Roundup: Beans, ASBOs and candy floss wigs

Good afternoon Book Sniffers! What a delightful day it has turned out to be, You'll be glad to know I have tended the lawns and refilled the bird feeder now I'm sunning myself on the terrace supping a delicious cup of Lapsang Suchong from a fine bone china cup and catching up on some serious sniffing because this week my friends has been a bumper week at Book Sniffer Towers!  

Lorks! Such bountiful delights I hardly know where to start! ..

I know! Lets start with a PARP!

Jack and the Baked Beanstalk by Colin Stimpson - Published by Templar Publishing

Other brands of beans are avalible!

Firstly I must draw your attention to the beautiful finish on this book - It is a tasty as a baked bean hot pot, with a beautiful pearlescent finish, a dust jacket (you know I love a dust jacket!) AND baked bean end papers (parptacular!).
This is Colin Stimpsons first picture book with Templar and hopefully the first of many.
Colin has a background in animation with the likes of the big boys at Disney, yet he has adelicate touch, attention to detail and character development is a wonderment to spend a good while pondering over. This is a clever twist on a traditional fairytale, set in retro America this twisted verison of Jack and the Beanstalk tells the tale of Jack and his mother who together run a very successful burger van (promising start.. I can sniff those onions from here!)

Image (c) Colin Stimpson

Here the story begins as a perilous plot to build a super highway right across Jacks patch leads him on a GIANT adventure.
The big grey menacing super highway creates a bypass sweeping away all of their customers!

Image (c) Colin Stimpson

Jack uses his noggin and true to the original fairy tale does a shady deal in swapping for some magic beans (baked ones in this case!) A hilarious story unfolds with lots and lots of amusing twists and unexpected hilarity. Culminating in probably the most successful culinary pairing since Greg Wallace and John Torode!

A book of delightful surprises and a proper clever story with a good helping of tomato sauce!
Parp your way to your local book store and grab a copy in hardback at the soonest opportunity!

The Book Sniffer Awards this lovely all day full english book 2 Fried Eggs a round of toast and a sausage out of 5!  BRILLIANT!

Check out Colin's blog here!

THANK YOU to Templar for sending this our way! Don't forget to follow them on Facebook and Twitter

The Great Sheep Shenanigans - By Peter Bently and Illustrated by Mei Matsuoka Published by Andersen Press

My good chum Roy Butlin (prince of book selling) suggested I sniff this one out! And he wasn't wrong - What a tittersome gem!
I've read lots and lots of books about a cunning wolf trying to outwit a stoopid sheep so thought I knew what to expect - I was wrong! teheheee.. This naughty little wolf doesn't know what's hit him when he comes face to face with the grass gnawing beast that is Rambo the Ram !
We then follow said naughty wolf as he trys many many hilarious solutions in order to make himself a cunning sheep disguise.. As you can imagine this story does NOT finish with a fat little wolf sitting down to a lamb roast! But I'll let you give a good sniff to find out what really happens !

Book Sniffer awards this book a candy floss wig, a wolly jumper, a lamb chop and a big ram up the butt out of 5 to this very funny picture book!

Sparkle's Song - By Samantah Hale and illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson - Published by Maverick Books

Thanks to the lovely folk at Maverick Books (Espesh lovely, too-cool-for-school Giles!)  for sending this book over to us for a good sniff - it's a very sad story so we had to get our hankys out but we were slightly cheered up by the wonderful glittery cover.

This is a very sensitively written and touching story with vibrant illustrations with an ethnic feel - which brought to mind the illustrations of Jane Ray.

Sparkle’s Song is Samantha’s first book for children and the story is of a little girl who has lost her parents and is sent to live with an old Aunt who likes everything quiet in her house. Sparkle isn’t even allowed to play her radio, but by the end of the book the aunt isn't quite the cold fish she seemed at first.
This is indeed a beautifully produced book!

Please check out Maverick on Facebook and Twitter.
Visit their website here!

Hans and Matilda - By Yokococo - Published by Templar Publishing

The good, the bad and the Pugly

This book has rightfully been shortlisted for the Junior Design Awards - and it's a good thing too because this is a bold and highly designed but totally accessible picture book for HIP kids!

Yokococo is one of our absolute faves! She's so incredibly cool it hurts! and this oozes out of this picture book in big bucket loads.
The limited palette is integral to this story and divides the pages into full colour on one side and red black and white on the other.

Two stories feaure side by side introducing the reader to a good little cat by the name of Matilda and an ever so naughty cat by the name of Hans. While Matilda the model citizen sits quietly and reads and tends the garden in the dead of night Hans is quite the opposite and up to all manner of ASBO mischief!

The story culminates in naughty pickle with Hans releasing all the animals from the zoo into the town causing heap loads of havok!  Luckily good old Matilda knows just what to do when the police offer a reward for turning Hans in. ... When Hans is apprehended by the local fuzz we are all in for a big surprise! but who's that under the mask?
A clever story with lots of amusing detail - whack a copy in your swag bag as soon as possible

The Book Sniffer awards this book a spray can a bandit mask a bunch of keys and a reward out of 5! LOVELY!

More soon Sniffers - Stay Tuned!