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Reading Agency release Summer Book Club Challenge titles

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The 2014 Summer Reading Challenge will be myths & legends flavoured, with illustrations by Sarah McIntyre for the Mythical Maze theme:

The Reading Agency reports that like-for-like orders for the Summer Reading Challenge collection are up, “demonstrating libraries’ commitment to this annual promotion,” as it revealed its Summer Book Club challenge titles for 2014.
The announcement of this year’s list comes the day before National Libraries Day (8th February).
The theme will introduce “children to fantastical creatures from the world of legend and mythology and invites them to collect stickers of the characters”.
Libraries will be encouraged to seek out local myths and legends, involve heritage groups and storytellers and engage schools in the run-up to the summer holidays.
Titles on the 2014 list include Roger McGough’s An Imaginary Menagerie (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books), and Oliver and the Seawigs (OUP Oxford) by Philip Reeve and illustrator Sarah McIntyre, who has created the illustrations for the Mythical Maze theme, and Giles Andreae’s Sir Scallywag and the Deadly Dragon Poo (Puffin), which is due to be released on 5th June.
The Reading Agency is working with Solus UK on a free mobile application, which will recognise key Mythical Maze illustrations and trigger audio visual content and simple games.
Sue Wilkinson, director of The Reading Agency, said: “The Summer Reading Challenge book collections that we’re announcing for National Libraries Day are examples of the exciting range of books and reading activities on offer at libraries that really inspire children to become enthusiastic readers.
“We have worked with publishers, librarians and children to create and champion these new book collections, so even more children will be turned on to reading at libraries this summer.”

via Reading Agency release Summer Book Club Challenge titles | The Bookseller.

Sarah McIntyre – katherina manolessou: zoom zoom zoom!

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If you took a look at the ACHUKA photo report of the Katherina Manolessou picture book launch yesterday (and it was one of our most highly-viewed blog pages ever) then you must also check out Sarah McIntyre’s highly-illustrated  blog  report of the same event.

Sarah explains why she wanted to be there:

The reason I was so keen to see Katherina’s book and exhibition was that she was one of the very first illustrators in Britain to inspire me. I went to the London Artist Book Fair, something like ten years ago, possibly even twelve. And I bought a copy of her screenprinted Parasites, which delighted me in the way it worked beautifully folded as a little book, but also unfolded, as a poster. And I was just starting to get my head around the idea of using limited colour palettes (instead of every colour in the rainbow), so I was very struck by her use of red and orange, without any black outline. It was only later that I got into comics and realised that making little books and selling them at fairs was something I wanted to do.

Do visit the page – there are lots more illustrations, namechecks and several interesting hyperlinks, including a rather remarkable interview with Irish illustrator Steve Simpson on Russian TV. You have to get past the opening ad, and I intentionally don’t provide the link here so that you have to visit Sarah’s blog for this and all the other goodies which she has so carefully crafted into her blog post.
http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/620151.html

Sarah McIntyre – seawigs at the blue peter book awards!

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Sarah McIntyre’s blog post about being shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards.

Do read the full blog post, which is fully illustrated with photos and drawings related to her Seawigs partner, Philip Reeve,  to the other shortlisted titles and to the judges.

http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/610078.html

Guardian Review – Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre, reviewed by S F Said

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Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre, reviewed by S F Said

Also selected by Nicolette Jones as Sunday Times CHildren’s Book of the Week

The bare bones of the story hardly do justice to the experience of reading this book. Its appeal lies in its details, which show an irrepressible imagination, much like that of a wide-eyed child explorer who can’t help looking at the world and wondering "what if … ?" The Rambling Isles are a fabulous creation, and while the concept strongly recalls the ambulant cities of Mortal Engines, it’s played in a lighter key here. Comedy, puns and wordplay are threaded through the story, as when Oliver names the Rambling Isle "Cliff".

There’s just as much humour and detail in the artwork; McIntyre’s illustrations make even the seawigs seem believable. She brings enormous energy to the proceedings, palpable not just in her realisations of the characters and settings, but also in her layouts, which are bold and dynamic, using every inch of the page. Sometimes they erupt into full‑blown comics, conveying dialogue in speech balloons that float happily amid the text.

It’s in such interactions between images, words and design that the magic resides. You can see it in the chorus of mermaids whose upside-down faces crowd almost all the text off the page; or the manic sea monkeys who come bouncing out of seaweed, anarchically disrupting the story’s flow. Such creative integration is a joy for the eyes, and the book is a tactile treat as well, beautifully produced on high-quality paper. It effortlessly switches between portrait and landscape formats, and uses double-page spreads to great effect.

The whole thing offers an experience that is immersive, richly textured and enormous fun. It’s a great example of what illustrated children’s novels can achieve, and it would be wonderful to see more publishers following its lead.

via Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre – review | Books | The Guardian.