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{{Frontpage|class-"wikitable" cellpaddingisbn="15"0957181167|title=Blue Skies and Boat Trips: The Norfolk of Brian Lewis<!-- Hewitt -->|author=Alan Marshall|-rating=5| stylegenre="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Art[[image:Hewitt_Renoir.jpg|left|linksummary=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785782738?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbagThere are few positive things which can be said about a substandard apartment when you’re on holiday but this time, in trying to avoid looking at a problem I found myself looking more closely at a couple of pictures on the walls -21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785782738]]  | style="verticaland was completely taken by the work of Brian Lewis. I searched online and could only find ‘used’ versions of this book and the print I wanted was ‘not available’. Oh, dear -align: top; text-align: left;"|then a few doors down from the apartment, I found a gift shop with a stack of brand new books - and a framed print of the picture I wanted.}}{{Frontpage|author=Antoine Laurain, Le Sonneur and Jane Aitken (translator)|title=Red is My Heart|rating=[[Renoir's Dancer: The Secret Life of Suzanne Valadon by Catherine Hewitt]]=3.5|genre=Literary Fiction |summary= [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Biography|Biography]]Antoine Laurain|Antoine Laurain]] books have always been black and white and read in my house. And so was this one, [[:Category:Art|Art]] Deep in the rural parts of France in the 1860salthough I could have spelled that more accurately – this one was, you would never really expect to find someone who would come to embody a full artistic period – and not just a movement at thatis, but a full generation of both creative black and white and societal changered. And if you were to expect that someoneYes, he has an artistic collaborator on this piece, they would like as not be male. But almost stumbling into and I think it's possible to say not one page lacks the hedonistic culture influence of Montmartre came Marie-Clementine Valadonsome striking visual ideas. She started in the circus that first caught her teenaged eye, although her gymnastic career was short-lived. But what she did have from that was the poise to be an appealing model |isbn=1913547183}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1912242052|title=O Joy for some seriously important paintersme!|author=Keir Davidson|rating=3|genre=Art|summary=''Oh Joy for me!'' gives Coleridge credit for being ''the first person to walk the mountains alone, not because he had to for work, and as a natural beauty and figure miner, quarryman, shepherd or pack-horse driver, but because he wanted to appeal to both them for pleasure and adventure. His rapturous encounters with their audiences. And what she also hadnatural beauty, much to the surprise of many and the distaste of someits literary consequences, was artistic talent changed our view of her own… [[Renoirthe world''s Dancer: The Secret Life of Suzanne Valadon by Catherine Hewitt|Full Review].}}<!-- Murakami -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1980891117| styletitle="widthG Engleheart Pinxit 1805: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A year in the life of George Engleheart|author=John Webley[[image:Murakami_Music.jpg|left|linkrating=https://www4.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784700142?ie5|genre=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1784700142]] Art| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Absolutely on Music: Conversations George Engleheart was one of the leading portrait miniaturists of Georgian London, with Seiji Ozawa by Haruki Murakami and Seiji Ozawa]]=== [[image:3a career lasting from the 1770s to the Regency era. He was also one of the most prolific, painting nearly 5,000 miniatures altogether (over twenty of them being of King George III).5star.jpg|link=Category:{Throughout most of that time he carefully recorded the names of each of his clients, and subsequently transcribed them into what is referred to as his fee book.}}{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:ArtFrontpage|Art]]isbn=Hewitt_Renoir Murakami loves music, any reader |title=Renoir's Dancer: The Secret Life of his could tell you as muchSuzanne Valadon|author=Catherine Hewitt|rating=4. Norwegian Wood was named after a Beatles song (albeit one not very well known) and After Dark is framed by a music soundtrack 5|genre=Art|summary=Deep in a brilliant display the rural parts of atmospheric setting. With this all that love is here. And like all France in the 1860s, you would never really expect to find someone who have would come to embody a full artistic period – and not just a good taste in musicmovement at that, Murakami's is eclectic but a full generation of both creative and very well consideredsocietal change. I found myself looking up musicians after reading this because I found many of his opinions quite convincingAnd if you were to expect that someone, they would like as not be male. [[Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa by Haruki Murakami and Seiji Ozawa|Full Review]] <!But almost stumbling into the hedonistic culture of Montmartre came Marie-Clementine Valadon. She started in the circus that first caught her teenaged eye, although her gymnastic career was short- Ravilious -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Ravilious_Recentlived.jpg|left|link=https://wwwBut what she did have from that was the poise to be an appealing model for some seriously important painters and a natural beauty and figure to appeal to both them and their audiences.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1908524936?ieAnd what she also had, much to the surprise of many and the distaste of some, was artistic talent of her own…}}{{Frontpage|isbn=UTF8&tagMurakami_Music|title=thebookbag-21&linkCodeAbsolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa|author=as2&campHaruki Murakami and Seiji Ozawa|rating=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1908524936]] 3.5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Art|summary===[[The Recent Past by James Ravilious]]=== [[image:5starMurakami loves music, any reader of his could tell you as much.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]] JamesNorwegian Wood was named after a Beatles song (albeit one not very well known) and After Dark is framed by a music soundtrack in a brilliant display of atmospheric setting. With this, son of the war artist Eric Raviliousall that love is here. And like all who have a good taste in music, inherited his fatherMurakami's artistic talents. Although he was a gifted painter, is eclectic and very well considered. I found myself looking up musicians after reading this because I found many of his main career was to be as a photographeropinions quite convincing.|Full Review]]}}<!-- Wood -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=Ravilious_Recent| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Recent Past|author=James Ravilious[[image:Wood_Gothic.jpg|leftrating=5|linkgenre=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1419725335?ieArt|summary=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1419725335]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[American Gothic: The Life James, son of Grant Wood by Susan Wood and Ross MacDonald]]=== [[image:4the war artist Eric Ravilious, inherited his father's artistic talents.5star.jpg|link=Category:Although he was a gifted painter, his main career was to be as a photographer.}}{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-FictionFrontpage|isbn=Wood_Gothic|Children's Non-Fiction]], [[title=American Gothic:Category:Confident ReadersThe Life of Grant Wood|author=Susan Wood and Ross MacDonald|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Artrating=4.5|genre=Art]] |summary=Who won a national prize for a crayon drawing of three oak leaves before he was properly in his teens? Who sought acclaim as an artist and came to Europe to study from the greats, only to reject all they had to offer? Who instinctively knew a picture of his dentist (yes, his dentist) would be more appealing and say more to people than floating water lilies and frilly ballet dancers? The answer in all cases was Grant Wood, practically the most well-known painter in America at one time, and still the best, alongside Edward Hopper, at presenting his world minus any Modernist trappings. [[American Gothic: The Life of Grant Wood by Susan Wood and Ross MacDonald|Full Review]]}}{{Frontpage<!-- |isbn=V&A -->A_Patchwork|-| styletitle="widthPatchwork and Quilting: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A Maker's Guide|author=Victoria and Albert Museum[[image:V&A_Patchwork|rating=4.jpg5|leftgenre=Art|linksummary=httpsPatchwork is a magical craft://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0500293260?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0500293260]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Patchwork and you can take relatively small pieces of material and turn them into another piece of material with an entirely different pattern. Quilting: A Maker's Guide by Victoria converts a topper and Albert Museum]]=== [[image:4a backing fabric with some wadding in between into a fabric of an entirely different weight.5starCombine the two crafts and you have something more than magical, occasionally fashionable but always deeply satisfying.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crafts|Crafts]]But where to start, [[when there are so many different styles of both crafts? One answer is to read ''Patchwork and Quilting:Category:Art|Art]] Patchwork is a magical craft: you can take relatively small pieces of material A Maker's Guide'' which looks - as the cover says - at styles from Italian trapunto to Korean jogakbo and turn them into another piece of material with an entirely different patternthen delivers fifteen projects inspired by the V&A collections. Quilting converts a topper and a backing fabric with some wadding in between into }}{{Frontpage|isbn=Rutherford_Landscape|title=Landscape Gardens|author=Sarah Rutherford|rating=4|genre=Art|summary=My first experience of a fabric of an entirely different weight. Combine the two crafts ''big'' garden was Versailles as a teenager and you have something more than magicalwhilst I was impressed, occasionally fashionable but always deeply satisfyingI didn't really like it. I felt stifled and strangely underwhelmed by the flatness of it all. But where to start, when there are so many different styles of both crafts? One answer is to read ''Patchwork As luck would have it I then saw Hampton Court and Quiltingit was official: A Maker's Guide'' which looks - as the cover says - at styles from Italian trapunto I was off big gardens. It would be many years before I revised my opinion. On a trip to Harewood House, it was too hot a day to Korean jogakbo and then delivers fifteen projects inspired by be corralled into the V&A collectionshouse, so I wandered the gardens and found they were delightful. I felt uplifted. [[Patchwork and Quilting: A Maker's Guide by Victoria and Albert Museum|Full Review]] <!-- Then a cricket match at Stowe gave me the opportunity to walk the grounds for over an hour. I was completely won over and a devotee of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. Sarah Rutherford -->|-'s ''Landscape Gardens'' was an opportunity to put him in context.}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Barrie_Peter[[image:Rutherford_Landscape.jpg|left|linktitle=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1445669935?iePeter Pan and Wendy|author=UTF8&tagJ M Barrie and Robert Ingpen|rating=thebookbag-21&linkCode4|genre=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1445669935]] Art| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Landscape Gardens by Sarah Rutherford]]=== [[image:4starIt's a childhood staple - the story of Wendy, John and Michael Darling and their beloved nurse, Nana the Newfoundland dog who took them to school each day.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]] My first experience of a ''big'' garden was Versailles as a teenager It's George Darling, their father, who makes the mistake when he locks Nana in the yard and whilst I was impressed, I didnthe children are whisked away to Neverland by Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. There't really like it. I felt stifled and strangely underwhelmed by the flatness s a wonderful mix of it all. As luck would have it I then saw Hampton Court characters, from Peter Pan, the boy who never wants to grow up, Tinkerbell, the rather unpleasant fairy, Captain Hook, Tiger Lily, the lost boys and - of course - Wendy, but then it was official: I was off big gardens. It would be many years before I revised my opinion. On wouldn't have been a trip to Harewood House classic since the original stage production in 1904 and the novel of 1911 if it was too hot a day to be corralled into the house, so I wandered the gardens and found they were delightfulotherwise. I felt uplifted. Then a cricket match at Stowe gave me the opportunity to walk the grounds for over an hour. I was completely won over and a devotee of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. Sarah Rutherford}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Grahame_Wind|title=The Wind in The Willows|author=Kenneth Grahame and Robert Ingpen|rating=4|genre=Art|summary=Kenneth Grahame's ''Landscape GardensThe Wind in the Willows'' was an opportunity to put him in contextone of the defining books of my childhood and more than sixty years after I first read the book I've just recently passed it onto another young reader. [[Landscape Gardens by Sarah Rutherford|Full Review]] <!-- Barrie -->|-| style="width Since the book was first published in 1908 there have been some notable illustrators: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Barrie_Peter.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1786750856?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1786750856]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Peter Pan and Wendy by J M Barrie Paul Bransom provided illustrations for the 1913 edition, Ernest H Shepard (perhaps better known for his illustrations of ''Winnie the Pooh'') in 1933, Arthur Rackham (possibly the leading illustrator from the golden age of book illustration) in 1940 and Robert Ingpen]]===who illustrated the centenary edition of ''The Wind in the Willows''.}}[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:For SharingFrontpage|For Sharing]], [[:Category:Artisbn=Jenkins_100|Art]]title=Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations|author=Simon JenkinsIt's a childhood staple |rating=5|genre=Art|summary=In the mid- twentieth century, the story of Wendy, John railway was something which harked back to the Victorian age with trains being supplanted by cars and Michael Darling planes, but steam was being replaced by oil, even then and their beloved nurse, Nana in the Newfoundland dog who took them twenty-first-century oil is giving way to school each dayelectricity. It's George Darlingcleaner, their father, who makes the mistake when he locks Nana in the yard more environmentally friendly and the children are whisked away stations which we'd all rushed through as quickly as possible, keen to Neverland by Peter Pan escape their grime, were restored and Tinkerbellbecame places to be admired, possibly even lingered in. There's a wonderful mix of characters, from Peter Pan, the boy who never wants to grow up, Tinkerbell, the rather unpleasant fairy, Captain Hook, Tiger LilySimon Jenkins has chosen his hundred best railway stations.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Hurst_Norfolk|title=On My Way: Norfolk Coastal Walks|author=John Hurst|rating=4|genre=Art|summary=It was pure serendipity: after a five-hour drive, the lost boys and - of course - Wendywe were, annoyingly, but then it wouldn't left with an hour to fill in Blakeney before we could have been a classic since the original stage production in 1904 keys to our holiday cottage. There was an art exhibition in the church hall, so we went in - and found a display of the novel of 1911 if it were otherwisemost gorgeous pictures. [[Peter Pan and Wendy by J M Barrie I'd cheerfully have bought every one and Robert Ingpen|Full Review]] <!-- Grahame -->|-hung them on our walls, but thought that I would have to make do with a couple of greetings cards when I saw ''On My Way: Norfolk Coastal Walks'' and I couldn't resist buying it.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Blackburn_Threads| styletitle="widthThreads: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Delicate Life of John Craske|author=Julia Blackburn[[image:Grahame_Wind.jpg|leftrating=4|linkgenre=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1786751062?ieArt|summary=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1786751062]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Wind John Craske was a fisherman, from a family of fishermen, who became too ill to go to sea. He was born in Sheringham on the north Norfolk coast in The Willows by Kenneth Grahame 1881 and Robert Ingpen]]=== [[image:4starwould eventually die in the Norwich hospital in 1943 after a life which could have been defined by ill health.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]There were various explanations for what ailed him, [[:Category:Art|Art]] Kenneth Grahamewhat caused him to sink into a stupor, sometimes for years at a time and he was on occasions described as 's an imbecile''The Wind . But John had a natural artistic talent, albeit that his work had to be done on the available surfaces in his home. Chair seats, window sills, the Willows'' was one backs of the defining books doors all carried his wonderful pictures of my childhood and more than sixty years after I first read the book I've just recently passed it onto another young readersea. Since Then he moved on to embroidery, producing wonderful pictures of the book was first published in 1908 there have been some notable illustrators: Paul Bransom provided illustrations for the 1913 editionNorfolk coast - and, most famously, Ernest H Shepard (perhaps better known for his illustrations of ''Winnie the Pooh'') in 1933evacuation at Dunkirk.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Bray Titania|title=Titania and Oberon|author=Jo Manton, Arthur Rackham (possibly the leading illustrator from the golden age of book illustration) in 1940 and Robert Ingpen who illustrated the centenary edition of Phyllis Bray and David Buckman |rating=4|genre=Art|summary=''The Wind in the WillowsEquus, Waiting for Godot and A Mid-summer Night's Dream''. [[The Wind in The Willows by Kenneth Grahame – three very distinctive plays, and Robert Ingpen|Full Review]] <!-- Jenkins -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Jenkins_100my favourite three, out of which you won't often get me choosing just one.jpg|left|link=https://wwwBut were I to do so, it might actually be the last, for the simple reason that I would delight in playing any and all characters from it.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/024197898X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=024197898X]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[BritainYes, I know Hermia and Helena look a bit implausible now – but I put it to you stranger things happen on stage… Some of the strangest things involve a player himself, a lowly actor who gets given an ass's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins]]===head and is forced to be enamoured of a fairy queen. It's this section of the play that this book concentrates on, in quite stunning form.}}{{Frontpage[[image:5star.jpg|linkisbn=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:ReferenceBM_Origami|Reference]]title=Origami, [[:Category:ArtPoems and Pictures|author=The British Museum|rating=5|genre=Art]], [[:Category:Travel|Travel]] In the mid twentieth century the railway summary=Sometimes you find a delight of a book. On an afternoon when it was something which harked back unseasonably cold and decidedly wet I discovered ''Origami, Poems and Pictures'' and I was transported to Japan. As the Victorian age with trains being supplanted by cars title suggests we're looking at three celebrated arts and planescrafts: the ancient art of paper folding, haiku poetry and painting. I'll confess that it was the origami which caught my attention, but steam I was being replaced surprised by oil, even then and in the twenty-first century oil is giving way to electricityextent to which the rest of the book caught my imagination. ItWe begin with something very simple: a boat and in case you's cleanerre worried, more environmentally friendly and all the stations which weentries have a degree of difficulty (from 'simple'd all rushed through as quickly as possible, keen to escape their grime, were restored 'tricky') and became places to be admired, possibly even lingered inthis one is at the lowest level. Simon Jenkins has chosen his hundred best railway stations. [[Britain}}'s 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins{{Frontpage|Full Review]]isbn=Foreman_Travel <!-- Hurst -->|title=Travels With My Sketchbook|-author=Michael Foreman| stylerating="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"4|genre=Art[[image:Hurst_Norfolk.jpg|left|linksummary=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/095444003X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=095444003X]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[On My Way: Norfolk Coastal Walks I guess the best children's literature can do away with complete veracity, as long as it has something about it that is recognisable – a little of the spirit, heart and character of the real thing, whatever it may be. And if that's the case then it definitely applies to children's literature illustrations, such as those provided close on two hundred times by John Hurst]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:ArtMichael Foreman|ArtMichael Foreman]]. This prolific artist leapt at a scholarship in the US when he'd completed his official,[[:Category:Sport|Sport]] It was pure serendipity: after a five-hour drive we wereformal studies, annoyinglyand it would appear – huge credits list regardless – that he's never stopped moving since, left with an hour as this book takes us to fill in Blakeney before we could have all corners of the keys to our holiday cottage. There was an art exhibition in the church hallworld, so we went in - and found a display of the most gorgeous picturesback home again. I}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Biesty Trains|title=Stephen Biesty'd cheerfully have bought every one s Trains|author=Ian Graham and hung them on our wallsStephen Biesty|rating=5|genre=Art|summary=Trains look imposing, but thought that I would have to make do with a couple of greetings cards when I saw ''On My Way: Norfolk Coastal Walks'' true fans (little boys, usually from about three years old and I couldn't resist buying itupwards) want to know what lies beneath the skin which you can see. [[On My Way: Norfolk Coastal Walks by John Hurst|Full Review]] <!-- Blackburn -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Blackburn_ThreadsThey want to know how it works. Getting to grips with one in real life is quite a big ask, but the next best thing is ''Stephen Biesty's Trains'' which features trains from all over the world and spanning the early steam train (complete with cowcatcher) right through to the trains of the future which can reach a speed of 430 kph and don't even run on rails.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0099582198?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0099582198]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Threads: The Delicate Life of John Craske by Julia Blackburn]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Biography|Biography]], [[:Category:Art|Art]] John Craske was a fisherman, from a family of fishermen, who became too ill to go to sea. He was born in Sheringham on the north Norfolk coast in 1881 and would eventually die in the Norwich hospital in 1943 after a life which could have been defined by ill health. There were various explanations for what ailed him, what caused him to sink into a stupour, sometimes for years at a time and he was on occasions described as 'an imbecile'. But John had a natural artistic talent, albeit that his work had to be done on the available surfaces in his home. Chair seats, window sills, the backs of doors all carried his wonderful pictures of the sea. Then he moved on to embroidery, producing wonderful pictures of the Norfolk coast - and, most famously, of the evacuation at Dunkirk. [[Threads: The Delicate Life of John Craske by Julia Blackburn|Full Review]] <!-- Bray -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Bray Titania.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/184365329X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=184365329X]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Titania and Oberon by Jo Manton, Phyllis Bray and David Buckman]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Art|Art]] ''Equus, Waiting for Godot and A Mid-summer Night's Dream'' – three very distinctive plays, and my favourite three, out of which you won't often get me choosing just one. But were I to do so, it might actually be the last, for the simple reason I would delight in playing any and all characters from it. Yes, I know Hermia and Helena look a bit implausible now – but I put it to you stranger things happen on stage… Some of the strangest things involve a player himself, a lowly actor who gets given an ass's head and is forced to be the enamoured of a fairy queen. It's this section of the play that this book concentrates on, in quite stunning form. [[Titania and Oberon by Jo Manton, Phyllis Bray and David Buckman|Full Review]] <!-- BM-->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:BM_Origami.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0857639382?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0857639382]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Origami, Poems and Pictures by The British Museum]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crafts|Crafts]], [[:Category:Art|Art]] Sometimes you find a delight of a book. On an afternoon when it was unseasonably cold and decidedly wet I discovered ''Origami, Poems and Pictures'' and I was transported to Japan. As the title suggests we're looking at three celebrated arts and crafts: the ancient art of paper folding, haiku poetry and painting. I'll confess that it was the origami which caught my attention, but I was surprised by the extent to which the rest of the book caught my imagination. We begin with something very simple: a boat and in case you're worried, all the entries have a degree of difficulty (from 'simple' through to 'tricky') and this one is at the lowest level. [[Origami, Poems and Pictures by The British Museum|Full Review]] <!-- Foreman -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Foreman_Travel.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1783704721?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1783704721]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Travels With My Sketchbook by Michael Foreman]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]], [[:Category:Travel|Travel]] I guess the best children's literature can do away with complete veracity, as long as it has something about it that is recognisable – a little of the spirit, heart and character of the real thing, whatever it may be. And if that's the case then it definitely applies to children's literature illustrations, such as those provided close on two hundred times by [[:Category:Michael Foreman|Michael Foreman]]. This prolific artist leapt at a scholarship in the US when he'd completed his official, formal studies, and it would appear – huge credits list regardless – that he's never stopped moving since, as this book takes us to all corners of the world, and back home again. [[Travels With My Sketchbook by Michael Foreman|Full Review]] <!-- Biesty -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Biesty Trains.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1783704241?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1783704241]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Stephen Biesty's Trains by Ian Graham and Stephen Biesty]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]], [[:Category:Travel|Travel]], [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]] Trains look imposing, but true fans (little boys, usually from about three years old and upwards) want to know what lies beneath the skin which you can see. They want to know how it works. Getting to grips with one in real life is quite a big ask, but the next best thing is ''Stephen Biesty's Trains'' which features trains from all over the world and spanning the early steam train (complete with cow catcher) right through to the trains of the future which can reach a speed of 430 kph and don't even run on rails. Once the train reaches a speed of 150 kph the wheels are raised and the train is held up by magnetic forces alone. [[Stephen Biesty's Trains by Ian Graham and Stephen Biesty|Full Review]] <!-- Cumming -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Cumming_Vanishing.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0099587041?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0099587041]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Vanishing Man - In Search of Velazquez by Laura Cumming]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]], [[:Category:Biography|Biography]] Pitching up at an auction and picking up a lost masterpiece for a pittance is the dream for most art lovers. That seemingly happy circumstance happened to bookseller John Snare at a sale in 1845 and is the centrepiece to Laura Cumming's excellent ''The Vanishing Man – In Pursuit of Velazquez''.[[The Vanishing Man - In Search of Velazquez by Laura Cumming|Full Review]] <!-- Hustvedt -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Hustvedt_woman.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1473638895?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1473638895]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women: Essays on Art, Sex and the Mind by Siri Hustvedt]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Politics and Society|Politics and Society]], [[:Category:Art|Art]] I must confess that ''A Woman Looking'' spoke to me on a profound, intimate level. This is in part due to the apparent similarities between me and Siri Hustvedt- we are both feminists who love art and also love science in a world which emphasises that these two passions are mutually exclusive. What Hustvedt suggests in A Woman Looking is that it is the similarities between these two areas we should emphasise and that a cohesive, inclusive approach towards art and science could help fill the gaps in both disciplines. One of the unfortunate similarities shared by both art and science is a general inhospitality towards women. This critique is not new, it has been emphasised by women from Suffragettes to Guerrilla Girls and recent research has highlighted the difficulties faced by women in STEM careers, however the fact that this remains an ongoing concern only highlights that further discussion is necessary. Discussion is what Hustvedt provides, balanced yet concerned, coherent but also impassioned. This critique of entrenched sexism is a recurrent theme in each section of the book and is one of the most important elements of her work. [[A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women: Essays on Art, Sex and the Mind by Siri Hustvedt|Full Review]] <!-- Prendergast -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Prendergast_Digger.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1910646148?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1910646148]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Dog on a Digger: The Tricky Incident by Kate Prendergast]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:For Sharing|For Sharing]], [[:Category:Art|Art]] I'm going to tell you a story about Dog, Man, Lady and the Pup. They all work on an industrial site - in fact Dog and Man live there in Once the train reaches a caravan and Man drives the sort of digger which is dreamed about by boys large and small. Lady and the Pup run the snack bar and one day as they're all having something to eat, speed of 150 kph the Pup goes missing. Man and Lady search everywhere but it's Dog's sharp ears which finally track him down - caught in a branch over a fast-flowing stream. And it's Dog who works out how to rescue him. I needed 88 words to tell you that story, but Kate Prendergast does it without using a single one - wheels are raised and she tells it in a far more engaging way than I could ever manage. [[Dog on a Digger: The Tricky Incident the train is held up by Kate Prendergast|Full Review]] <!-- Jones -->|-magnetic forces alone.| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|}}[[image:Jones_NY.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1782404104?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1782404104]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[How Move on to Read New York: A Crash Course in Big Apple Architecture by Will Jones]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Newest Autobiography Reviews]] [[:Category:Travel|Travel]], [[:Category:Art|Art]] New York is home to some of the most iconic and instantly-recognisable pieces of architecture in the world. The city is a mishmash of architectural styles, a place where Classical and Colonial meet Renaissance and Modernist. The result is a glorious fusion that works perfectly and upon closer inspection has a plethora of secrets just waiting to be revealed. Welcome to New York... [[How to Read New York: A Crash Course in Big Apple Architecture by Will Jones|Full Review]] |}