Archive for the category: books

:: Quick poll: too creepy?

Posted by Vanessa on August 20, 2008 | Permalink

At the moment, I’m harbouring several ideas for children’s stories (did I mess up that apostrophe? I’m REALLY tired) at the moment - most of them fairly simple. The trouble is that good books for small children are illustrated, at least as much picture as word, generally. And I can’t draw very well at all. Would it be weird and creepy if I story-boarded and handcrafted my story collage-style? I’m thinking about a story revolving around a witch with two small (non-magical) dogs who rescue a large, mean (magical) black cat. It probably sounds silly in outline, but I’ve got a fairly clear idea where I’m going with it and could hobble together the visual elements in a fun, crafty fashion. Should I try, or should I just give up and write it and see if anyone out there is interested in partnering up to illustrate?

And - by the by - what was/ is your favourite book aimed at children? I love ‘The Little Prince’, all of the Mog stories, ‘The Tiger that Came to Tea’, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and all the Enid Blyton novels that took place in boarding school. To this day I’ve never had ginger ale and sardines at midnight, but I’ve always kind’ve wanted to.

Categories: about us, books, challenge, craft, design
Tags: children's books, Mog

7 comments

:: Tracks - difficult to follow…

Posted by Sonja on August 15, 2008 | Permalink

One of my favourite things ever is teen fiction. I never really grew out of Judy Blume. I have a shelf full of Francine Pascals and Paula Danzigers, these tightly written paperbacks of angst and blue mascara. When I run out of things to read, or need something easy and comforting, you’ll find me at my own personal Young Adult Fiction bookshelf.

When I googled ‘Lions Teen Tracks’, though, very little came up. This was an imprint of HarperCollins from around the years 1976 to 1991 - I can’t be accurate here because I can’t find any information (well, not through a quick google session anyway… must renew British Library membership!). Lions Teen Tracks published an amazing amount of teen fiction by lots of different authors, some of whom, like Francine Pascal, went on to fame and fortune. Others wrote a slew of Tracks novels, and some just a single gem of a book…

Many of the novels tackle serious issues like sexual abuse and disability, but I’m sorry to say that I’m a sucker for the more humdrum stories of high school, first love, and all that teen jazz. Sorry.

Part of my Lions love comes from the amazing covers. There were a number of standard cover ‘looks’ over the years, all gloriously, classically eighties. Torn effect coloured backgrounds? Check. Different coloured squares and triangles jostling for position? Check. Ill-proportioned pencil and watercolour illustrations? Check. Silver foiling? Mmm, check.

Best place for finding them now? Charity shops. My local library had nada. A couple of links for you: Wikipedia’s Young Adult Fiction page, and a teen fic post on The Lipster.

Categories: about us, art, books, design
Tags:

3 comments

:: Food, books, nostalgia - yum!

Posted by Kirsty on July 11, 2008 | Permalink

I didn’t read traditional childrens’ books when I was wee, much to my regret nowadays. While proper kids were reading Enid Blyton and Judy Blume, I skipped straight to Point Horror and the classics. Yes, I was precocious, but I didn’t put my precociousness to very effective use. Anyways, my literary foibles don’t stop me enjoying this delicious book by Jane Brocket, of yarnstorm fame.

I don’t talk much on this blog about my career in publishing, as it doesn’t usually coincide with our mantra of craft, style, and adventure, but my two worlds have happily collided here, as my company is Jane’s publisher. The office has been whisked down memory lane to the kitchen of our childhoods as we’ve been getting ready for publication yesterday. Everything about the childrens’ literature of yesteryear was wholesome - including the breakfast, elevenses, lunches, afternoon teas, teas, suppers, and midnight feasts that they consume. I particularly loved the idea of Milly-Molly-Mandy’s fried onions - so simple yet so tasty and a little bit cheeky. I always relish the idea of eating something when you’re not supposed to - left-over curry for breakfast, yoghurt for dinner - and the wholly benign naughtiness of eating just onions is quite fun.

Although I place the utmost faith in Jane’s recipes (I haven’t tried any out yet, but her editor has and they are scrummy), this book is made by the descriptions and extracts from the literature that she draws inspiration from. Themed recipe books abound, but this is more like a compendium of childrens’ literature with the added bonus of tasty treats!

Categories: adventure, books, recipes
Tags: books, cherry cake, ginger beer, jane brocket, recipes

2 comments