Have You Ever Ever Ever? by Colin McNaughton and Emma Chichester Clark

This book feels like a love letter to libraries and for that reason alone I love it. I hate it when I read about libraries being forced to close or run by volunteers and their budgets being more and more squeezed. This coupled with a huge literacy push from the government is such a muddling contradiction and makes me mad!

Anyway I am not writing to rant about the failures of those on high to protect our precious libraries but to discuss Have You Ever Ever Ever which beautifully encapsulates the magic and brilliance that can be found within the four walls of a library. It's a cryptic tease of a book which draws you in and through a journey with different well-known (nursery and fairytale) characters. It points out the general craziness of nursery rhyme characters and fairytales in a gentle mocking way to a boy sitting in a playground on his own. It's a poignant image a child playing by himself in an empty playground and makes the big reveal that books can introduce you to a whole different world of friends and scenarios much more powerful. The idea that the library (and books) are full of these wonderful characters just waiting to burst out is a lovely image and just really rather fabulous!

I love the illustrations of Emma Chichester Clark anyway and this book is beautifully done, the repetition and rhythm of the text by Colin McNaughton is lovely. My daughters love it because they know all the characters (with the exception of Punchinello!) and they can join in the story telling. They like to chant the text back at me! All in all a wonderful book which celebrates the magic and secret worlds that books can draw you into.

The Fairytale Hairdresser and Sleeping Beauty by Abie Longstaff, illustrated by Lauren Beard

Hooray! Another Kitty Lacey story. We were watching the post for this one since we'd been promised a copy and Rosie kept asking me everyday when it was going to arrive. But finally it did and we've been enjoying it greatly.

It follows the same format as the other Fairytale Hairdresser books in that Kitty Lacey (the hairdresser) comes across a fairytale character in need of some help and hey presto with a wave of her scissors she fixes the problem - and then it usually ends with a wedding, like all good fairytales.

In Sleeping Beauty the fairy godmothers turn up at Kitty Lacey's shop in need of some cheering up because their beloved princess Rose has been put under a sleeping spell by the wicked fairy. Thankfully Kitty has a handy prince doing some gardening for her who turns out to be Rose's true love. Together they battle their way through the thicket of thorns and put the situation to rights.

There are lots of quirky references to different fairytales and nursery rhyme characters throughout the book and I particularly like how they deal with the wicked fairy (I won't spoil it!). Basically it's fun, funky and fabulous! There are two books before this one: The Fairytale Hairdresser and The Fairytale Hairdresser and Cinderella. What will be next?!

A First Book of Fairy Tales - Mary Hoffman and Julie Downing

I was given this book at a recent event I spoke at by Sandra - a storyteller. I told her how I liked the Grace stories from Mary Hoffman and she very kindly gave me the book. What I didn't expect was how much Rosie was going to like the book. I know she loves fairytales - she acts out at least one a day, usually putting her own unique twist on it! But this has been our bedtime story book for the last few weeks and there are no signs it's going to flung aside for a while.

What I like is the variety of fairy tales and the fact that the sources are named and that they are true to the original tellings. The stories included are: Cinderella; The Selfish Giant; Rapunzel; Jack and the Beanstalk; Sleeping Beauty; The Little Mermaid; The Frog Prince; Beauty and the Beast; Diamonds and Toads; The Twelve Dancing Princesses; The Fisherman and his Wife; The Princess and the Pea; Rumpelstiltskin and The Snow Queen. Some of these are lesser known tales and it's great to see them in print. The only thing I would say is that because each tale has had to fit into around six pages sometimes the stories are a bit abrupt and jump around without explanation. It doesn't bother Rosie but it does me, a bit!

Our favourite at the moment is The Little Mermaid and it's the true version where the prince doesn't fall in love with her and she takes herself away to be foam (at the last minute being rescued by the spirits of the air). In this disneyfied world I like the fact that Rosie's first introduction to this story (and she should remember it since we've read it about a thousand times) is the proper one. I'm glad that the ending isn't happy and that we know the little mermaid is unhappy at not being loved by the prince. I don't think everything has to be sugar-coated for kids and I know that Rosie has taken this all in her stride and accepts the story for what it is. Sorry about the soap-box! I just become increasingly frustrated by all the pink, pretty and cute!

All about Fairytales!

We've been going a bit fairytale crazy recently and most of Rosie's playing involves being a 'charming girl' (Cinderella app - thank you Nosy Crow!), a billy goat gruff, a scary wolf who's going to eat everyone up and a handsome prince. It's all mixed up into one big fairytale of it's own!

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Emma Chichester Clark is one of our favourite retellings. I really love the way that Emma Chichester Clark has breathed new life into this classic and I adore the house on the top of the hill in the forest that the bears live in. It's a Swiss dream!

For the younger child just starting out with stories the Ladybird Touch and Feel Fairy Tales are great. The text is very short and they have touch and feel bits for the young baby to explore. They work from when your baby is one year. They also have text which has extra bits to point out and talk about with your baby running along the bottom of each page.

We were give The Gingerbread Man by Father Christmas at Harrods and it's a great retelling with lovely artwork. The collection of Ladybird First Favourite Tales is quite extensive so you can generally find your favourite fairy tale amongst them. We intend to collect them all!

The Lift-the-flap Fairy Tales from Macmillan illustrated by Nick Sharratt and written by Stephen Tucker are funny, quirky and great for 2+ years old. The flaps add a great dimension to the stories and they're nice and tough too! The text is funny and rhymes making it great to read aloud.

We also have First Picture Fairytales from Usborne, illustrated by Jo Litchfield and written by Felicity Brooks. This contains eight different fairytales including Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk. Because it only has room to tell the story in two pages the stories are quite short. I find that Rosie likes to 'read' this by herself and I grow impatient reading a whole story in just two pages so that suits me!

So that's our little collection, we also love all the 'take-offs' of fairytales you get as well. Mini Grey springs to mind! I'm sure there are many more great retellings of fairytales for this age group out there. What are your favourites? 

Cinderella app from Nosy Crow

I haven't posted about apps as much as I would like but that's partly because I haven't managed to treat myself to an iPad yet!! But they do work as well on my iPhone (and other non-Apple devices I'm sure).

To my shame although I've read about the brilliance of the Nosy Crow apps for the past year or so it wasn't until World Book Day when they were all reduced that I managed to buy any. But I did make up for it by purchasing three in the same day. Bizzy Bear on the Farm, The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella.

Rosie loves all three of them but her absolute favourite is Cinderella. At the moment instead of bringing me a book to read in the morning she is requesting Cinderella on my iPhone. It's ok though - we just read five books instead of three in the evening!

The whole Cinderella app is just brilliant. It has three different setting so you can 'Read and Play', 'Read to Me' and 'Read by Myself'. We use 'Read and Play' the most. As you move through the story the text is read to you but you can then tap on the different characters to hear what they have to say. There are lovely interactive bits such as helping Cinderella to clear up, opening up the invitation to the King's ball, the user appearing in the mirror on the mantelpiece, collecting the mice for the coach and horses, choosing the colour of Cinderella's ball gown (always has to be pink according to Rosie - agggh!) and my personal favourite, changing the music the Prince and Cinderella are dancing to. Finally you can help the Ugly Sisters and Cinderella try on the glass slipper.

I like the voice-over by the child who reads the story and the other characters as well as the music that has been used. The artwork is beautiful too. All in all I think this sets a very high standard in story book apps. We love it! Although we are constantly acting out the wedding of Cinderella at the moment. And the app does nothing to dim Rosie's obsession with ice cream. But that will be lifelong if I'm anything to go by!!

The Fairytale Hairdresser by Abie Longstaff

One of our favourite books at the moment is The Fairytale Hairdresser written by Abie Longstaff and illustrated by Lauren Beard. It's a twist on the fairytale story of Rapunzel.

I think Rosie is at a good age for this kind of book since it references other fairy tales and well known stories and she recognises most of them. Ultimately though the text is lovely and the illustrations are fab and that's what makes it so great.

Kittie is the fairytale hairdresser and she has some very odd jobs to do with some very varied clients. A whiskers and beard trim for a well known gentleman in a red suit with a white beard! A long consultation for a very fussy Goldilocks (too long, too short, too curly, too straight). But one day she is summoned by a wicked witch to her hardest task of all. High up in a tower under a river of messy golden hair is a beautiful girl called Rapunzel. It takes Kittie a whole day to brush her hair out and sort it into a plait. The witch brews up a 'forgetful' potion to make sure Kittie doesn't remember where she's been. But Kittie manages to climb out of the tower and down Rapunzel's plait. The fairytale ending comes when the prince appears, sees Rapunzel in the tower and falls instantly in love. Rapunzel jumps into his waiting arms and they live happily ever after!

It's a lovely story and very well done. There are a lot of 'different take of the classic tale' books around but they are successful because they bring new life to classic tales and are easy references for most children.