International review of 'The Gleaming Clouds' by Murray Alfredson

Murray Alfredson's poetry makes you stop and think.  Popular UK reviewer Valerie Penny agrees:

"When this anthology first came to my attention, I had no idea what to expect from it.  Whatever it was the works far exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend this collection of poems to poetry lovers everywhere.

 

I was excited and amazed by the wide variety of styles of poetry: each at a thought provoking level.  The anthology displays a sound knowledge and understanding of the important ideologies and beliefs of the world.

 

I was particularly interested by Isaac’s boyhood.  It addresses issues that had concerned me and I was delighted to learn of someone else voicing the thoughts so eloquently. 

Another poem that fascinated me was Bi- meets uni-polar.  My cousin is bi-polar and I have lived with clinical depression for years. This poem aptly reflects many of our conversations!

I have already read and enjoyed The Sandwich several times, on each occasion  discovering new images, aspirations and impressions.  So few lines weave so detailed a pattern.

 

One of the translations he includes is Presence, one of my favourite Goethe poems.  I enjoyed the translation, and the excuse to re-read the original."

 

- Valerie Penny's Book Reviews

Read the full review here!
 

Find out more about The Gleaming Clouds here.

Wonderful review of 'The Sky Dreamer' by Anne Morgan and Céline Eimann

We're delighted to see that The Sky Dreamer continues to be popular with education professionals.  With its themes of learning to cope with difficult life circumstances, it's a great story for any library, classroom, or child therapist's office.

This latest review comes from OZTL, the Australian Teacher Librarian Network.
The Sky Dreamer is also available in French, French-English bilingual, and German translated editions.

"This is a most sensitive, alluring book about a child dealing with death.  Written following the death of the author's daughter, it acknowledges that grief is a long journey which may be shared but which is travelled alone.  It can be stormy and seemingly endless but there is eventually acceptance and comfort and a way forward.
 
The beautiful, delicate pictures mirror the mood of the story perfectly - monochrome in Liam's dark days, and the introduction of colour when Cassie appears in the Sky Dreamer hints at a glimmer of hope and happiness.  The chaos and colour of the storms reflect Liam's thinking and feelings, but as they merge into gentler colours and less frenetic images the reader gets a sense of growing peace and calm.
 
Too often our students travel their own version of Luke's journey - this is a book that might help them navigate it more easily, showing them that whatever feelings they have are OK and that they are not alone.  That, in itself, might offer comfort."

- Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, 500 Hats and The Bottom Shelf Educational Blog

The Sky Dreamer, beautifully illustrated by Céline Eimann