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Anita and the Dragons by Hannah Carmona ill. Anna Cunha

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 29 Mar 2021

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“A gorgeous story about the love of one’s homeland and the courage it takes to emigrate.” KIRKUS

A new book from the illustrator of A Story About Afiya, an ACHUKA Book of the Day in April 2020.

Anita watches the dragons high above her as she hops from one cement roof to another in her village in the Dominican Republic. But being the valiant princesa she is, she never lets them scare her. Then one day, Anita must face her fears and begin life in a new country. Will she be brave enough to enter the belly of the beast and take flight to new adventures?

Follow Anna Cunha on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anna_cunha/

No Country by Joe Brady ill. Patrice Aggs

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A a family story—told in graphic novel format—that shines a light on the challenges faced by refugees and people desperate to escape war-torn countries and find a new home.

What would you do if your home wasn’t safe any more?

Bea and her family are trying to live as if everything is normal. She and her sister Hannah look out for one another, at home and in school. But their country is starting to fall apart. A civil war is raging, and it’s getting closer.

Read this interview with the book’s creators. Joe Brady is deputy editor of The Phoenix.

Magpie by Eve Ainsworth

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It has been a long time since Alice has felt safe. Because of him. Ross. But now she, Mum and her little brother Henry have finally moved far away, where Ross will never find them. It’s a fresh start, Mum says. This time, she is never going back. Slowly Alice starts to build a life for herself, at a new school with new friends. But she can’t escape the feeling she is being watched. That he might be lurking, waiting to ruin everything again. That Mum might be about to break her promise. That, just when Alice is starting to feel safe, everything will be taken away from her. A story about healing, home and new beginnings.

In Maurice Sendak’s studio, a tantalising glimpse of his unpublished manuscript

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Andrew Purcell visits Maurice Sendak’s home:

In the studio, Sendak’s red cashmere cardigan is draped over his chair. His slippers are under the desk. Typed pages of an unfinished story about a stolen nose are arranged next to the Caran d’Ache pencils and cheap Pelikan Gouache paints he used his whole career. There are dozens of Mickey Mouses (Mickey Mice?) and a few scattered Wild Things, frozen in motion and monstrously alive.

Maurice Sendak's red cardigan still hangs over his chair.

Maurice Sendak’s red cardigan still hangs over his chair.  Photo: Andrew Purcell

Art materials inside Maurice Sendak's studio.Art materials inside Maurice Sendak’s studio. Photo: Andrew Purcell

read the whole piece >>> In Maurice Sendak’s studio, a tantalising glimpse of his unpublished manuscript.

‘Pippi Longstocking’ writer’s home opening to visitors

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The former home of children’s book writer Astrid Lindgren, known internationally for the “Pippi Longstocking” series, is being opened to the public — except for children.

Starting Saturday, the Astrid Lindgren Society is offering guided tours of the Stockholm apartment where Lindgren lived and worked until her death in 2002.

Images of inside the house via ‘Pippi Longstocking’ writer’s home opening to visitors | Daily Mail Online.

The Renovation of Sunflower House in Love Lane by the Anholts

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Many summers ago, when ACHUKA looked very different, I Berlingo’d across to Dorset to visit the Anholts for the day to cover the opening of their children’s bookshop in the centre of Lyme Regis.

They lived then in Uplyme, in an old farmhouse with substantial grounds and spectacular views over Lyme Regis. It was a beautiful, idyllic home.

But…

“One day our three children decided they were grown up. Off they went to find new adventures in London, New York and Berlin. Catherine and I looked at each other and realised that a lovely chapter in our lives had come to an end. It was time to sell the family home and our children’s bookshop in Lyme Regis and find an adventure of our own.”

Do read this splendidly illustrated blog post describing their choice of new home.

The views of the house (both interior and exterior) stir the photographer in me.

http://www.anholt.co.uk/renovation-of-sunflower-house-by-laurence-and-catherine-anholt/

Michael Jang’s Family Album, 1970s

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Michael Jang, a well-known photographer that has worked with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Ronald Reagan, is showing a collection of photographs that hits closer to home. In the 1970’s, while still a student in California, Jang began taking photos of his Chinese-American family.

The photographs show the intimacy of family but also the suburban experience of the 1970’s, a quintessential time for ‘Americana’ culture.

For Jang, who was influenced by the street photographer Lee Friedlander, the opportunity to capture his family proved fruitful. ‘Every day was a new visual discovery.’

This collection of photographs will be on display at the Stephen Wirtz Gallery in San Francisco on May 3.

via Stunning photographs of Chinese-American family in the suburban 70's on view for the first time in four decades | Mail Online.

More about Michael Jang…