Category Archives: Everyone

Grandpa Kuma (which means ‘bear’ in Japanese) is a beautiful debut book from author/illustrator Michelle Maiden. 

It tells the story of a little girl, Miko, who goes to meet her grandad at the airport. She’s so excited, but when he greets her with “Konnichiwa” she doesn’t know what he’s saying – so they have a problem. They don’t understand each other, so how are they going to play? The story unfolds as Miko and Grandpa each find ways of communicating through card games, origami, meals and trips to the city.

The characters are wonderfully drawn and the adventures they have are very simply illustrated. It’s ideal for grandparents and grandchildren, but as it’s for 3+ years parents, teachers and older siblings can read to youngsters. As a bonus there is also a free ‘Read Along’ audio book, narrated by Michelle, which is accessed by scanning the QR code inside the front cover. And, if readers want to be more adventurous, there’s a helpful Japanese pronunciation guide, with English translation at the end of the book. 

Grandpa Kuma, published by the wonderfully named Wacky Bee Books, makes a great gift or, if you’re a collector of beautifully illustrated children’s books, then add this to your shelf.

So from Grandpa Kuma and me, ‘Ja, mata ne’.

Since my last post back in July I had planned to follow up with more book news BUT, after ten days seeking out art installations at the Venice Biennale, I was able to bring home a virulent strain of Covid. The result has been a long, slow recovery. The next person who tells me it’s like a ‘mild dose of flu’ may find themselves seriously indisposed!

So now it’s back to why we’re here. To start with here’s a couple of recent announcements that I must post:

First the appointment of award winning author Frank Cottrell-Boyce as the Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2024-2026. He was presented at a special ceremony with the silver Laureate medal by Joseph Coelho, the outgoing Children’s Laureate.

Cottrell-Boyce is a multi-award winning children’s author and screenwriter. His books include Cosmic, The Astounding Broccoli Boy and Runaway Robot. He also co-wrote the famous Platinum Jubilee Paddington Bear sketch. He has declared his ambition to ensure the benefits of reading are taken seriously as part of his campaign Reading Rights: Books Build a Brighter Future.

The second missed announcement was the sad death, on 27 July at 93, of controversial Irish novelist, Edna O’Brien. As the author of more than 20 books O’Brien was one of the outstanding writers of our times. She was one of the first writers to give a voice to women in Ireland and transform the status of women across society.

Her first and perhaps best known novel was The Country Girls (1960) – a story of two convent girls Cait and Baba who look for life and love in the big city. It was credited with breaking a number of taboos – banned and denounced by religious voices. I remember, back in my bookshop days – some years after its publication – it was certainly a go-to title for a whole cross section of buyers and was eagerly sought out by first year university students. I’m not sure the male management was that impressed.

I’d like to have covered these in more depth, but too much time has elapsed. Maybe later I’ll look in detail at O’Brien’s legacy and hope to cover more of Cottrell-Boyce’s Reading Rights.