Carnival of the Clocks by Nick Sharratt

"It is a dark winter's evening. Lessons finished long ago. And something odd is going on in the playground ..."

The air is full of clocks, or is it? No these are not floating clocks they are clock-shaped lanterns and every child in the class has made a different one. Some are simple. Some are fancy. One is an alarm clock and one has a digital display. Every clock shows a different time, but this is not about the time it is about the date. The 21st December is the shortest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere).

"Every year, to celebrate this special day, the children of the town make clock lanterns. ... And when darkness falls on the shortest day, the children parade through the town with their clock lanterns."

But where are the children going as they parade through the town? And what will happen to all of those lanterns?

Read the first chapter here.

Take a look at Nick Sharratt's web page - he is such a vibrant and UK prolific illustrator. I love this series for very young children:

Carnival of the Clocks is from the Little Gems series - please consider adding these to your school library. These gems are just perfect for newly independent readers. The colour illustrations are so appealing, there is only a small amount of text on each page and each of these books contain a very satisfying story.

There really is an event like this created by a charity and held in Brighton, UK. It is called The Burning of the Clocks. See lots of photos here. 

Of course, 21st December is not the shortest day of the year here in Australia which happens in June but that is not a reason to dismiss this terrific little book. After all we don't have snow at Christmas and Easter is not the beginning of Spring. 

Hazel Green by Odo Hirsch illustrated by Andrew McLean

Hazel lives in the Moodey building in the heart of the city.  Her friends also live in the Moodey building. On the ground floor there are shops including Mr Volio's bakery.  As the story opens Hazel has woken early, as she does every day, and from her balcony she sees Mr Volio step out to greet the sun. Mr Volio invites Hazel down, as he does every day, but today he has a wonderful surprise for her to taste. Mr Volio has invented a new cake in preparation for the annual Frogg Day celebration. Victor Frogg's life is celebrated in the city every year because he was the mayor, then a senator and eventually the Prime Minister. Victor Frogg was also born in the Moodey Building. One part of the Frogg day celebration is a huge march with various floats. Twenty years ago children used to participate in the march. Hazel is determined that the children will march again this year. She has a wonderful group of friends but she also has a serious rival and to make things worse her beautiful friend Mr Volio accuses her of betrayal. He says she told his rival, Mr Murray, about his special Frogg Day cake - the chocolate dipper!

You might know I am a cake fan! If you ask me about my favourite cake I am sure to say I long to one day eat a chocolate dipper:

"Hazel was holding a round pastry with a shortcrust base. The top was made out of toffee, and a glazed strawberry sat in the middle ... Hazel took a bite. First the sweet toffee fractured between her teeth, Then she tasted a wonderful smooth caramel custard. Then there were swirls of strawberry. Then there was a delicious surge of almond and cinnamon. Then just when she thought she had discovered all the flavours in the pasty, her tongue dipped into a layer of chocolate covering the base. And all in one bite!"

I saw Hazel Green at a recent charity book sale. I rarely re-read books but I knew I wanted to spend time again with Hazel who I first met in 1999. I once entered a competition where you had to describe the authors and characters you'd like to invite to a dinner party.  Odo Hirsch's name was certainly on the list. His real name is David Kausman and he now lives in London. I wonder why he stopped writing children's books. He last title was published in 2012. He had so many utterly brilliant books: Bartlett and the Ice Voyage (and 3 sequels); Darius Bell and the Glitter Pool, Darius Bell and the Crystal Bees; Frankel Mouse and sequel; Will Buster and the Gelmet Helmet and sequels; Antonio S and the mystery of Theodore Guzman; and Pincus Corbett's strange adventure. 

I do need to mention a couple more things about Hazel Green.  First off here are a list of her friends - such inventive names:  Marcus Bunn; Robert Fischer; Leon Davis (her rival); Maurice Tobbler; Abby Simpkin; Mandy Furstow AND the most important true friend of all Yakov Plonsk - The Yak.

Shop keepers: Mrs Gluck the florist; Mr Petrusca the fishmonger; Mr Volio the baker; Mr Murray bread maker; Mr Winkel leather goods; Mr McCulloch the barber.

The second delicious part of this story (apart from those chocolate dippers) are the descriptions of Mrs Plonsk - The Yaks mother.  Here are a few samples:

"She wore a silk gown the colour of emerald, and her fingernails were painted emerald as well. Her shoes were amber. She was holding a silver brooch in one hand."

"This time her silk gown was a deep plum colour, and her finger nails were plum-coloured as well. Her shoes were yolk yellow. Her hair was auburn and the brooch that she was clutching was gold."

Fans of View from the 32nd Floor will adore reading about my hero Hazel Green and I am so happy to report Hazel Green (the first title of the quartet) is still in print. I am sure many, if not all of these, will be found in most Australian Primary School libraries.The original editions were illustrated by Andrew McLean. His tiny pencil illustrations are just perfect and are sprinkled throughout the book. Take a look at all of these different covers:

This is one of those books that bursts out all over you as you turn the pages. YAK Books Reading Matters

Here’s a young mover-and-shaker who will stay with readers for a long time. Kirkus

Odo Hirsch image Looking Glass Review

Darius Bell and the Crystal Bees by Odo Hirsch

“Mrs Simpson was making walnut cakes … Darius counted ten cooling on the kitchen bench and suspected there were more in the oven. Mrs Simpson was icing one of them. She slapped the thick white cream on with a spatula and then rapidly spread and smoothed it with the skill that came from having iced thousands of cakes over the years…. ‘I don’t suppose any of you would like a piece,’ she said. Darius smiled. He didn’t suppose any of them needed to answer. Mrs Simpson cut three large pieces from the cake.”

When you pick up a book by Odo Hirsch you can be sure of several things. There will be delicious cakes, you will be in the hands of a master storyteller and at its heart any book by Odo Hirsch will ultimately be a celebration of community. Darius Bell and the Crystal Bees fulfills all these promises.

Darius Bell and the Crystal Bees is the sequel to Darius Bell and the Glitter Pool but it can stand alone. In this installment the bees have all mysteriously died throughout the district and this will have disastrous consequences for fruit and vegetable production for the coming year especially on the Bell estate. Mr Fisher, the gardener, has an enviable reputation as a master grower but with no bees his crops will not be pollinated and so the fruits will not form. His family will have to find work elsewhere. The Deavers, who are the estate bee keepers, can offer no solution so Darius attends a meeting of apiarists at the town hall. They suggest bringing in bee hives from other areas and it seems all will be well but the mayor George Podcock sabotages this plan. He loathes the Bell family. What can Darius do to save the crops and stop his friends Mr Fisher and his daughter Marguerite from leaving?

The answer comes unexpectedly from several sources involving his classmates, his mother and brother, his ambitious and hideous school principal, Mrs Lightman and his dedicated science teacher, Mr Beale.

I read this book in one sitting. Just like those cakes, I cannot help but devour books by Odo Hirsch. Look for this one in your library today and be prepared to cheer as our hero wins the day once again!

Read more about Odo Hirsch here.