Author Archives: Daisy May Johnson

Flambards. A trilogy plus one that I first read for the horses, and a series that I cannot let go. KM Peyton’s saga is (excuse the near-tautology) epic; she swathes a group of people in layers of love, loss and life and it is so very near to perfection. Christina, the central character arrives atContinue reading “Rereading Flambards”

The Eagle is a 2011 adaptation of Rosemary Sutcliff’s definitive historical classic ‘The Eagle of the Ninth’. Directed by Kevin Macdonald  (The Last King of Scotland and Touching The Void amongst others), The Eagle tells the story of Marcus Aquila and how he discovers what happened to his father’s legion – the Ninth – whichContinue reading “The Eagle”

I’ve been doing this blog, properly, for just over a year now. It’s my BLAnniversary! (I do so love an awkward prefix).  Thank you so much if you’ve commented, read or even glanced at one of these posts. To celebrate this auspicious occasion (and to try and gloss over the fact that I forgot toContinue reading “Blanniversary (A Top Five of 2011)”

I stop. I stop, right there, and I listen. I close the page, put the book down and I stare. That’s all I do. Just stare. I stare into space and I wonder how I’d cope. I wonder what I’d do if it were me. And I feel it coming. I feel it in theContinue reading “On crying”

This is a very swift round-up of a couple of posts / items which caught my eye this week and that I thought were worthwhile sharing. Though it’s from a primarily American perspective, this report on teaching young children in a digital age is fascinating (*nerdface*). The more I look at this sort of stuff,Continue reading “The news”

I’ve banged on about the magnificence of KM Peyton before (I reviewed ‘Dear Fred’ here, and elaborated on my love for KM Peyton here) and I hope you don’t mind me doing it one more time. There’s something rather gorgeous about this feature where Meg Rosoff professes her love for KM Peyton. I find it really ratherContinue reading “My hero : KM Peyton”

I’ve not much experience with Tony DiTerlizzi. He’s always been one of those authors who I know the name and I know they’re popular but I never quite got round to it. So I rectified that this week by picking up The Search for WondLa. The Search For WondLa is kind of awesome and kindContinue reading “The (slightly too literal) Search For WondLa”

I’m such a sucker for a school story and this is ticking all my boxes. It’s a sample chapter from Maureen Johnson whom I’ve come across before (13 little blue envelopes, gorgeous wee poignant parcel of a book). Maureen’s also splendid on Twitter and properly worth a follow. Enjoy!  Maureen Johnson The Name of theContinue reading “Maureen Johnson : The Name of The Star”

In the halcyon post MA days, I’ve been able to devote a lot of times to my own personal writing. It’s been very weird to come back to it as it’s been on the backburner for a fair few months as the shift between academic and creative proved too difficult to manage. Trust me youContinue reading “Rediscovering writing”

I’ve blogged before on how I love John Boyne’s “The boy in the striped pyjamas”. It’s a hell of a book. Last night I also finally managed to see the film adaptation. It’s interesting watching a film when you know approximately what’s going to happen. You prepare yourself for the ending. The awful awful stomach-punchContinue reading “The boy in the striped pyjamas : film review”

Quick heads up – it’s on BBC2 (UK) tonight @ 9pm. I love the book so will blog about my reactions to the film. I’m intrigued to see if it translates well to film and whether the quiet subtlety of the text remains present. I’m also prepared to be a weeping mess by the endContinue reading “The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas”

My birthday was this week. My amazing mum and dad got me a Kindle (best parents ever). There’s a small problem though. I think I’m this close to marrying the Kindle. I am, as previously blogged, a Book Collector. It started with the Chalet School, branched off into Angela Brazil and Elsie Oxenham and nowContinue reading “Kindle power”

I love my books. Being reunited with them is always an utter utter joy. I’m such a dork. I say hi to my mum, hi to my dad, pat the dog perfunctorily, tickle the cats and then race upstairs and stare lovingly at my babies. These shelves contain all the authors I can’t let go.Continue reading “Robin Jarvis or Why The Old Ones Are Still The Best”

The airport bookshop. I always find the concept of them exciting. There’s so much potential. A constantly changing clientele. Children – and adults – desperate for some sort of stimuli. The airport bookshop is part of the package of “holiday” for me. It’s part of the steps you take; from that nervous have-I-really-got-my-passport through toContinue reading “The Airport Bookshop”

This blog is now on holiday. Postings may, for the following two weeks and a bit, be of a sporadic nature, involve substantial abuse of exclamation marks and tenuous links to things found abroad (mon dieu, cette bandes dessinées est incroyable!) Normal service will resume from mid-August. See you then.

I have to admit that Iran is one of those mysteriously appealing places to me. That, Tibet and Easter Island (random yes I know) are some of the places I long to visit. It was with great pleasure that I discovered this list in the Guardian from Kamin Mohammadi – I’d specifically (and to keepContinue reading “Ten books on Iran”

I have rediscovered my love for Ruby Ferguson after I picked up a copy of this at a local library ‘chuck out all the books we forgot we had’ sale. And oh it’s ace. Jill’s Riding Club. Written in a time when all you needed was a pony (or two) and a will to ride becauseContinue reading “Ruby, ruby, ruby, ruby (aaahaaahaahaahahhh)”

I am reading some pretty damn contrived books at the moment. I think there’s something in the water. If you’re writing your next book can you please observe the following? Thanks. Do not have enemies become best friends by missing out some time in the text. It’s the most annoying thing in the world. They’reContinue reading “Coincidence, contrivance and cheesey scenarios”

It’s been a good while since I watched /read  The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle. However, as I’ve just found the animated version on YouTube, and my dissertation is with my tutor for comments, I’m spending a glorious time wallowing in the depths of some childhood nostalgia. It made me want to be aContinue reading ““You must never run from anything immortal””

I read a lovely article recently where Mariella Frostrup discussed her ten most life-changing books. Typically I can’t find this article to link to (my information warrior powers are sleeping on the job) so, as I was somewhat inspired by that article, here are five books which changed my life. Obviously a lot of themContinue reading “Five books which changed my life”

Two things made me go oooh today (apart from my envious leanings towards somebody else’s lunch). The first was this:  (from here) Is it not Amazing? I don’t know about you but I’m checking this out as soon as I can. A good front cover sells the book before you’ve even read a word –Continue reading “Something kinda ooooooooh”

Just a quick one today. I hope to be holding a twitter chat on this issue shortly once I’ve worked out the details. It’s an emotive subject and one which I feel can’t be “solved” nor deserves a “solution”. It just deserves careful and honest thought – from both the reader and the author. It’sContinue reading “Bereavement in children’s literature”

So I’ve taken the plunge and have joined Goodreads. I am under the name LH Johnson so if you’d like to connect with me there and share reads, feel free 🙂 I’m a not sure as to yet how much I’ll be using it as I’m still working it out. Are you on Goodreads? DoesContinue reading “Goodreads”

A confession: I would have never read the Silver Brumby series were it not for the AMAZING cartoon version which hit the BBC a fair few years ago. I wouldn’t have come anywhere near Alan Garner (Lord, smite me down now) were it not for the BBC adaptation of Elidor. I’ll admit a lot ofContinue reading “TV first, book second?”

Like many other girls, I went through the “horse” phase. In real life I saved up for years to buy a tank of a gelding called Robert (with hooves the size of dinnerplates) and I devoured every horse related book I could find. KM Peyton is one of the few writers who have stuck withContinue reading “KM Peyton : an appreciation”

A film adaptation of Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth is just hitting the cinema and I’ve noticed a few newsworthy items about the story. The BBC have a look at what could have happened to the lost ninth legion here; the original Eagle which inspired Sutcliff lives in Reading (seriously, nothing surprises meContinue reading “The Eagle of the Ninth : news round-up”

According to this, Jacqueline (ignore the typo in the Tweet, it’s from the Grauniad) Wilson will be “updating” Five Children and It – the fabulous classic from E Nesbit. As I posted on Twitter, this news leaves me with very mixed feelings. E Nesbit’s work sparks of a very particular vintage and is just lovely.Continue reading “Jacqueline Wilson to update Five Children and It?”

Here’s a round up of some of the best stories / articles / tweets I noticed … Jacqueline Wilson, Charlie Higson, Cathy Cassidy and Michelle Paver all get interviewed on the fab looking new Guardian children’s book website. I can’t say how much this site floats my boat right now – it’s mediated heavily byContinue reading “Happy World Book Day!”

Claire Armitstead in the Guardian this week writes about the importance of elder siblings reading aloud to their younger brother and sisters. It’s about behaviour modelling and it’s about competition. You see what the elder sister is doing and, particularly if you’re the youngest child (not that I’m over empathising at all here!), you wantContinue reading “The importance of reading aloud … to your younger sibling”

Seven of them are children’s authors and that’s something to be massively proud about. Children are reading. And they are reading some damn good stuff. That’s my official point of view. My unofficial point of view is as follows: STICK THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT MARTIN AMIS!!!! List of all ten authors availableContinue reading “The UK’s top ten most borrowed authors from public libraries”

This is amazing. Please take a look at the original source for this post which is  here I also really want a library book briefcase now.

Booktrust recently published a list of ten kids books about love. The full list is available here. I’ve not read all of them but I was instantly intrigued. What’s love? How do we define love? How does a child perceive, experience and learn what love is? How is it represented in literature? Is love a necessaryContinue reading “Ten children’s books about love”

Today would have been A A Milne’s birthday. A A Milne should be a name known to a lot of you out there because he’s the magic man who created one of the most iconic bears of all time – Winnie the Pooh. You could celebrate today in several ways. Perhaps with a game ofContinue reading “Happy Winnie the Pooh day!”