Hīznobyūtī by Claude Ponti Hīznobyūtī is an ‘ugly duckling’ reweaving by French children’s author Claude Ponti. When he is hatched, Hīznobyūtī didn’t look like his family at all. He had a tiny trunk instead of a snout. They said ‘he’s no beauty’ enough times that Hīznobyūtī thought it was his name. As he grew older, he […]
Song Castle by Luke Waterson is a historical fiction novel centring on the 1176 CE events in Wales during which Prince Rhys of Deheubarth arranged a most magnificent contest of song and music to establish Wales as a place of culture, and not just of war. People came to this, the very first Eisteddfod, from […]
Sakura’s Cherry Blossoms by Robert Paul Weston & Misa Saburi Written in the sparse style of Japanese poetry, and accompanied by artwork that recalls Japanese watercolor, Sakura’s Cherry Blossoms by Robert Paul Weston is a beautifully rendered tale of love, loss, and cultural upheaval. Moving to a new country is a huge step. You leave behind […]
Seng’s Starving Season is a true story of hope, heartbreak, and survival. It is a snapshot of one life disrupted by one of the most horrific, rarely spoken of atrocities of the ‘modern age’- the genocide of native Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge through slow starvation and brutal labour. Seng entered the ‘killing fields’, the […]
California Illustrated written by Mark Drenth and illustrated by Abner Cardona, is a massive, oversized colouring book stuff full of California history and nature. There are sixteen different categories, with colouring pages, and activity pages. At the back is a sheaf of zany stickers to be affixed in different places in the book. The back […]
Ray vs the Meaning of Life, by Michael F Stewart, tackles yet another deep subject with the author’s trademark wit and humour. Ray’s grandma passes away unexpectedly, and left him ownership of her campground. Provided, of course, that he can give the executor of her will the ‘correct’ meaning of life before the end of […]
The Shark Lady by Jess Keating Via beautiful illustrations, The Shark Lady by Jess Keating introduces readers young and old to Eugenie Clark, a girl with a love of sharks. Despite being old many times growing up that women couldn’t be deep-sea divers or zoologists, and that she should find something appropriate to do with her […]
Meriel’s The Unity Game is a complex story, full of philosophical and spiritual threads, that weaves through time and space. It is a story that epitomises Cicero’s quote about connectivity- First there is David, the big shot in New York, driving himself into the ground to earn the big bucks. Then there’s the Scottish lawyer, […]
***Trigger warning: profanity Damn Fine Story by Chuck Wendig is a delightful writingcraft book whose aim is not to offer ‘writing advice’, which Wendig stresses time and again is just that- advice. Not gospel. He very much encourages finding what works for you. No, this book is all about helping you be a better storyteller. […]
Taq has come to a future Prague, where people called the Bohemians bring the city to vibrant life each day. They are entertaining the city, filling it with magic both literally and figuratively. Being Bohemian means being under the Magistrate’s dominion. As long as the person in question is part of the group, they are […]