Rescuing a stag beetle
by Alex on July 4th, 2009
I’ve only just remembered to post this. We see a number of stag beetles around Crystal Palace, and sadly, more times than not they’ve been trodden on or killed by a car. This one we found ambling across the road, so did the good samaritan thing and put her on the grass verge. You can tell this one’s a lady by her small pincers/antlers.
She had an amazing grip, digging into skin with some real strength. Quite something.
Balaclava and the Yetis
by Alex on June 30th, 2009
There are only so many hours in the day, and most of them are spent in front of a drawing board at the minute. The blog’s taken a hit, I admit, and I hang my head in shame. However, I’ve been very busy on the drawing front, creating the comic sections for my Mythical 9th Division books.
This here character is Balaclava, the baddie of the first story, Operation Ice Age. More of his dastardly actions will be revealed in good time, but for now, let’s just say that he has a very powerful Thermogun in his hands!
And so, for anyone wishing to know about the third and final Mousehunter, I’m just about to start on the few illustrations for the insides. I’ll write about them here soon, but needless to say, there will be plenty of mice. It’ll be nice to get cracking on the final third of the Almanac!
The Magic Thief stole my reader’s block
by Alex on June 23rd, 2009
The day after the government take the ‘i before e’ rule out of the curriculum, I have to write thief in a title.
My reader’s block has been super solid of late. I think the main problem is that I’ve been writing and working on plotlines so much that other stories just aren’t allowed in. Free time also plays its part: I’m bad at creating spare time when I could be working, and I no longer have train journeys on which to open a book and read. However, I did go on a long train ride the other day and I did manage to read a book.
The book happened to be The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas. It’s a tale about a boy plucked from obscurity after stealing a magic device, who then becomes a wizard’s apprentice. There are elements of all the good ‘magic’ books in here - magic school, magical objects, shapeshifting into animals and so on - but what I enjoyed above all about this was how nicely it was written. It’s a cut above most children’s books. There’s no flab (Oh! Harry Potter how you could have learnt a thing or two from this), and there’s some real fun to be had. There are illustrations (not enough, though, tsk!), codes, and even real recipes for food that appears in the story. The recipes are a brilliant addition.
It’s rich and warm, and there’s even a hired thug who bakes and knits. That last fact alone would sell it to me and should be written on the cover.
A woodland idyll
by Alex on June 18th, 2009
We dashed to the wood last weekend to do a day’s work. It’s amazing how much energy lugging logs can use up, and likewise with the sawing. I’m now a one-sided muscle beast. Whose idea was it to make people right- or left-handed? When it comes to sawing you’re certainly limited in terms of equal distribution of strength.
But just look at it! Only a year ago the wood was dark, cluttered and badly overgrown. There was little daylight reaching the woodland floor, and even less wildlife to be seen and heard. But now, in our small clearing, you can see the difference a bit of hard graft has made.
You can now get a suntan as you sit beneath an oak tree, if you’re not careful.
The New Children’s Laureate
by Alex on June 9th, 2009
Today they announce the new Children’s Laureate, replacing Michael Rosen, who’s done a sterling job for the past two years. He’s been everywhere - on TV, radio, internet. There’s even a nice piece by him in the Guardian today, talking about visiting schools.
The job of the laureate is to be an official ambassador for children’s reading and literature, and I think it’s safe to say that we need this role more than ever. That there can be someone who is the face of children’s books, providing a link between children, schools, bookshops and government is a terrific thing. That they only get a £10,000 bursary for two years of solid engagements and events is probably not.
But that’s neither here or there. The fact of the matter is that in these times where other forms of media get all of the press, where other areas of schooling get all the funding and government backing, we need to rely on the Children’s Laureate to create as much noise as possible.
Michael Rosen has taken it upon himself to improve reading in schools, and he’s made a big noise. I hope the next Laureate will continue his work.
edit: Since writing this the Laureate has been announced as Anthony Browne. His books are beautifully illustrated, and very well-loved, so that’s a good thing. He’s maybe not so high-profile as all the previous Laureates, such as Quentin Blake, Michael Morpurgo and Jacqueline Wilson, but I’m sure he’ll do a terrific job.
The start of a little story…
by Alex on June 8th, 2009
I fancied writing something silly, so here it is. Anyone know what painting I’ve used as inspiration?
‘Nathaniel is next to useless and Lawrence does nothing but trumpet,’ said Queen Mab, her short legs skipping across the tree trunk.
‘Forgive me,’ said the knave, ‘but Nathaniel is only a gnat and Lawrence just a Dragonfly.’
The knave was right, and when the knave was right the Queen got angry.
‘Then who do you suggest?’ she replied.
‘I think we should look further afield, Ma’am. Someone outside the realm of the oak tree.’
‘Really?’ said the Queen. The thought hadn’t even crossed her mind.
‘It might be a long shot,’ said the knave, ‘but the very person lives within a stone’s throw from here. I could get the soldiers to bring him to you?’
The Queen’s face flushed red.
‘But that would need a change of clothing!’ she said excitedly.
‘The matter is already in hand,’ said the knave, passing the Queen an ornate dress made from the purest spider’s web. ‘I know how much you like to impress the soldiers, Ma’am.’
‘And you think this person will do the job?’ asked the Queen. ‘It’s my procession tomorrow, I must look my best!’
‘He will,’ said the knave. ‘If there is a nut beautiful enough to build a carriage from, then he will find it.’
The Queen clapped her hands together in excitement.
‘And if he doesn’t,’ added the knave, ‘then he shall lose his head before morning!’
Garen Ewing and The Rainbow Orchid
by Alex on June 7th, 2009
I shall forever be indebted to Garen Ewing for designing the wonderful dinosaur logo for my children’s book festival, and it won’t be long before his wonderful Rainbow Orchid is released into the world, published by Egmont.
He deserves all the luck in the world with this, and his many friends and followers are getting behind the marketing push. Sarah McIntyre has even launched her own ‘draw a moustache on Garen’ competition. I’m a bit late at doing this, but here’s my tribute to Garen. Of course, it’s a full beard…
The Mythical 9th Division badge of honour
by Alex on June 6th, 2009
You know me, I like badges and graphics and logos, and the yetis are going to have them by the truckload. This is the nearly finished design for the Mythical 9th Division’s logo. The designer’s done a grand job. That’s Everest in the back - or Chomolungma, as the Yetis would call it. There are other elements from Tibet in the design, but it’s nice to leave some things to be discovered.
My favourite book (sort of)
by Alex on June 3rd, 2009
When people ask me about books I like, I always find myself talking about this one. And the thing is, it’s not because I like the story more than any other, it’s because it’s a beautiful object.
If you can’t tell from the photo, the little golden embossed image on the front is of the Red Queen, and yes, the book is Through the looking Glass. This is a miniature edition from 1908, and the whole thing is exquisite. The illustrations are cleanly printed and like works of art in themselves, the book opens easily in your hand as though it’s been read a thousand times (and still sticks together in one piece), and the waxed finish on the cover feels luxurious and magical. It’s basically everything a book should be, and exactly not what many printed today are like. It is a work of art.
So it’s the one book I own that I’d pick up in a fire before running out. It may not be my favourite story of all time, but it’s the one book I’m happy just to hold in my hand for hours on end. And I love the fact that it has an inscription in it: ‘for Queenie, xmas 1908′. What better present could there be?!
Been a bit busy
by Alex on June 2nd, 2009
I’ve been up to my eyeballs with work of late, which sounds like a bad thing to be. It’s not, I assure you. It just means the blog’s taken a hit. Hecky thump, everything’s taken a hit apart from work!
But let’s not dwell on that. The future is bright. There are bees in the garden, visiting our flowers. The sun has been out for 5 consecutive days. There was a Time Team special about Stonehenge last night. And Final Fantasy XIII, now previewed on the Xbox, is looking fabulous.