Review ~ The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson

Pushkin Children's Books
October 2015

There's something timeless and evocative about fairy stories. They're built into the fabric of our bones and gladden our heart and spirit with a joy that is simply not replicated anywhere else.

This edition of The Snow Queen encapsulates the story so beautifully that it is magical to read. First of all, it's a perfect size for little hands to hold. There's nothing remotely cumbersome about the presentation and the simplicity of the black and white line drawings capture the essence of the story in a realistic way. Some are a little bit scary, but beautifully descriptive and always entirely in keeping with the reality of the story unfolding.

The story is, as always , divided into its seven parts, all of which are a prefect fit for a bedtime story and there's enough of a cliff hanger to keep the suspense alive until the next read. Of course, being a greedy grown up, I read this wonderful story in one sitting and it brought back so many memories of my childhood, and of being transported to a magical land of ice and snow. And of course, I'm not going to tell you the story, as its one of those that must be read without preconceptions. My only advise is to have tissues handy..

The younger generation, who have been beguiled by the phenomenon that is Frozen might like to read this original story from which Frozen has gleaned most of its inspiration.

Isn't this just wonderful...

"She was exquisite but she was ice - dazzling, flashing ice- even though she was alive. Her eyes shone like two bright stars, but there was no peace or rest in them"...

It's written magic with a purity that is quite simply, stunning. So, if you're a grown up, with a tiny corner of your heart still believing in magic, then pop a copy of this little gem into your stocking this Christmas.

Best read..with a sleepy child, a tatty teddy and a whole packet of crunchy, chocolate animal biscuits.

The Snow Queen is published in this edition by Pushkin Children's Books and is translated by Misha Hoekstra and Illustrated by Lucie Arnoux.

About the Authors

Hans Christian Anderson 1805 - 1875

Translated by  Misha Hoekstra

Illustrated by Lucie Arnoux

Amazon UK

My thanks to Hayley at ED Public Relations and to Pushkin Children's Books for my copy of 

The Snow Queen

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Review ~ Catlantis by Anna Starobinets

Pushkin Children's Books
October 22

I have often heard Jaffa's plaintive cry when the post pops through the letterbox, ...

"Oh, noes...not another kilted highlander story or a grisly murder set in the suburbs of New York. When is the cat book going to arrive, when is the proper story of a heroic cat, to rival the saintly Bagpuss, going to grace our bookshelves..."

And then .... thanks to the kind folk at Pushkin, and lovely Sophie at ED PR, there came the arrival of Catlantis ....and Jaffa rightly claimed it as his own.

©Jaffareadstoo

So...what's it all about Jaffa...

Baguette is a pure ginger cat as orange as a carrot, who lives on the twelfth floor. He likes to lie in the window to watch his beloved Purriana on the street below. But in order to win the hand of the slender and striped Purriana, whose coat glistens like diamonds in the snow, Baguette must accomplish a heroic feat. He must find the magical, Catlantean white flower in order to save the nine lives of all cats before it is too late. This dangerous journey will take him beyond the ordinary and into the extraordinary world of Catlantis, there Baguette must meet with the beautiful and bold Catlanteans and learn the secrets of this ancient realm.

Told with impeccable style and littered with beautifully, simple but effective, line drawings, the story of Baguette's intrepid fearlessness combines myth, magic and legend. From beginning to end there is never a dull moment for Baguette,  who is a feisty, determined, and it must be said, very charismatic hero. He wears his coat, as orange as a carrot, with great panache and pride and his resolve to succeed knows no bounds.

Everything about the story just feels right, from the magnificence of Baguette on the front cover, to the orange as carrot endpapers.  The narrative is completely at ease with itself, it whirls and dances and the glorious poems which litter the text are like little pearls of wisdom, filling the story with a real sense of accomplishment.

If you like cats, if you like children, indeed if you like both cats and children, or even if you're a cat with a coat as orange as carrot, then you must add Catlantis to the top of your shopping list along with cheese dreamies and whiskas cat milk....

It's published today ..go buy ...

About the Author

Anna Starobinets is an acclaimed and award-winning Russian novelist, children’s author and journalist, whose dystopian and metaphysical novels have earned her the title of ‘the Russian Queen of Horror’. Catlantis is her second children’s book, and her first to be translated into English. Anna Starobinets lives in Moscow.

Translated by

Janet Bugaeva was born in Russia and emigrated with her family to the United States at the age of six. Although she grew up in the US she has forever remained a Russian child at heart and today translates children’s literature from the Russian. She lived in North Carolina with her husband and two cats.

About the Artist

Andrzej Klimowski studied at St Martin’s School of Art and the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. A graphic novel writer, he is also a designer of film and theatre posters, and numerous book covers, including the entire Everyman Collection of P.G.Wodehouse and several editions of books by Milan Kundera. His works can be found in museums around the world. He is Professor of Illustration at the RCA.

Amazon

My thanks to Sophie GoodFellow at edpr and Puskin Children's Books

 for sending Jaffa this book to cherish

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