Month: April 2012

I absolutely adore picture books. We have literally hundreds at home, many of them mine, rather the children’s (especially the ridiculous number of Anthony Browne titles which grace our shelves). The dissertation for my MA was entitled ‘Complexity and Sophistication on Children’s Picture Books’. Seriously, I think I may have a problem!

I should clarify that by picture book, I mean a book which is defined as a fictional, illustrated book in which pictures are design vehicles for meaning, where text and art are integral aspects of an interdependent relationship.

The very wise Maurice Sendak once said “You cannot write for children. They’re much too complicated. You can only write books that are of interest to them.” I am inclined to agree. Picture books, of which Sendak is famed, are often seen as an introduction to reading for young children and nothing more. This perplexes me. If adults would look carefully at picture books, they would find so much going on beneath the surface.

So that’s my little challenge to you. This week visit a beautiful bookshop and choose yourself a picture. And then read it; drink in the richness of the illustrations, take in the sub-text, but most of all, enjoy it.

With so much information and entertainment at our fingertips, what is the role of a bookshop? Twenty years ago the answer would have been relatively simple. A bookshop was a place to buy books of course, but also somewhere that the customer could access information, talk about books and get recommendations. And that was it.

In an ideal world, we would open a niche little shop, stacked floor to ceiling with all of our favourites and not much else. These days, with profit margins narrowing and outgoings accelerating, that ‘ideal’ would result in a failed business within a matter of months. We have had to do a lot of soul searching before moving forwards seriously with our plans for Chicken and Frog.

In my opinion (and I really hope it’s not just me that holds it), the bookshop should be at the centre of the community. Not only do we want to provide a place where people can buy books, but we want to encourage browsing and develop a dialogue about the pleasures of reading. My favourite reads haven’t come from a website, but from having a good old nose about a bookshop or from a recommendation. So that’s what we will do. But, more than that, we want to be part of the high street, inviting and encouraging others to come together.

I am pleased to say that Brentwood has a very strong community of indie shops already and we are very excited to join the party! So, alongside the books, we will also be stocking local crafts, providing a relaxed space for parents to have a cuppa whilst the kids rummage through a dressing up box or listen to a story. And, we will be hosting lots of fantastic events run by local crafty types, as well inviting people in to give talks…we aim to reflect and embrace our community.

We’d love to hear your views. What would you like to see in the perfect bookshop?

Wow, what a busy, productive, lovely evening I’ve just had! Not only did I get to eat some very yummy food courtesy of Claire Mackaness of YIAH (still a bit full, must learn to stop), but I also got to meet some inspirational Brentwood business women.

I could get used to this networking lark, especially if there’s good food involved 😉 I found out lots more about the Brentwood Bag Project which is wonderful, eco-friendly, community building enterprise. Seriously can not wait until Chicken and Frog are involved with the project. I also met so many fabulous people, all running independent shops and businesses in the heart of Brentwood, including Mesh, Running Rabbit, Vintage Victory, Cookery Angel, Raquette Boutique and Laurie Edmonds.

So I am now looking forward to meeting up with lots of people next week @Brentwoodtwtup, where I am hoping to ‘meet the faces behind the usernames, make new connections & get the local lowdown’.

I honestly do love Brentwood.

As things are now moving swiftly in the right direction, with contracts finally being written, we can start to firm up some of our regular in-shop events. Some will be free (story telling, for example) and some will not (sorry!).

There’ll be ‘Rhythm and Rhyme’ for pre-school children, ‘Discover a Book’, regular story telling sessions every week, ‘Make and Take’ every month on a Saturday to name but a few. Check out our events page over the next few days for more details…

I am a nerd! It’s official. I’ve known for a while, but when my Face Book status read ‘My dwarven shaman just reached level 8 *ding*’ I could no longer deny it to the rest of the world. Up until now I’ve shyly admitted that I have nerd-like tendencies, including my taste in men (namely Mr Frog). Gone are the days of my youth when I mocked my nerdy friends for playing such ‘ridiculous’ games.

However, I justify this state of afffairs with the following facts*. Dungeons and Dragons (my game of choice):

1. is an amazing way of bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together
2. develops the imagination
3. is story-telling at its best (though sometimes at its worst)
4. encourages team work
5. develops mental maths skills

So there you have it. You see, D&D is the perfect pass time for people who love spinning a good yarn (and killing dire rats).

And for this reason, we will be hosting many a games evening/afternoon at Chicken and Frog.

*well, strongly held beliefs

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the levels of literacy in our children and young adults. Apparently our schools are failing their pupils left, right and centre. This accusation is nothing new. If you trawl back through the archives there has always been criticism thrown at our schools. All I can say as a teacher in an East London school, with over sixteen years of experience, is that schools are often the scapegoat to deeper rooted problems.

I will concede that there are some teachers out there who aren’t stepping up to their responsibilities in the classroom. And yes, tragically, there are children who ‘slip through the net’ for a number of reasons. Some arrive mid-phase with little or no English and/or schooling; some are unlucky with the teachers they have (an unacceptable situation, which I am hoping the new OFSTED guidelines will help to eradicate), some have learning difficulties which are not supported, some are disaffected and disengaged in their own learning. These are not excuses, they are the facts, plain and simple.

The government, in its infinite wisdom, has resolved to tackle this issue. How? Surely they will be allocating more funds to poorly resourced schools, or ensuring that all schools house a library run by a qualified librarian or committing to high quality library services. No, none of these seemingly logical options have been adopted. Instead they have introduced another test. A test for our year 1 (aged 5-6) pupils, which will gauge their understanding and application of their phonic knowledge.

As a teacher and a parent, I do not object to the premise of the test. It should go a long way to ensuring that our children are systematically taught phonics. I do object to the submission of results to Local Authorities. Not because the data shouldn’t be shared, but because it is flawed. Because, if taught in isolation, phonics will not make you a reader. It will make you a decoder of symbols; someone who can bark at a text. But what of their understanding? What connection is there?

A reader is created through the oral tradition of communities and through the immersion in good books. The more children read, the more they develop as readers. And the more we read to our children, the greater their love of books becomes. Books open their minds to new worlds, they expand vocabulary, making children more articulate and confident in this ever-competitive world we live in. This test of real and ‘pseudo’ words will be an indication of a school’s ability to play the game. If this remains the case, I’m not playing anymore.

I’m sitting here in our front room and looking lovingly at my Alice collection. I have near on 100 editions of Alice in Wonderland, pictures, playing cards, jewellery, a kaleidoscope, even a tattoo. My most prized edition is a Mebel Lucie Atwell c.1910, with coloured plates. What is wrong with me? Just last week at the London Book Fair, I found myself dribbling slightly over American Macgee’s Alice. Do I really need yet another version?

Yes I do. Alice in Wonderland was one of the first ‘big’ books that I owned as a child. The edition I was given was sparsely illustrated, with very small text. It has a dull plain red cover, the glossy crimson dust jacket has long since gone. I tell you I loved that book. I remember immersing myself completely within it’s strangely compelling plot. And I think I love it even more today. It has been read to all three of my children, before they born. Yes, I am one of those odd folk who read to her bump.

Long live my obsession, I highly recommend taking on a book-based passion, it’s what started my love affair with reading.

It’s a tough one isn’t it? We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with images. The programmes we watch, the games we play are built up around sophisticated graphics. And for the younger generation, this is the norm. Gone are the days of accepting poor quality blocky graphics on a computer screen. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s called progress. Even I, who am not a fan of computer games, can not help but be impressed with the latest offerings from the games designers. But, is it enough? If we just watch, if we simply accept the images that are chosen for us, what do we gain from the experience?

I’m not suggesting that entertainment is a bad thing, we all need some down time. What I do feel, most strongly though, is that the experience of passively watching a film is far surpassed by the experience of creating those images for yourself. Our two eldest have gone to watch ‘The Hunger Games’ this afternoon. I have no qualms about the violence; it’s part of the plot, rather than gratuitous for the sake of shock factor. That’s a whole other debate which I know has sparked some conflicting views over the past few weeks since the film’s release. What bothers me is that neither of the girls have read the whole book yet, which means that it will be the images of the film maker which will be imprinted on their brains. When they do go on to complete their reading of the trilogy, they won’t be able to help but see the faces of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth as the story unfolds.

My question is, doesn’t that take away from the joy of a good read? I don’t want to be dictated to, I want to be able to unpick the author’s words and make my own choices about the landscape which unfolds before me. Read first, then go and see the film, once you have allowed your mind’s eye to fill in the purposeful gaps left by the author.  My version of a character is bound to differ greatly from someone else’s and that’s what makes the reading of a story so unique, so personal.

As you know, we are now well on our way to starting up our tremendous bookshop. I’ll admit that before we started this process, I was rather naive about rent negotiation and the drawing up of contracts. We have our own house and I remember only too well what I lovingly refer to as ‘the screaming down the phone phase’ of the proceedings. Nervous parents edging away from me in the playground as I explained that we needed to exchange immediately if not sooner. Oh, memories. If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger, right? However, I just assumed that the process for beginning a business would not be quite so traumatic.

I don’t do this often, so make a note of the date, because I will admit that I was wrong. Very wrong. We have been in negotiations for the property of our desire for four months and have only just reached the point where ‘Heads of Terms’* have been drawn up. For those of you in the know, it probably doesn’t seem too long, but when you consider that the said property has been vacant for nearly seven years, it all seems a bit bizarre.

Why aren’t the landlords biting our hands off (not literally of course, I like my hands)? I’m not complaining. Not because I haven’t got anything to complain about, it’s just a bit pointless to be fair. And, to the landlords’ credit, they are carrying out a lot of the work for us, so we can move in and make it look groovy, without worrying about the cost of flooring etc.

What I would say is, if you are considering setting out on such a venture, be wary of time frames and be prepared for the fact that they have a nasty habit of shifting along the calendar without your knowledge. For us, our saviour has been a bit of blind faith and a truly brilliant agent who has kept us informed every step of the way. Now that contracts are being drawn up, I can honestly say that it has been worth the wait. We have the shop of our dreams in our line of vision and are one step closer to making ‘Chicken and Frog Bookshop’ a reality for the people of sunny Brentwood in Essex.

Now, who can we find to cut the ribbon on our opening day… *Heads of Terms are the pre-curser document to the final contract between tenant and landlord.