Imelda & the Goblin King

Imelda & the Goblin King

By Briony May Smith
Published by Flying Eye Books

I've been looking forward to getting my hands on this title since I heard Briony May Smith was to have her first book published through Flying Eye Books. The wait was definitely worth it and Briony's signature style works well in this beautifully presented picture book debut (I love the gold foil lettering and forest symbols on the cover!).

The story here is about a human girl called Imelda who lives next to a wood. And this is no ordinary wood as its enchanted and full of fairy folk. Imelda would play with the fairies everyday and learn all of their secrets and all is perfect until a big nasty bully turns up - THE GOBLIN KING! And what a nasty brute he is.  

After storming the enchanted forest, the Goblin King announces that he's the new boss and takes the fairy queen as a prisoner - even after her being so welcoming! So Imelda is called upon to save the day, and with some help from her fairy friends she comes up with a cunning plan to stop the horrible Goblin King for good! And with the Goblin King being a greedy brute, its not long until he gets his just desserts!

Briony's illustrations echo back to vintage illustrations you would expect to see in vintage fairy tales, using traditional techniques to bring her illustrations to life. Each spread is filled with energetic pencil and watercolour illustrations - with lots of gorgeously rendered characters to be spotted all over. 

I couldn't help but think of David Bowie as the Goblin King in the classic 80s movie the Labyrinth. Of course Imelda & the Goblin King has no relation to the movie at all, but I always find a bit of nostalgia can be found in all forms even if it was just 'Goblin King' that triggered it! And I would let your nostalgic get the better of you and buy this book as it's a modern classic! Perfect for children and adults alike, a modern fairy tale for all to enjoy. 

Imelda & the Goblin King is available to buy in all good bookshops and online at the Flying Eye Books website.

My Favourite Fairytales

My Favourite Fairytales

by Nina Filipek and illustrated by Bruno Merz
 Published by Milly & Flynn

 

Aoife and I were extremely lucky to receive the series of book, My Favourite Fairytales, from new childrens publishers Milly & Flynn.

 

The fairytale series includes; The Gingerbread Man, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Cinderella, Puss in Boots, The Emperor’s New Clothes, Rapunzel, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Hansel and Gretel.

 

 

All are retold by Nina Filipek and illustrated by Bruno Merz. The books are recommended for children over three years due to the suggested activities and stickers that can be found at the back of each book. Please note that the books will be available from early July and will each be sold with 2 sticker sheets for a limited period of time.

These classic stories have traditional illustrated illustrations in watercolour and pencil, which makes a lovely continuity throughout the series.

 

 

For each book the story flows well and at the end includes activities to encourage the child to think about what has happened and to flick back into the book to help answer the questions. From a layout point of view, the use of type and for some books, the different fonts, all enhance the telling of the stories bringing these classics up to date.

With the lovely surprise of stickers at the end of each book, if you don’t want your little one sticking them to walls or furniture, they would be great to use for creative activities - such as encouraging your child to create artwork about the story using the stickers or making up their own stories about the characters.

…And even though Aoife is too young for these books, after reading this article on the Guardian; about US paediatricians now urging parents to read to children from their earliest days, it never really is too early to start reading to your little ones!

No bookshelf should be out these classic tales as they are stories that shape all of our childhoods and are true treasures to for future generations to enjoy.

For more information on the books visit the Milly & Flynn site.