Once Upon a Place - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 191041137X ISBN 13: 9781910411377

Publisher: Little Island Books, 2017

Synopsis

An anthology of short stories and poems from Ireland's leading children's writers, including Roddy Doyle, John Connolly and Siobhán Parkinson, edited by Eoin Colfer, illustrated by world-renowned artist PJ Lynch. Includes 11 short stories and 6 poems.

About this title

About the Authors

Eoin Colfer is one of Ireland’s best-known writers for children. His Artemis Fowl series is world-famous and has been adapted for film. His other books include Benny and Omar and the historical adventure Airman. He has also written And Another Thing, a sequel to Douglas Adams’s Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Eoin was Laureate na nÓg (Irish Children's Laureate) from 2014-6.

PJ Lynch is widely regarded as Ireland’s finest illustrator. He has published more than twenty books over his career, among them the much-loved The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey and A Christmas Carol. He has won many awards, including the Mother Goose award and the Kate Greenaway Medal (twice). Originally from Belfast, PJ now lives in Dublin. PJ was Laureate na nÓg (Irish Children's Laureate) from 2016-8.

Reviews

Gr 5 Up—Place rather than time is key in this anthology of short stories and poems by Irish writers, edited by popular Irish author Colfer. Whether real or imaginary, the settings are always specific and explore the importance, and magic, of place in the lives of individuals. Two immigrant siblings use an enclosed park as a refuge in a poignant entry by Jane Mitchell. In poet Pat Boran's hands, a run-of-the-mill bus stop becomes beautiful when a stranger receives incredible news from a loved one. Roddy Doyle uses a leap into the sea from the roof of a mysterious pumping station to reveal the jumper's future and how the place around him changes. A childhood home holds unimaginable guilt in a haunting tale by Jim Sheridan. Sarah Webb tells of a boy who finds a much-needed listener in feline form in the garden behind the library after his parents separate. Colfer, best known for his "Artemis Fowl" series, made the "Once upon a Place" theme his project as Laureate na nÓg (Ireland's Children's Laureate) from 2014 to 2016. He also contributes a selection about a princess taking charge of her life and saving her people, which includes a bit of satire of old-time storytellers. The work is illustrated by Lynch, now Laureate na nÓg himself, and his exquisite grayscale artwork teases out the mood of each piece and enhances the overall effect. VERDICT An excellent volume that will hopefully now reach a wide readership on this side of the pond.—Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

It is quite possible that you read the title of this anthology and are now thinking to yourself: Once upon a Place? Surely that’s wrong. Surely that’s supposed to be Once upon a time. Everyone knows that. What kind of idiot would get the title of his own anthology project wrong? And this fellow is the Children’s Laureate? This moron is representing Irish children’s books?

Yes, I admit it. (Not the moron part, which has never been conclusively proven, as Facebook comments do not constitute proof.) What I am admitting to is that the line usually is Once upon a time and not Once upon a place, but place is important too, isn’t it? Stories have to be set somewhere. Treasure Island wouldn’t be much of a story without an island that had treasure on it. Gulliver’s Travels would have been pretty boring without Lilliput to land on. And the Chronicles of Narnia would have been a fairly brief series if there had been nothing at the back of Digory Kirke’s wardrobe but fur coats.

So, in my opinion, where a story is set is just as important as when it is set. Especially in Ireland. People often ask me, on my travels: Why do so many writers come from Ireland? And I tell them that the clue is in the question. It is because we are from Ireland and this is a magical place. Now, I know that the phrase ‘magical place’ is slightly overused and often undeserved. Generally people look back on their younger days and say stuff in pubs like: Janey, do you remember that beach we went to where there was that chip van? That place was magic. Often this kind of place is not really magical. Semi-magical at the most. Because we adults tend to get all sentimental about our youths. Rose-coloured spectacles and so forth. If you were to look at an old photograph of that beach, it would probably be a windswept stretch of pebbles with a dirty old unlicensed fast food caravan over by the wall. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying a manky old excuse for a beach can’t be magical if you got your first kiss there or better still your first choc-ice, because magic is very good at disguising itself.

But when kids are in a place, and right then at that moment while they are actually there, they often stop whatever shenanigans they are perpetrating and just look around them and think: This place is not so bad really – then that place probably is magic.

And there are places like that all over Ireland. I’m sure if you think about it, you could come up with a dozen or so magical spots yourself. Maybe your best friend’s garden, or the school handball alley, or the cluster of sockets in the corner of the sitting room where you can play Playstation and charge your phone at the same time. We all have our personal spots. And in this collection some of Ireland’s favourite writers are going to tell stories of their magical places. And remember, magic doesn’t always have to be all skeleton detectives and fairy police forces and Expecto Patronum; sometimes it can be finding a euro, or meeting a lad who’s double jointed or discovering a quiet spot to read your favourite book in. Personally I do like skeletons and explosions but that’s just me.

So, if my witty introduction hasn’t already persuaded you to read this book, let me further charm you with a taste of the wonders held within. You will read stories of magical pumping stations, adolescent detectives and transforming bears to name but a few. You will be absorbed by wonderful poems which conjure pictures of school holidays, bloodthirsty donkeys and travelling snails. And with every word you read you will be transported to various places around Ireland where magic is as warm and golden as the summer sun.

And by the time you close this book it will probably be very late and you will pull the duvet up around your ears, close your eyes and dream a dream which begins with a deep and wise voice saying the words: Once upon a place …

EOIN COLFER

Laureate na nÓg (2014–2016)

Edition details

• Publisher: Little Island Books
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 191041137X
• ISBN 13: 9781910411377
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Lynch PJ
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Colfer Eoin