3D review - The Dawn Chorus - Suzanne Barton - editor review

Fiz Osborne  is Senior Editor of picture books, novelty and eBooks at Bloomsbury Children's Books and is editor of debut author/illustrator Suzanne Barton's picture book 'The Dawn Chorus', which we are featuring as our 3D review for April.

What was your favourite children’s book as a child?

There were a few! Ramsbottom Rag by Christopher Masters, Roald Dahl’s Matlida and George’s Marvellous Medicine, the Heidi books by Joanna Spyri and Beyond the Rolling River by Kate Andrew and Chris Riddell. I didn’t actually own lots of books, but I was constantly borrowing from my local library.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

I love any book by Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie, and Rhinos Don’t Eat Pancakes is a firm favourite. Aaaarrgghh, Spider! by Lydia Monks is another book after my own heart and I am in love with anything by Yasmeen Ismail, especially Time For Bed, Fred!, If I Had a Cat and Specs For Rex.

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

They can challenge, excite, help, stimulate, and effect us so strongly – in a way that nothing else can – and that is exactly what I think makes children’s books inspirational.

What is it that you like most about picture books?

The way that the perfect balance between story and illustrations creates a little bit of magic. Anything can happen in a book. That’s quite fantastic.

What do you love about this book and what makes it stand out?

I love how Suzanne’s illustrations sing out from the pages. Her story is almost like a lullaby, surrounded by beautifully detailed, characterful illustrations that are incredibly endearing. The Dawn Chorus feels very special, there’s nothing else quite like it.

How many people have worked on this book and for how long?

So many people! I mean, in the confines of the Bloomsbury picture books team there was an editor (me) and a designer working with Suzanne. But while the book evolves, the Bloomsbury children’s team works hard to support it. Marketing, publicity, sales, rights, production . . . Every book has the entire team behind it.

Time-wise, the average picture book takes about 18 months-2 years to be published.

What made you want to work in children’s publishing?

I just love children’s books. I can still remember the excitement I’d feel when my dad read me bedtime stories as a child, and I can also remember quite clearly how it felt to read Harry Potter for the first time. I naturally gravitated towards children’s publishing and I’m very passionate about what I do. There’s a little piece of my heart that I set aside for each book that I work on.

3D Review - The Dawn Chorus - Suzanne Barton - author interview

Suzanne Barton's delightful debut picture book 'The Dawn Chorus' is published by Bloomsbury April 2014 and is about a tiny bird who can't ever seem to wake up in time to join the Dawn Chorus. 

Suzanne's illustrations formed the basis of a spectacular window at Mostly Books where children decorated birds to produce a whole flock to join the Dawn Chorus. The result was stunning - Thank you Suzanne! And also thank you to Bloomsbury who set the whole thing up.

Suzanne worked on the book when she studied for an MA in Children’s Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art.

What was your favourite children’s book as a child?

Can I pick more than one? Carbonel by Barbara Sleigh and anything by Noel Streatfeild. But when I was very young Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

A Hole is to Dig by Ruth Krauss illustrated by Maurice Sendak. It captures what it is to be a child.

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

Anything is possible in a story, you can identify with the characters and go anywhere, do anything.

Do you see yourself as an illustrator that writes or a writer that illustrates?

An illustrator that writes.

How did you become a writer / illustrator?

I always wanted to make pictures, but when I was young I thought I wasn’t good enough because there were so many things that I couldn’t draw straight out of my head like motor bikes and horses. But then I gradually realised that you could look at things and practise and get better. So I studied, eventually ending up on a fantastic MA in Children’s Book Illustration in Cambridge, where I started working on my first story, The Dawn Chorus.

What comes first, the ideas for pictures or the text?

For The Dawn Chorus the story idea came first together with some clear pictures in my head that I wanted to make. I think they evolve together which is the great thing about having the opportunity to both write and illustrate.

Which do you like most, the writing or the illustrating?

I love illustrating. Writing is a more recent activity for me, but I am fascinated by what makes a really good story. I have a lot to learn and studying storytelling is a great excuse to collect even more books.

Suzanne finished a hectic day at Mostly Books with a book signing - something she will have to get used to!

And was kind enough to draw us a picture to offer as a prize.

The next part of our 3D Review will be an interview with Suzanne's editor at Bloomsbury who we asked what makes Suzanne's work so special.

3D review - The Dawn Chorus - Suzanne Barton - review

Out today is 'The Dawn Chorus' by Suzanne Barton - and she is celebrating the launch at Mostly Books by designing a whole window based on the book.

Tiny little Peep is drawn to the sound of beautiful singing. He adores singing and discovers all the birds join together to create the magical, beautiful music of the dawn chorus. Peep longs to be part of it, but finds it a struggle to get up at dawn to join them.

Will Peep ever be able to be like other birds and create such wonderful music?

Suzanne Barton's debut book 'The Dawn Chorus' is a charming story, with such sweet illustrations, full of brightly coloured birds and tiny details, like the leaves on the trees being multi-hued.
I love all the movement that covers the page - from tiny mice trying to help Peep find his way, to all the expressions of the birds as they sing.

Although full of colour, I also like the way Suzanne manages this without a blaze of primary colours, which I think makes this illustrated picture book a little different.
I also like the fact that there is a subtle message in the story that not all of us are morning people, but that we can all find a way to be part of things in our own way.
A really outstanding debut. And thank you, Suzanne, for such a splendid day at Mostly Books and for producing such a fabulous window.

…Happy Birthday to us, Happy Birthday Space on the Bookshelf, and thank you to you all!

It comes as utter shock to all atSpace on the Bookshelf team that a year as come and past, and that Space on the Bookshelf turns one today! It’s been a fantastic year, and Space on the Bookshelf, has done its best to fill any spaces left on bookcases by bringing you reviews, interviews and articles on fantastic books plus the world of children’s literature and the dedicated people who work within it to get children reading.

So here is our little Birthday review of the first year of Space on the Bookshelf…

Our popular 3D reviews which examine and celebrate quality books from multi-perspective with in depth reviews from adult and child reviewers, in addition to interviews with the authors and editors and a focus on what makes the book so unique and special.

These have been a real highlight, and we’ve had some real corkers, our first 3D review which was posted a year ago today looked at Mo O’Hara’s debut My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, which has since gone on to be a NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! We’ve also 3D reviewed and championed the Blue Peter Book Awards winner Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell, and many other fantastic books, so a BIG thank you to all the authors, editors and publicists who worked with us to make them happen…

Big Fat Zombie Goldfish – Mo O’Hara 

Waiting for Gonzo – Dave Cousins

Faerie Tribes – Paula Harrison

Shrunk – Fleur Hitchcock

Secret Hen House Theatre – Helen Peters

Brock – Anthony McGowan

Rooftoppers – Katherine Rundell

The River Singers – Tom Moorhouse

Another highlight of our first year included our Carnegie Shadowing, where we reviewed each of the short-listed titles and asked the authors what was their favourite thing about their books. We also ran a very popular giveaway of many of the short-listed title, and correctly predicted the winning book Maggot Moon by Sally Gardiner. We will be shadowing this year’s short list so watch this space!

One of our most read articles of 2013 was Nicki’s wonderful interviews with one of the Judge of last year’s BBC Radio 2’s 500 Word Competition George Kirk, and with a long-listed child who got down from the 90,000 entries to the last 3,000. This piece gave a lovely insight in the world of children’s writing competitions, juxtaposing both sides of the experience.

Our Christmas Book in Every Stocking feature, where we asked authors, bloggers, editors and readers to write a letter to Santa to recommend a stocking filler book, was great fun to, and well worth a look if you’re stuck for present ideas for a small person (any time of the year!)

Interviews, we've had the pleasure of interviewing some great authors, and children’s literature ambassadors in our first year, from the fantastic, Charlie Higson, to the lovely Tracey Corderoy, plus the very moving interview with book crosser Janice Markey, and only last week the interview with Bea Longworth founder of Book App company Freed Fiction.

All in all we've had a great first year, and we pride ourselves at being able to spot and champion really great books, this is further proved by the success that many of the 3D reviewed titles have gone on to achieve like River Singers, which has been long listed for the 2014 Branford Boase Award. Dave Cousins Waiting for Gonzo, which has been short-listed for The Coventry Best Book Award, The Essex Book Award, the Notting brilliant Book Award, and many many more. The amazing My Big Fat Zombie Gold fish which made The New York Bestsellers list. Katherine Rundell’s, Roof toppers which is Shortlisted for the Carnegie and won the Blue Peter Book Award. Anthony McGowan straight talking Brock, that was long-listed for the Carnegie. So Congratulations to all these uber-talented writers, and good luck for any ongoing awards!

To round up it has been a fantastic first year, and we’re looking forward to year two, but finally before we go, we need to say a BIG...

THANK YOU... 

...to everyone who has contributed, read, and supported Space on the Bookshelf, because we couldn't have done it without you!

WIN a Space on the Bookshelf Party Bag!

To Celebrate we're giving away some party bags all with books and surprises!  We have on offer...

1 x YA Party Bag

1 x MG Party Bag

1 x Young Readers Party Bag

1 x Picture Book Party Bag

for a chance to win  Just tweet to @BookshelfSpace or e-mail SpaceOnTheBookshelf@yahoo.com  saying #SOBSPartyBag, and tell us which bag you'd like to win!

Freed Fiction – Book App Launch of Jeff Norton MetaWars: Blood Nexus – Episode 1.0 Interview with company founder Bea Longworth.

Think back to when you were a child and the hours of fun and frustration you had whilst reading ‘Guide Your Own Adventure’ books. The thrill of being in control and choosing the direction your story would take, the annoyance of making decisions that always took you back through the trap door and getting you stuck in the dungeon.

Now think how amazing it’d be if you could have a ‘Guide Your Own Adventure’ book for the 21st century, one that utilises new technology and eliminates the possibility of retracing your steps, wouldn’t that be great. Well you don’t have to imagine for long, because Oxfordshire based Freed Fiction has created just that, and their first Adventure Book App, is launched TODAY and it’s based on Jeff Norton’s much loved MetaWars series.

So to celebrate the launch and find out more, we have an interview with Freed Fiction co-founder and Hot Keys author Bea Longworth.

Before diving into the world of publishing in early 2013, I spent most of my working life in technology PR, including a stint leading the European PR team for US tech giant NVIDIA. Along with partner Bill Cole, I founded Freed Fiction as a way of bringing together my love of books and computer games. At the moment I’m busy co-authoring Freed Fiction’s first product, a collaboration with Jeff Norton titled MetaWars: Blood Nexus aimed at ages 9+. I’ve also just had my first book published by Hotkey Unlocked - it’s a rowing themed romance called In Too Deep for ages 16 and up. I live with Bill in Oxfordshire and divide my free time between Wallingford Rowing Club and the town's fabulous local bookshop, which just happens to be next door to a lovely tea room!

Freed Fiction is a two-person digital publishing startup based in South Oxfordshire. The two people in question are me and my fiancé Bill Cole - we started the company in February 2013. We make interactive digital novels for children and young adults. Our goal is to tap into kids’ instinctive appetite to get creatively involved with the stories they love. By combining game-like elements with an ebook format, we give readers the chance to influence how stories and characters unfold. For us, technology is there to serve the narrative, not the other way around. We’re interested in innovating through storytelling and firm believers that the best 3D graphics are the ones in your imagination!

What was your favourite children’s book as a child?

From early childhood Rumer Godden’s Tottie: The Story of a Doll’s House was one my mum and I read over and over again. I can’t read it any more, it sends me off in floods of tears! When I got older I loved anything sci-fi and fantasy related. I have clear memories of devouring The Alchemist’s Cat by Robin Jarvis in very short order.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

I love Terry Pratchett’s YA books – Tiffany Aching is a brilliant character and a very clever extension of the Witches characters from his adult Discworld series. Maurice and His Amazing Educated Rodents is also great. You have to admire anyone who can sneak an allegory about canonised texts into a kids’ book!

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

The best children’s books are like poetry – they’re incredibly economical in their use of language. They look simple at first glance and, depending on how you read them, they can be a straightforward story or something much more deep and touching.

What made you want to work in children’s publishing?

I’d like to have a very profound answer to this but, to be honest, it just sort of happened! I’ve always had a vague idea that liking books would be a good starting point to doing something book-related as a career but never got further than that till we started Freed Fiction in 2013. Before that I was working as a PR manager for a big technology company, which involved quite a lot of writing but certainly nothing literary!

Do you read traditional books or E-books, or combination of both?

I read a combination of both. I’ll tend to own both hard and digital copies of my favourite books, just to be sure I’m never without them! I love re-reading books, there’s something very comforting about it. Over the last couple of years I’ve tended to buy more traditional books because my partner and I have become really good friends with the owner of our local bookshop in Wallingford and she shouts at us if we buy ebooks from Amazon. She’s tiny but very ferocious, not to mention a fabulous bookseller.

Freed Fiction is a lot like the Guide Your Own Story books from when we were children; did you read these kinds of books when you were growing up?

I dabbled a bit with Choose Your Own Adventure but I found the books a bit frustrating. From about the age of eleven I was really into computer games and found they offered a much more intuitive and effective way to interact with stories. My favourite genre was (and still is!) adventure games with a strong story line. I think some of the story-driven graphic adventures I played were as influential to my appreciation and understanding of narrative as books. As far as I’m concerned, books and computer games aren’t polar opposites – they can be very complimentary.

What inspired you to create Freed Fiction?

My partner Bill and I were both at a point in our work lives when we wanted to shake things up a bit – go after the Holy Grail of a job that allowed us to do something we were genuinely passionate about and have a good work/life balance. Bill is a bit of a serial entrepreneur and has been involved with a few start-ups before but I’d never really considered starting my own business before he suggested the idea. I took a bit of convincing but in the end I knew I’d regret not taking the opportunity to give it a go.

Our starting point was the idea of mashing up the most compatible elements of books and computer games. It really frustrates me that people tend to position reading and gaming as antithetical – it ain’t necessarily so. There’s a big trend at the moment towards even triple-A game titles like Mass Effect, Grand Theft Auto and Bioshock being strongly narrative driven. The latest Tomb Raider game was actually written by Rhianna Pratchett, Terry Pratchett’s daughter. People engage with good stories, whether they’re on a page, in a film or part of a game. With Freed Fiction, we wanted to explore how we could bring the interactive elements of a game to reading without allowing the technology to distract from or compromise the narrative.

We’ve also discovered that adding interaction to reading is a great way to draw in children who don’t naturally see reading as something fun. Kids now expect to be active participants in the brands and stories they love, whether by posting YouTube reviews, writing fan fiction or posting in forums and on social media. By putting readers in control of the action, we can give them the interactivity they crave and hopefully help them develop a love of reading for pleasure.

One of the most frustrating parts of reading the, Guide Your Own Story books, was when you ended up repeatedly going back to the same page, is this something that will happen in your Freed Fiction titles?

That used to drive me nuts! You had to keep you finger in the previous page in case you chose the wrong thing and go eaten by a polar bear or frozen to death. I was adamant we had to avoid this happening in Freed Fiction titles. Creating content for our format is an interesting process – it’s a balancing act between offering the reader enough choices and different outcomes that it feels like their choices matter without the writing totally unmanageable.

Our aim is to give readers the illusion that the book is writing itself as they read it, even though all the story threads are pre-written. I find what are called ‘sand box’ games, where you can do anything in whatever order you want, aren’t as interesting as more tightly scripted narratives that offer you more limited choices but tell more satisfying stories. Freed Fiction titles are almost a half way house between being a reader and a writer. For most people, writing is work, not entertainment! We want to give kids some of the thrill of controlling and authoring a story without the heavy lifting. I’d love it if, further down the line, we can play a part in inspiring our readers take the next step and start writing their own stories.

Can you tell us in some more detail about your first Freed Fiction title, DARK FATE: THE TREASURE ISLAND CHRONICLES, and more crucially when it will be released?

We started work on Dark Fate early last year, with the intention of it being our first title. However, in the meantime the opportunity came along to work with an author called Jeff Norton who’s written a series of books for young adults called MetaWars. MetaWars: Blood Nexus – Episode 1.0 will be in the iBook Store on March 20th 2014 as a free download for iPad, iPod, iPod Touch and iPhone.

Freed Fiction was a great fit with Jeff in a couple of ways. First, Jeff was a reluctant reader himself when he was younger so he created MetaWars to be very action-packed and cinematic to appeal to kids who engage more readily with films and games, like he did at a young age. Adding interactivity to a MetaWars story was the next logical step in finding ways to connect with reluctant readers. Jeff is also a big fan of Choose Your Own Adventure books and cites them as one of the key things that turned him on to reading.

Blood Nexus is an action-packed thriller set in a dystopian future. It’s a prequel to the MetaWars book series by Jeff Norton – our book takes place just before the action of MetaWars 1.0: Fight For the Future. In Blood Nexus [cue deep movie trailer voice!], teenager Sam Kavanaugh is fighting for the freedom of the MetaSphere, a virtual world that offers mankind its only escape from the ruins of reality. When Sam is critically injured during a mission, she discovers that the lines between the digital world and real life are dangerously blurred. To understand the past, she must survive long enough to have a future.

Our intention with Blood Nexus is to appeal to both existing MetaWars fans and readers who are new to the books. If you’re already into MetaWars, Blood Nexus takes you deeper into the mythology and characters, but if you’re a newcomer it’s a great introduction to the MetaWars world.

Do you have any other Freed Fiction titles in the works, if so can you give us a hint at what to expect?

We have a super exciting project on the cards but I’m afraid it’s very hush hush! All I can say is that it would be an amazing one to work on and an opportunity to really push the boundaries of what interactivity can add to a story. Fingers crossed we’ll be able to tell you about it soon.

We have a LOT of writes follow this blog who will be very keen to know if there is any opportunities to write for Freed Fiction, is there? If so how can they apply /submit?

We’d like to hear from anyone who’s interested in working with us! Writing interactive stories requires a particular mind-set and approach but I can say from experience that it’s very rewarding. I should throw in some expectation management here. Creatively we’re up for considering any great ideas but any potential collaborators should bear in mind that we’re a very tiny start-up with non-existent budgets. Our goal right now is to survive financially long enough to continue making innovative, exciting interactive novels.


You can get in touch via email on info@freedfiction.com, on Twitter we’re @freedfiction or we’re on Facebook – www.facebook.com/freedfiction. We would also absolutely love to get any feedback on MetaWars: Blood Nexus from Space on the Bookshelf readers. Get downloading, have a read and tell us what you think! Your comments will help us make our next title even better.

MetaWars Blood Nexus is available for FREE from itunes, if you want to checkit out Press Here. 

Mini-3D Review Fortunately The Milk by Neil Gaiman

Adult Review

Fortunately the Milk, is a book where you wish you had been a fly on the wall when it was pitched. I believe if anyone else had said, ‘I’m going to write a book about a dad who pop’s out to buy some milk, and there’s going to be dinosaurs, pirates, vampires, rainbow ponies and a space time continuum breach,’ they would have been laughed out the room.  To be fair, who else would have tried? Who else other than Fortunately the Milks, author Neil Gaiman could pull all these elements together to create an exciting, fun, and quirky book?

Fortunately the Milk tells the tale of dad (who has an uncanny resemblance to the author) who pop’s to the shop to buy milk for his children’s breakfast and upon his return explains his delay on being abducted by interior decorating obsessed aliens, then escape in to the hands of bloodthirsty pirates, before becoming sidekick to a Professor Steg, an time travelling dinosaur. The book is simply bonkersly fabulous, and enhanced by Chris Riddle’s beautiful illustrations, they are so good that my seven year old son spent hours (and hours) utterly mesmerised by them, especially the pull out in the centre. 

The thing which makes the story so unique, is that all the elements, (all of which singularly would capture the imagination of a child), are put together in a way that delivers complexity to the readers yet remaining obtainable. It’s a hilarious jaunt through space and time, that trusts the young readers to keep up with the more complex concept, like...

 “what would happen if I touched these two [pints of milk, the same pint, one from actual time and one from fifteen minutes earlier] together?’

"If two things that are the same touch… then the whole universe shall end." responds the Volcanoes God.

Of course you’d all expect the Volcanoes Gods answer to be correct; But this is Neil Gaiman so be prepared for something completely different.

Everyone in my family has read the loved this book, son (see review below), my daughter me and my husband. We all LOVE the book. It’s funny for children, amusing for adults, and perfect for the generation of children who have been weaned on Dr Who and Star Wars who have the capacity and thirst for more complex plots to capture their imaginations.

Child's Review - Spike Aged 7

I liked Fortunately the Milk because the Dad is telling the children a brilliant story about him and ProfessorSteg ( a stegosaurs who travels in a hot air balloon-time machine) going backwards in time and seeing all sorts of things as they try to get the milk back for the children’s breakfast. It is really really funny! I love the illustrations because they are very funny too, I like the fold out picture in the middle most of all. I think everyone will like this book.

GIVEWAWAY

We have a copy of Fortunately the Milk to give away! Along with a bad of Milk Bottle Sweets!  Just e-mail SpaceOnTheBookshelf@yahoo.com with your name address and Milk in the subject bar  and tell us where you go if you had a time machine, (don't forget to tell us your address too!)

Good Luck!

Barrington Stoke Review: Tilly’s Promise, Linda Newbery

Being dyslexic, and knowing many dyslexic youngsters, I’m a BIG fan of Barrington Stoke’s books. Barrington Stoke’s are publishers that publish books produced and written especially for challenged readers. I have in the past had conversations with teachers who praise the books for their readability for children and teens with reading challenges, and with people who teach English as a foreign language to adults who say that the YA books are fantastic teaching tools for their students. So Barrington Stoke books are versatile and are enjoyed by many non-challenged readers, for instance my nine year old is obsessed by Tony Bradman’s , Young Merlin Series, and if any further proof were required we need look no further than the Clip Carnegie longlist which features Anthony McGowan’s Brock. We featured Brock as a 3D review last year press here to read. 

In the Future we at Space on The Bookshelf intend on reviewing many more Barrington Stoke titles, and to kick off 2014 we are reviewing Linda Newberys touching World War One tale, Tilly’s Promise.

Tilly’s Promise is set as, Interest Age: Teen and Reading Age: 8

Tilly's Promise has a beautiful designed front cover in the style of the embroidered Postcard of time, to read more about the cover visit Barrington Stoke blog by pressing here.

28 July 2014 will see the centenary of the start of World War One, so Tilly’s Promise is published to coincide with a year that is set to be filled with many books, documentaries and talks of the anniversary. Linda has produced a beautiful, touching and gentle tale which focuses on relationships and the fragile nature of promises which are so easily shattered amongst the tragedies of war. Linda tells the tale of Tilly who trains to be a nurse and her blossoming relationship with her sweetheart Harry who is called to the frontline.

The story is exquisitely set in a rural village showing the new of war spilling into the idyllic life, and the impacts on the community as son’s and Tilly’s Sweetheart Harry head for war. In the frugal word count the setting unfolds, watching Tilly’s feelings for Harry unveil despite distance and constraints of war, and how one simple promise threatens to unravel their evolving love.

Linda’s brother Georgie “…was a big, strong boy, but he’d always been slow to learn.” But George is a gentle sole loving the company of animals, “…he loved to groom and feed Bramble, the fat pony…. He’d have spent all his time at the stable if her could.” When George is called up, Tilly makes Harry promise he’ll look after him.

Tilly’s Promise, is delight, showing the experience of war through a strong independent minded girl, and highlighting the atrocities of war on individuals; the venerable both human and animals, in a way that gentle enough for its audience whilst retaining the emotion and highlighting the questions of humanity and morals.

Tilly’s Promise it a captivating read for both teens and middle grade readers