The Spider and the Fly

Designed and Illustrated by : Tony DiTerlizzi
Based on an 170+ years old poem by Mary Howitt 
Ages: 4+ years

"Will you walk into my parlour?", 
said the Spider to the Fly

How many times would these eternal lines have been referred to and quoted! This is a poem that I learnt in childhood and adore even today. Seeing this as a picture book made me pick it up instantly. And I wasn't disappointed at all! For this book has all that thrill and caution of the classic poem even more enhanced by Tony DiTerlizzi's truly rich, dark, gothic illustrations. A visual treat, a tale of caution, a lesson that children of today truly need to bear in mind.

This is the story of an unassuming, innocent Fly that happens to pass by a hungry Spider who invites her to his web with sugar-coated, flattering description of his beautiful parlour. The Fly is all too cautious and keeps resisting all attempts until the Spider woos her by praising her beauty. The silly Fly falls for the flattery, and falls prey to the Spider by getting tangled in his web.

The illustrations must really be given a special mention, for they carry this already powerful poem to a whole new level - the sleek, sly gentleman Spider in his impeccable attire and a wicked grin, the innocent victorian damsel Fly with those big, cautious eyes,  the dangerously dark parlour, all in black and white are really very captivating.  And the ever so slight extra touches he has drawn, like those ghosts ( of flies) and the tombstone in the end with a word of caution make the story even more ominous.

And now, dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly, flattering words I pray you ne'er give heed.

It's not just the children, it's that fly in all of us that should learn this lesson and remember it forever. Particularly in these times when the newspaper is so full of news about bad things done to children. It is our duty to educate children to be well wary of the wicked wide world.

Sometimes I've noticed that when children move to bigger chapter books, parents don't really give them a picture book, as they feel it is way too easy for them. Reading is not just about reading words or tackling tougher sentences. It is all about what you take back from the story, what you comprehend from the words, what you discover from the pictures and you might well see that sometimes fluent readers miss out on such delicate details. This is one book that is not to be missed like that. It is a very mature poem and something children of all ages would enjoy and understand at so many emotional levels.

Here's a Youtube version read by English Actress Emilia Fox.

"Be warned, little dears, and know that spiders are not the only hunters and bugs are not the only victims. Take what has transpired within these pages to heart, or you might well find yourself trapped in some schemer's web" - Spider.

Solo

Author and Illustrator: Paul Geraghty
Ages: 4+

When you look at the book you might almost mistake it for an educational one about life in the Antarctic. With original photographs. That is how vivid and detailed the pictures and the story look.

Solo is a very beautifully illustrated book about the life of an Emperor penguin family and its struggle for survival in an almost uninhabitable corner of the Earth. Mum Floe, after being back from the sea,  finds her soulmate Fin and gives birth to Solo - still inside the egg, and then makes it back to sea to travel hundreds of miles to get food for her yet-to-be-born chick. Daddy Fin then gets ready for the toughest ordeal of going without food for months together and huddling close with the penguins in the rookery to keep himself and the newly hatched chick Solo warm. And alive.

After what seems like ages, Floe returns and takes charge of Solo while Fin finally gets his chance to venture out to sea and have some food and get some for Solo. But time moves on and while other daddies return, there is no sign of Fin. Floe realizes she must leave Solo alone and go herself to get some food, or Solo would starve away. She makes that toughest decision of leaving Solo alone and toboggans off to sea, wary of the leopard seals that are ready to make her a meal, should she be any less careful.

Left to its own self, Solo becomes an easy catch to all the mother penguins that have lost their chick as they tug at her quite violently to adopt her as their own. Solo somehow manages to escape their clutches, only  to be pinned down by the Skua, a scavenger bird that preys on penguin chicks that stray from the rookery. Just when the skua is about to nip Solo's belly off, Fin makes his heroic entry and lunges at the Skua and chases it away. Then you see what had taken so long for Fin to get back - he had gotten himself entangled in a net, and had somehow escaped, dragging the net along. A while later Floe is back as well, and the family has a very happy reunion.

Solo brought back memories of the Emperor Penguin documentary by Sir David Attenborough. Very beautiful ones, you can watch them here:
 Daddy penguins in the rookery
Return of mummy penguins
Leopard Seal hunting out Emperor penguins

This book proved to be a great topic for discussion, both scientific and sentimental and is definitely a very good read about life in the Antarctic, survival instinct and the extreme endurance of the animal kingdom and the continuous threat that humans impose on these magnificent beings.

Solo. A beautiful tale of love and endurance.

Tangramables

Author: Judi Martschinke
Illustrator: Janet McDonnell
Age:4+

If there is one possession that I can never bear to part with, it is my book collection. This hold good for my boys as well. The moment a Summer Fair table top sale or a charity sale turns up in school, I ask the boys if we could do one and with books that they've outgrown, but the answer would be a top-of-the-voice NO! And every time we go back to Chennai and Bangalore, I ask them if we could give some of the books to their younger cousins, and the answer would be a "only if they promise to give them back!". Then I have to sit, teach and make them see through the fact that people mean more to us than books and that it is a noble deed to share your things to people who mean a lot to you, it is how you show you love them.

Easier said than done. You have to be a believer first and a doer as well before you can preach, you see!

So if anybody has ever got a used book from me or my kids, know that you are being loved in abundance, so much that we were ready to part with our most precious possessions!

And the converse is very true as well. If someone gives us one of their much loved books, and that too without even hesitating once, they sky rocket in our TRP ratings. Right to the top :o). And stay there forever!

That is just what my lovely sis and her little boy from US did when they visited us - gave away the "Tangramables" book ever so readily, even though I could see that they loved it so much that it got to travel with them! And they have set a very beautiful example for my kids, as they always point out to me whenever they use the book.

This is a very versatile tangram activity book for ages about 4 - 8. It might appear a bit too easy to look at, but it needs quite a bit of logical reasoning for their age. As the puzzles start getting more and more complex, they involve loads of imagination and is a very good vent to the excessive energy and restlessness of little ones when they are indoors.

The book comes with 7 tangram pieces (a square, a parallelogram, 4 triangles) which the children would need to use ( either some or all of them) to solve the puzzles in the book. The initial ones are quite easy involving just geometrical shapes. The next set is more for the imagination. Like building familiar objects, animals etc with the tangram pieces. The final section is to create familiar geometric shapes using the pieces, and this is the trickiest bit!

This book has been used and reused so many times and I have see my younger boy growing in confidence in solving the puzzles. He also started appreciating the wooden tangram puzzle his dad got for him from India ( Landmark, I think) and now even tries to draw animals and objects from real life using the basic shapes and playing guessing games with his brother as to what is being drawn. For once, being snowed in is fun!

I guess this book is used as a learning resource across schools in the US. I have seen lots of tangram activity books in both UK and India. This book is on Amazon for £2.99 (used), but looks like it always gets sold out pretty fast! Being a US publication, the original books seem a bit too costly in ££s. Landmark ( or perhaps Odyssey) has loads of square wooden puzzles with many little colourful pieces and a book of shapes that could be made. Guarantees hours of concentration and a quiet house for mum. Well, for a while, at least!

Tangramables. Truly food for thought!

P.S: The day me and my boys readily give away all our books would be the day we have attained absolute Nirvana!

Moomin and the Winter Snow

Author: Tove Jansson
Ages: 4+

The Moomins, a bunch of white, chubby trolls, and their friends are the creation of Tove Jansson, a Finnish-Swedish author. She has written many comic strips and adventures with the moomins and all of them are extremely popular. They have also been made into a TV series.

Moomins are very cute characters that are friendly, mystical, philosophical, gentle, kind, adventurous and appeal to all ages equally. I have been such an ardent fan of the Moomin trolls and their friends ever since I started reading them, and am so glad that my kids like them as well!

In "Moomin and the Winter Snow", little Moomintroll becomes very sad when his friend Snufkin leaves Moominvalley and travels south in winter in search of warmer places. Moomintroll misses his friend a lot even though it is snowing and the whole town is very happy about it! He wonders if his friend would miss him just like he misses his friend. And then he gets just the confirmation that he needed, a sweet gift with a note from Snufkin! It cheers Moomin instantly and he prepares to hibernate happily until spring, when his best friend would return back to him.

Aren't we all so familiar with such a situation! Leaving friends behind and embarking on our journey of life, wondering if they would miss us and getting comfort from even the slightest confirmation that they are missing us as well! This book is a celebration of friendship and how very important it is to express it to friends on time rather than keeping them guessing.

The story comes to life with some very touching drawings that emote so beautifully. Snufkin is my favourite character of all. He is so philosophical, a really free spirit who loves traveling around the world with just the bare necessities packed up in his bag and no desire or strings attached. He is everything that you would have loved to be and so he remains etched in your heart long after the story is over!

No wonder Moomin books happen to be such prized possessions that are hard to part with!

Moomin and the Winter Snow. Please do read it the moment you set your eyes on one. Pee-hoo!

image courtesy : http://www.puffin.co.uk/static/spreads/all/3/9/9780141340593L_006.jpg