Reviewed by Jay Scott Kanes
Focus on telling stories and then writing becomes much easier. That's the approach of British-born children's author Paul Strahan who pleases both genders in the knee-high-to-a-grasshopper crowd.
Among Strahan's recent titles, The Never-Ending Bag of Crisps fascinates boys while The Farm Girl and the Butterflies appeals to tiny female readers. Both 48-page books appeared in 2009, published by Hanson International Enterprise Ltd.
“Other than to generate modest income, my hope is to bring smiles to the faces of children and their parents through reader-friendly words and images that help my stories spring from the pages,” Strahan said.
A former corporate executive, he long felt compelled to write: “I have been writing for many years, sometimes more years than I care to remember. During that time, writing has been no more than a hobby. Commitments to my career with the inevitable time constraints, as well as bringing up and supporting my family, meant writing had to take a back seat.”
Now in his early 60s, “downsized” out of the corporate world and living on Hong Kong's outlying Lamma Island, Strahan finally pursues writing and publishing as much higher priorities. “I've established my own publishing company and teamed up with a brilliant illustrator,” he said.
Too often, children's books have an author keen to take credit while the best work comes from an illustrator. But Strahan writes in more detail than most and with the creative skills to give his books substance.
Absolutely, the artwork's great too. Illustrator Mike Peebles, from New Zealand, and art director Peter Wong, formerly of Hong Kong but moved to New Zealand, work with Strahan. Some illustrations, especially in The Farm Girl and the Butterflies, would look entirely appropriate on art-gallery walls.
In The Never-Ending Bag of Crisps, 10-year-old William Walker-Smith loves potato chips and spends most of his pocket money on them. As someone who grew up on a potato farm in a region where big factories make potato chips, I appreciate this theme.
Young William wins more approval because his favorite potato-chip flavor is salt-and-vinegar, the same as mine. “He opened the bag and smelt the aroma wafting from the packet. He took one crisp out, looked at it, smiled and then placed it in his mouth. His eyes lit up as he let it dissolve on his tongue.” Ah! Readers almost taste it too.
Imagine William's delight to discover a magical chips bag that constantly refills. But the magic backfires, and his fantasy-come-true turns nightmarish.
Still, the dilemma isn't all bad. “William had always been a popular boy at school, but now he was even more popular. All of a sudden, he found himself with many more new friends, all of whom wanted to help him eat his never-ending bag of crisps.”
Meanwhile, The Farm Girl and the Butterflies pits young heroine Elisa against Valdessa, a wicked witch who casts spells and confiscates precious food, including from Elisa's parents. The witch loves strawberries, but surprisingly, fears butterflies. Can Elisa summon the savvy and derring-do to outwit the witch?
Unlike ugly Valdessa's 1,000-room palace, Elisa's home has a “roof that leaked when the rain poured down and small wooden windows that rattled when the wind blew". That sounds a little like certain Lamma Island village houses. Come to think of it, Lamma has beautiful butterflies too!
“Elisa became tired and sat down by the stream to rest. While she was sitting there, her eyes were drawn to the most beautiful butterfly she had ever seen.”
True, these books contain slightly annoying flaws. For example:
-- Careless wording. Strahan writes that Elisa's family had “three brown feathered chickens which laid one egg every day” when he means one egg each.
-- Faulty grammar. “Darling, no one can cook as good as you.”
-- Contradiction. “This bag of crisps will never be empty”, but really the bag refills only when empty.
-- Confusion. Fancy lettering in The Farm Girl and the Butterflies makes “K” look more like “R". References to “the Ring” really mean “the King".
-- Sloppiness. Text splattered on top of illustrations weakens both.
Even so, The Never-Ending Bag of Crisps and The Farm Girl and the Butterflies deserve high marks. Astute young readers will want more tales from Strahan and his team.
For more information: www.paul-strahan.com
Approval rating: 74 per cent.
(September 24, 2010)
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