JUNO Book Club
Raising readers and helping your child fall in ...
We know storytelling has been around for thousands of years. We have proof from the evidence that survives – from ancient cave art, to hieroglyphs, runes and Greek fables. We also know there must be stories we have no record of, because before everyone could read and write, before the tools for writing were invented, all stories were told. Whether it was by a travelling bard, a village elder around the fire or a parent to a child, humans have always shared stories. Just as we do today. People tell stories to explain how the world works, why things are the way they are, to give warnings, and to make people laugh or cry or perhaps feel a shiver down the spine. I have always loved stories and the power words can have when they are put together in a certain way. As a child I used to stay up...
Raising readers and helping your child fall in love with stories
We know storytelling has been around for thousands of years. We have proof from the evidence that survives – from ancient cave art, to hieroglyphs, runes and Greek fables. We...
Books for Inspiration: Love
Ten-Word Tiny Tales of Love by Joseph Coehlo and Friends, illustrated by artists from around the world, Walker Books These ten-word tales are like magical story seeds that grow in young readers’ imaginations as they experience them together with the accompanying illustrations. It’s amazing how much Coehlo conveys in so few words. The illustrations, each by a different artist, offer an interpretation of the words, and they make space for the reader’s own creativity in imagining how the story might unravel. The tales in this collection are united by the theme of love – between siblings, for nature, in times of sadness and in moments of joy. It’s a tender portrayal of love in different guises. Our Love by Fátima Ordinola, Post Wave This book is so simple and so easily understood by young children and yet it communicates the expansiveness of love between a parent and a child. The love...
Books for Inspiration: Love
Ten-Word Tiny Tales of Love by Joseph Coehlo and Friends, illustrated by artists from around the world, Walker Books These ten-word tales are like magical story seeds that grow in...
Books for Adults: Early Spring
Reviews by Alice Ellerby and Jess Hazel Swell by Maria Ferguson, Penguin Swell, Maria Ferguson’s second poetry collection, is a powerful documentation of one woman’s experience of becoming a mother. Navigating complex feelings around family, class and domesticity, observing her changing body, and moving from loss towards renewal, Ferguson’s poems offer a radical and contemporary portrayal of an experience as old as time. The tone shifts as Ferguson’s circumstances change – living as a young couple, buying a house, pregnancy, miscarriage, the anxiety of being pregnant again, new motherhood. Though the poems are deeply personal, they share a narrative that unites many, and there’s opportunity for people to feel their own stories as they read them. The writing is eloquent and astute across many thoughts: the brutality of growing old; the absurdity of seeing a past lover in the play park; inheritance tax; the self-loathing of not being able to...
Books for Adults: Early Spring
Reviews by Alice Ellerby and Jess Hazel Swell by Maria Ferguson, Penguin Swell, Maria Ferguson’s second poetry collection, is a powerful documentation of one woman’s experience of becoming a mother....
Books for Children: Early Spring
Akeem Keeps Bees! A Close-up Look at the Honey Makers and Pollinators of Sankofa Farms by Kamal E. Bell with Akeem Bell, illustrated by Darnell Johnson, Storey Publishing This is a wonderful book about beekeeping, that goes into great detail about the life cycles of bees and the processes of tending to their hives. It looks at the specialist equipment and clothing needed, how to introduce a queen to the colony, the different types of bees and the jobs they do, how honey and honeycomb are made, why bees swarm, harvesting honey, and more. The information is imparted through an accessible comic strip, which features the author, Kamal Bell, his son Akeem, and the bees themselves who have some amusing dialogue. Kamal Bell is the founder of Sankofa Farms in North Carolina, which he set up to address “food deserts” experienced by certain communities. The farm helps young men learn...
Books for Children: Early Spring
Akeem Keeps Bees! A Close-up Look at the Honey Makers and Pollinators of Sankofa Farms by Kamal E. Bell with Akeem Bell, illustrated by Darnell Johnson, Storey Publishing This is...
Winter Book Club: four new books for adults
The Art of Breastfeeding: The Leading Source of Breastfeeding Support and Information by La Leche League International, Pinter & Martin First published in 1958, this is the ninth edition of the La Leche League publication that supports families with breastfeeding. It is a weighty volume that brings up-to-date information and generations of wisdom to parents. Included in the book are chapters on why it matters, getting started, life with a breastfed baby, managing common challenges, going back to work, sleep and weaning. It’s roughly set out by age of baby (breastfeeding a newborn raises different questions to breastfeeding a toddler) so you can easily access the information you need for a particular stage, though it’s interesting to look ahead when thinking about how long you might breastfeed for. reading this book makes you feel you’re in safe hands The book is refreshingly inclusive – “Whether you’re pregnant, adopting, or working with a surrogate, congratulations!” – and it recognises those who don’t identify as mothers...
Winter Book Club: four new books for adults
The Art of Breastfeeding: The Leading Source of Breastfeeding Support and Information by La Leche League International, Pinter & Martin First published in 1958, this is the ninth edition of the La Leche...
Books for Children: Winter
When the Stammer Came to Stay by Maggie O’Farrell, illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini, Walker Books Sisters Bea and Min share a bedroom right at the top of their tall, narrow house. In many ways, the sisters are opposites. Bea is neat and tidy; Min is messy. Min loves to chat; Bea loves to listen. Bea likes to keep her shoes polished; Min likes to wade through ponds full of frogspawn. But their differences, noted by everyone, are inconsequential to the girls. They love each other, and that is that. Then, one day as Min is chatting, she feels her tongue suddenly lock and her words just won’t come out. She finds it difficult to make sense of what’s happened to her but there’s nothing she can do to bring her words back. Looking in the mirror, she sees a creature on her shoulder. It’s the creature who’s seizing her words as she tries to...
Books for Children: Winter
When the Stammer Came to Stay by Maggie O’Farrell, illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini, Walker Books Sisters Bea and Min share a bedroom right at the top of their tall, narrow house. In many ways,...
Autumn Book Club: five new books for adults
Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles By Julia Davis and Tessa Venuti Sanderson, Singing Dragon A circle, as Davis and Sanderson explain in their introduction, is “a space where each person has the opportunity both to speak and be listened to without interruption or comment”, and for anyone considering venturing into facilitating a circle, this book is essential reading. It is a comprehensive guide to everything you will need to consider and covers practical information about how to set up the space, the importance of welcoming, suggestions for opening and settling, how to manage timings, how to market your circle, and more. There are troubleshooting topics too, such as how to manage power dynamics and how to ensure everyone feels able to participate fully. Davis and Sanderson are wise and encouraging guides. Throughout the book, they share their own experiences and there are anecdotes from other seasoned...
Autumn Book Club: five new books for adults
Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles By Julia Davis and Tessa Venuti Sanderson, Singing Dragon A circle, as Davis and Sanderson explain in their introduction, is “a...
Autumn Book Club: eight new books for children
Pepper and Me By Beatrice Alemagna, Thames & Hudson The little girl in this story falls and scrapes her knee. She doesn’t like the sight of blood and the scab that forms there scares her. It hangs around for ages, so the girl decides to name it Pepper. Pepper begins to talk and gradually becomes a tolerated companion wherever the girl goes. It’s such a quirky concept for a book, but the slowly healing scab – a feature of childhood – is very clever in capturing the way time passes when you’re a child: long days spent outside, trips to see grandparents, getting bored and making up stories. Pepper is there throughout, and by the time she goes, the girl has grown up a bit, and she’s learned how to live with something that once scared her. The River’s A Singer: Selected Poems By Valerie Bloom, illustrated by Sophie Bass,...
Autumn Book Club: eight new books for children
Pepper and Me By Beatrice Alemagna, Thames & Hudson The little girl in this story falls and scrapes her knee. She doesn’t like the sight of blood and the scab...
Books for Inspiration: Van Gogh and friends
Goodnight, Starry Night: Bedtime Poems Inspired by Works of Art By Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Allison Colpoys, Thames & Hudson In this gorgeous collection of poems by Joseph Coelho inspired by works of art, words and images work together to encourage children into a state of calm and peacefulness. The first artwork in the book is Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’, accompanied by the poem ‘River Sky’. Coelho’s soothing words help us to look deeply at the painting and we’re swept into its dreamy world. Art psychotherapist Mary Rose Brady who consulted on the book, describes how we attune with our children when we read these poems aloud at bedtime, helping them to feel safe and regulated, ready for sleep. The book is perfectly curated to achieve this. Small Stories of Great Artists By Laurence Anholt, Taschen These delightful stories tell of real children who were touched by the lives...
Books for Inspiration: Van Gogh and friends
Goodnight, Starry Night: Bedtime Poems Inspired by Works of Art By Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Allison Colpoys, Thames & Hudson In this gorgeous collection of poems by Joseph Coelho inspired...
Late Summer Book Club: eight new books for chil...
Dive, Dive into the Night Sea By Thea Lu, Walker Studio This narrative non-fiction book is beautifully illustrated and designed. The greyscale illustrations shot through with torchlight and bioluminescent colour are full of atmosphere. We enter an eerie yet magical silent world, where manta rays swoop overhead and sperm whales drift vertically near the surface as they sleep. Flaps on each page lift to reveal more secrets of the sea at night. The story can be enjoyed by younger children, following the narrative text, while older children will be fascinated by the hidden information. Billie’s Buzz By Alison Brown, Farshore Billie the bee desperately wants to be in a pet show so she can show everyone her talents. She finds a boy looking for a pet, and together they brush up their skills ready for the contest. But when the day arrives, the boy advises Billie not to buzz and...
Late Summer Book Club: eight new books for children
Dive, Dive into the Night Sea By Thea Lu, Walker Studio This narrative non-fiction book is beautifully illustrated and designed. The greyscale illustrations shot through with torchlight and bioluminescent colour...