Raven Child and the Snow Witch by Linda Sunderland and Daniel Egneus

If you walked for one hundred nights and one hundred days across the frozen Lonesome Lakes, over the Shimmery Mountains…

…and through the Forest of a Thousand Eyes…

you would come at last to the Snow Garden. Here, safe from the dangers of the icy wilderness, lived little Anya with her mother and father.

Summary From Templar

A haunting, lyrical fairytale, beautifully illustrated by Daniel Egneus.

Anya lives with her mother and father in the shadow of the icy glacier where the Snow Witch reigns. Every spring, Anya's mother journeys to the glacier to pick the blue gentian flowers that grow there. But this time, she does not return. She has been captured by the Snow Witch and imprisoned in the ice. Anya and her father set off with the ravens to rescue her. It's a treacherous journey, and there is no knowing what they will find… Will the strength of Anya's love conquer all?

Raven Child and the Snow Witch is a poignant, powerful story with dramatic and striking artwork.

*****

Review by Liss Norton

Raven Child and the Snow Witch is a picture book for older children - a rare and very welcome thing! I've often wondered why children are denied large, coloured pictures once they reach a certain age, so hooray for Templar for flying in the face of convention!

This slightly scary story is told in poetic, descriptive and mystical language. It's set in the far distant, fairytale world of the Snow Garden and, like all fairytales, it has darkness at its heart. Of course we know that Anya will triumph over the Snow Witch, but that doesn't stop us feeling afraid for her when she sets out to rescue her mother. 

Ravens and wolves add to the strangeness and menace of the story, as if the Snow Witch wasn't threat enough…

Daniel Egneus's abstract illustrations are perfectly matched to the text and add another element of darkness to the story with their whirling snow storms, spiky buildings and shadowy trees. My only criticism relates to the book's front cover. It glitters so invitingly that I was taken aback by the story inside because there's no hint that it will be scary. The back cover's a different matter though, with a creepy white figure who I guess is the Snow Witch herself. 

This is a memorable book and one that deserves to be widely read.

The Song From Somewhere Else by A.F. Harrold and illustrated by Levi Pinfold

After tea Frank cycled over to the rec. 

"Come straight back,' her dad had said.

In her bag she had a sheaf of posters. They wereA4 bits of paper her mum had photocopied at work with a picture of Quintilius Minimus in the middle and the words MISSING CAT at the top. 

Pages - 240

Published in November by Bloomsbury Children's Books

Summary

Frank doesn't know how to feel when Nick Underbridge rescues her from bullies one afternoon. No one likes Nick. He's big, he's weird and he smells - or so everyone in Frank's class thinks.

And yet, there's something nice about Nick's house. There's strange music playing there, and it feels light and good and makes Frank feel happy for the first time in forever.

But there's more to Nick, and to his house, than meets the eye, and soon Frank realises she isn't the only one keeping secrets. Or the only one who needs help.

*****

This book has a strong nostalgic feel to it. I think the swing ball might have something to do with it. Swing ball is one of those presents I always wanted but never received. I must have asked for it for about five years in a row. 

*sighs deeply*

 But it isn't just the swing ball, this book literally grabbed my hand and had me running back to the endlessly long summers of childhood, where as long as I had my bike I was happy. Where I could do what I wanted all day long, until my mum called me in for tea. Oh how I miss those days. 

This book has a timeless feel to it. I thought it might be set in the 80's, but then Frank uses the computer, so it's set in recently.  

I love how the genre changes in this book. It starts off contemporary and gently slides into a fairy tale. It's like a mythical Primeval. This book is written so beautifully and so realistically, it leaves you questioning your belief that other magical worlds don't exist side by side with this one. 

The scenes between Nick and his mum, are poignant. You feel that sense of longing from both of them. It really pulls on your heart strings, as the unheard musical notes swirl out from the page and swirl around you. I know this will sound stupid, but I've never enjoyed music that I can't hear before, and yet A.F. Harrold's descriptions made it so easy to imagine the music. 

Bullying plays a huge part of the story. Frank is repeatedly bullied by the boys in the year above. At times it was extremely difficult to read. But Frank learns to face her fears. This story is about standing up to bullies. It's about believing in yourself no matter what. It also looks at friendship, showing that should never let others dictate who you should be friends with. Only you will ever know, who makes the best friend.

You can't discuss this book without mentioning the unusually vintage style illustrations in sepia tones. These really enhance the quietness and the sadness within the story. 

A beautiful timeless tale of friendship and hope that leaves you yearning for your childhood. 

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

What follows is the strange and fateful tale of a boy, a girl, and a ghost. The boy possessed uncommon qualities, the girl was winsome and daring, and the ancient ghost…well, let it only be said that his intentions were good.

Published by Random House Books in June 2013

Pages - 369

It says quite a lot about Jeremy Johnson Johnson that the strangest thing about him isn't even the fact his mother and father both had the same last name. Jeremy once admitted he's able to hear voices, and the townspeople of Never Better have treated him like an outsider since. After his mother left, his father became a recluse, and it's been up to Jeremy to support the family. But it hasn't been up to Jeremy alone. The truth is, Jeremy can hear voices. Or, specifically, one voice: the voice of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one half of the infamous writing duo, The Brothers Grimm. Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But when the provocative local girl Ginger Boultinghouse takes an interest in Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a grim chain of events is put into motion. And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all fairy tales have happy endings. . .

*****

This book was brought to my attention after references to it’s similarity to The Book Thief. Now I’ve never read The Book Thief as it’s one of those books that intimidates me, so I refused to let this new release make me feel the same way.

Right from the start you find yourself listening closely to the omnipresent voice of the ghost that haunts Jacob, although I don’t actually think you could calling it haunting, more nurturing than anything. The ghost is quite a studious and moralistic soul and claims to be the voice of Jacob Grimm, one of the famous Brothers Grimm, which really adds a fantasy overlay to what seems to be a contemporary story.  Fairy tales and the lives of the Brothers Grimm, play a really  important part in this story and you need to keep that at the forefront of your thoughts as you read it - otherwise you might be completely shocked by the final quarter of the book. A huge event occurs in the last part of the book which I completely missed  and I am kicking myself for not seeing it sooner.  Ingenious plotting!

The characters evoke empathy in you as soon as you meet them. From Jacob right through to the Sten, the baker, I sympathised with them all and only wanted to see happiness brighten their lives. They had all suffered in one way or another. Ginger was probably my favourite. After appearing a little cocky and perhaps a bit of a trouble maker, you soon realise there is a lot of love in her heart.

The setting was extremely charming. It felt very contemporary and yet their was an invisible layer of magic that floated over the top of it. You couldn’t see it or feel it, but you knew deep down it was there.

At the heart of the book there is a gentle and innocent love story that blossoms out of friendship and fear. After their experiences, nothing will ever break the bond between Jacob and Ginger from that point on.

This is a beautifully written tale and one that will stay with me long after finishing it. I can honestly say I haven’t read anything else like it. The author has managed to take elements of fairy tales and weave them intricately into a contemporary novel.   I would say it is  unique and original and definitely a book I will return to again and again.