JUNO Book Club
Late Summer Book Club: four new books for adults
Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood By Lucy Jones, Allen Lane Matrescence is an important work. We first meet Lucy Jones on her knees in a forest, looking for slime moulds with her hand lens. She explains that they change, as did she. She was delighted to discover the word ‘matrescence’, which validated her sense that becoming a mother was a process of total change. The change began in pregnancy when she suffered severe nausea. She quickly discovered that the usual ideas about pregnancy and then motherhood were nowhere near her own experiences. She endured an exhausting five-day labour, and found breastfeeding hard going. (I am a La Leche League leader, and I wonder whether she had been inadequately prepared. She mentions trying to get her nipple into her baby’s mouth, when it’s simpler to support the breast and let the baby gape and attach herself.) Extreme...
Late Summer Book Club: four new books for adults
Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood By Lucy Jones, Allen Lane Matrescence is an important work. We first meet Lucy Jones on her knees in a forest,...
Books for Inspiration: Art and Creativity
The Extraordinary Book That Makes You an Artist By Mary Richards, illustrated by Go Suga, Weldon Owen This is an exciting project book for budding artists. Through the cut-out exercises on each page, children are introduced to different art techniques, movements, styles and artists, before having a go themselves. There’s everything from cubism, collage and self-portraiture, to mosaics, masks and stencils. The instructions are easy to follow and leave space for experimentation and interpretation, so that every child’s creations are individual. Rory’s Room of Rectangles: A Story of Blended Families and Big Feelings By Ian Eagleton, illustrated by Jessica Knight, Owlet Press When the teacher asks the class to make a Father’s Day card, Rory doesn’t know whether to make one for his dad or his stepdad, Tony. He draws angry swishes on the card before ripping it up altogether. When Father’s Day arrives, Rory thinks of his dad and...
Books for Inspiration: Art and Creativity
The Extraordinary Book That Makes You an Artist By Mary Richards, illustrated by Go Suga, Weldon Owen This is an exciting project book for budding artists. Through the cut-out exercises...
A true story to inspire parents and educators
As a father of two boys aged six and three, I haven’t found it easy to make time to read. Indeed, it’s ironic that only when you become a parent do you realise that there is so much to learn and yet, for our family at least, so little time. However, when my brother and his wife withdrew their three children from the state primary school late into the summer term, I sat up and took notice. After reading The Call to Brilliance, this couple, despite having a fledgling yet ambitious mail-order business, had chosen to take on educating their children themselves. It was a tremendous surprise to me, and so I felt compelled to read the book that had changed the direction of their lives so profoundly. Perhaps their example gave me the faith I required to push through the initial twenty pages. The author, Resa Steindel Brown, is...
A true story to inspire parents and educators
As a father of two boys aged six and three, I haven’t found it easy to make time to read. Indeed, it’s ironic that only when you become a parent...
Summer Book Club: nine new books for children
Budgie By Joseph Coelho, illustrated by David Barrow, Barrington Stoke Miles loves climbing the trees on his estate, but he’s always being told off by a neighbour, Mr Buxton. When Miles finds a lost budgie, he discovers he and Mr Buxton have more in common than he could ever have imagined. This is a really lovely story about empathy and intergenerational friendship, told simply and lyrically by award-winning author Joseph Coelho, the children’s laureate. The text is supported by bright illustrations by David Barrow, which capture the warmth and sensitivity of the story beautifully. Barrington Stoke publish super-readable, accessible books that help every child enjoy the experience of reading, with particular consideration for reluctant readers and children who struggle to read due to dyslexia or visual stress. Budgie is part of the fantastic Little Gems collection. These books have a chunky format, beautiful colour illustrations, and well-spaced text, to help...
Summer Book Club: nine new books for children
Budgie By Joseph Coelho, illustrated by David Barrow, Barrington Stoke Miles loves climbing the trees on his estate, but he’s always being told off by a neighbour, Mr Buxton. When...
Summer Book Club: four new books for adults
Wild Swimming Walks South Wales: 28 Coast, River & Waterfall Days Out By Nia Lloyd Knott, Wild Things Publishing Nia Lloyd Knott was born in South Wales and her knowledge about and affection for the area makes her an engaging guide for these walks. Included are routes in the Gower, the Brecon Beacons, the Wye Valley, the Usk Valley and more. Living in Bristol, South Wales is just a stone’s throw and has some of my favourite places to escape to – Skenfrith in Monmouthshire, Hay-on-Wye, Pen y Fan. The book is a fantastic resource as it offers lesser-known walks and swims to be found in each place. I have often taken what the book describes as “the motorway” route up Pen y Fan, so it was great to discover an alternative, complete with swims at a glacial lake, pools and waterfalls. I enjoyed her warning about leeches in the...
Summer Book Club: four new books for adults
Wild Swimming Walks South Wales: 28 Coast, River & Waterfall Days Out By Nia Lloyd Knott, Wild Things Publishing Nia Lloyd Knott was born in South Wales and her knowledge...
Three books to help little ones process big fee...
A Bed of Stars By Jessica Love, Walker Books For this young boy, the endless sky feels so expansive, it’s too much for him to contemplate. His dad has an idea, and the two of them head into the desert on a camping trip. They notice the detail of the world around them, and when night comes, the boy’s dad helps him see the connections between all things, and the stars turn into friends. There is so much love and understanding in this beautiful story about finding your place in the vastness of the Universe. The Laugh By Fay Evans, illustrated by Ayşe Klinge, Flying Eye Books A girl remembers her mother’s laugh in all its glorious forms; it captures the way she lives and the way she loves. When her mother dies, it seems her laugh goes with her. But, one day, the girl laughs unexpectedly, and suddenly...
Three books to help little ones process big feelings
A Bed of Stars By Jessica Love, Walker Books For this young boy, the endless sky feels so expansive, it’s too much for him to contemplate. His dad has an...
The Song of the Nightingales: stories for Ukrai...
Last year, Australian author Susan Perrow was invited to partner with a social worker based in Romania, Didi Ananda Devapriya, on a story project for Ukrainian refugees. Over the past nine months, they have written and collated a therapeutic story collection entitled The Song of the Nightingales. Here they introduce the book... Therapeutic stories are a healing medium that allow children, teenagers and adults to embark on an imaginative journey, rather than being lectured or directly addressed about the issue. By identifying with the main character or characters, the listener is empowered as obstacles are overcome and a resolution achieved. This is a gentle, easy, yet often effective means of addressing challenging behaviours and difficult situations. As medicine is used to help restore wholeness or balance to out-of-balance physical conditions, story medicine (therapeutic or healing stories) can be an imaginative and effective pedagogical strategy. Story medicine uses metaphor and story...
The Song of the Nightingales: stories for Ukrainian refugees
Last year, Australian author Susan Perrow was invited to partner with a social worker based in Romania, Didi Ananda Devapriya, on a story project for Ukrainian refugees. Over the past...
Molly’s First Festival: a fun picture book for ...
Molly’s First Festival is a fun and inclusive picture book about a little girl going to a music festival for the first time. It was created by Somerset-based illustrator Katherine O’Shea and was made possible through crowdfunding. “It all started in a field on Worthy Farm, when I went to Glastonbury Festival as a mum for the first time,” says Katherine. “My husband and I had never gone to an event like this with a toddler in tow and were both rather nervous, given that Molly had been born during the Covid-19 lockdown and was unused to such large events. But of course, music festivals are wonderful places for children, and despite the ups, downs and general messes, we all had a magical time. “As I looked at the lights across the valley and thought about the beautiful experience we had been through together, the idea to create a children’s...
Molly’s First Festival: a fun picture book for festival families!
Molly’s First Festival is a fun and inclusive picture book about a little girl going to a music festival for the first time. It was created by Somerset-based illustrator Katherine...
Spring Book Club: four new books for adults
The Danish Way of Raising Teens: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Healthy Teenagers with Character By Iben Dissing Sandahl, Piatkus Denmark has been voted the happiest country in the world by the OECD for more than 40 years, and in her book The Danish Way of Parenting, Sandahl looked at why upbringing is influenced by ingrained values and how that cycle repeats itself. In her latest book, Sandahl looks particularly at how Danish teenagers are parented, and how this contributes to the overall ethos of happiness. Many of the elements discussed are universal – trust, authenticity, empathy. However, some elements are more specific to Danish culture, such as efterskoles, which are independent residential schools for students aged between 14 and 18 years, where education is mixed with activities and the opportunity to learn independence. Sandahl also writes about attitudes to alcohol in Denmark, accepting...
Spring Book Club: four new books for adults
The Danish Way of Raising Teens: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Healthy Teenagers with Character By Iben Dissing Sandahl, Piatkus Denmark has been voted...
Spring Book Club: seven new books for children
The Fossil Hunter: How Mary Anning Unearthed the Truth About the Dinosaurs By Kate Winter, Puffin Dinosaurs hold a particular fascination for children, and this book tells of Mary Anning’s important fossil discoveries over 200 years ago. As well as being full of scientific and historic information, The Fossil Hunter is also a captivating story. Mary, who lived in Lyme Regis, was too poor to go to school. Her father taught her about fossils, and Mary collected them to sell to wealthy tourists. After her father died, she went on to discover the first ichthyosaur, and an almost complete skeleton of a plesiosaur. Her findings paved the way for modern palaeontology. The book raises interesting points for discussion as it addresses the way in which the establishment attempted to take credit for Mary’s work and write her out of history. The illustrations are wonderfully atmospheric. As well as capturing a...
Spring Book Club: seven new books for children
The Fossil Hunter: How Mary Anning Unearthed the Truth About the Dinosaurs By Kate Winter, Puffin Dinosaurs hold a particular fascination for children, and this book tells of Mary Anning’s...
