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AN ANCIENT CASTLE

Name: AN ANCIENT CASTLE
Author: Robert Graves
ISBN: 0935576339

by Robert Graves & illustrated by Elizabeth Graves ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1982

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In this charming, comfortably old-fashioned story, set between the World Wars around a crumbling 600-year-old castle, everyone knows and agrees on the rules; a meanie's attempt to frame a conscientious servant of the king is easily seen through by the authority in charge; and army jam is put in its place. Sergeant George Harington, a one-armed war veteran appointed keeper of the castle, is an avid castle historian and diligent caretaker. Lord Badger, Harington's officer during the war, is his superior. Both hated the bad jam made by another local resident, Sir Anderson Wigg, who got rich by selling it to the wartime army. And so, when a silly pub argument between Harington and Wigg's chauffeur leads to a plot between Wigg and his chauffeur to discredit Harington, Lord Badger supports the keeper and gives the villains their comeuppance. Like a satisfying folk tale, the story ends with justice amplified: Sergeant Harington and his son Giles, named for the castle's original knight, find a 600-year-old treasure which the original Giles had sealed in a tower during a fatal battle we've already heard of. (This story, we're told in an appendix, is a similar treasure, discovered in a manuscript 50 years after its creation.) Both the matter of false blame and the conspirators' methods (from fabrications to scattering litter for incriminating evidence) are well geared to a child's perspective, and this is reinforced in Graves' earnest manner of telling. His niece Elizabeth Graves' decorous, naive drawings suit it well.

Pub Date: June 15, 1982

ISBN: 0935576339

Page Count: 70

Publisher: Michael Kesend

Review Posted Online: May 17, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1982

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BIG GREEN BOOK
by Robert Graves & illustrated by Maurice Sendak

- BOOK REVIEW
GREEK GODS AND HEROES
by Robert Graves

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THERE'S A MONSTER IN YOUR BOOK

From the Who's in Your Book? series

by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2017

Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit.

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Readers try to dislodge a monster from the pages of this emotive and interactive read-aloud.

“OH NO!” the story starts. “There’s a monster in your book!” The blue, round-headed monster with pink horns and a pink-tipped tail can be seen cheerfully munching on the opening page. “Let’s try to get him out,” declares the narrator. Readers are encouraged to shake, tilt, and spin the book around, while the monster careens around an empty background looking scared and lost. Viewers are exhorted to tickle the monster’s feet, blow on the page, and make a really loud noise. Finally, shockingly, it works: “Now he’s in your room!” But clearly a monster in your book is safer than a monster in your room, so he’s coaxed back into the illustrations and lulled to sleep, curled up under one page and cuddling a bit of another like a child with their blankie. The monster’s entirely cute appearance and clear emotional reactions to his treatment add to the interactive aspect, and some young readers might even resist the instructions to avoid hurting their new pal. Children will be brought along on the monster’s journey, going from excited, noisy, and wiggly to calm and steady (one can hope).

Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit. (Picture book. 2-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-5247-6456-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A BUNNY IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Tom Fletcher

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A BEAR IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Tom Fletcher

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A UNICORN IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A BEAR IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Tom Fletcher

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A UNICORN IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A WITCH IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott

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IN THE SKY AT NIGHTTIME

by Laura Deal ; illustrated by Tamara Campeau ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019

A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world.

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A quiet book for putting young children to bed in a state of snowy wonder.

The magic of the north comes alive in a picture book featuring Inuit characters. In the sky at nighttime, snow falls fast. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a raven roosts atop a tall building. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a mother’s delicate song to her child arises like a gentle breeze.” With the repetition of the simple, titular refrain, the author envisions what happens in a small town at night: Young children see their breath in the cold; a hunter returns on his snowmobile; the stars dazzle in the night sky. A young mother rocks her baby to sleep with a song and puts the tot down with a trio of stuffed animals: hare, polar bear, seal. The picture book evokes a feeling of peace as the street lamps, northern lights, and moon illuminate the snow. The illustrations are noteworthy for the way they meld the old world with what it looks like to be a modern Indigenous person: A sled dog and fur-lined parkas combine easily with the frame houses, a pickup truck, power lines, and mobile-hung crib. By introducing Indigenous characters in an unremarkably familiar setting, the book reaches children who don’t always see themselves in an everyday context.

A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world. (Picture book. 3-5)