 Word On Books
with Jeremy Fenton
Yet another year under the belt and the silly-season almost upon us – for many the only real time of the year when they can sit down with a book from cover-to-cover!
With a visit by the jolly red fellow less than a fortnight away, this week's column focuses on two worthwhile sack-fillers for the younger members of the family – just in case you-know-who is too busy to turn his attention to books!
Next week expect the regular yearly wrap-up (otherwise known as the last minute shopping guide to great books from 2001).
The Waterhole
By Graeme Base, Published by Viking
Australian author and illustrator Graeme Base made his name with the internationally acclaimed alphabet book, Animalia, in 1986. It has so far sold over two million copies worldwide.
Following that came the impossible-to-work-out mystery work, The Eleventh Hour, and a string of other successful books such as The Sign of the Seahorse and The Worst Band in the Universe. All of which are currently being developed as feature films.
His latest work is titled The Waterhole, and, like the proceeding books, is a combination of picture, story and puzzle book (not to mention counting this time around).
The simple story features a waterhole passing through the inevitable cycles of flood and drought, with an actual hole in the page getting smaller as the pond disappears. The continent hopping (each two-page spread depicts the waterhole being in a different country) allows Base to draw animals from all over the world – including tigers, pandas and kangaroos.
While it's arguable that none of his subsequent books have reached the level of complexity and cross-generational enjoyment that Animalia and Eleventh Hour have – the initial sense of amazement at Base's detailed drawings and intricate puzzles is unlikely to be captured again – The Waterhole is still a very attractive book for children of all ages.
Birds Build Nests
By Winer and Oliver, Published by Scholastic
There are over 9000 species of bird on this planet of ours, and virtually all of them build some sort of nest to raise their young.
Birds Build Nests, as the title indicates, details in verse and picture the range of ways and places in which birds build their temporary homes. From the delicate to the monstrous, the variety makes for a great subject in a children's book focusing on wildlife.
Verse in children's books can be a hit-and-miss affair, but writer Yvonne Winer has kept things simple and descriptive with her straight-forward and enjoyable rhyming:
Birds build nests/ mysteriously deep/
in holes in old trees/
or banks that are steep/that's where birds build their nests.
The illustrator, Tony Oliver, with a formidable reputation as a wildlife artist, is a perfect choice to bring these beautiful pictures to life in a scientifically accurate way. Although only featuring a small array of birds and their nests, you could almost use the book as field guide the pictures are that detailed.
Birds Build Nests is a verse and picture book that should appeal to a wide range of young children (and is just perfect to be read aloud while the illustrations are poured over).
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