• About

Books In My House

Books In My House

Tag Archives: Flying Eye Books

Her Idea by Rilla (Flying Eye Books)

04 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by jendrakemorgan in books about stories, picture books

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Flying Eye Books, Her Idea, picture book review, Rilla

This is one for anyone who has had an idea for a story but has done nothing further with it.

51yrJLA79lLSozia had an idea. In fact she had hundreds…

The only trouble is that Sozi doesn’t do anything with these ideas, preferring to put it off until tomorrow. And so the ideas start to slip away until her inspiration runs out. Luckily a passer by gives her some direction – books! So Sozi begins writing her own story, not knowing what will happen either to the story or to her.

Yet even after she finished the start and worked till half past the middle she still didn’t know what’d be at THE END and if she’d have to begin again.

She recognises the end when it comes. She completes her story and Her Idea finishes with her going inside this story.

Now. As someone who teaches creative writing I think this is rather fabulous. So many of my students are cursed with Procrastinationitis. And then when they do start writing something it is very hard for them to finish it. Allowing yourself time to write, being brave about the unknown journey and then sensing when something is completing – these are all difficult things. A lot of grown ups who want to write stories should take the time to read this.

There is some clever stuff going on here too. The protagonist becoming part of your own story? This could be referred to in an undergraduate essay on metafiction.

But ALSO – and very importantly – this is a good story for kids! My kids liked Sozi very much and my son in particular related to her putting things off until later – a great Putter Offer, that one. He loved seeing the reward Sozi gets for getting on with things – disappearing into a story of her own creation.

I would expect a Flying Eye book to be distinct and this is very much a Flying Eye Book. It is a longer book at 56 pages and the drawings are in red, turqoise, dark blue, black and white. Incredibly striking, quirky and imaginative. The front and the back over have a cut out too so you can look inside Sozi’s head on one side and see a balloon on the other.

My only issue is with the rhyming text. The illustrations are so interesting and flow so you want to pause and go back. But a rhyming text demands that you drive the story on. What I have found myself doing is reading the text all the way through and then going back and reading the pictures in the same way. A more fluid and relaxed prose would have been preferable for me so that I could enjoy the pictures more.

An interesting reflection on writing. A fun book. And one that will appeal to both adults and children. I am pleased that Rilla herself got disciplined and made a finished story out of an idea.

Advertisements

Black and White by Dahlov Ipcar (Flying Eye Books)

15 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by jendrakemorgan in friendship, love, picture books

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Black and White, book reviews, Dahlov Ipcar, Flying Eye Books, picture book review

A beautiful book about the friendship of two very different dogs.

The colours are subtle – a palette of largely black, white with hints of pale pink and blue. The text does rhyme but has fluidity and Jess (newly turned 6) summed it up perfectly by calling it a poetry picture book. It is definitely poetic rather than a simply rhyming text. It is very soothing to read out loud.

51-BceuX3qLIt is about a black dog and white dog who are very different – the white dog dreams of frozen Arctic scenes while the black dog dreams of steamy hot jungles.

DSCF7203 (2) DSCF7208 (2)

But while they imagine very different things, they can still have adventures together.

DSCF7206 (2)There is a great message here but this is not a story that preaches – it is a story, first and foremost, about two dogs who love playing with each other. Both Ipcar’s illustrations and text are a delight and original. If you want something a bit different – something beautiful and subtle – then this is the book to get.

Archives

  • August 2016
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014

Categories

  • 500WORD
  • Activity Book
  • adventure
  • board book
  • book for 9-12 year olds
  • book on colours
  • book review
  • books about animals
  • books about art
  • books about books
  • books about bullying
  • books about Dads
  • books about death
  • books about depression
  • books about dinosaurs
  • books about evolution
  • books about imagination
  • books about libraries
  • books about loneliness
  • books about penguins
  • books about pets
  • books about reading
  • books about science
  • books about stories
  • books about suicide
  • books about the environment
  • books about whales
  • books for teens
  • chapter books
  • character
  • Christmas
  • circus
  • classic
  • dark humour
  • dragon
  • fact books
  • fairy tales
  • Father's Day
  • favourite toys
  • folk tales
  • friendship
  • gardening
  • Little Red Riding Hood
  • love
  • new baby
  • Non-fiction
  • nostalgia
  • Oscar Wilde
  • parent child love
  • picture book about worries
  • picture books
  • picture books about divorce
  • picture books about mothers
  • picture books about nursery
  • picture books about parents
  • picture books about school
  • picture books about separation
  • picture books for older readers
  • poetry
  • pop-up
  • rainbow
  • snakes
  • snow
  • swimming
  • Uncategorized
  • Valentine's Day
  • winter
  • wolves
Follow Books In My House on WordPress.com
Advertisements

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy