For the very young
Bedtime tales
Sandra Paul
Harlequin and the Gift of Many Colours Remy Charlip and Burton Supree (Kestrel £1.75) Cinderella John Fowles (Jonathan Cape £1.25) Skimpy William Sampson (Andre Deutsch £1.85) The Wooden Man Max Bollinger (Hamish Hamilton £1.60) Dreams Ezra Jack 'Keats (Hamish Hamilton £1.75)
Mushroom in the Rain Mira Ginsburg (Hamish Hamilton £1.80) There seems to be a scarcity among children's books of the type of story that will capture the interest of those children who are far too easily diverted from settling down to a good read, even when there's nothing much to do. There are enough examples of children who devour any reading matter, from the small print on the cornflakes packet to Karl Marx, to make me anxious to coax and encourage my children to learn to enjoy reading and it wouldn't matter how 'light-weight' the book if the reading habit could be captured for the future.
Of books of this kind catering for the variety of demands made by young sleepy listeners to bedtime stories, there is, (happily for painstaking parents) an immense selection. Though stories need by no means be confined to being read at bedtime, to me that traditional moment of cuddly contact, when there are no distractions to prevent a child from absorbing the book's thoughts, images and fantasies, provides formative opportunities not to be missed. Harlequin and The Gift of Many Colours is the story of Harlequin, familiar to us all, and the tale of his origins is told here by Remy Charlip and Burton Supree. They are experienced in Choreography and children's theatre and design. The book, sketched as it is in soft pastels With the figures darting gracefully across the pages, is a reminder that Harlequin is a uniquely theatrical figure. It tells how Harlequin, being too poor to have a fancy costume for the carnival, is given a tiny piece of each of his friends costumes. His mother sews the ill assorted multi-coloured scraps to his old clothes and he becomes the mystery star of the carnival, his costume a myriad of colours, as he dances in the streets. Everyone suddenly recognises him and he feels "clothed in the love of his friends."
John Fowles has retold Cinderella basing his interpretation on the original by Perrault in 1697. He makes it a simple story, sympathetic and with a contemporary flavour, rather than the melodramatic fable it sometimes becomes: even the ugly sisters seem less menacing. Sheilah Beckett illustrates it with delicate drawings in black and white, refreshing to adult eyes though a child might have preferred colourful pages.
Two picture books, Skimpy and The Wooden Man make a scarecrow the hero and the villain of the piece respectively. I was more drawn to Skimpy, an engaging chap who hurriedly comes into being when Farmer Pearson despairs of the crows eating all his corn. He forgets to tell Skimpy what he is and Skimpy asks all the animals in vain until a wise old tractor enlightens him. It's a happy story with humorous pictures by Hilery Abrahams and even the crows don't come to any harm. Not so the scarecrow in the latter book. He is a monster in buttoned uniform with helmet and sword, and has a gun in one outstretched hand that blasts off during the day. The birds stop singing and hide. The sun, wind and rain are so upset at this that they destroy the scarecrow , and the birds begin to sing again: the story with its bold paintings and harsh overtones will probably fascinate children.
Two more enchanting picture stories are Dreams and Mushroom in The Rain. They are visual adventures with a minimal story thread. Dreams is about a boy seen at one window of an apartment block and each page of the book shows the whole building with different capsules of everyday life glimpsed through the various windows. As people start to dream each window frames a different swirling kaleidoscope of colour. Its intimacy and realism make this a rare gem of a book. Mushroom in The Rain is colourful and funny, telling of how an ant and subsequently a butterfly, mouse, sparrow and rabbit all manage to squeeze under a mushroom to shelter from the rain. It progresses at an ideal pace for a very young child to follow the story and understand it.
Sandra Paul, the model, now writes on fashion and children's books
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