Read our book review of The Storm Keeper's Island Earth Catherine Doyle has a wonderfully vivid way of describing things and with the power of her words and the whispering wind swishing across from the sea, she brings the island to life, bonding it with its characters and its readers. He learns about the dark secret of the island and eventually shows surprising courage in the face of the impending awakening of dark, ancient legends. Ten-year-old Fion – who doesn’t feel brave, especially around islands – goes with his sister to visit their grandfather while their mum heals in a clinic. The Storm Keeper’s Island by Catherine DoyleĪll four elements are let loose here but the wind is central on this windswept island, in which there is ancient magic around storms, candles and winds. What’s going on up in the sky has never been so interesting. She has opened a world that creates room for so much imagination, I can picture lots of twinkly kids' eyes reading this book. The weather crackles to life in her story with cute pet clouds that you just have to love, home-grown rainbows, sky tunnels and beautiful Shetland myths. Tamsin Mori gives the weather so many more nuances than you would ever have imagined. Image from the front cover of The Storm Keeper’s Island by Catherine Doyle The Weather Weaver by Tamsin Mori Read our book review of When Life Gives You Mangoes Wind Clara’s amnesia and her fear of water while surrounded by the huge, menacing ocean, wave riders and fishing boats is the foreboding mystery of this beautifully told story. The book keeps you glued to the pages and you end up with characters you care about and a twist you definitely did not expect. Twelve-year-old Clara cannot remember what happened last summer, and since then has been scared of going into the ocean. Kereen Getten creates an incredibly vivid picture of a hot, lush green island with a village community where everyone knows everyone’s business. Read our book review of The Shark Caller When Life Gives You Mangoes by Kereen Getten But it is also about the magic of the ocean, the beauty of its blue, crashing waves, its mysterious water creatures and hidden secrets. A magical book about loss, longing, friendship and moving on. It is about Blue Wing, her friendship with the new girl on the island, all her undertakings to become a shark caller and the sad reason why. This is an absolutely stunning, lyrical story set in Papua New Guinea. Image from the front cover of When Life Gives You Mangoes by Kereen Getten The Shark Caller by Zillah Bethel, illustrated by Saara Katariina Söderlund Here are some middle-grade books I have read, which centre around one of these elements or show them in beautiful, fierce or magical ways. They seem to do these wonders of nature the most justice. The books that intrigue me the most are the ones that embed the elements in magical tales. In children’s literature today, the fascination with the elements is still very much alive, and they are depicted in the most compelling ways. ![]() Read our review of Children of the Quicksands Two intriguing goddesses made their way into my story: Oshun, the goddess of the waters, and Oya, goddess of the winds. ![]() So not surprisingly, years later when writing Children of the Quicksands, I found myself weaving in strands of magic, myths and legends based on this mythology. As a child growing up in Nigeria, I was captivated by the Yoruba mythology, which also has deities with powers over the elements. Famous examples are Gaia, the Greek goddess of earth, and Poseidon, god of the sea. ![]() ![]() They are so precious that deities in different cultures across the world were assigned to keep, care for or control them. Mythologies, legends and folklore surround the elements, underlining their beauty and importance. Water, wind, earth and fire: The four elements in children's booksĪuthor Efua Traoré talks about her favourite stories that incorporate the elements in the most surprising and magical ways.Įfua Traoré and her book Children of the QuicksandsĪncient cultures were fascinated by the four basic elements of nature: water, wind, earth and fire.
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