Tag Archives: David Roberts

The Christmas Truce by Carol Ann Duffy

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The Christmas Truce by Carol Ann Duffy is illustrated by David Roberts, and it’s such a cute wee book measuring just 5.5 inches by 5 inches (14 by 13 centimetres).

The Christmas Truce is of course the famous one which took place on Christmas Eve in the trenches in France during World War 1 in 1914. As the time creeps towards midnight the soldiers are all thinking of home and their loved ones

Silver frost on barbed wire, strange tinsel,
sparkled and winked.
A boy from Stroud stared at a star
to meet his mother’s eyesight there.

This book has just 37 pages so it’s a very quick read, but you’ll want to read it over and over again, and the ilustrations by David Roberts are just perfect. I borrowed this from the library just before Christmas but I suspect I’ll end up buying a copy for myself as I can imagine that reading it would become a Christmas ritual for me.

There’s a YouTube video of the poem:-

Carol Ann Duffy was the UK Poet Laureate from 2009 until 2019. She’s a bit of a trailblazer as she was the first female, first Scottish-born and first openly lesbian Poet Laureate.

Carol Ann Duffy’s books have lovely illustrations from different artists with all sorts of styles. I also have a copy of The Gift, illustrated by Rob Ryan. You can see some of his work here.

I also have a beautiful book called The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems which is introduced by Carol Ann Duffy and compiled and illustrated by Jackie Morris. You can see some of the illustrations in that book here.

Rapunzel – A Groovy Fairy Tale retold by Lynn Roberts

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Rapunzel - A Groovy Fairy Tale retold cover

I was having a browse amongst the books in a nearby junkish sort of rake around barn, the sort of place where you have no idea what you might find, when I spotted a book called Rapunzel. Having had long hair for most of my life I’ve always felt an affinity with Rapunzel so I had to have a look at the book.

It turns out that this one isn’t really for children at all, it’s aimed at people who were teenagers in the 1970s and the lovely illustrations are full of nostalgia – for me anyway.

In this version Rapunzel has been locked up in the bedroom of the tower block that she lives in with her Aunt Edna. The lifts don’t work and Aunt Edna won’t use the stairs so she uses Rapuzel’s hair to get in and out. Of course one day a young man called Roger witnesses Aunt Edna shouting to Rapunzel to let down her hair. Roger is eager to find out who the beautiful red plait belongs to, so the next day he impersonates Aunt Edna’s voice and climbs up the plait himself to find Rapunzel, and so begins their romance.

Rapuzel’s bedroom walls are covered with 1970s posters, ABBA, Kate Bush, Elton John, Marc Bolan and John Travolta. There’s even a Swiss Cheese plant and a lava lamp. Platform shoes and fringed waistcoats feature too. It’s a lovely blast from the past.

You can see images of some of the illustrations here.