Cute stuff I found down the oppy

Sometimes it's impossible not to judge a book by it's cover.

(Hi toes, fancy seeing you here!)

The stories are just as good as the design and illustrations.

Some original, some re-workings of classic fairy stories, many New Zealand tales.

The full set of 6, published by the School Publications Branch of the NZ department of Education in 1963-1969.

Many famous NZ writers and artists started their careers in the school publications department.

There is a wonderful book by Gregory O'Brien about the artists who worked there called "A Nest of Singing Birds"

Roy Cowan, NZ mid century modernist potter and print maker, and a favourite artist of mine illustrated one of the stories, Penguin Island. While it's not in the style he later developed I love the story/illustrations as they remind me of Moeraki/Fleurs Place!

There are a couple of GREAT James K Baxter, (facinating and famous NZ writer) childrens poems.

The red flowering tree there is the Pohutakawa,  New Zealands Christmas tree.

Great condition! What a find! Overjoyed!

Op shop sunday

 

 I know its really spring, and nearly summer when it's French-fest.

Akaroa was where the French landed, just a few short week of the Brits who claimed NZ way back.

Overfamiliarity (we go there all the time) doesn't make it any less lovely in my eyes.

(As are the French sailors, in uniform, who sail over every year from French Polynesia for the celebrations, and drive the local teenage population wild. Mmmmm).

I wore these, one of a HUGE box of gifts I will slowly unveil, from Leonie courtesy of Cat's Tilda Christmas swap THANK YOU LEONIE!

We beachcombed and picnic-ed

And I saw somemore cool letter boxes whilst we were out there

Dolly house!

Tea and taps at The Giants House, a big mosaic garden thing, like a tacky Gaudi take-off. 

                                            This, I believe is where the Akaroa plumber resides!

                           And there was the lure of the annual bowling club fundraising book sale

This kids book is so beautiful, every page made me sigh and think it was written about Claudine.

Umm and the dirt wiped off ;)

There is both a play and a book about what might have happened to New Zealand had the French arrived first.

Nuclear power aside (and don't mention the Rainbow Warrior) it's quite an alluring what-if...

Wanna see my Tin Swop goodies?

Deb over at Works in Progress organised a cool swop, especially for a tin-lover like me.

The idea was to find a cool tin and fill it with something op-shopped, something handmade, crafty, sweet etc.

I was paired up with Alexa from Stitchy-Mama who, despite being quite busy giving birth mid tin swop, still managed to rustle up a great tin and contents for me!

Biscuit cutters for my collection (I don't have either of these!)

Feathers for my headband makings

Teeny-tiny origami stars

And a little book...

A retro kids book about a little mouse who grows fruit

Spookily, this arrived as we returned from a berry farm where we'd gone for high tea and lost Clauds little maileg mouse-how funny is that! And the book did a beautiful job of molifying her until said mouse could be search and rescued the following day!

And the most amazing bunting...

Handpainted cherry blossom on handmade bunting.

So beautiful!

Thanks so much Alexa, I love it all x

Happy Matariki!

                                                           (Image by Robert Gendler)

Happy Matariki! The Maori New Year begins with the rise of the Pleidies star cluster in the Southern hemisphere winter night sky alongside the new moon, which this year falls on Saturday June 4^th, or 6^th or 16^th  depending on the source of your information!
Traditionally it’s celebration involved eating, dancing and kite flying. I absolutely love the traditional Maori kites, I think because they remind me of the Angel of the North, except not grounded. You never seem to see them though, except in museums, and though I’d love to have a go at flying one, or even making one I can’t seem to find out much about it at all. 

The Angel of The North , a famous UK sculpture, by Anthony Gormley.

We celebrated Matariki with a special Matariki storytime at the Bishopdale library, Maori tats and Clauds first candle lit dinner.

Claud also went a little more crazed than is probably sensible before bedtime, on her first torch and starlit exploration of the garden. She span and span the torch round giggling and gasping, dashed into the ever moving spotlight, chased the disappearing into the blackness cats with her new tool of put-upon moggy-irritation; was fascinated by the insects-by-night, and all this night dancing to the tune of "ar", "ar", "sar" (star!). Awhh!

 The Southern Cross looked majestic, but the Pleiades were missing? The glow-in-the-dark-star-chart showed the Pleiades low to the horizon so we drove up to the rolling hills at the back of Loburn for a clearer view, but in the 10 minutes that took the cloud came down and the claud went home. Quick to sleep by twinkling fairy lights, and a story of winter (Bramby Hedge; Winter Story, by Jill Barklem,1980) dreaming perhaps of a cat that could be caught.

                Brambly Hedge, a fave from my childhood for the intricate drawings which I spent hours copying.
       (from this great blog http://anillustratorsinspiration.blogspot.com/2011/03/jill-barklem-and-other-animal- %20lovers.html)

Kite flying tommorow (the traditional type), lets hope for wind!

Rua and the Sea People

I’ve been reading some great blogging about children’s books this week, in particular here http://www.vintagechildrensbooksmykidloves.com/   I can’t wait to find the time to sit down with a pint mug of tea and a packet of macaroons to peruse her blog of several years in depth, especially since I found out she used to work for the Muppets! Me and the hubby have amassed quite a collection of New Zealand specific, retro and art related children’s books since our wee whippersnapper was expected.

The 16 month old has been a fan of the illustrations in Rua and the Sea People, by R.L Bacon & Para Matchitt (1968) since she was very small indeed; and there is much about the writing and the story which lend its self to remaining a favourite in the future.

 

 Matchitt is a relatively well known New Zealand artist, whose work successfully blended traditional Maori art and mid-century modern art. The art for this book is representative of his work and is done primarily in the traditional Maori pallet of black, white and red.

Being European I find the drawings unusual and interesting, and certainly not typical of a children’s book, then or now. Like the folklore story itself, of the Maoris first impressions of the arrival of Captain Cook in New Zealand/Aotearoa; they are drawn using a Maori specific representational style.
If you imagine them from a very young child’s point of view, the limited colour range and simple outlines are the sort very young children are able to visually grasp. A little more interesting and absorbing than the typical book for infants of animal outlines!