Miki by Stephen Mackey
| Miki by Stephen Mackey | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
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| Summary: A lovely tale of a magical Midwinter Eve in the Arctic. Stephen Mackey's illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. Despite the cold setting, it's a book with immense warmth. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 48 | Date: October 2009 |
| Publisher: Hodder Children's Books | |
| ISBN: 978-0340950654 | |
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It's cold, dark and icy, and Miki and Penguin are trudging through the snow. But it's Midwinter Eve, when wishes come true. They wish for a tree, lights, someone strong to power the lights, and finally a star that will shine brightly forever. Miki is taken deep below the ice to find the star, whilst up top Penguin and new friend Polar Bear start to worry about her.
Miki is a fascinating, quirky and delightful tale. It's awash with magic and mystery, but all with a slant that won't be familiar to readers, which makes it all the more intriguing and surprising. Although an original tale, it has a feel of folk tales of other cultures, and it works wonderfully. Miki is a sweet little girl, and Penguin and Polar Bear make for good friends; their goals are both simple and other-worldly. It all clicks together to create a wonderful whole.
Stephen Mackey's illustrations are gorgeous. The paintings have a delicious softness to them, perfectly capturing the warmth of Miki's clothes, the fluffiness of Polar Bear's fur, the deep, powdery snow, and the all-encompassing deep sea. Many pages are appropriately stinting with the text, to fully allow the pictures to shine, set the atmosphere and draw the readers in. It's an ideal book to read when it's cold outside and you're wrapped up warm inside.
As the nights draw closer, it's lovely to see books also changing with the seasons. Miki is also the perfect book to read when Christmas is on the horizon, but you want a change from the traditional and sometimes cloying stories. It captures the magic, it captures the cold, it captures the warmth, and most importantly it captures the heart. Any young book fan will love it. Recommended.
My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag. Would you like to hear more about Miki?
For another gorgeous picture book with beautiful snowscapes, check out Where Is Home, Little Pip? by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman. Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara is lovely too. For pure Christmas cuteness, take a look at A Very Marley Christmas by John Grogan.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Miki by Stephen Mackey at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Miki by Stephen Mackey at Amazon.com.
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