On her fascinating web-page about the process of writing The Snow Leopard (Frances Lincoln, 2008), author and illustrator Jackie Morris says:

Many years ago I bought The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen. At last I settled to read it, thinking it was about the search for the leopard. It wasn’t, it was a search for other things, but the book created wonderful images in my head, images of wildness and patience.

Her beautiful book is about much more than the snow leopard too – I would say that she has pulled those images of wildness and patience into a magical story, which proffers inspiration both to help in the conservation of this extremely rare animal and to live in peace and harmony with our surroundings.

The story reads like a poem, in rich, sonorous prose that emphasises its sense of timelessness. To give a bare outline, the Snow Leopard is “the great ghost cat” whose song from the beginning of time “clothed the world in white and built a crackling fortress of snow […] to keep all things safe and secret”. However, she is getting old and has begun her search for a successor. There is a child asleep in the village who is dreaming her song. When soldiers attack the valley, the Snow Leopard carries her to the safety of the mountains…

The story is complex in all it has to offer about notions of identity and safety; and of respect for what is precious to life: themes which have particular resonance in today’s world. Jackie’s stunning watercolour illustrations get this across too, both through the sweeping Himalayan landscapes and in the uncanny depth of expression in her characters’ eyes. While young listeners will immediately be enchanted by the story and its illustrations, something of its deeper message will hopefully find its way into their hearts.

For more information about the snow leopard, go to the Snow Leopard Trust and the Snow Leopard Conservancy websites; and be sure to follow the other links Jackie gives towards the end of her Snow Leopard page too, including teaching resources.

…and a little aside: Jackie is one of the illustrators of our current Book of the Month, the superb We are All Born Free.

Thursday marked the start of the Maori New Year in New Zealand, which falls on the first new moon after the constellation Matariki appears in the sky. Matariki, known variously as the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, Subaru and more in other countries around the world, signals a time of celebration, including kite-making. So it’s time to reach for Libby Hakaraia’s book Celebrating Matariki for a rather more active bedtime than usual. Here in the northern hemisphere, as we approach mid-summer, the sky is far too light at bedtime to see any stars at all – but there is something about reading about them that just makes you go and look out of the window! Never mind – there are some wonderful photographs and it’s the kind of book you can dip in and out of, so a quick skim of a couple of pages may well whet children’s appetites to pick it up in the days following and look at it in more detail, maybe trying out some of the many activities for themselves.

For stories about the stars, there are some stunning anthologies out there: Sun, Moon and Stars by Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Jane Ray; or if you can get hold of it, Juliet Sharman-Burke’s Stories from the Stars: Greek Myths of the Zodiac (Abbeville Anthologies and also once published as a Barefoot Books collection), illustrated by Jackie Morris (who incidentally has also illustrated a number of Mary Hoffman’s books!). Demi’s The Dragon’s Tale and Other Animal Fables of the Chinese Zodiac has a very short fable for each animal – perfect for those bedtimes when for whatever reason, there’s only time for a very quick story.

One book I don’t know but which looks as though it might be a treat is Coyote and the Sky: How the Sun, Moon, and Stars Began by Emmett “Shkeme” Garcia and illustrated by Victoria Pringle… so if you know it, do let us know…

And I have to say, too, that Jane Ray, Jackie Morris and Demi are all on my list of favorite illustrators… now there’s a thought. How long would a permissible list be?

My boys and I have just come across renowned illustrator Raúl Cólon’s first fully authored picture book, Orson Blasts Off! (published in 2004), which is a real flight of the imagination. It’s about a boy who can see no end to boredom when his computer breaks down… until his jack-in-the-box called Weasel points to what is going on outside: it’s snowing, even though it’s July. Then Orson embarks on his adventures with great gusto: the North Pole, a desert island and even the stars.

The story is told through the dialogue between Orson and Weasel – indeed, it would make a good interactive read-aloud, as it’s really a script: but the wonderful illustrations add in the background as well as the wit and irony, so young readers/listeners will have to engage their imaginations too. It definitely provokes lots of comments and conversation – it’s not one to choose for a quick bedtime story, until it’s well established in the family repertoire!

My children love books which blur the edges between the “real” world and imaginary adventures: two which they have wanted read to them over and over again are Jo’s Storm by Caroline Pitcher, illustrated by Jackie Morris and Cloud Nine by Norman Silver, illustrated by Jan Ormerod, which are both out of print now and need to be sought out second hand… I can see that Orson Blasts Off! will be joining them on their bit of the bookshelf.

These books all star boys; there must be picture books out there which take girls off on amazing flights of the imagination too: any suggestions, anyone?