Rebecca Recommends: 'My Name Is Mina' By David Almond

‘My Name is Mina’ is the journal of a girl called Mina. It cannot be defined as a simple day to day recording of her life but is instead, a vibrant mash of thoughts, dreams, stories, poems, scribblings and nonsense! The book is wild and unpredictable, just like Mina herself. She likes to write down strange words that she loves, poems of being an owl in the night, stories of her journey to the “underworld”, extraordinary facts about the earth we live on and her thoughts on the people she watches from high up in her tree. 

Although joyful and enthusiastic, Mina is a loner who is considered to be strange and while this can be confusing to her at times, she also takes great pride in it. Her journal is about seeing things from a different perspective and Mina encourages the reader to break out of their thinking with her suggestions for ‘extraordinary activities.’ Touch the tip of your index finger to the tip of your thumb to make a ring, look through it to the night sky and consider all the unimaginable space within it! Fly in your sleep! Stare at the dust that dances in the light! Write a page of nonsense! 

Mina encourages her mind to be free and rich and messy for she knows that is what the world is. She sees in all things, a wild and chaotic beauty. While she likes to get wonderfully lost in her imagination, I found her to be more grounded in reality than those characters who think they are. She is a young rebel and a free spirit and so is baffled by the rigidity and order that is enforced in her schooling and in the adult world. 

Although just an imaginary character, Mina felt real to me. This speaks volumes of the talent of David Almond who manages to capture not only the spirit of a child but of a young girl. I recognised so much of myself in her, parts of myself that I’ve misplaced and am now frantically searching for in the dusty corners of my mind, for in my adulthood, I see just how precious they are. I was overjoyed to find her again for Mina is the inner child, the irrepressible spirit that we were all suppose to hold on to tightly from our childhood and that somehow, we often lose sight of through the years. 

‘My Name is Mina’ is a creative, uplifting and moving read that celebrates the wild and glorious experience of life through the wide open eyes of a child. I could not recommend it more highly, not only for children but for adults too.

Hodder Children's Books (2010)

For more information, please check out: http://www.davidalmond.com

Rebecca Recommends: 'Coraline' by Neil Gaiman

This story tells of the adventurous Coraline (not Caroline, as others mistakenly call her) as she moves into a strange house with her mother and father. Coraline loves exploring. But after a couple of weeks of playing in the house and the surrounding grounds, she becomes rather restless and tired of feeling ignored. She has played with all her toys and read all her books. She has counted all the windows and she has counted all the doors. Her parents are boringly busy and there seems like nothing else to do! Not even her eccentric neighbours can satisfy her curiosity.

But...there is a peculiar door. Situated in the drawing room, it oddly opens on to a brick wall. When bizarre dreams and strange signs occur, Coraline finds that the unusual door leads to the world of her ‘Other Mother’. A magical alternate reality, the ‘Other Mother’ supplies Coraline with all the wonderful food and fun she could ever want. Enchanted, Coraline keeps returning but Coraline should quickly take heed. For the ‘Other Mother’, a taller, thinner version of her real mother with paper white skin and black buttons for eyes, has sinister plans in mind…

‘Coraline’ is a fantastically thrilling and spooky read, perfectly exhibiting Neil Gaiman’s marvellously strange imagination and is accompanied by illustrations by Chris Riddell (which I must admit, made me jump on several occasions!) ‘Coraline’ is a horror book for children and while parts are quite scary and adrenaline- filled, it is not needlessly frightening.

What I loved most about ‘Coraline’ was its wonderful message about being brave. There is a common misconception that those who are brave are fearless. Coraline finds herself in a situation where she must defeat evil or else face losing everything and although she does not feel very brave inside, she does what she has to, regardless of her fears. She is terrified yet she still takes action. THIS is what makes her brave.

When I finished the last page, I realised that I often tell myself that I will conquer all my fears when I 'become brave.' Unfortunately, although I can try to convince myself, I, like Coraline, have no time to wait. It is very easy in life to become your own ‘Other Mother,’ insisting and persuading yourself you are better off in your own little bubble, when in fact, there is often more to lose if you stay. It is said that in life you should 'feel the fear and do it anyway' and Coraline is a inspiring example of this.

A wonderfully exhilarating and inventively scary story, ‘Coraline’ encourages its young readers to be brave in life and that, like our heroine, shows that anyone is capable of showing remarkable strength and courage, even when they are afraid.

Illustrated by Chris Riddell. Bloomsbury (2012)

For more information, please check out:

Neil Gaiman: http://www.mousecircus.com

Chris Riddell: http://www.panmacmillan.com/author/chrisriddell

Rebecca Recommends: 'My Yellow Umbrella' By Chris Robertson

‘My Yellow Umbrella’ is like a little ray of sunshine. A vibrant picture book, set in sunny San Francisco, each page is filled with pure joy, wonderful freedom and the elation of feeling truly alive. It tells the story of a young girl and her dog exploring the city as she declares her love of her bright yellow umbrella, a symbol of happiness, hope and contentment. Perfectly matching the optimistic mood of the book, the story’s illustrations are bold, colourful and expressive. My favourite is that of the little girl, in a meadow filled with daffodils and canaries, swinging on the side of a tram with her yellow umbrella in hand, just like Gene Kelly. (The book definitely captures that joyful ‘Singing in the Rain’ feeling!) Sharing the same spirit of its inspirations, Albert Lamorisse’s enchanting short film ‘The Red Balloon’ and the wonderful Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s project ‘Beckoning of Lovely,’ ‘My Yellow Umbrella’ expresses the delight of simple pleasures and the act of rejoicing in the beauty of life.

A blissful and inspiring read for young children, it contains a message of joy and love of life that we often forget and one that should be treasured always.

Illustrated by Chris Robertson. Xist Publishing (2013)

For more information, please check out:

 www.chrisrobertsonbooks.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/booksbychrisr

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisrobertsonbooks