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Sharing something beautiful which means a great deal to you can be an awkward, even embarrassing thing to do. It can feel like going out on a limb. You take the risk of appearing sentimental and perhaps even slightly loopy.

Quite why this should be the case, I don’t know. After all, in trying to offer a special moment or experience, all the giver wants is for you to feel something of the same joy, calm, delight and warmth. But it’s a vulnerable moment, full of potential for dreams to be trampled on.

As a parent I’ve sometimes found myself in the situation where, just for a moment , I want my kids to take me seriously , to meet me as a friend and to fall in love with what I’ve fallen in love with. Don’t get me wrong, of course I want them to have their own opinions and discover their own places and times of magic. But I also want to gift them moments of golden glow inside them, serve up nuggets of warmth that will stay with them always, through bad times and good when remembering times and places that are somehow beautiful.

It happens a lot with books of course – I’ll start books I loved as a child with bated breath: What will the kids make of them? Sometimes it happens with music, and also locations with views or spaces that take my breath away or inspire excitement or awe.

And so when I opened When Dad Showed Me the Universe written by Ulf Stark, illustrated by Eva Eriksson and translated by Julia Marshall I knew the story would speak to me.

A father decides that his child is old enough to be shown the universe, and takes him on a night-time walk through the town and out into an open space far from street lights where they can watch the stars together and marvel in the sparkle and space and silence. But what does the child make of all this?

The bright intensity of beauty is made bearable with bucket loads of dead pan humour. An extra pair of socks is needed because – it turns out – the universe is pretty cold (‘“Minus 263 degrees,” Dad said‘). The universe turns out to be fairly easy to find; with echoes of Neverland “the way there was straight ahead and then to the left.” And when they finally arrive at the destination picked out by Dad, “I had a feeling I’d been here before, that this was the place where people walked their dogs.”

Indeed, there is a final twist to the story which brings everyone back from interstellar dreams to everyday reality with quite a bump, brilliantly adding a layer of laughter to a moment of intimacy and affection; Father and child do get to create a special shared memory that will stay with them all their lives, but it may not be quite that which the Dad had anticipated!

Pitch-perfect words deserve exceptional illustrations, and Eva Eriksson’s soft and dreamy pencil work only enriches Stark’s text. Muted tones predominate, with the exception of an intense blue for the night time sky, giving those spreads extra impact. The story is told as a first person narrative – the child retelling the entire experience, and the illustrations also emphasise the child’s view of the world; (s)he is often looking in a different direction to his/her father, picking up on other things of interest, whether that’s the liquorice on sale in the shop or the abandoned trike in the park, I couldn’t help smiling broadly at the different facial expressions in father and child when first they gaze at the vastness of the stars above them.

[I think it is worth noting that although some may assume the child is a boy, the text does not assert this. Indeed, given the first person narrative, there’s no need for gendered pronouns when referring to the child, who could in fact be a girl. This possibility is one of the great things about this story and translation.]

When Dad Showed Me the Universe is a very clever, moving and extremely funny book about parental love. In fact, in sharing it with you here on the blog, I feel a little like the father in this beautiful book. I so want you too to gasp in delight, smile brightly and feel that sense of magic settling on you when you read this. I can’t give you starlight, but I can wholeheartedly recommend you find a copy of When Dad Showed Me the Universe without delay.

The hilarity in When Dad Showed Me the Universe has ensured that it is a book my kids have wanted to share multiple times. But already after the first reading they could see my thinking: Were they going to get to see the universe too?

First I prepared…

A perfect universe-gazing pack

This pack was left in the garden shed whilst I kept an eye on the weather forecast for a few days, looking out for a clear night. When one came along, I was all ready to go into slightly crazy mode and tell my kids that even though they had their pyjamas on, we were going into the garden in the dark.

I didn’t take many photos as the idea was to disconnect from all the buzz we normally have going on in our lives, and just to relax watching the stars twinkling.

We were super snug and spent about 40 minutes just gazing, sometimes chatting, sometimes just being quiet.

I’m no good at night-time photography (see above). What we saw wasn’t quite like this…

Photo: Scott Wylie on Fiickr Creative Commons

…but we did all feel a sense of awe and peace in a way that took me by surprise.

We didn’t listen to any music whilst we were outside, but here is a marvellously celestial playlist:

You might also like to take a look at this informative list of music (both classical and pop) inspired by astronomy, written by Andrew Franknoi.

Other activities which could go well with reading When Dad Showed Me the Universe include:

What’s your happiest memory from going somewhere special with a parent or a child?

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher.

Toys in Space by Mini Grey is our kind of book, all about stories providing comfort, where what is a ‘story’ and what is ‘real life’ become beautifully blurred.

It starts with an observation about family life which is tiny but which resonates loudly with us; it being summer holidays here and lots of time spent out in the garden, on more than one occasion it has happened that some of the kids’ toys have been left outside over night.

So a great start – we open Mini‘s latest book and the girls already think it is about our home (or so easily could be). Then a tiny bit an anxiety is introduced; the toys are a little scared by the night and what it might bring. Anxiety is ratcheted up to another level of worry when the toys are beamed aboard an alien space ship…

This worry is transformed into sympathetic concern when the toys discover the alien is only looking for his very own very toy which he has lost. Will the toys be able to help the alien? Will he be reunited with his own Cuddles? And will the toys make it back to their own garden?

Without giving away the details, the emotional arc we went through, which started with “delightful recognition >> anxiety >> worry” then continued “hope >> happiness >> relief >> great satisfaction (with a giggle)”. A perfect journey for a picture book!

As well as the thrilling emotional ride this book takes you on (with just the right amount of nerves for young children), this book scores highly for its adorable cast of characters. Having fallen in love with Traction Man and Scrubbing Brush, I did wonder if any new characters from Mini Grey could find a similar place in our hearts, but the crowd here are great and surely offer wonderful opportunities for more stories in the future featuring the same cast (What do you say, Mini?).

The visual narrative in the book is perhaps more complex than many picture books you’ll find on the bestsellers’ list, with a Jack Bauer / 24 style split screen take on events running concurrently. I like the richness this brings, and although my kids had absolutely no problems understanding how events are unfolding I wonder if some parents who are not confident readers might be put off by this.

I hope not, because Toys in Space is an exciting and heart warming story about losing (and finding) your favourite toy and is bound to delight children far and wide.

Hoctopize – the alien in search of his lost Cuddles

My girls were very keen to act out Toys in Space as soon as we’d read it for the first time. We gathered their favourite toys together, but didn’t have a suitable alie

One of the contributors to last week’s popular post 50+ picture books every child should be read was an author/illustrator much enjoyed in our home – Tim Hopgood. One of the very fist books I reviewed on Playing by the book was his award winning Here Come’s Frankie, which is still the book I pick up if I’m in a wonderful mood and feel like dancing, or a terrible mood and need cheering up. Our Big Blue Sofa, however, is probably one of my kids’ top 10 picture books (even if my review of it makes me cringe; who of you would display for all the world to see the detritus found down the back of your sofa!)

So when I saw that Tim had a new book out I knew it was something I would want to read and review here. UnPOPpable, published last month, captures all the joy and wonder a simple balloon can bring. Kids will love this book as they will recognise themselves in it – the delight at playing with a balloon, squeezing it, holding it, the loss but also awe as it floats up into the sky, and the magic and squealy delight that comes when the balloon finally does pop.

The story is told with just a few bare words on most pages making is an enjoyable book for even the youngest children to listen to (and great for slightly older siblings to read to their toddler brothers and sisters). As an adult reader it’s a really fun read-aloud – there are plenty of opportunities to get into the spirit of things with loud popping noises.

Tim Hopgood’s illustrations are exuberant; even those depicting the black night sky and space feel bright and vibrant, and without wishing to give anything away, the big bang finale is bursting with energy just as it must have been back when time began.

I hope you’ll find an opportunity to give this book to a child with a helium balloon – I guarantee you will make someone very happy indeed!

Inspired by UnPOPpable we got up to some good old fashioned play with balloons. The girls drew silly faces on them and then we rubbed the ballons on our hair to charge them with static electricity. Once charged we could stick our balloons pretty much anywhere we liked – on the walls and on the ceiling. It seemed like magic to the girls!

Taking the magic to the next level I challenged the girls to stick a knitting needle in a balloon without popping it. Of course balloons ended up popping left right and centre, but then Mummy stepped in with the sort of magic that only mummies possess, and sure enough, with

With daytime temperatures in our neck of the woods barely making it above freezing this week, winter has surely arrived. We’ve had a flurry or two of snow, enough to get the kids excited but not enough for sledging… Of course, M and J are keeping their fingers crossed that all of that will soon change

Photo: *clairity*

With the drop in temparture, and the sharp frosts both heralding the start of winter and the beginning of the countdown to Christmas, this week we’ve been reading Night Tree by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Ted Rand – one of the books that inspired me to start Playing by the book, when I first read about it two years ago over on The Crafty Crow.

Night Tree tells the story of one family’s Christmas custom to venture into a small wood near their home every 24th of December to decorate a tree with food for the birds and animals. Told in the present tense (a decision which brings an immediacy and vitality to this story perfect for helping children to imagine they too are going alongside for the adventure in the dark – though do read this great article by Philip Pullman on the overuse of the present tense), this gentle story is perfect for reading snuggled up on the sofa with frost outside.

Ted Rand’s illustrations of the mysterious and magical nature of the trees at night bring just the slightest suggestion of suspense, essential for later creating a feeling of magic and awe, especially successful in the spread showing the the beauty of the tree laden with gifts for the animals of the wood.

I also like the fact that whilst this is most definitely a Christmas book it is not full of snow and the usual wintry scenes. It’s also a children’s book that people who don’t celebrate the religious aspect of Christmas can still enjoy and incorporate into whatever seasonal celebration they may be having (there is one mention of the carol “O Come all ye faithful” but that’s the full extent of any mention of faith).

M and J immediately wanted to play out the story exactly as it happens in the book – surely a strong recommendation for any book. Given that Christmas isn’t quite upon us yet we did the next best thing and decorated two trees in our garden ready for hungry visitors. There’s a great round up of bird treats to make here at The Crafty Crow. We decided upon dried fruit necklaces, popcorn and peanut chains, orange swings, and yoghurt pot bells.

4 Comments on Frost, birds and the countdown begins, last added: 12/2/2010

**Today’s your last chance to enter the world wide giveaway for a beautiful children’s bookcase – click here and leave a comment to be in with a chance of making it your lucky day!**

Today I’m happy to once again be hosting the Nonfiction Monday roundup. Every Monday bloggers across the kidlitosphere celebrate the best of nonfiction books for kids by writing about this sometimes overlooked category of books. If you’ve a recent post about a nonfiction book for children please leave a link to it in the comments and as the day progresses I’ll update this post to include all your reviews, comments and insights

My own contribution to NF Monday is all about a series of fantastic science project books I’ve recently discovered.

Heinemann Library’s Science Projects series consists of 10 books jam packed with stimulating, engaging science projects on topics ranging from Astronomy and Space to Ecosystems, Cells and Systems to Matter and Energy.

Each book includes an introduction with clear, thoughtful information on how to carry out scientific research appropriately pitched at 10-12 year olds. Both my husband and I have taught research methods and were very impressed by the discussions in these books including the importance of background research, what an experiment is, how to formulate a hypothesis and how to keep records.

3 Comments on Really brilliant science books for kids, last added: 11/28/2010

Photo: daskerst

A young girl, Jub, lives in a dark forest. She has a terribly important job – every night she must take the sack full of Happy Endings, climb to the top a huge oak tree and then scatter the endings to the wind to ensure they find their way into homes all around the world where parents are telling bedtime stories to their children. She’s good at her job, and enjoys it, spending her days reading and visiting neighbours whilst the Happy Endings fly back to the forest to hang from the ancient silver birch, ready to be collected and distributed each night.

One evening, however, a wicked witch, with “fierce red eyes like poisonous berries” steals the girl’s sack. With no Happy Endings, children in bedrooms everywhere go to bed that night in tears. Cinderella’s foot is too big for the glass slipper. The Big Bad Wolf gobbles up Little Red Riding Hood.

Photo: ((brian))

Jub is distraught. Her heart is “as sore as toothache“. Exhausted by despair, she eventually falls asleep and (appears to) dream of a Golden Pen which can write on the night sky itself. She takes the pen and uses it to re-write her own story, to create her own happy ending, ensuring the witch meets her comeuppance and once again the Happy Endings can find their way into your home, my home and every home where bedtime stories are told.

Duffy has created a fairy story par excellence – mysterious, slightly menacing, with one foot in our world and another in a rather more magical world, a magical world that you nevertheless want to believe in when you read this story. The tale is beautifully told, with so many phrases where each word seems perfectly chosen, where it is hard to imagine a simpler yet more evocative way of expressing a given emotion or situation; Duffy’s first calling, as a poet, really shines through.

Jane Ray&

J’s current “must-read” book at bedtime is The Baby who wouldn’t got to Bed by Helen Cooper. It makes J giggle and snuggle closer to me every time – and that alone makes it a winner for me too!

“Bedtime!”
said the Mother.
“No!”
said the Baby
playing in his car.

“It’s still light.”
“But it’s summer,”
said the Mother.

When Mother again attempts to put Baby to bed he escapes by driving off into a magical land populated by his toys. He tries to play with each of them but they all complain they are tired and that night time is for sleeping, not for playing. Eventually even the baby’s toy car falls asleep and finally the Mother catches up with the Baby. In the end he, too, is glad to be tucked into bed.

This simple story is a sure-fire winner on many levels. The language is delightful and richer than many a book aimed at the youngest of children. Never complicated, but always witty and perceptive, the story stands up to even 100 re-readings. I particularly like these lines from when the Baby meets his toy tiger – they work perfectly with the biggest yawns you can muster (not that I need to work very hard to create yawns at the end of the day when I’m putting my kids to bed!):

“Night time is for snoring,
not roaring,”
yawned the tiger.
Come back in the morning,
I’ll play with you then.”

Both reader and listener will enjoy the gentle humour. J loves the impish baby roaring of in his car whilst I always smile at the recognisable depiction of the Mother, who ends up both carrying the Baby and pushing his car home, or who later on pretends to call the Baby’s bluff when he finally does ask to go to bed.

And then there’s the fact that every page offer you the chance to make silly car noises – J has now perfected her “Brrrrrrrum” noise and is very proud of herself! (For a great post on reading books with silly noises do have a look at this from Sarah at In Need of Chocolate.)

Without giving away any the plot, there is a section in this story that provide the perfect thrill – just the right amount of suspense before the perfect reassurance that all is right with the world.

In addition to wonderful language, great plot, good humour, there are also magical illustrations. Subdued colours give a cosy, sleepy feeling, and visual jokes on every page provide plenty to enjoy and talk about. It’s often said, but this really is a perfect bedtime read for both kids and their grown ups.

To go with this book I wanted to do an activity that J could really do herself and so we chose to do wheel prints. We selected a variety of toy cars…

…spread printing ink on glass sheets,

Photo: makelessnoise

If we haven’t much time in the library I’ll often select the books we take home simply by picking up all those that have been displayed prominently on the top shelves in the kids’ library (rather than having been filed away alphabetically). This approach often yields books I might not have found otherwise and On a Dark Dark Night By Simon Prescott is a case in point.

Prescott completed his MA in children’s book illustration just about 3 years ago and this is his second published book (Small Mouse Big City being his first book). He was shortlisted for Booktrust’s Best Emerging Illustrator last year (the eventual winner was Katie Cleminson with Box of Tricks, which regulars will know I reviewed here) and judging by On a Dark Dark Night it won’t be long until Prescott is not only shortlisted but actually wins his first award.

On a Dark Dark Night tells the story of a mouse on an adventure once the sun has set.

In a dark, dark wood…
there was a dark dark path.
Along the dark, dark path…
there was a dark, dark town.

With each line the tension builds – where is the mouse going? Will he make it? Will some terrible mishap befall him? Readers and listeners will end up holding their breath in nervous anticipation as they notice in the dark shadows all sorts of threats to the mouse as he tries to reach his destination.

The repetitive, rhythmic text ensures this books is great to read aloud (just like Funnybones by the Ahlbergs, although here the text and illustrations are somewhat darker, both literally and metaphorically). As each page is turned don’t be surprised if you and your kids move closer to the edge of your seats – the suspense is deliciously thrilling, and made all the more enjoyable by the surprising, delightful end to the tale.

The illustrations are quite a revelation for me – colours are what tend to grab my attention when I’m looking at book illustrations (like in Here Comes Frankie, or Flyaway Katie, which I reviewed 4 Comments on Nice Mice, last added: 2/11/2010