Incredibly Smashing

 The Incredible Record Smashers by Jenny Pearson, illustrated by Erica Salcedo  (Usborne)

Once, in an interview with Shirley Hughes, I read about where she gets the ideas for her books. Having read about her observations of children from the life and then really seeing it in her work, there has been no un-seeing it since: the boldness of children, their reticence, their great joys and their deep sorrows are all there in Hughes' portraits, in the wave of an arm, the inclination of a neck, the pointing of a finger. When a Shirley Hughes picture book is opened, we immediately see not only children, but the child's world, too, through the child's own eyes. And there is no affectation, no sugaring the pill: childhood is an exhilarating time but a confusing and frustrating one too. We know exactly the excited anticipation of Christmas in one of her books but feel the same pain of losing a beloved stuffed toy in another.

Jenny Pearson's writing also has this quality. While her books deal with grief, depression and the troubles of youthful friendships, she provides hope for all her readers by setting out the strengths and resilience of children and the solace that only true friends and family provide. Reading her latest book, The Incredible Record Smashers - which tells the tale of Lucy, her mum, her best friend Sandesh and her eccentric Aunt Sheila - I was reminded again, 'this author knows kids really well!'. This time, though, Shirley Hughes kept popping into my head, too. There are moments in the book where, like Hughes, Pearson captures a fleeting glimpse of the very personal and interior world of the child. Hughes has an eye for this - you can see the emotion in the stance of her children - and it is her genius. With Pearson, its in the instantaneous shift from laughter to tears, the joys and frustrations of childhood, the wildly crazy view of the big, wide world around that touches on the very same artistry.

Pearson sketches out the frangible lines of children's relationships with a canny eye, too: the ways in which the bonds between children - uniquely strong and easily broken or mended in the blink of an eye - are brilliantly realized. In Freddie Yates, it is the weird scrap on the boat between the three boys; in Record Smashers, there's a scene which is at once bursting with anger, hilariously comic, and completely deadpan, where Lucy throws a pre-teen tantrum, only for it to be somehow quashed then incensed further with a bowl of washing-up water. Although Pearson clearly loves her characters, and has the deepest of respect for children, she is not afraid to point out their shortcomings - what's particularly lovely, though, is that this is always done with the kindest and gentlest of smiles.

Let's not forget the way in which she paints her adult characters! Auntie Sheila is the eccentric, full-of-gumption, full-of-love grown up that every child needs in their life. She will inspire the young reader to laugh but also to think, especially about the ways in which love is shared and given. Other 'grown-ups', conversely...well, let's just say that in today's media-wow culture, we need books like Jenny's to prove that real life takes a lot more than celebrity or a TV show can ever provide. 

As with Freddie Yates, the plot is over-the-top, riotous, quite literally 'incredible'. But deep down, is it really? Admittedly, it's unlikely that two children would manage to find their way to a recording studio to present their latest crazy idea involving catching kumquats, simply to meet up with a guy who might just give Lucy's mum the seed of happiness that will grow to crush her depression - unlikely, yes, but to a child the logic of the plan is  both immaculate and inspiringly optimistic: "Why shouldn't it work? Why couldn't it happen?" Again, it's Pearson's sensitivity to the tender inner lives of children and their overwhelming hope that nurtures her storyline here. Children will appreciate that, quite naturally, and be comforted as well as entertained.

While with every passing day all of our lives change and frantically adapt to suit the pressures of modern life, it's reassuring to see with Pearson - as it is with Shirley Hughes - that young people have their 'champions of childhood': brilliant storytellers who see perfectly clearly what it means (and has in fact always meant) to be a child in a confusing world and who are always ready to share their kindness with those attentive ears and eyes who read them; and listen; and see.

The Incredible Record Smashers by Jenny Pearson is published by Usborne on 4th March 2021.

The Guardian interview with Shirley Hughes is here: https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/jul/06/shirley-hughes-interview-book-trust-lifetime-achievement 

With thanks to Fritha Lindqvist for her help in the preparation of the pictures for this blog. 

The Gumption Gang

Freddie's Impossible Dream by Nigel Lungenmuss Ward; illustrated by Robbie Lungenmuss-Ward

The Garden Gang by Jayne Fisher (Ladybird Books)  

Growing up as a reader started for me (as it did for many of a certain age) with the  Ladybird Books. Their hardback uniformity was a comfort and as I lined them up on the shelf at the tender age of five or six, they took on the importance of my own personal, miniature library. My mum was a Reception teacher and so, the 'First Book of Words' and even the packs of flashcards (now dubbed 'Vintage', I see, on eBay) were my very first forays into reading books for myself. 

 

Later, came something I remember being almost incredible: 'The Garden Gang' series by Jayne Fisher. These little Ladybird books each contained two stories and told the tales of Betty Beetroot, Wee Willy Watermelon, Penelope Strawberry and sundy other fruit-and-veg characters. I loved their felt-tipped brilliance and quirkiness but what was more extraordinary to me was that they had been written by a nine-year-old girl. Jayne became both a source of inspiration and of mild envy to me! 

 

I've never forgotten what seeing another child's work published in book form meant to me. It seemed dramatically exciting and urgent but also, even though I wrote all sorts of poems and comics and stories in my early writing years, it never seemed like something I could achieve. That's not a feeling I want to pass on to the children I know and teach - it's not OK if they think that ambitious success is beyond their reach. 

 

Well, in a new book from the Lungenmuss-Ward duo there is hope for everyone! 

 

In Freddie's Impossible Dream, the main character - a grown-up - struggles to be taken seriously as a singer. But he perseveres and manages ultimately to fulfil his impossible dream. It's great for children to see adults face difficulties, problems and even ridicule; for them to see that it's not just plain sailing when you grow up; that adulthood doesn't bring everything you ever wanted. In fact, achieving your dream takes time, commitment and sometimes even a bit of luck. 

 

The author's son Robbie (now nine-years old!) has illustrated the book throughout and this is where real inspiration can be found for young people. I love the interplay between word and picture: the written word leaves plenty of room for the pictures to reveal the true joy of the story with Robbie's humour and candid sensitivity to the fore. Robbie's view of the story is always uplifting, even in Freddie's saddest times; there's always some good cheer to be found. It's in these illustrations - that felt-tippy, bright cheerfulness of Jay
ne Fisher blended with a modern comic-strip wit and sensibility redolent of Jeff Kinney and Dav Pilkey (two of Robbie's heroes) - that we see a lightning strike of purest optimism. 

 

Nigel says in an afterword that he wrote the story to encourage his son to follow his dreams and never give up (Robbie wants to be an illustrator and animator).  I'm absolutely sure that this team - this newly founded 'Gumption Gang'! - and their strong bond will inspire a whole new generation of children (and adults too) to see that their voices matter...and never to give up in making those dreams a reality.

***

When you've read a copy, whether it's with an individual child, to a whole class, or even whole school (because this would be great to use in an assembly), you might like to start some book chat to connect the book to you and the children. Here's some starting points for you! 

 

Wondering about the book

• What makes Freddie want to give up throughout the story? 
• What makes him want to go on with his singing? 
• Find (or imagine) all the different feelings that Freddie experiences throughout the story. Sort them into positive and negative groups. What does doing this activity tell you about Freddie's journey to achieving his dreams? 
• Talk about what Freddie's friends and family say to him throughout the story. 
• If you could ask Freddie a question, what would you want to know? 

Connecting the book to the reader

• What do you do that makes you happy? 
• What hobbies of yours would you like to show to the world?
• Who are your biggest fans?   
• Which of the pictures made you feel 'You could do it' if you wanted to achieve your dreams? What about any of Freddie's words or thoughts? Which of them encourage you? 
• What makes you want to give up sometimes?
• How did the book make you feel differently about things in your life? 

Thinking about the writer and the illustrator

• Is it important or relevant to you that the author is a grown-up and the illustrator a child? 
• Do you think you can tell that the author and illustrator are father and son? 
• What are your thoughts about what Nigel says in the Afterword? Do you feel he has achieved his second ambition for the book? 

"Definitely Christmas"

Susan Cooper/Carson Ellis - The Shortest Day (Walker, 2019)
Sally Nicholls, illus. Rachel Dean - A Christmas In Time (Nosy Crow, 2020) 
ed. Tanya Kirk - Spirits of the Season / Chill Tidings (British Library, 2019/2020)
Kevin Geddes - It's All in the Booklet: Festive Fun with Fanny Cradock (Fantom Publishing, 2019)
 
Christmas books are legion. In the dark evenings of December, I do love to browse through a few seasonal reads, but I'm fussy and not one to go back time and time again to The Snowman or A Christmas Carol, genius though they both are. Rather, I like a bit of spice to my festive reading and some zesty acidity too - the cloying, sugariness of 'Olde-Worlde Nostalgia' just doesn't cut it for me. So what follows are some recent favourites of mine, which I hope might provide inspiration for stocking fillers or just some personal entertainment for you. 
Where better to begin on these darkling days than with the light that is so beautifully portrayed in Carson Ellis' illustrations for the equally luminescent words of Susan Cooper's The Shortest Day? Throughout, the spreads track the 'Stations of the Sun' both from day to night and from then on into the new day, and from late summer to mid-winter, the golden haze of the year 'dying' and the ice-cold brilliance of winter light. The old traditions of this time of the year are portrayed as something that is in our blood - these are the ways of our ancestors - and both words and pictures make these threads between the past and the present strongly felt: "Through all the frosty ages, you can hear them/Echoing, behind us - listen!"
 
It is these very echoes that answer in Sally Nicholls' latest installment in her time-travel series for younger readers, A Christmas In Time. When Alex and Ruby look through a magic mirror in Aunt Joanna's house, they meet a distant Victorian relative. Their charge is to ensure their cousin, Edith, is not sent away to the charity school that they know all too well from their own time by its terrible renown. Witty dialogue, and sharp characterisation (especially of the very lovable Alex and Ruby) sets this novel apart, and the twisty paradoxes time-travel are deftly drawn with a light touch. Ruby, at the end of the story, re-considers the 'tacky and plasticky' tinsel of modern times with distaste, and reflects on her time-travelling adventure in Victorian times: "[...] that was definitely Christmas'. The bracing visions of Christmases Past in the Cooper/Ellis and the Nicholls certainly provide a different slant (and for some, like me, a much needed one!) on the traditionally cosy festive tale.
 
The British Library continue to amaze with their prolific series, 'Tales of the Weird'. This year, they have republished (thank goodness!) a generous collection of Vernon Lee's supernatural yarns, a fine quartet of the best of Algernon Blackwood, not to mention the irresistible  'Killer Tales of the Botanical Gothic'. But as it's Christmas, I must highlight last year's offering, Spirits of the Season, and its 2020 follow-up, Chill Tidings. Each contains a superb selection of Victorian, Edwardian and mid-twentieth century spook stories, perfect for reading aloud by a crackling fire, or indulgently to yourself while the rest of the family gorge elsewhere on festive editions of 'Strictly' and 'Bake off'). Of the two, Spirits of the Season probably has the edge for me - containing as it does my favourite Christmas ghost story of all: Lucky's Grove by H.R. Wakefield, which frankly defies all belief in its chaotic mixing of Victoriana with Norse mythology - but ghost stories are a fine tradition for this time of year, so I warmly recommend both titles to send a pleasing terror your way this Yuletide!

Finally turning to the (necessary) indulgences of Christmas, and specifically to the Christmases Just-Past of the nineteen-sixties and -seventies, many will consider the redoubtable Fanny Cradock a stalwart of the season. (And if you don't, then I urge you to get straight on to iPlayer to watch the five short programmes she made about preparing your 'Christmas buffet'.) Kevin Geddes, he of @KeepCalmFannyOn, has done all of us a huge favour by re-inventing Fanny's now rare-as-hen's-teeth booklet accompanying the series in It's All in the Booklet. Now we can all gawp in astonishment at the green (yes, green) duchess potatoes, sigh with relief that - unlike 'pa' - we needn't sweat any more over the carving of the bird, and raise a doubtful eyebrow at the so-called 'baveuse' texture of Fanny's mincemeat omelette. Gedde's wonderful (and often hilarious) little volume ('it's actually more of a book') has the look of a 70s original with its lurid colour photography, and certainly promises to be an annual re-read for me. But, as Fanny would say, just don't tell those 'nasty neighbours' that you've finally got a copy. 
Happy Christmas reading!