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Join Gruffalo and Spot, the Dog at Boekehuis

by Bontle on 06 Jul 2010   |   

Boekehuis celebrates Spot’s 30th birthday tomorrow on Wednesday, July 7. Everyone can bring a gift for Spot: Boekehuis is collecting dog food for Spot’s friends at the SPCA. While 2 year olds are celebrating with Spot, 4 year olds have a story-time with Gruffalo. The event starts at 10:30am.

Boekehuis Bookshop is at 34 Fawley Street, corner Lothbury, Auckland Park, Johannesburg.

• Visit the Jozikids Website for More Holiday Events

Book details

• Spot Goes to The Park by Eric Hill
  EAN: 9780723264590
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• Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
  EAN: 9780330507417
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An Interview with Edyth Bullbring

by Bontle on 18 May 2010   |   

Following the release of her latest young adult novel, Pops and the Nearly Dead, Edyth Bullbring talked to The Times about the challenges and joys of writing for teenagers.

Bullbring says she wrote Pops and the Nearly Dead for her mother, to celebrate the life of her father, but she also wanted her teenagers to enjoy it. She describes the novel as “the kind of book that builds bridges between the generations and makes people realise the only thing separating old people from young people is a couple of years”.

When asked why she uses humour to deal with tragedy in her books, Bullbring answered:

There is a fine line between comedy and tragedy. Laughter helps me cope with my teenagers. Most of the time they shut me out, but now and then they let me in. These are times when we laugh together, so I spend a lot of energy trying to make them laugh. Although my books have funny aspects, they also deal with serious issues.

• Read the complete interview on Times Live

Book details

• Pops and the Nearly Dead by Edyth Bulbring
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  EAN: 9780143026501
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Penguin Group and Pearson Foundation Launch the We Give Books Project to Donate One Million Books to Literacy Worldwide

by Bontle on 21 Apr 2010   |   

Penguin Group and the Pearson Foundation have announced the launch of ‘We Give Books’, a new digital initiative that enables anyone with access to the Internet to put books in the hands of children who don’t have them, simply by reading online. The free website gives parents, caregivers, and educators immediate access to a growing digital collection of Penguin Group’s classic children’s literature. For every book read online, the Pearson Foundation will donate a book to a child in partnership with one of the exemplary international literacy organizations they have partnered with.

This year, We Give Books will be providing books to young people in Africa through the organisation, Room to Read. The aim is to share 2,000 new children’s books with young people served by Room to Read in South Africa and Zambia. Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education.

• Visit their Website at We Give Books

Lucinda Everett Lists the Ten Worst Children's Book Villains Ever

by Bontle on 07 Apr 2010   |   

The White Witch in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Extraordinarily beautiful with incredible physical might and an army of fearsome creatures under her command, Jadis, self-proclaimed Queen of Narnia, is a royal to be reckoned with. When the arrival of the Pevensie children threatens the eternal winter she has inflicted on Narnia, she sets out to find and kill them, turning to stone anyone who stands in her way.

Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter

Repeatedly topping polls of literature and film’s best villains, “the most evil wizard for hundreds and hundreds of years” is so feared within the wizarding world that no one dares utter his name, preferring “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named”.

Miss Trunchbull in Matilda

Locking children in a spike-lined cupboard called “the Chokey”, swinging little girls around by their pigtails and forcing one gluttonous pupil to eat an enormous cake in front of the whole school, Miss Trunchbull’s tyranny knows no bounds and goes frustratingly unchecked by disbelieving parents.

Shere Khan in The Jungle Book

A crippled but fiercely proud tiger, Shere Khan becomes an instant villain when he preys on baby Mowgli, who has wandered into the jungle. Losing Mowgli to the wolves who protect, then adopt him, Shere Khan vows that the cub will one day be his and launches a 10-year scheme to overthrow the wolf pack and kill Mowgli.

Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians

Pampered London heiress turned fur-loving terror, Cruella de Vil more than lives up to her hellish name, terrorising her henpecked husband, drowning kittens and kidnapping 97 puppies to make a Dalmatian fur coat. Said to be partly based on notorious bon vivant Tallulah Bankhead, Cruella was ranked the No 1 villain in Disney history following the film company’s 1961 adaptation of Dodie Smith’s novel.

The Grinch in The Dr Suess Books

This baddy-turned-good guy first appeared in the 1957 story How the Grinch Stole Christmas! A feline Scrooge with a heart “two sizes too small”, he becomes intent on ruining Christmas for the good people of Whoville by stealing their presents and decorations.

The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The tyrannical leader of the Winkie Country is furious when her sister is killed by Dorothy’s falling house and vows to seek revenge on her (and her little dog, too) by snatching the magical silver slippers protecting Dorothy.

Captain Hook in Peter and Wendy (Peter Pan)

Described by his creator JM Barrie as the “only man Long John Silver ever feared”, the ex-Etonian lord of Neverland’s pirate harbour is obsessed with two things: “good form” and making Peter Pan and his Lost Boys walk the plank. With a menacing hook replacing the hand that Peter Pan cut off and fed to a crocodile, the Jolly Roger’s captain terrorises the people of Neverland.

The Grand High Witch (of all the world) in The Witches

Arguably Roald Dahl’s most terrifying baddy, “the most evil woman in creation” is on a quest to rid the world of children, using horrifying techniques such as trapping them in paintings and turning them into mice with poisoned chocolate. As ugly as she is wicked, the witch’s bald head, claws and “worm-eaten” face will remain etched in children’s imaginations for many years (and sleepless nights) to come.

Boggies, Bunce and Bean in Fantastic Mr Fox

This formidable trio of mean, wealthy farmers become the nemeses of Mr Fox when he steals one too many times from their overflowing farms. Shooting off his beloved tail, destroying his home with bulldozers and trying to starve him out of his hole are just a few of the tricks the villains employ to capture the Robin Hood of the fox world, before he outwits them.

• Read the Complete Article at Telegraph

Book details

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
  EAN: 9780060234812
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• Harry Potter: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
  EAN: 9780545139700
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• Matilda by Roald Dahl
  EAN: 9780142410370
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• The Jungle Book by Rupyard Kipling
  EAN: 9781405878470
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• 101 Dalmations by Justine Korman
  EAN: 9780736424202
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• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
  EAN: 9780394800790
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• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
  EAN: 9780199540648
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• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
  EAN: 9780805072457
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• The Witches by Roald Dahl
  EAN: 9780374384579
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• Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
  EAN: 9780142414545
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Rhymes, Recipes and Zorillas in Tracey Going's African Animals

by Bontle on 19 Nov 2009   |   

Tracey Going is best known as the former presenter of the SABC’s television breakfast show Morning Live but with her new children’s book African Animals she’s trying her hand at writing too. The book is full of vegetarian recipes, rhymes and details about African wildlife. Factual information on every animal from crocodiles to lions to zorillas (a smellier relation of the skunk) is accompanied by beautiful and effective illustrations. The book also has a big heart: a portion of the proceeds from its sale are going to Child Welfare South Africa.

Read the blurb:

A is for Africa; B is for big, burly, bold brazen Buffalo; C is for completely crazy, cranky Crocodile. Join the author on a magical journey with the animals of the African bush – learn interesting facts about the animals and have fun making the recipes named in their honour. Each African animal, from A to Z, has its own rhyme that will tell you about where and how it lives.

• Keep Reading

Book details

• African Animals: Rhymes and Recipes by Tracy Going
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9780143026129
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