SNOWY SETTINGS

The great thing about snowy settings is being able to make use of the white page. Here's a spread from Tom Finger; my own very white book.

An old favourite with a snowy setting is Ernest and Celestine, written and illustrated by Gabrielle Vincent and published in the UK by Julia MacRae Books in 1982 - again the white page is an important part of the design (though a little pink in this reproduction).

Whenever I see dark twigs set against a sunset while out on a winter walk, I'm reminded of The Winter Bear-

another magical story with a snowy setting; written by Ruth Craft, illustrated by EricK Blegvad and published in 1974 by William Collins.

Finally, a Scandinavian setting for The Fox and the Tomten, written by Astrid Lindgren,illustrated by Harald Wiberg and published in the UK in 1970 by Longman Young Books. 

 

I love this frame of the fox in the snow seen from the hens' view point.

So, instead of moaning about the snow and all the chaos it brings,now the UK is having colder winters, we should curl up in a chair in front of a warm fire and enjoy the magic of a snowy setting on a white page.

CANADIAN CHRISTMAS

I'm with my Canadian grandchildren again sharing with them some old well-loved books:

Raymond Briggs' Father Christmas

Judith Kerr's Mog's Christmas

and Tomie de Paola's The Christmas Pageant.

LONG AND DIFFICULT JOURNEYS

In his book How Santa Claus Had A Long And Difficult Journey Delivering His Presents, published by Longman Young Books in 1970, Fernando Krahn's pictures tell a story that should be read by anyone setting out on a long and difficult journey, like me, to deliver presents overseas -

who is about to spend the festive season grounded at Heathrow with thousands of others, all waiting for the same Christmas miracle -

- that British Airlines will lay on angels.

SPARE A THOUGHT FOR TURKEYS

I walked by a barn in the fens in the summer and heard a great GOBBLE of turkeys coming from inside.

I walked by the barn in the winter and the GOBBLE was gone.

ALL PARTY WRITERS GROUP

Every year around this time the All Party Writers Group holds its winter drinks reception at the House of Commons. This year the invitation came from John Whittingdale MP, Chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport  Select Committee.  We gathered, on a freezing night in a very warm marquee on The Terrace. Authors at this party are expected to take the opportunity of lobbying MPs and Lords about issues that matter to us -the current one being where PLR is going to end up after the cuts - hopefully with ALCS. I spotted Nicholas Allan and Michelle Magorian who, like me, hadn't found a Minister to harangue and were enjoying the wine and canopees. Then came the 2010 Educational Writers' Award presentation. ALCS and the Society of Authors created this award in 2008 to 'celebrate educational writing that inspires creativity and encourages students to read widely and build up their understanding of a subject beyond the requirements of exam specifications.' It's the only UK award that focuses on educational non-fiction and they always hand out the prizes at this party.

Bill Bryson won it with A Really Short History of Nearly Everything  - and was very generous to his publisher, Random House, when he was receiving prize money in a large white envelope, saying it was very little to do with him and mostly to do with them. So various people from Random House walked away with large white envelopes too!



THE SNOW, THE SNOW!

A little bit of snow can turn the world upside down.  As airports close and trains leave passengers stranded, global companies find they are running their businesses in unlikely places. This week  Plaister Press (a company in its infancy) has had to share its very modest premises in Cambridge with a Canadian Shipping Company,a Swedish Mining Company and a London Advertising Company. All were impressed by the excellent wireless connection on offer. Plaister Press, in return, received some good tips on accountancy, marketing and invoicing systems in the hope that ,one day, it too will be global!

MUCH ADO BOOKS

There's a a wonderful small independent bookshop in Alfriston, East Sussex, run by Cate Olson and Nash Robbins. It has recently moved premises and, as you can see from the picture, has a covered archway housing their second-hand books in a way that reminds me of the bookstalls along the Seine in Paris.  The new books are in the small shop on the right. Through the archway is a courtyard (where they keep chickens) leading to a renovated barn.  It is here that they put on events. 

I did a workshop there a couple of weekends ago, showing children my original arwork, sketches and roughs and getting them to make their own little books. It was a well organised, ticketed event, with refreshments laid on. The  price of the ticket included a signed copy of one of my books for each child. We all had a lot of fun and shared our stories at the end.