Storytime Issue 102 Out Now!
Meeting new people can be exciting – and you will find some new and interesting friends inside the pages of this month’s issue of Storytime. They are so fantastic that we thought we ought to share a special thanks to our fantastic artists, who really brought them to life!
On the cover, you will see Fergus and his new friend, from the story Mayhem in the Museum. He really likes dinosaurs – and makes a friend of his own on a surprising school trip. We won’t spoil what happens, but it is really great fun… Qazaleh Barootian, our guest artist from Iran, did a wonderful job with the illustrations! It will make you feel as if you really were in a fabulous museum!
Next, we have a fairy tale about a boy whose very large footwear gave him an unusual nickname! In Boots and his Brothers, the young Boots is a curious and good-natured boy and he can teach his older brothers a thing or two! The things Boots finds on his way will become his friends too! There’s plenty of magic and adventure in the story and part of that magic is provided by Chiara Carapallese, with her bright and lively art!
How about a trip all the way to Japan? Which creatures would you meet there? The Earthquake Fish stars two leading characters who are famous in Japanese mythology – a hot-tempered thunder god and a giant catfish who makes the world tremble by wriggling his tail. Wiliam Luong used historical Japanese prints as inspiration for these unforgettable illustrations, while giving them his own unique twist. You’ll love them!
Gubbon Seer is a very clever chap that is good company… even if he does like to play tricks on people! Mariane Cândido illustrated this folk tale about what happened when a greedy king gets Gubbon Seer to build an extraordinary castle and then plans to swindle him! Let’s just say, there are plenty of riddles and plot twists in this one!
Friends can be in our family too – and when twelve sisters move house, they know they can count on each other! The Twelve Dancing Princesses are lucky when they move out of their palace and into a dance studio in The Princesses Move In. They all team up and help each other to face the mess! Check out their cool new cleaning-dance moves in the images by the talented Francesca Romana Braccioti!
When you’re visiting a new place, you want a cool fellow who knows their way around! That describes the Native American heroine of Sacagawea Leads the Way, this month’s real-life story. Sacagawea guided the Lewis and Clark expedition that crossed the American continent, and helped them to get along with the peoples they encountered. Fran Matsumoto takes us along with her, via her beautiful and vivid artwork!
The Magic Garden is a story from Kazakhstan that is about a wise boy who wants to build a garden where people who need it can find peace and plenty. He’s the kind of person we all would like to know – honest and caring, and willing to get things done! Öykü Akarca’s work show his creation in all its wonder…
After all the nice mates we met above, here comes a little plot twist of our own! Sometimes we meet people who can be a bit silly! The Measure of Rice features a foolish man who doesn’t want to do any work but gets a big job. A greedy emperor gives him a very important responsibility and chaos ensues! No one wants to be his mate but he’s bound to make you laugh! Cristina di Pietro illustrated the adventure of the one guy you wouldn’t want to be friends with in this issue!
Which of the characters in this issue would you want to meet? Make sure you have plenty of adventures and magic lined up with your new friends – be it imaginary ones, and real ones too! And one thing is for sure, as the year is just starting, we promise you that many more fabulous friends big and small will feature here soon!
Happy story time, y’all!