Celebrity authors - fairy floss books

It seems to me that publishers bear some responsibility for this situation. They certainly know what a good quality children’s book is. To favour a celebrity brand-builder, who offers a short-term sugar rush of poor quality sales, over a professional author, who offers long-term sales 

to happy customers, is making bad business decisions. William Peace

 “I just feel like: ‘Oh, Jamie, why do you need to do it?’” said Torday. 

“You’re already a successful cook and you already do really great things, but we just don’t need a children’s book from you. I mean, I’m not about to inflict my cooking on anyone.” Piers Torday

“The most telling difference is how hard the author is put to work by the publisher: a celeb might have a couple of contractual days going on chat shows to talk about their book, 

but an unknown author is expected to do schools visits up and down the country 

to establish a fanbase from the ground up.” Guardian

Begin with my previous post about this issue.

I seem to be seeing even more books by 'celebrities'. I just despair. I am not going to add any book covers here because I don't want to promote their books but here are a few names from USA, UK and Australia - I am sure you could add lots more:

Jimmy Fallon; Jamie Oliver; Joanna Gaines; Rebel Wilson; Adam Goodes; Emma Thompson; Mariah Carey; Serena Williams; Erin Napier; Jennifer Lopez; Reese Witherspoon; Marie Kondo; Ray Romano; Matthew Mcconaughey; Josh Pike; Adam Hills; Richard Roxburgh; Zoe Norton Lodge; Magda Szubanski; and Ash Barty. 

I did laugh when I 'Googled' this topic and found long lists of books on US sites with so many names I did not recognise - so much for being a 'celebrity'. I had one example from Australia recently of a book about weather written by the weather news presenter from Melbourne - I had never heard of her. 

Here are a few comments that might give you food for thought:

“Real authors like me have little to fear! Celebrity status may get your foot in the publisher’s door, but you won’t get a kid past chapter one if your story doesn’t cut the mustard.” Robert Muchamore

We may not be able to compete against these celebs on the football field or on the (big or small) screen… but books are books. Write yours the best it can be and then, just as we do with our kids, give it the best possible start in the world. ...  Writers who (like me) maybe never played a football game or appeared on TV… but wrote great books and changed children’s lives.

A common refrain among new celebrity children’s book authors is that, after having kids of their own, they were unable to find the types of books they were looking for, which smacks of entitlement, not to mention a lack of familiarity with the field. ... Celebrities getting enormous advances and commensurate promotion budgets can conceivably make it harder for mid-list writers and writers who don’t have built-in promotion platforms to be promoted in bookstores or to get book tours.

“The issue is with celebrities from other fields who have previously shown no interest in creative writing and see the children’s book market as a fairly pain-free way to extend their brand,” he said. ... “If harried adults don’t have time to keep up with reviews, they’ll just go into Sainsbury’s and if they’ve heard the name, they’ll just grab it.” Piers Torday

Ash invites her friends to tea by Fu Wenzheng

Grandpa takes Ash in to the tea plantation and shows her how to pick the best leaves. They put the leaves in the shade to soften and then they dry them with hot air. Finally hot water is added and we have a drink called tea. The cheeky monkey, the panda, the wild boar and finally a dragon arrive to try this magical drink. We watch the calming effects as storm abates, the friends fall asleep and the dragon flies away. 

This is a quirky little story about how tea is made. My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything talked about International Tea Day back in 2022 and I remembered seeing the cover of this book. Now she has added it to her school library collection. Here is a 2018 interview with Fu Wenzheng.

AFTER you read Ash invites her friends to tea you can see the pages on Storybox Library and listen to the reading by Gabrielle Wang. But please read and explore the print book first. Oh and after you read this book your young reading companion could watch you prepare a cup of tea with tea leaves perhaps not a tea bag in a lovely old family tea pot!

About the author/illustrator: Fu Wenzheng grew up in a temple in China where her grandfather was a monk. The experiences she had as a child have greatly influenced her writing and style of illustration. Traditional Chinese culture and philosophy are at the focal point of all her work. Fu Wenzheng did her undergraduate studies at Fujian University’s College of Fine Art and then went on to study Illustration at Zhejiang Science and Engineering University’s School of Art and Design.

Just as an aside the birds in this book have arms and hands! You could perhaps compare these illustrations with the 2024 short listed book That Bird has Arms by Kate and Jol Temple. 

I have talked here about a few books that feature tea drinking or tea time or tea making or even teapots.

Teatime

Tea and Sugar Christmas

How the Queen found the perfect cup of tea

Luli and the Language of Tea

Here is the first book about Ash:

Charlotte in London by Joan MacPhail Knight illustrated by Melissa Sweet

This book is so charming but it was published in 2008 and so now it is sadly out of print. Charlotte in London one title from the series which includes Charlotte in Givernay, Charlotte in Paris and Charlotte in New York. Charlotte in London is the fourth book in the series. It would be lovely to have a full set of these on your home books shelves. There is quite a bit of text on each page but I think you could share these books each night as a family read aloud especially if you have some travel plans or you are going to an art gallery. 

In this book Melissa Sweet incorporates the art of fifteen famous artists and at the back of the book there is a brief biography of each. Artists such as Claude Monet; John Singer Sargent; and Joseph Turner.  This book is a lovely introduction to art and to the city of London and also into the personal diary of a little girl named Charlotte. 

Bookseller blurb: It’s 1895. Charlotte and her American family came to France three years ago so her father could learn to paint in the French Impressionist style. Now Charlotte and her parents are traveling to London to see if the famous—and very busy—artist John Singer Sargeant will paint Charlotte’s mother’s portrait. In London, Charlotte and her best friend, Lizzy, share a room at the Savoy Hotel, Charlotte decides to help track down Mr. Sargeant and records her many adventures with Lizzy: They watch fireworks on the banks of the Thames, keep an eye out for London’s legendary ghosts, find out why ravens are kept in the Tower of London, and visit Madame Tussaud’s waxworks. Illustrated with stunning museum reproductions and exquisite watercolor paintings, Charlotte in London also includes biographical sketches of the featured painters. This vibrant journal of Charlotte’s exciting journey will make any reader long for lovely, lively London.

Here is the illustration from the title page:

Charlotte’s witty voice, peppered with French phrases, resonates brightly as she relates her tour of England from the Tower of London to the Cotswold countryside and includes interesting tidbits of historical detail for readers to savor. A terrific choice for readers with an interest in art history, this is a strong, appealing story on its own. Kirkus

In this trip to London, Charlotte keeps a diary from April to September of 1895. Opening with a visit to Monet's garden at Giverny, she tells Monsieur Claude her art-loving family are off to Londres with their friends the Fosters. Lizzy Foster is Charlotte's best friend and together they can't wait to explore the British capital. Dotted with photos, illustrations, diagrams and real life paintings from the masters, Charlotte describes her journey with a true artist's eye, pointing out the colours and forms and beauty she sees as she explores the streets and River Thames. Kids' Book Review

As you read this I am about to head into London. Perhaps I will be able to enjoy a delicious meal at The savoy hotel just like Charlotte:

"I love lobster, so I ordered 'Homard Thermidor' and Lizzy had her favourite 'Supremes de Volaille' - chicken with cream sauce. And since we both like potatoes, we shared 'Pommes Anna' - a yummy French potato cake. Then out came dessert - 'crepes Suzette' - thin pancakes with orange sauce. Monsieur Ecoffier served it himself. 'Bon appetit!' he said. Enjoy your dessert! And we did!"

You can see inside this book here and read an interview with Melissa Sweet where she talks about the research she conducted for this book. 

Here are the other three books from this series:

Clever Katya retold by Mary Hoffman illustrated by Marie Cameron

This tale begins with two brothers. Dimitri is rich while Ivan is poor. Each has a horse. One is a stallion and one is a mare. They graze in the same field and of course in time a new foal is born. This birth is the essence of their dispute. Who owns the foal? The brothers decide to ask the Tsar. 

"The Tsar knew perfectly well that Dimitri had no claim on the foal but he decided to have a bit of fun at the brothers' expense while indulging his fondness for riddles at the same time."

He sets four riddles:

What is the fastest thing in the world; what is the fattest; what is the softest; and what is the most precious. He tells the brothers they have one week to present their answer. 

Dimitri asks his neighbour and her answers are fastest - her husband's horse, fattest is their pig, softest is the quilt she has just made and the most precious is her baby grandson.

Ivan asks his seven-year-old daughter Katya - fastest is the wind, fattest is the earth that gives us food, softest is a child's caress, and the most precious thing is honesty.

The Tsar appreciates the wise answers from Katya but he also knows he has not been especially honest himself. He sets another challenge. He wants to meet this young girl but she cannot come on horseback or on foot, she must not be dressed or naked and she cannot bring a present but she must not be empty handed. Katya solves in this in a very ingenious way using a hare, a fishing net and a partridge. And yes there is that all important 'and they all lived happily ever after' ending. 

The subtitle of this book is "A Fairy Tale of Old Russia". The original title was The Wise Little Girl. This is one of those delicious stories which you might have encountered before where a powerful ruler sets a series of riddles and a very clever young child is able to solve each one and save a life. These stories are always so satisfying. You might find a couple of old junior novels in your local or school library called Smart Girls and Smart Girls forever by Robert Leeson. 

The first thing you will notice when you open up this book is the way every page is framed with a rich pattern rather like a magic carpet. You might also notice each page begins with an illuminated letter which echoes the framing. Sadly, this beautiful book is now very old (1998) and so it is out of print. I picked it up in a library partly because I saw the author name and partly because the cover looked very inviting. 

You do need to know I am a huge fan of Mary Hoffman. I read her book The Colour of Home to groups of Grade Six students in my school library for decades and every time I was moved to tears and the students were silent as the story unfolded.

The Colour of Home

Brian Wildsmith exhibition South Yorkshire

For the first time Brian’s personal collection of over 40 colourful original illustrations, early works, drawings and paintings will be on display in the beautiful setting of the Cooper Gallery. The walls will be filled with colour and vivid characters. It’s a perfect destination for art lovers of all ages and our younger visitors can enjoy our specially created forest activity area ‘Brian’s Wild Wood’, upstairs in the Sadler Room.

Read more about this exhibition here. And also here on the Brian Wildsmith web page. I hope to visit later this month. He illustrated well over 100 books and also did many book covers early early in his career. He illustrated the cover of our Australian book Tangara by Nan Chauncy in 1960. 

Liberty fabrics have made a range of material to celebrate his work and in the video you can hear Brian Wildsmith's voice. 

Brian Lawrence Wildsmith was born on 22 January 1930 in Penistone. In 1946 he enrolled at the Barnsley School of Art. In 1962 he was Awarded the Kate Greenaway medal for his work on the book, ‘ABC’. His vibrant use of colour and depictions of animals became his trademark. In the 1970s Brian and his family moved permanently to France. In 1994 a Brian Wildsmith Art Museum was opened in Izu-kogen, in the south of Tokyo in Japan, closing the year he died in 2016. (source Barnsley Museums Blog) Read more here. 

Here are some Kirkus review comments:

• As usual with Wildsmith's work, the animals and birds are superb ...
• ... no one should forgo Wildsmith's delectable art with its delicately glowing colors and wonderfully imaginative juxtapositions of harmonious images.
• Wildsmith has outdone himself in splendid paintings of a lush tropical isle aglow between a richly luminous sky and a gloriously beautiful sea.

This gorgeous budgie illustration comes from his book Circus:

This sweet little hedgehog is from his book Wild Animals

You can see cover images of all books by Brian Wildsmith here. My own favourites are:

Daisy

I used to own these glorious alphabet cards and animal cards (hope the person who has them now loves them as much as I did).

Animal Gallery the cover at the top of this post is a book about collective nouns - a pride of lions; a corps of giraffes; a wedge of swans; a party of rainbow fish; a stare of owls; and more.

Awards:

1963 Kate Greenaway Medal: The Lion and the Rat.

Kate Greenaway Medal: The Oxford Book of Poetry for Children.

1964 Horn Book Honor List. 

New York Times Book Review List of Outstanding Books.

1965 The Brooklyn Art Books for Children Citation: 1 2 3.

New York Times Book Review List of Outstanding Books.

1966 Hans Christian Andersen Award: runner-up.

New York Times Book Review List of Outstanding Books. 

1967 The Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal: Birds.

New York Times: Best illustrated book of the year: Birds.

New York Times Book Review List of Outstanding Books.

1968 Hans Christian Andersen Award: runner up.

1971 Kate Greenaway Medal: The Owl and the Woodpecker.

1982 Kurt Maschler Award short-listed: Pelican.

1991 Ushio Publication Culture Award: In recognition of his distinguished achievements.

1994 Selected as one of The Children’s Books of the Year: The Easter Story.

1995 The CD Rom of: The Christmas Story, won the Grand Prix of European Multi-Media.

1998 National Jewish Book Awards, Finalist: Exodus/Moses.

2000 Parent Council Ltd, Selected as outstanding: The Easter Story.

Children’s Literature, Choice List: Moses.

2001 - 2002 Children’s Crown Award reading Programs, Nominee List: Moses.

2005 Book Sense, Easter/Passover, Top Ten Picks List: Moses.

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson

Reading this book had a huge impact on me - I read it some months ago but I just needed to wait to talk about it. I am now penning this post as I am about to travel to the IBBY Congress in Trieste and I have run out of time to do a detailed post so I will just use some review comments as a way to share this book. This is a book to linger over - take your time it has 398 pages - and it is a completely engrossing story. The discovery that this is all based on real events serves to make it even more powerful.

Freewater blurb: Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp. In this society created by formerly enslaved people and some freeborn children, Homer finds new friends, almost forgetting where he came from. But when he learns of a threat that could destroy Freewater, he crafts a plan to find his mother and help his new home. Deeply inspiring and loosely based on the history of maroon communities in the South, this is a striking tale of survival, adventure, friendship, and courage. 

Use this review comment to read more plot details:

The page-turning action will engage readers as the story reaches a satisfying conclusion. Kirkus Star

Wikipedia entry

Here is a School Library Journal interview with Amina Luqman-Dawson.

Awards:

• John Newbery Medal Winner!
• Coretta Scott King Award Winner!
• New York Times Bestseller List!
• Indie Bestseller List!

Companion books:

Crossing Ebenezer Creek (YA title)

Chains

I am Tama, Lucky Cat: A Japanese Legend by Wendy Henrichs illustrated by Yoshiko Jaeggi

Bookseller blurb: Under the shadow of the white-capped mountains of Japan, a kind and gentle monk takes in a white cat with unusual markings and names him Tama, Lucky Cat. Tama watches as his new master teaches Buddha's ways to poor farmers, caring for their welfare while ignoring his own empty stomach. Tama truly earns his nickname -- "Lucky Cat," when during a powerful thunderstorm, he sees a towering warlord on a white horse. The cat beckons the warrior forward just as a large branch crashes to the ground and lands right where the warlord had previously stood. In gratitude to Tama, the warlord lavishes gifts on the monk's poor temple.

Here is the website for Yoshiko Jaeggi. You can see inside I am Tama, Lucky Cat here. 

You see these little waving cats in Asian restaurants and shops but I never thought to wonder about the story connection. Many years ago our school welcomed a delegation of educators from China. I immediately thought of the waving cat and I involved the children in making or colouring them for our library foyer notice board BUT just days before the visit I discovered the waving cat is a from Japan. I quickly had to pull down the display and make some sweet little purple origami pandas.  The visit went well (no one was offended by my error) although this visit was strange. It was all part of a proposal from the school Principal to partner with a school in China - this idea never eventuated.

Wikipedia tells me: Because of its popularity in Chinese communities (including Chinatowns) the maneki-neko is frequently mistaken for being Chinese in origin rather than Japanese, and is therefore sometimes referred to as a "Chinese lucky cat" or jīnmāo ("golden cat"). ... The figurines are often displayed in shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, dry cleaners, laundromats, bars, casinos, hotels, nightclubs, and other businesses, generally near the entrance,[1] as well as households.[2] Some maneki-neko are equipped with a mechanical paw which slowly moves back and forth.

I found a couple of other books that explore this story - there are four different versions of the folktale from Japan (check the Wikipedia link above).