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A short, but very sweet post today 
Over the weekend it was my birthday and so we were on the look out for a good book and something chocolatey to go with it. We came up trumps with Yum Yum! by Mara Bergman and Nick Maland, a random but clearly meant-for-us find.
Photo: Scottfeldstein
Two cheeky children get messy in the kitchen whilst baking bread, oblivious to the menagerie from a nearby zoo creeping through the open window, drawn in by the delicious smell. But when a big bear crashes into the kitchen everyone is aware of it. What has the bear come for? Is he going to eat up the naughty (but nice) children?
What’s not to fall in love with when reading this book? Independent little kids (no sign of parents anywhere), a camel, a crocodile, great rhyming text that trips of the tongue and builds easily and effectively to the scary moment when the bear appears on the scene hungry for something to eat. The sprinkling of fear sweetened with a good dose of humour is a really a delicious combination.
The illustrations are drawn with simple clear lines but are bursting with textures which remind me a little, and in the very best way, of the work of Ian Beck. This is one of those books that cannot be read only once in a sitting – J demands at least 3 or 4 readings one after the other whenever we find this lovely book in our hands.
Much as I adore bread, my regular loaf isn’t so celebratory, so instead we decided to bake some chocolate buns based on “Jack’s chocolate buns” from Richard Bertinet’s Dough: Simple Contemporary Bread. The recipe, should you wish to use it, is at the end of this post – do let me know how you get on if you try it!
The whole process is very kid friendly – just make sure you have some spare chocolate for the kids to enjoy whilst they’re helping This batch didn’t last long!
Music we danced to with chocolate stains round our mouths included:
By: Melissa Ackerman,
on 9/8/2010
Blog: Albert Whitman & Company Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Children's Books, podcast, Mara Bergman, Author Podcast, Lively Elizabeth, Cassia Thomas, author and illustrator, Add a tag
The first few days of September have (finally) broken the hot spell that has been summer 2010, and nothing says “fall” more than curling up with a cup of tea and a good book. That is exactly what you will want to do with the picture book Lively Elizabeth! Today we are speaking with author Mara Bergman and illustrator Cassia Thomas about what a strong character like Elizabeth can learn from watching the consequences of her actions spiral out of control. Click here to listen. (RT: 8:20)
Mara Bergman was born in New York and grew up on Long Island. She has written more than a dozen picture books and was awarded the Booktrust Early Years Award in 2009 (UK) for Oliver Who Travelled Far and Wide and a Parents’ Choice Award for Snip Snap, Who’s That? Mara lives in England with her family and their various pets.
Cassia Thomas was born and raised in London with a pencil in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. She has always loved how illustrators are able to transport you into their own worlds and so aspired to do the same. Cassia drew (a lot) and grew (not very much) and finally did a Masters in Children’s Book Illustration, at Anglia Ruskin School of Art. The course helped her realize her ambition to become a visual storyteller.
Since then, she’s twice been selected for the Cheltenham Illustration Awards, where she exhibited alongside her hero, Shaun Tan. She also exhibited this summer in the UK at a children’s book retrospective. Lively Elizabeth is her first book. Her second, George and Ghost, by Catriona Hoy, is set to come out in November 2010. She is currently beavering away on writing and illustrating a new picture book.
By: Cassia Thomas,
on 3/14/2010
Blog: Cassia Thomas - Illustrator (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: waterstones, Mara Bergman, Lively Elizabeth, guildford waterstones, Add a tag
Now, I know there's probably some fancy way of lining all these up, but I was far too excited to bother about all that complicated rubbish. What fantastic pictures! A huge thank you to the fabulous Katie, Ben, Mao and Freda at the top there, the marvellous Prospero's Bookshop in Crouch End, and last but not least Claire, Sam and furry friends!
I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday, but now I want to make chocolate buns, too! Wishing you many more–birthdays, books, and chocolate buns!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
And chocolate buns sound like a great way to celebrate to me!
Thanks Anamaria and Carrie!