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July 24, 2006
Dave Shelton's Locust Curse cover
Well, he's done it again. Dave Shelton has proved yet again his uncanny talent for Getting The Pictures Right. I liked Dave's draft cover but this one is even better. The image brings the horror of 2004-5 flooding back, as all those who were there will agree.
Sophie and Gidaado are back, and this time the enemy is more deadly than any camel thief. When a locust swarm devours the crops all across Oudalan Province, Gidaado is forced to take on a humiliating new job in order to survive. He becomes a crier, announcing the descriptions of missing cows! With Sophie's help, Gidaado's lost cow songs become great hits.
This is the insect which Dave has immortalized in the above cover. If you remember, the celebrity-locust and all his less photogenic friends died horribly in Lanzarote. Whereas the people whose crops were destroyed that year are still very much alive and kicking.
Most of them.
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:59 PM
July 21, 2006
6 funny proverbs about marriage
Since I'm still in engagement-celebration mood, here are 6 Fulani proverbs that can be used in connection with marriage!
I have written them with very literal translations, and will leave it to you to figure out the nuances of each:
Unless birds come together, a flying-noise is not heard
A bride and a hyena victim do not cry the same tears
Two hands wash each other clean
Mr Dog says 'Fall down for me and I'll fall down for you, that way our play-fight will be sweet.'
Those in the same boat have the same wish
A good cow bears a good calf
Posted by sahelsteve at 07:48 PM
July 20, 2006
TES review
Michael Thorn, editor of the children's book magazine Achuka, reviewed Sophie and the Albino Camel for the Times Educational Supplement last week.
Extract:
"The hardest readership to cater for falls between younger picture books and full-length novels: school years 2-4. These children are becoming independent readers, many of them gobbling short chapter books at the rate of one or more a day, while others, somewhat reluctant, need enticing material actively promoted.
Short fiction for newly independent readers performs so many important functions - hooking children onto the reading habit, widening vocabulary, broadening outlook, helping to understand relationships and emotions - it simply has to be well executed. Most importantly, it must be neither dull nor overtly didactic. Beware books that boast of their links to the curriculum or ones that make a self-conscious contribution to citizenship or PSHE.
Sophie and the Albino Camel, written by a missionary who lives among the Fulani herders in West Africa, is a pure adventure story about a girl on a dangerous journey who encounters various risks from snakes to murderous bandits. Sophie learns much about life and customs in the desert and about how to care for a camel from her guide Gidaado, a young storyteller. So too will readers grow in awareness of life in a faraway place. An exceptional short novel."
Sophie was also reviewed in the Northern Echo recently:
Strange but true: I heard this week that Sophie is to be published in Romania. Romanian word for camel, anyone?
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:35 AM
Engagement Photos
Charlie had three weeks in Burkina Faso and went back to England last night. Not sure when we'll see each other again. Feeling a bit morose. Anyway, the good news is that we're engaged to be married - wedding towards the end of the year, no fixed date yet. Here are some photos from Charlie's time in Africa.
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Posted by sahelsteve at 08:33 AM
July 18, 2006
Not cover
It seems that this is how the cover of 'Sophie and the Locust Curse' is not going to look.
Shame really.
(Link to illustrator Dave Shelton's website)
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:08 AM
July 13, 2006
I'm engaged!
Sorry not to have posted for a while.
Precious Girl is a glossy magazine published in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) for the thousands of girls who work in garment factories there. Its editor Charlotte Harrison does the mag as an outreach with World Horizons. I met Charlie at World Horizons HQ a couple years ago and we have been in touch a lot since. She's very special indeed.
A couple weeks ago Charlie came to visit me in Burkina Faso. A couple days ago I asked her to be my wife and she consented. HOORAY!!! Will post photos etc when my feet next touch the ground.