Oh my goodness I could not resist sharing this little book review of ‘Brenda is a Sheep,’ by Morag Hood and we certainly have to grab ourselves a copy when it is released in July. Check out the full review below from Library Girl and Book Boy
Morag is well-known for her best-selling, eye-popping picture books with wry humour and characters you could fall in love with. It’s for this reason I squeaked in excitement when I spotted ‘Brenda’ peeking out of the Jiffy bag.
Book Boy snaffled it first and was sniggering away to himself as he read, but it wasn’t until I read it aloud to Book Boy Jr. that I realised just why…
Brenda lives with a flock of sheep who just love her. They all want to be just like her with her pointy teeth and excellent bright orange jumper. They don’t seem to notice that Brenda doesn’t like eating grass like they do, or that her preferred games invariably involve trying (unsuccessfully) to catch them. The slightly starstruck sheep also don’t seem to notice that Brenda is very hungry and is cooking up a rather large batch of delicious mint sauce ready…
One lonely seal
in the midst of the ocean
rolls on the waves
to the rhythmical motion.
The seal watches over
the child on the sand.
Her lovely young daughter
born of the land.
On Midsummer’s Eve seals swim up onto the sand, shed their skin and transform into beautiful young women to give thanks to the mysterious Moon Goddess.
Lost in dance, no one notices a shimmering sealskin being stolen; leaving one beautiful Selkie trapped on the land forever.
Can an unlikely friend help her reclaim her skin, or is she destined to remain forever in human form?
‘Seal Mother’ – a magical Selkie tale of love, loss and deceit, told in verse.
I devoured this short story, so skilfully written by an author who I have the utmost respect for. She doesn’t write for the masses, she doesn’t stray into writing what is popular or in fashion. Rose English writes from the heart about things that capture her vivid imagination and she weaves a story so beautiful that it feels as though she has placed her hands around your heart and is squeezing gently.
Seal Mother is a tragic tale of love, betrayal, loss and heart-breaking decisions. It’s a children book, but don’t let that stop you from reading it as an adult. Let Rose’s poetical verse sweep you into a maelstrom of emotions as you forget your existence for a while and ride the waves with Seal Mother and her emotional journey.
A imaginative and beautiful retelling in pacey verse of an ancient story from Scots/Irish/Norse folklore. The illustrations are charming and the book is suitable for all ages but especially the young and the young at heart.
I loved this wonderful rhyming interpretation of the Selkie folklore.
The story tells the tale of a seal, trapped on land when a fisherman steals her pelt on midsummer’s eve. She marries and has a family but always misses her old way of life, until one day she finds her seal skin and returns to the sea.
The beautiful illustrations add to this entertaining and poignant story.
“Seal Mother” by Rose English is a beautiful, poignant story told in rhyme. I love the fairy-tale feeling of the helpful mouse and the way a shell is used to communicate. Illustrations further bring this tale to life. The dance of the Selkies is one of my favorite pictures; it perfectly captures the moment.
Trapped on land, the Selkie has an overpowering need to reclaim her life in the sea, to be free, to be herself. The ending is powerful. This story spoke to me of our own need to be true to ourselves. “Seal Mother” would be an excellent read for all ages.
This story broke my heart in that way a good book has when it stays with you. To me it was almost an allegory for man’s interference with nature and the consequences were dire. It was a beautiful story told in verse. I loved it enough I’m going to order the actual book. The Kindle version is lovely, but the illustrations need to be appreciated also. I highly recommend this book to all ages.
This is a story for dog lovers both young and old. But be warned as well as it being comical, at times it is also rather heart-wrenching too. Probably advisable for readers 10+
The author’s own dog Sandyis a rescued dog, and the inspiration behind the book. The tale is told from the dog’s point of view.
After almost drowning as a pup, Sandy is initially rescued by military personnel. She proves to be a very intelligent little dog and undergoes training on the base. Sadly the poor dog ends up having some horrendous experiences. Sandy ends up on the streets almost at deaths door; she has no memory of who she is or where she came from.
Luckily Sandy is found and taken to a rescue shelter, and from there she is adopted by Ellie and Ben. She loves her people parents and just wants to settle into a new life with them. However, she begins to suffer nightmares and slowly her memories begin to return but they are not pleasant.
I love how the author interweaves mystery and intrigue into a captivating tale, along with a dog’s eye view of the world. Sandy’s thoughts on her people parents are simply adorable, particularly when she begins to learn more about them. Here is just one of her thoughts:-
‘I was to discover Ellie was a vegivore and a chocivore.’
Such great fun and very highly recommended.
As a special treat I recommend you visit Deb’s website and check out the real Sandy’s Dog Blog. Click HERE
Love this post by Rainne sharing five of her favourite colouring books. I own a copy of the ‘Fantasy Snowflakes’ Book by J.S.Burke very highly recommended
A lovely companion book to author J.S. Burke‘s Dragon Dreamer series.
These original snowflake designs are created from animals and plants, with a nature theme. There are pictures to colour, and ornaments to colour and cut out, and each page has some information about the design.
Fantasy Creatures Colouring Book
by Meg Cowley
Colouring book from the author of the Relic Guardians series, The Books of Caledan Trilogy and Chronicles of Pelenor series, Meg Cowley. The book is filled with pictures of fantasy creatures, like faeries, unicorns, dragons and centaurs.
Imagimorphia
by Kerby Rosanes
Each page in this book is filled with weird and wonderful pictures from the imagination of Kerby Rosanes.
The Calligrapher’s Colouring Book
by Renee Chin
(1986)
Each page features a letter, number or punctuation mark…
This is an enjoyable little story about Jenny mouse along with her sisters and brothers trying to find the perfect birthday gift for their mother. All about caring and sharing.
I’ve been sent a treasure trove of beautiful board books recently. Some are wonderful new editions of classics and some are brand new. We all know the benefits of starting the bedtime story habit with babies – bonding time, language acquisition, fun! So whether you’re looking for a new bedtime read or buying a gift for a little one, there’s sure to be something amongst this selection to entice you…
The Gruffalo Baby range by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (Macmillan Children’s Books)
There’s a teeny buggy book, ‘Gruffalo, What Can You Hear?,’ designed to clip onto the buggy frame for little ones to enjoy on the move. Explore the sounds…
Happy Reading everyone, we hope you have been managing to get at least a few minutes of reading in today? Drop us a message in the comments below if it was something you really enjoyed and you think we should know about it.
We actually did a couple of #RubyTubeDay mini book reviews over on YouTube so we will drop the links below so you can take a peek and maybe share with your book lover friends?
#RubyTubeDay
Seal Mother ~ A Selkie Tale in Verse by Rose English
One lonely seal
in the midst of the ocean
rolls on the waves
to the rhythmical motion.
The seal watches over
the child on the sand.
Her lovely young daughter
born of the land.
On Midsummer’s Eve seals swim up onto the sand, shed their skin and transform into beautiful young women to give thanks to the mysterious Moon Goddess.
Lost in dance, no one notices a shimmering sealskin being stolen; leaving one beautiful Selkie trapped on the land forever.
Can an unlikely friend help her reclaim her skin, or is she destined to remain forever in human form?
‘Seal Mother’ – a magical Selkie tale of love, loss and deceit, told in verse.
There’s a teeny buggy book, ‘Gruffalo, What Can You Hear?,’ designed to clip onto the buggy frame for little ones to enjoy on the move. Explore the sounds…
