Happy New Year, everyone! This is a special time when we can make a fresh start and explore new possibilities – and that is definitely a theme in this issue of Storytime! We invite you to join us and make 2022 the year of reading!
Storytime Issue 89 – A Time for New Beginnings
Our cover story is The Phoenix – and we hope you agree that the art by Davide Ortu is truly spectacular! The phoenix is a mythical bird that is reborn from ashes every five hundred years. This incredible creature is a reminder that we can put the past behind us and make a fresh start – a tale of resilience and hope.
One person who worked hard to overcome challenges and become a great inspiration to all is an amazing woman called Temple Grandin. She became a scientist, cattle-pen designer and an autism advocate who helped many people to understand the condition. Our Awesome Adventures this month, Temple Opens the Door, is about her childhood and her unique way of looking at the world, and artist Katya Tikhova did an astounding job in capturing her life. Temple would visualise new situations as being like ‘doors’ she could enter. What new doors would you like to open in the new year?
Speaking of new beginnings, The First Sunrise is a wonderful Aboriginal folk story about how the magpies lifted up the dark clouds from the Earth and awoke the sun goddess Wuriupranili, bringing light to the world. It’s a fun and uplifting story, graced by the luminous illustrations of Wandson Rocha. His renditions of Australia’s native animals are incredibly fun and full of life!
A new year is also an opportunity to follow our dreams, and many characters in our fairy tale do just that! A wee lad called Elias sells his house so he can learn to play the violin – he is soon making beautiful music, and is joined on his journeys across South America by a parade of dancing animals. The story has an unexpected and happy ending which we won’t spoil here! Sheyla Nogueira rendered the lovely vibrant art and even advised us on which creatures to include in this story!
The bedtime story in issue 89, Bambi on Ice, is about our favourite fawn learned to love winter – and ice-skating! We are sure you will love the gorgeous illustrations by Storytime favourite Giorgia Broseghini! Learning something new can open us up to all kinds of new experiences. Can you think of some new hobbies you might like to pursue in the coming year?
One skill that is always great to share with others is cooking! That is the theme of Mrs Valencia and the Paella, a fabulous tale by Canadian author Maria Antonia. When her mum is away on business, little Claudia goes to stay with her Spanish neighbour, who teaches her how to make a tasty new dish! Ramona Bruno illustrates this yummy tale with such flair that you can almost smell the rice, chicken and saffron! Why not choose a new dish that you would like to learn how to make? It’s probably easier than you think!
Not all changes that we make in our lives need to be big ones – sometimes, just changing our point of view can make a difference! That is what happens in this month’s fable, Genghis Khan and the Hawk. Artist LaPiz brings the past to life in this story of how the great conqueror keeps getting his cup knocked out of his hand. He is furious – until he discovers why the faithful bird did this! A true friend is a real treasure, and we couldn’t agree more with this lesson.
But to complete the issue, we thought we would throw a circular tale that reminds us to have fun and laugh! Munachar and Manachar is a rollicking ‘shaggy dog’ story about grumpy Munachar and his complicated plan to punish his berry-stealing friend. This is a great tale to read with someone else – while enjoying Momo Zhang’s hilarious illustrations, of course!
We hope you find something new, fun and inspiring in this month’s issue of Storytime! We have a lot of good stories lined-up for issues coming next too – so stay with us, and we will make sure 2022 will be a very magical year to us all!
Happy New Year!
The Storytime team
