Welcome to the Book Nook!
Reviewing llamas, story forges and stars
Summer is practically at the door, and I’ve been having a heck of a mellow creative period. There’s been A LOT going on and what seems to be giving my life some calm is books and reading. I’ll share more on what’s been going in another entry, but right now, I would like to introduce and welcome you to the first entry in Gee’s Book Nook!
If you’re new to my little space, I’m Fran, an illustrator, picture book maker and storyteller, and books are a pretty big part of what I do for a living. I illustrate, create and share stories with the world! It’s what’s kept me going for most of my life, and I feel so lucky to be able to share all that goes on in my wee noggin with you!
I’ve been toying with this idea for a couple of weeks, probably longer, which is just as long as I’ve been collecting books, technically, years, but it just recently occurred to me that having a platform here and elsewhere on the internet… “How fun would it be to share my reviews and thoughts on the books I read with the world!?” And this is exactly what I have planned for Gee’s Book Nook. What probably solidified this was the lovely giveaway surprise I got from Rocket Bird Books, who so kindly sent me some fantastic books and thought I’d write a little bit about them. In this entry, I write about 3 picture books, Llama Library, Pandora and the Story Forge and Grandad’s Star, published by Rocket Bird Books.
Llama Library - written by Holly Ryan, illustrated by Ella Bailey, published by Rocket Bird Books.
Holy moly, where’s my library card? This book is such a fun and imaginative read, chaotic in the most playful way, with an array of vibrant characters, and a story that will have you chuckling away.
“Pick wisely,” said Mum as we jumped off the bus, “I’ve heard that some llamas cause nothing but fuss.”
It is a fantastic story spotlighting libraries and the endless possibilities of genres and stories that borrowing books offers. In this story, we are introduced to a llama library, which is packed with different sections and some uniquely qualified llamas - in the cookery section alone, one can find llamas who can bake, as well as others who can cook the Italian way! Not to mention the llamas in the history and arts and crafts sections, who all contribute to a little bit of chaotic fun!
The story is told through rhyme, which adds to the playfulness of the story and the illustrations are packed with fun details for you to explore while reading! From an illustrator’s point-of-view, I cannot help but admire the numerous character designs for the llamas, all designed impeccably and the immense detail in the imagery and colours that the spreads contain.
I’ll not spoil the ending for you (it’s brilliant!), but I’ll be on the lookout for my Llama Library Card.
Sidenote: I did not know you could borrow up to 16 books at once from a library. Thankyou for that little bit of information Llama Library.
You can get your copy of Llama Library from here.
Pandora and the Story Forge - written by Gaynor Andrews, illustrated by Marie-Alice Harel, published by Rocket Bird Books
This book is a magical literary and visual experience of how Pandora, a storyteller and weaver of words, forges stories from words she hoards in her box. Unlike the Greek myth of Pandora, this box does not contain chaos and misery, but rather an array of words, which, when forged together, create stories to be shared with “story-starved children.”
Pandora and the Story Forge is a beautiful story of the power of words and reading, releasing stories into the world, to inspire young and new storytellers to craft their own tales.
I am particularly captivated by the way the words become a physical entity in the story, “gurgling” and “flittering”, as they are forged into books for children through the poetic narrative of the book. The illustrations are spellbinding, I’ve been a long-time admirer of Harel’s work, and needless to say, I was so excited to be able to add this to my storybook collection. The intricate designs throughout the pages and the delicate colour palette create such a magical exploration for the reader, with each page-turn offering the reader a new insight into Pandora’s journey of story-weaving.
This picture book is perfect for any reader. It captures the magic that words and books bring to our lives and is a wonderful addition to any book lover’s collection!
You can get your copy of Pandora and the Story Forge from here.
Grandad’s Star - written by Frances Tosdevin, illustrated by Rhian Stone, published by Rocket Bird Books
“He shows me how the stars twinkle, sometimes bright, sometimes dim. On cloudy nights, we can’t see any stars. There is no twinkling. Only darkness.”
Grandad’s Star is a beautifully delicate story, gently told through the eyes of a grandchild who shares a love for stars and star-gazing with her grandfather.
The grandfather has patiently shared his knowledge on astronomy with his adoring grandchild, who has dreams of working in her grandad’s office, exploring the twinkling stars. As the story takes a turn, and the grandfather starts to forget constellations and his grandchild’s name, the grandchild shares that same generosity and patience shown to her by her grandfather, to help him remember when he’s stuck.
It is a sensitive and heartfelt story, told through a gentle narrative and shown through gorgeous illustrations. I particularly love the monochromatic spreads, and really feel that the softness and cloudiness of the media reflect this story beautifully.
Grandad’s Star is an emotional story told through a child’s perception of a family’s experience with dementia, and of finding the twinkling light after the cloudy nights and after the darkness is gone.
You can get your copy of Grandad’s Star from here.
That’s it for today’s session of Gee’s Book Nook! I hope these reviews have in some way tickled your interest to read the stories - they are all sure to take you on a magical literary journey! Thank you to Rocket Bird Books, the authors and illustrators for sharing these stories!
I’ll be popping in again soon with some more Book Nook reviews! Happy reading!
PS. If you have any books you’d like me to write about, or if you’d like to share your own thoughts about the ones mentioned here, drop a comment and let’s get the conversation going ✨
