underlying melancholy. The base notes of cotton and fresh rice attest to her goodness. Last, the Monster discerns a blend of blood orange and milk sugar, top notes that emanate only from the  purest souls."

Now we have a dilemma. Yark cannot eat Madeline but he worries he might not be able to resist her so he leaves even though Madeline begs him to stay. In the forests of France there are hundreds of abandoned children. The number is estimated at sixty-thousand. They have turned into wild creatures. When they come upon Yark they don't kill him. Instead they torture him with knee scabs, torn toenails and nose boogers. This is a disgusting scene but it has a wonderful effect on the Yark. He gains immunity from bad children. Now he can eat them without side effects. He escapes knowing he can return to his new friend Madeline. Yes there is a happy ending.

This is not a book for the faint-hearted. Children are eaten by the Yark. There is no reprieve. Don't expect all the children to be regurgitated at the end. They are GONE! His final meal consists of one hundred and sixty-two of those bad forest kids.

On the other hand if you read this book with your funny bone switched ON then this romp is great fun.

The Yark is published by Gecko Press in New Zealand. They source books from other languages. The Yark was published in Italy as Le Yark. You can read the first chapter here. If you read this book first, and consider it fun, I think it might make a good class read-aloud for Grade 4 or 5. Here is a set of excellent teachers notes from the publisher. It might be fun to compare this text with books like George's Marvellous Medicine or The BFG by Roald Dahl.

Here are some reviews:
Read the Kirkus review for a different and more critical view of this book.
Book Worm for Kids loved this book.
Kids Book Review acknowledge this is an unusual book which they did enjoy.

Listen closely!

He's turning the handle on your door...

And even if it's locked, his hooded nails are all he needs for keys.

Sir Tony Robinson's Worst Children's jobs in History illustrated by Mike Phillips

If you follow this blog you will know I rarely talk about non fiction.  Taking this one step further if I AM talking about a non fiction title it must be really GOOD - and yes it is.

If you have students or children who enjoy the Horrible History series rush out and grab a copy of this book which won the Blue Peter Best Book with Facts award in 2007.

There are six chapters in this book each with an intriguing heading :

• First get yourself some training
• The great outdoors
• No hiding place
• Mean streets
• Service without a smile
• Slave to the machine

You can get a feel for the colloquial style found in this book from the very first page.

"Stop reading this book right now! Put it down, walk slowly to the kitchen and open the door of the cupboard under the kitchen sink.  Off you go!  Don't touch anything just look. Are you back yet? Did you see lots of plastic bottles ... they make jobs like cleaning ... quick and easy."

Of course if you'd been alive in the Middle Ages you would not have had access to any of these products and every job would be ten times harder than it is now.

What jobs are we talking about?  Here is a list of some that you may never have heard of and there are lots more too.

• mudlark
• costermonger
• link boy
• fuller's apprentice
• jigger-turner

Here is the picture for a fuller's apprentice.  "You had to take off your shoes and socks and climb into a barrel full of other people's wee."  This was the way they processed woven wool.

Each job has an easy to read description and a little job score scroll.  Here are the details for a stepper - a young orphan girl sent from a charity home to scrub doorsteps for a penny each.

Job Score
Stepper
Boredom
steps all look the same
Hard Slog
work till your hands and knees are red
Cash
very little
Glamour
nobody notices you

Each chapter ends with a detailed timeline and there is an excellent index.  This is a book you can read quickly or linger over ... you can dip in or read from the first page to the last.  What ever way you read this book you are sure to learn something new and fascinating and perhaps slightly gruesome.  Watch this little film where Tony Robinson visits an exhibition about the worst jobs.

I would pair this book with some fiction titles such as A very unusual Pursuit, Barnaby Crimes Curse of the Night Wolf, Midnight is a place and Lydie by Katherine Paterson.

I have discovered there are other titles in this series such as these books about World War I and World War II which are popular topics in our library.  These should go on the library shopping list.

Australian kids through the years by Tania McCartney illustrated by Andrew Joyner

If you have been reading this blog you will know I very rarely discuss non fiction.   Today, though,  I simply have to talk about Australian Kids though the Years.

As a part of my job in a school library I read many, many books but if you were to look at percentages I read around 90% fiction.  With non fiction there are obvious features which make one text better than another.  We look for the usual library devices such as index, contents, captions, large photographs, accuracy, and information presented in a variety of ways especially visual.  We have thousands of non fiction books in our school library but only a handful really stand out in my opinion.

Australian Kids through the Years is a standout book!  It does not have an index or contents but this is not important. This is a book which can be used right across a Primary school. The youngest children can look at their parents and grandparents clothes, toys and hair.  Middle primary students could make timelines showing each theme and the oldest students could use the final illustrations list at the back of the book as part of a discussion about copyright. Older students could also compare the way information is presented in this book with more conventional timeline series such as Australia in the Twentieth century.  I would also pair this book up with My Place by Nadia Wheatley which is one of the very best books ever written about Australian history from the point of view of a child.

The design of Australian Kids through the years is chronological.  Beginning with First Children and then moving through time - 1800-1840s, 1850s, 1900-1909, 1910-1940s, 1950s, 1960s and so on up to 2000-today.

I love the way Tania McCartney resisted the need to present the dates in a pattern. Instead these dates match major events in Australian history such as the Gold Rush of 1850.

For each time period in this book we meet two children - a boy and a girl. On the next page we see all the "things in their world" such as clothes, food, hairstyles and my favourite part - the books they read.  This book has obviously been very carefully researched but all these facts are presented in such an appealing way.

The books are such a 'blast from the past' for me.  Here are a few (I have my own old copies of these books) :

1910-1940 Blinky Bill and Winnie the Pooh
1950s Charlotte's web and The cat in the hat
197s0 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
1980s Possum Magic


Here are the web sites for the author and illustrator.  I am once again going to predict that this book will be short listed for our CBCA awards 2016.  You might like to read this review.

I am including one page from the book and the photo page which appears at the end.  This is a book which should be part of every school library collection and every home library too.

Our Village in the Sky by Janeen Brian illustrated by Anne Spudvilas

Picture book readers will know the best examples of this genre often feel like poems. Our Village in the sky really is a set of poems which together share the daily life of a small group of children who live in a remote village in the Himalayan mountains.

I am so tempted to quote extensively from this text - every page contains tiny writing jewels.  Here are a few lines to tempt you :

"I am a drummer.
My hands make noise
that echoes through the village.

Sometimes my fingers flutter
like small, brown butterflies
and the sound is their heartbeat."

"Hands can 
pitch stones
grab cows' tails
wave to friends
tie scarves
shake mats
and tickle!

Feet can
chase goats
jump puddles
kick dust
dance anyhow
and run away!"


You can listen to a very special reading of the whole book here.  Children from Immanuel College in South Australia bring these touching poems to life. Here is a very comprehensive set of teaching notes including ideas you can use for Visual Literacy.

I will make an early prediction that Village in the Sky will be short listed for the CBCA prize in 2015 it certainly deserves this honour.  This book would be an excellent way show how children from other lands follow their daily routines, routines which are very different to those of children from suburban Australia.  We see the children at work washing and drying clothes, preparing dung for burning, breaking rocks, caring for animals and most of all having fun with games, dance and music.
The illustrations are especially beautiful showing the landscape and warm smiles of the children. This is a book to treasure and it is a book that will enrich the lives of all readers.

The boy on the porch by Sharon Creech

"The young couple found the child asleep in an old cushioned chair on the front porch.  He was curled against a worn pillow, his feet bare and dusty, his clothes fashioned from rough linen.  They could not imagine where he had come from or how he had made his way to their small farmhouse on a dirt road far from town."

Take a close look at these opening sentences from The boy on the porch - a masterpiece of storytelling from one of my most favourite authors - Sharon Creech.

In this short paragraph the reader can discover so many things - some explicitly stated others implied.  This couple have no children of their own perhaps, this boy comes from far away and he is poor as are the young couple who are eking out a living on this remote farm.  They may be poor but there is love and comfort in their home. On the other side this paragraph there are so many questions.  Who is this young boy?  Where has he come from?  What might happen when he wakes up?  How will the young couple react?  Will his family every be found?  Does he even have a family?  What has happened in this past to this child?

This is another one of those wonderful books that I devoured in one sitting.  In 150 pages you will go on an emotional journey where some of the questions I have listed will be answered while others will remain a mystery.  I selected this book as my 600th review because I enjoyed it so much.  I am looking forward to putting this special book into the hands of a sensitive mature reader.

Marta and John are not sure what to do. They wait until the boy awakes only to discover he cannot speak. There is a note :

Plees taik kair of Jacob

He is a god good boy.

We will be bak wen we can.

This note gives the child a name but it also raises more questions and anxieties.  When will these people return?  Who are they?  Why have they abandoned their child? Should John and Marta tell the authorities?

"When no one came for the boy by nightfall, John and Martha fashioned a small bed beside their own.  Marta fashioned a small bed beside their own. Marta offered the boy one of John's softest shirts to sleep in and set out a basin of warm water and soap for him to wash with.  She tucked him into the bed, patted his arm and hummed a few bars of an old, half-forgotten lullaby, softly, for she was embarrassed that John might hear her and think her foolish.  As she stood to go, the boy reached up and tapped her arm five or six times, in that funny way he did, always tapping lightly on surfaces ... his touch startled her, and she nearly wept, so grateful was she for the gesture."

On Sharon's web site you can read about the inspiration for this story, you can hear the author read the first chapter and you can click on a sample of the text to read it yourself.  I recommend you do all these things now!  Here is a video of Sharon reading the book so you can even see what she looks like.

This book reminded me of The Stranger by Chris van Allsburg and Ruby Holler also by Sharon Creech.

In a book world crowded with overwrought shock-fluff stories, 

this quiet novel sings.

Eep! by Joke van Leeuwen

Eep! s is a very quirky little book that was originally published in Dutch.  It reminded me of other terrific little books that were long ago translated such as The story of Bobble who wanted to be rich.

Every aspect of this book is a delight - the main characters, the line drawings and tiny wacky touches of humour that unexpectedly appear.  Warren is a bird watcher and while he is out one day he finds a strange creature - "it was something quite different, something not mentioned in his bird book. Some thing with wings, however, and with legs and feet. But those legs and feet looked a lot like human legs and feet.  Especially the feet with their small toes and tiny toenails and smidgens of dirt underneath the toenails on the toes on the feet on the legs.  What Warren saw lying there looked very much like a human child, except it had feathers instead of clothes. And where arms should have been, there were wings, real ones."

Warren take the creature home to Tina his wife and they name her Beedy but Beedy is a wild creature who needs her freedom.  She tries to fit in with their human ways and Tina tries to accommodate Beedy's needs but one day Beedy flies away and so the adventure begins.

This book is quite hard to explain.  It reminded me a little of Skellig but Eep is a much lighter book.  It also reminded me of Angel Creek but again Eep does not have any of the darkness found in this book.  Here is a review that I enjoyed. Here is some more information about the author and her other books.

Willing readers of all ages will delight in the story’s unusual surprises.

Pied Piper of Hamelin retold by Michael Morpurgo illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

“Instead of rubbish tips I want to see parks where all the children can play, and schools where all the children can learn. I want to see fairness and kindness. I want to see the happiness that only fairness and kindness can bring. Only when I know that Hamelin is a fit place for children to grow up, can the children go home again.”

Do you recognise this from The Pied Piper of Hamlin?  As an added bonus this retelling is by master story teller Michael Morpurgo with joyous illustrations by Emma Chichester Clark.  I have adored Emma Chichester Clark ever since I met her work in the Blue Kangaroo series so when I spied this new book at the IBBY Congress I knew it had to join my growing pile of purchases.

To quote from one reviewer :

(This versions is) a nuanced and substantial retelling of the well-known morality tale; young readers can identify with the resourceful narrator, and adults may find relevance, given current economic woes. 

If you are new to this timeless story or if you just need to update your own worn copy this new version would be the perfect choice.  We have a number of interesting versions of the Pied Piper in our school library including  a simple reader style retelling from the Leapfrog series, a fun version by Tony Ross, a spoof called The fried Piper of Hamstring and as a contrast a version illustrated by Drahos Zak.

I had forgotten the ending which is so satisfying.  Stories like this are an important part of our western culture.  Look for this version in your library.