Sunday 13 March 2011
sixteen: Rebel by R J Anderson
Rebel by R J AndersonLondon, Orchard, 2010
Review published online at CMIS Resource Bank and in Fiction Focus
Age 12+. An adventure featuring humans and Oakenfolk united against the evil cult leader faery, The Empress.
For teenagers who still want to believe in faery folk, but want a bit of edge, a bit of attitude, this series is a standout. Comparable to Justine Larbalestier’s How to Ditch Your Fairy, the faeries in this series are far removed from the fluttery creatures of Daisy Meadows’ series that readers may have devoured when younger.
The quadrilogy (Faery Rebels, named for US audiences) includes Knife, Rebel, Arrow and Swift (latter two to be published 2011/12), but the reader doesn’t need to have read the prequel to appreciate the storyline of Rebel.
Anderson employs vivid sensory descriptions, including a drone faery with ‘blond hair worn poet-length’ (p. 171) and the human aroma as a ‘thick meaty smell pungent with chemicals and salt’ (p. 169).
The viewpoint varies, focusing first on Linden, a young Oakenwyld faery blessed by the dying Queen as ‘our people’s greatest hope’ (p.12). Linden’s quest is to seek out the Children of Rhys to beg for a share in their magic, as her people’s magic was exhausted years before. Without magic and glamours after the Queen’s death, the Oakenwyld faeries will die.
Rebel’s viewpoint undertakes a dimensional shift when Timothy, a human teenager, arrives at Oakhaven on suspension from school and is drawn to the oak, ‘a lonely titan shivering in the cold’ (p. 27).Timothy runs away to London unwittingly with Linden in his backpack. When he and Linden come to the attention of The Empress, Timothy is forced to believe in faeries and reluctantly joins Linden’s quest.
Timothy’s isolation as an English schoolboy from Uganda (child of missionaries) is replicated by the Oakewyld faeries isolation from others of their kind (they’re all female and confined to the Oak). Timothy and Linden become friends in this adventurous coming-of-age story.
fifteen: in the playhouse
i feel that i never get to enough plays, so to have eight in one hit puts my annual total up a bit. this is the weekend i was waiting all year for, since i moved here.
the north queensland festival of one-act plays over two nights at the civic theatre was as good as i'd hoped. i don't know which play or performances won yet (didn't stay for the decision) but i know which ones i liked. i remember going to either the first or second festival years ago when wendy was teaching drama at st margaret mary's (this was the 17th) and the audience was much larger.
i was disappointed with the size of the audience this time. hardly any young people and possibly lacking in many of the local school drama departments' students and teachers (although the weekend clashed with groovin the moo at murray, so maybe that was where they all were?)
my pick for best play: jabberwocky by ken cotterill with community theatre.
my pick for best actors (several): emma davis in sorry wrong number (as well as several of the operators) by columba catholic college and both esme mullens and lyn tarring in townsville little theatre's garbage by helen wyngard.
no idea about best direction (there were many good elements).
synopses:
mitch and miranda (community theatre) - effective use of breaking the fourth wall, and repetition with a twist in the end that i did not see coming.
lee (kumcom theatre) - interesting use of old film to introduce the play (subject - who really killed jfk?) but it went on too long. the man and lee were very powerful characters.
heedless spirits (pimlico state high) - good cast (4 f, 2 m) but the synopsis didn't match what i saw in the end - while i heard that julia was no longer in love with dave, when he came to sit next to her at the end (in a very smooth move), she looked bashful rather than indifferent. the interaction between the girls was brilliant though.
jabberwocky (community theatre) - excellent absurdist theatre! i absolutely loved the woman who was not there, especially her rhythmic spoken word dance act - he beats her / every night / bam / bam (cheryl maddox). the poor man! he eventually gave in to 'the force from outside' and staggered off stage at a 45 degree angle. the waitress was good too with line delivery.
the shed (townsville little theatre) - clever, a one act play with two sets.
sorry wrong number (columba catholic college) - excellent lighting and direction. mrs stevenson was in bed, only used her upper body, only ever used the telephone. no walking, just lots of talking (and shouting and one very effective scream). each telephone operator was stagelit at their turn at one side of the stage. there were some very funny accents and mannerisms. it was very dial m for murder. the sound of the train and the deep-voiced man at the end were very chilling. lovely to see mrs stevenson alive after curtain fall to come in to the audience for the next play!
garbage (townsville little theatre) - strong audience support from tlt members. lyn tarring as florrie probably had the most heartrending stage speech of the festival. as both florrie and sniffy left the stage (at different times), i would have probably made a point of writing that both of them had left their homes or once had homes. it was a point made for florrie, but i don't remember it for sniffy. mags, who liked the open space never left the stage.
three brilliant performances coming up in the year for the school's program too.
the gruffalo, an adaptation of the picture book by julia donaldson and axel scheffler.
special delivery, a visual comedy.
and something i highly recommend (i saw these performers at out of the box 2006) - tashi!! two tales from imaginary theatre and anna and barbara fienberg's tashi stories.
thanks, townsville theatre community! [first published on http://the-storyspace.blogspot.com/, May 2010]
added notes 5.5.10: Results published so far
Congratulations to Columba Catholic College students involved in the Townsville Festival of One Act Plays held over the May Day Long Weekend. The play “Sorry, Wrong Number” won the award for the Best Production – Junior Section; Best Director – Junior Section; and Best Crew – Festival.
the north queensland festival of one-act plays over two nights at the civic theatre was as good as i'd hoped. i don't know which play or performances won yet (didn't stay for the decision) but i know which ones i liked. i remember going to either the first or second festival years ago when wendy was teaching drama at st margaret mary's (this was the 17th) and the audience was much larger.
i was disappointed with the size of the audience this time. hardly any young people and possibly lacking in many of the local school drama departments' students and teachers (although the weekend clashed with groovin the moo at murray, so maybe that was where they all were?)
my pick for best play: jabberwocky by ken cotterill with community theatre.
my pick for best actors (several): emma davis in sorry wrong number (as well as several of the operators) by columba catholic college and both esme mullens and lyn tarring in townsville little theatre's garbage by helen wyngard.
no idea about best direction (there were many good elements).
synopses:
mitch and miranda (community theatre) - effective use of breaking the fourth wall, and repetition with a twist in the end that i did not see coming.
lee (kumcom theatre) - interesting use of old film to introduce the play (subject - who really killed jfk?) but it went on too long. the man and lee were very powerful characters.
heedless spirits (pimlico state high) - good cast (4 f, 2 m) but the synopsis didn't match what i saw in the end - while i heard that julia was no longer in love with dave, when he came to sit next to her at the end (in a very smooth move), she looked bashful rather than indifferent. the interaction between the girls was brilliant though.
jabberwocky (community theatre) - excellent absurdist theatre! i absolutely loved the woman who was not there, especially her rhythmic spoken word dance act - he beats her / every night / bam / bam (cheryl maddox). the poor man! he eventually gave in to 'the force from outside' and staggered off stage at a 45 degree angle. the waitress was good too with line delivery.
the shed (townsville little theatre) - clever, a one act play with two sets.
sorry wrong number (columba catholic college) - excellent lighting and direction. mrs stevenson was in bed, only used her upper body, only ever used the telephone. no walking, just lots of talking (and shouting and one very effective scream). each telephone operator was stagelit at their turn at one side of the stage. there were some very funny accents and mannerisms. it was very dial m for murder. the sound of the train and the deep-voiced man at the end were very chilling. lovely to see mrs stevenson alive after curtain fall to come in to the audience for the next play!
garbage (townsville little theatre) - strong audience support from tlt members. lyn tarring as florrie probably had the most heartrending stage speech of the festival. as both florrie and sniffy left the stage (at different times), i would have probably made a point of writing that both of them had left their homes or once had homes. it was a point made for florrie, but i don't remember it for sniffy. mags, who liked the open space never left the stage.
three brilliant performances coming up in the year for the school's program too.
the gruffalo, an adaptation of the picture book by julia donaldson and axel scheffler.
special delivery, a visual comedy.
and something i highly recommend (i saw these performers at out of the box 2006) - tashi!! two tales from imaginary theatre and anna and barbara fienberg's tashi stories.
thanks, townsville theatre community! [first published on http://the-storyspace.blogspot.com/, May 2010]
added notes 5.5.10: Results published so far
Congratulations to Columba Catholic College students involved in the Townsville Festival of One Act Plays held over the May Day Long Weekend. The play “Sorry, Wrong Number” won the award for the Best Production – Junior Section; Best Director – Junior Section; and Best Crew – Festival.
Tuesday 1 March 2011
fourteen: the black book of colours by menena cottin
The Black Book of Colours by Menena CottinLondon: Walker, 2010
Review published 2010 at CMIS Resource BankThe Black Book of Colours captivates everyone who gets their hands on it. Ask yourself on finishing: do you really see our world, or have you become blind to its brilliance?
Thomas is blind, but that doesn’t mean he misses out on the rich rainbow of colours that fills our world. His mother has worked with him to identify the smell and feel of colours, the taste and the sound of colours. The Black Book is presented from Thomas’ third person viewpoint, incorporating Braille text with white typeset text on the left of each completely black double spread, with raised black line drawings on the right.
Evocative text describes colours through sensory imagery to allow sighted readers to understand how blind and low vision people may experience colour.
Red is sour like unripe strawberries and as sweet as watermelon. It hurts when he finds it on his scraped knee.
The Black Book will have many applications in the classroom, from disability awareness to history (of Braille), art class and English. Students may make their own sensory picture story books or use vivid imagery to describe colours. Scratch and sniff strips, siren sounds, fluffy feathers and sandpaper are found in various tactile toddler books to link words and senses. The Black Book uses descriptive language to bring those senses to life. It targets sighted people to develop understanding of a blind or low vision person’s life experience. On a more complex level, tolerance of others’ viewpoints could be taught – we all see things differently.
Readers may begin to imagine what it is like to read by touch, but decoding these line drawings is surprisingly difficult. Their structure is not truly tactile as outlined by IFLA.
For futher literacy extension, students may develop their own black boxes in the style of Vision Australia’s Feelix kits. Such kits may contain the storybook with typewritten and Braille text, an audio version (or the children may read to a visually impaired student), and a variety of tactile props to support the story. Props for The Very Hungry Caterpillar could result in quite a feast!
thirteen: the river by libby hathorn and stanley wong
Curriculum Corporation, 2001
“The story is about a treasure! You’ll see…”
What is Xian’s treasure, and what does it mean to Hong? Stanley Wong’s design expertly sets the scene with his brushstroke title, Chinese lettering and faithful depiction of scrolls, furnishings and landscape. Single spread illustrations cover each page with the two interwoven stories differing in layout. The use of frames for today’s indoor urban scenes is perhaps a metaphor for its controlled nature, where Hong’s father is single-minded:
“Hong! You haven’t done your homework… get on with your duties!”
Rural China
Children enjoy The River for its adventure and introduction to Chinese culture. Insertion of three panels within the larger illustration (p. 30) cleverly shows action essential to the plot. The blue and white pot (of the past) is placed near the blue and white iMac computer on the next to last page suggesting a coming together of past and present (as is the theme of Xian’s treasure).
Libby Hathorn clearly has a strong interest in presenting Asian stories. Notes mention the Vietnamese story on her website which readers will want to explore. In this book, Hong is gifted the story of The River and the reader shares it with her.
Xian’s remembrance of home, “Keep to the river. Remember, it’s your friend,” sets the linear path that she must follow from her old life (when her mother dies) to the future with her grandparents.
Two notes of incongruity in this family tale concern Xian’s father not being mentioned, and
the incident with the boy and girl which happens in her grandparent’s village, her safe haven.
Hathorn presents a good adventure, but it did not flow as strongly as the story’s river. More exploration into Hong’s family life would have served the story better. We are left wondering why Ming gave her story to Hong and not her own granddaughter.
If the reader can ignore these small points of discontent, they will indeed have found a treasure and will perhaps be inspired to ask about their own family’s stories.
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