My Top 10 Children's Books of 2004
My Book of the Year
| 1) How I Live Now by
Meg Rosoff (new 2004)
Penguin
Hardback €15 approx
| I read ‘How I Live Now’ like a
woman possessed, cramming the words into my eyes as fast
as I could read them. It’s an incredible book,
shockingly good; and I can’t remember the last time
a novel has had such a dramatic effect on me. Several
months later and my mind is still reeling from it. The
story begins when the narrator, Daisy, a cool and
sophisticated 15 year old New Yorker, is sent to
contemporary England to live with her eccentric cousins
with the equally eccentric names: Osbert, Isaac, Edmond
and Piper. From the very first page I was instantly drawn
to Daisy, she has such an authentic voice, she’s
painfully honest and strident: everything she says packs
a raw, emotional punch. Soon after her arrival, war
breaks out, a timely and realistic war, a war of secrets
and rumour, terror and brutality. At first, Daisy is
rather unimpressed by this ‘war’. She comments
‘A bomb went off in the middle of a big train
station in London the day after Aunt P went to Oslo and
something like seven or 70,000 people got killed’.
She’s stuck in England as the airports have all been
closed, the Aunt she’s barely met is hundreds of
miles away leaving her children and Daisy to their own
devices (as in all the best children’s books!).
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| When England is invaded by an unspecified
enemy, the children are separated and Daisy goes on the
run to find the boys with Piper, her youngest (and only
female) cousin. Rosoff refuses to flinch from the
horrifying cruelty of war and Daisy and Piper’s
journey back to the farm, witnessing some terrible
scenes, avoiding the enemy and surviving by drinking
rainwater and eating what they can scavenge from the land
makes compelling reading. Add to the potent mixture
Daisy’s burgeoning ‘uncousinly’ feelings
for Edmond and her eating disorder, both carefully yet
realistically handled, and you have one hell of a book,
and it’s difficult to do it justice in this short
review.
But please, do yourself a favour,
if you only read one book this year, make it ‘How I
Live Now’. You won’t regret it.
Age 13/14 to Adult
And now for something completely different -
My Favourite Picture Book of the Year
|
| 2)Hubert
Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent by Lauren Child (new
2004)
Hodder, €15 euro approx Hardback
|
Hubert Horatio, or
‘H’ for short, lives with his frightfully rich
parents, who largely ignore him. When the money runs out,
Hubert and his friend Stanton come up with an ingenious
plan. This is Child’s most ambitious and visually
striking book yet. It’s meticulously designed, from
the special text to the collage use of strongly-patterned
material. The colours are gloriously different - hues of
‘dollar’ green and princely purple. A triumph!
I love it! Age 4 +
Also rather good - Clarice Bean Spells Trouble
More fun from Clarice, this is a book (as opposed to a
picture book) for slightly older children of age 5+ and
has black and white line drawings.
Other Books I Enjoyed in 2004
|
| 3) Millions by
Frank Cottrell Boyce (new 2004)
Macmillan (Macmillion!), €8 paperback
|
I met Frank and his wife recently at the
launch of the Children’s Book Festival and they are
both utterly charming. And as for their baby son,
goodness I could eat him up, he’s that cute.
Frank’s book is also utterly charming and very
edible. It’s the story of two brothers, Damian and
Anthony who are unwittingly caught up in a train robbery
during England’s changeover to the Euro. They find
themselves with a huge amount of cash which they have to
spend before it becomes worthless - what a dilemma!
It’s very cleverly plotted, the characters are
hugely likable and it cracks along a lively pace. Add in
the saints and a discerning appreciation of different
kinds of pizzas and what more could you want from a book?
Also available on audio which Sam loves listening to.
|
| 4) Santasaurus by
Niamh Sharkey (new 2004)
Walker €14
|
Niamh is one of Ireland’s top
picture book talents and in this new book she tells the
story Her illustrations are a treat for the eye - full
of her characteristic warm, friendly and colourful
characters. She has such a great eye for colour and she
makes the pages sing with her eclectic palate of greens,
reds and purples. The perfect seasonal picture book. My
own toddler, Amy, loves this one.
Age 2+
|
| 5) Scorpia by
Anthony Horowitz (new 2004)
|
Blessed art thou, oh Anthony, as thou
hast encouraged my errant son to read! And if your son
won’t read Anthony’s super spy novels, try one
of his excellent audio versions. Or try a Captain
Underpants Book. Yes, you read that correct - Captain
Underpants! Any book that keeps my 10 year old son
reading can do no wrong in my eyes. Sam is a busy 10 year
old, interested in sport, Gameboy, Playstation, The
Simpsons and eating as much junk food as I’ll let
him. He says his favourite Captain Underpants book is
‘Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Bionic
Booger Boy’.
If you have a 8/9/10 year old who won’t read, try
Captain Underpants, they’re fun, there’s plenty
in the series, so if they like one they can move on to
others, and they have plenty of cartoon-like
illustrations to keep the reader amused.
Or try Roddy Doyle’s Rover series - also laugh
out loud funny - especially to a 8/9/10 year old who
thinks dog poo is hysterical (don’t they all!).
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| 6) The Day I Swapped My
Dad for Two Goldfish Neil Gaiman, illustrated by
Dave McKean (new 2004)
|
I bought this picture book for my son,
Sam who’s 10 and I kept it for myself because I
liked it so much. I know, I’m a terrible person!
It’s hilarious and the illustrations are highly
original and very, very different. If you liked their
‘The Wolves in the Walls’ you’ll love
this. I’d recommend for boys of 9+ (or their mums!). |
| 7) Frog Belly Rat Bone
by Timothy Basil Ering (new in paperback 2004)
|
‘In a dull, grey, endless place
called Cement, there lived a very special boy. This boy
had a singular wish: he wished to find a treasure.’
So begins this fantastic picture book. The boy finds a
box and in it are ‘beautiful packages’ full of
specks which he tears open and plants in the earth. He
creates a monster called ‘Frog Belly Rat Bone’
to protect the specks. And eventually the specks grow and
Cement is transformed into a colourful, plentiful garden.
The quirky illustrations sing with colour (or lack of
colour in the case of Cement) and vitality and are a
treat for the eye. Ering is a brave illustrator who is
trying to do something a little different here, and for
this alone he should be congratulated. A stunning picture
book from a shining new talent. I’d recommend it to
any child of aobut 3+. I loved it! |
| 8) Freak the Mighty by
Rodman Philbrick (new edition 2004)
Usborne €6 paperback
|
I’m cheating a little here, as this
book was first published in the US in 1993, but it’s
taken a while to get to the UK and Ireland! It’s an
amazing book - highly original, unsettling, upsetting,
uplifting; and I cried several times the first time I
read it. Kevin and Max are extremely memorable characters
and it’s an intriguing story, full of humour and
empathy. If you or your child like books that are a
little different, this book is for you. Age 10+ |
| 9) The Polar Express by
Chris Van Allsburg (new edition 2004)
Andersen
|
I’ve always loved this
extraordinary picture book (and all Van Allsburg’s
work, especially Jimanji, another of his picture books
that was made into a film and The Mysteries of Harris
Burdick) and it’s great to see it getting the
attention it deserves now. |
| 10) The Gruffalo’s
Song by Julie Donaldson, Illustrated by Axel
Scheffler (new 2004)
Macmillan, €12.99 approx
|
The Gruffalo is back and this time
he’s not alone! His daughter ignores his warnings
about the Big Bad Mouse and tiptoes out alone one night
into the snow. Another delightful story in verse from
this talented and award winning team. The
‘wintery’ illustrations are full of expression
and movement and it’s a nice Christmassy choice. |
And finally for any Sendak fans out there and a bit of an
acquired taste to be honest - No 10a
| Brundibar by
Tony Kushner , Illustrated by Maurice Sendak
Walker Books, Hardback, around €20
|
Brundibar is an extraordinary picture
book, based on the Czech opera of the same name written
by Hans Krasa who was killed in Auschwitz in 1944. The
original opera was preformed 55 times by the children in
the Nazi concentration camp, Terezin, before they were
put to death, and this background is vital to fully
understanding the book. Ostensibly the story of two
children, Pepicek and Aninku and their search to find
milk for their sick mother, the story works on many
different levels, examining serious issues such as
poverty and oppression. Younger readers will enjoy the
children’s quest and their final triumph, even if
the overall context is lost on them, but the book’s
true audience is older, knowing children and adults. |
| The playful text is deftly written, and
like the children, hurries along at quite a lick.
‘And everyone everyone everyone was there, buying
buying busy buying.’ Kushner uses rhyme and
alliteration to keep up the pace and the illustrations
are also full of chaotic movement. And what
illustrations! It’s impossible not to be awestruck
by the double page spread where young children ride on
the backs of black birds while their mothers weep below,
surrounded by towering Van Gogh-like cypress trees.
Sendak, in what he describes as his ‘fat’
folk-art style, sets the tale in Old Town Prague and
peoples it with a Brueghelesque cast of unforgettable
characters: from the rotund baker (‘borrowed’
from ‘In the Night Kitchen’) to the nefarious
Brundibar himself. The colours leap off the page: hot
pink and sunflower yellows juxtaposed against flat greens
and browns. The faces of the children, staring out at the
reader, are truly unforgettable. Are these the faces of
actual children? They are so individual, and so
heartbreakingly real that they certainly could be. While
the book would certainly benefit from annotations as it
provokes as many questions as it answers - what is the
relevance of Meko’s Dairy for example, what does the
‘Skola’, graffiti on a fence mean - it’s
an incredibly powerful work and a must for anyone
interested in the contemporary picture book world.
Maurice Sendak truly is a master.
Age 6 to Adult
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Other notable titles published in 2004
| Something
Beginning with P - New Poems from Irish Poets Edited
by Seamus Cashman
O’Brien €27.95
|
A stunning collection of original poems
from some of Ireland’s best poets including Seamus
Heaney. Illustrated in full colour. An investment which
will give years of pleasure to any poetry fan of any age. |
| Annan Water by
Kate Thompson
Bodley Head €16.50
|
Beautifully written, sensitively handled
and unusual teenage love story set in Ireland. I really
enjoyed it. Gripping reading. Age 11/12+ |
| The Diamond Girls
by Jacqueline Wilson
|
A new novel for her legions of fans,
myself included. I have to admit that I haven’t
actually read this one but I adore Jacqueline’s
writing voice and my very favourite will always be The
Bed and Breakfast Star, followed closely by The
Illustrated Mum. Or maybe Secrets. It’s hard to
choose, she’s written so many great books! Age 9+ |
That’s it for 2004, roll on another great
children’s book year in 2005!
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