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CHILDREN'S BOOKS |
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LATEST TITLE |
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ONE TRUE BEAR One brave teddy bear proves he has “the right stuffing” In the tradition of The Velveteen Rabbit comes the story of Darcy Brewster, a brave teddy-bear cub, who accepts a real challenge—to be a true friend to Damian, a boy who has a long history of destroying his toys. Ready, willing, and able to love and comfort Damian, even if it means putting his own fur on the line, Darcy manages to capture Damian’s heart and imagination, as well as that of any reader. |
Review of ONE TRUE BEAR by Jane Doonan "Dewan's new picture book is so good it sets the mind racing in different directions. The main theme is the transforming power of love. Just imagine that special teddy bears have a destiny to be the One True Bear to a child, however difficult that child may be. Darcy Brewster, a brave and good cub volunteeers for such a mission. Darcy soon painfully discovers that Damien, his new owner, is unloving and unloveable. He likes nothing better than to knock Darcy about. Thankfully, Darcy is made of the right stuffing and his response is to reason gently with Damien and suggest better games which they might play. Gradually he wins Damien round but the story does not end there and its touching conclusion deserves more than a brief disclosure in a review. I dont want to spoil anyone's surprise. "Dewan's test is a masterpiece of understatement, with abundant exemplification and amplification displayed in the pictures, cover to cover. For example, which character is entirely absent from this tale and does this make a difference? What do Damien's drawings tell us about him? Any ideas why Damien behaves as he does? What's to be made from Damiens' choice of bedtime reading, Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince? Its presence brings a whole new dimension of Dewan's own literary fairly story, share the Wilde story with the class, and increase the scope for discussion. Then there's punning word play and irony fit for infants and juniors. In the illustrations, Dewan plays with quirky angles of viewing, favours big bold images and bathes them in luminous colour, as if under-lit." |
This pdf is available for promotional and previewing purposes and remains the copyright of Ted Dewan.
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BING BUNNY SERIES |
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Bing Yuk!
Bing Paint Day Bing Swing Bing Go Picnic Bing Make Music Bing Get Dressed Bing Bedtime Bing Something For Daddy These 8 books for toddlers have become something of a cult amongst toddlers and their parents. Bing has his own website, bingbunny.com |
   
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CRISPIN THE PIG TRILOGY  Winner 2002 Blue Peter Award |
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Crispin Tamworth
was a pig who had it all. He had all the junk food any pig could ever want. He had all the best toys in the world, even though they tended to get broken not long after Christmas. One Christmas, a huge box appeared by the Christmas tree. On the tag it said "Dear Master Crispin; in this box, you will find the one thing you don't have. It's the very best thing in the whole wide world. S." But when Crispin opened the box, he was very surprised indeed...
Winner2002 Blue Peter Award
"A wonderful satire on childhood consumerism." "...a gorgeous, non-preachy morality tale for kids who have everything." THE GUARDIAN |
Crispin Tamworth was a pig who had it all to himself. Until the 3 Little Piglets came along with their noise and mess and mindless destructive urges. While Mr Tamworth retreats into his jazz LPs, and Mrs Tamworth works hard to get her figure back while ordering baby junk over the phone, Crispin is left to look after the piglets who get him into trouble. Only when he finds a way to share an imagination with his siblings do the green shoots of filial affection begin to pop up. A masterful morality tale for modern times...a withering commentary on materialism. ELAINE WILLIAMS, TES
"The moral is satisfyingly seasonal, and if it souds unbearably earnest, let me promise you that that's one thing Dewan is never likely to be." |
Crispin Tamworth was a pig who did it all.... ..especially on his birthday. But somehow, the elaborate birthday venues just done live up to their promise, and all his birthdays end up being horrible. But one year, on their way to the Cheezy Mouse Birthday Surprise Centre, Crispin and all his friends end up stranded in a humble roadside cafe. And somehow, some strange how, Crispin had truly the most special birthday surprise ever. It helps that his dad stops viewing Crispin's life through the lens of a video camera. This third and final Crispin the Pig book is another satire on childhood consumerism, with a message to parents who worry far too much about staging elaborate birthdays that make their kids miserable. Crispin gets his first ever hug from his dad in any of the Crispin books, once Mr Tamworth's video camera is tamed for good. |
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BABY GETS THE ZAPPER |
Baby finally gets ahold of the coveted remote control.
She decides to change what's on TV with a ZAP. She applies the same technique to ZAP her toys, ZAP her cat, ZAP her town, and flies to the moon and ZAPS it into an enormous cookie. But after hubris comes the fall, which isn't so bad for baby since mama is down below to catch her. This is Ted's first baby book, but still with a (rounded) edge. |
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THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE Shortlisted for the Young Book Trust |
In the 20th century, magic is science.
Science appears to work like magic, and brooms are replaced with vacuum cleaners. In this version of the story of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, the apprentice is a robot, and a lazy one at that. Instead of doing the tidying up, he builds another robot just like himself to do his work for him. But as you people out there using computers know, when you use a machine to solve one problem, you suddenly have a whole bunch of new problems to deal with. As the robots say, 1, 2 ,4, 8! WE WERE MADE TO DUPLICATE! There's a glee in these pages that is infectious...The delight of the book lies in Dewan's sinewey, vigorous line, and in the sheer pictorial zest which matches the Sorcerer himself for inventiveness. It is a creative retelling of the classic tale associated with Goethe and Dukas; full of science, magic and electronic wizardry...The illustrations are to be looked at again and again as they are hugely inventive and full of surprises. LITERACY & LEARNING Beautifully illustrated...with an extraordinary combination of deftness and humour...Highly recommended. |
Cinematic effects in the first few pages create a dramatic build-up...Energetic language and humour add to the story's charm while unusual perspectives, glowing colours and images exploding from their frame bring further layers of magic to this wildly exuberant tale. ANNE FAUNDEZ, JUNIOR EDUCATION
This is a fresh look at a well-loved story. Ted Dewan is so creative in his approach to picture books...The book is packed with detail and lateral thinking extras that keep children looking and imagining for hours. CHILD EDUCATION In this rollicking remake of the classic tale, an inventor cobbles together a robot to clean his cluttered workshop, then incautiously leaves the schematics where his new 'apprentice' can find them. It's a memorable take, capped by a rousing robot cheer. KIRKUS REVIEWS |
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THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE AND OTHER MUSIC OF MAGIC AND ELECTRICITY This recording is no longer commercially available, but sometime in the future I hope to transfer the DAT tape to mp3 and upload it for free onto this site. However, I've got to find a working DAT player and a free morning first! |
The audio companion of The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
The recording was made using an orchestra of imaginary instruments created and conducted in a corner of my studio. Tracks include:
Synthesized sounds performed by Ted Dewan and Helen Cooper, arranged by Ted Dewan. Running time: 30 minutes. Featured on BBC Radio 3, Radio 4, and Classic FM Dewan reads the story and plays his own arrangement (electronic, natch) of the Dukas score, together with the 'Danse Macabre' by Saint Saens and a composition of his own called 'March of the Robots'. He does it infuriatingly well. Electronic music can easily sound like the whine and buzz of a zombie-space-hornet, but here the sine waves are manipulated with taste and imagination as well as skill PHILIP PULLMAN, TES He has not only written and illustrated the story, but has transposed Dukas' famous theme into electronic music over which he reads the story. The end result is captivating. CHILD EDUCATION The plot unfolds at a galloping pace, accompanied by the electronic music based on the original classical score ...The new music suits this retelling perfectly. It is impossible not to stamp or march to the music, its rhythm and beat are compelling. As well as the story...we are also treated to two other pieces of music which are highly atmospheric and at times spooky. If you would like to try something a little different, stimulating to both the ear and the mind, try this tape and it will definitely grow on you. CHILDREN'S BOOKS IN IRELAND |
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 TOP SECRET |
 Can you keep a secret?Promise not to tell, 'cause this is a big secret. Tonight, I'm going out with the night brigade on a dangerous mission in search of treasure. I'm the newest member of the group and I'm still learning the ropes. There's lots to remember, like making sure the zip cable is attached firmly, and winding up the wagon, and building the cliff-climber as fast as possible.One mistake on duty and you're squashed! What's the treasure, you ask? You'll have to read our story to find out, but remember not to tell anyone, because it's TOP SECRET! ----Squirt.
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3 BILLY GOATS GRUFF |
It's the top of the gorge, and what an incredible day for a nibble...things look good out in the field for our team, the three billy goats gruff, but the troll plays a mean game. little billy goat steps up to the bridge...trots...and...he's over the bridge- he's safe! next up is middle billy goat...he trots...a tough pitch from the troll...and...looks like he's over the bridge...yes! he's safe! the goat is safe! now it's all up to big billy goat...the roll winds up.........it's a fast pitch........oh no, this could be it for the goats....................BUTT...
The tale comes across with a real freshness due to the dramatic illustrations, the brash hand-written lettering, and a funny lively text. ANTHONY BROWNE, FINANCIAL TIMES Ted Dewan's American influence comes to the fore as the goats wear stylish baseball caps...The format is modern with bold script text, and illustrations that have exciting depth...an animated film on paper. CHILD EDUCATION The modern vocabulary and the bright, lively pictures give this traditional story a freshness that it had the first time we all heard it. BOOKS FOR KEEPS |
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THE WEATHERBIRDS Waterstone's Guardian Book of the Week Bookseller's Editor's Choice |
When young Sparrow promises to help his recently escaped Parrot friend, Ariel, he consults his friend Professor Stork for advice. It was this way that Sparrow, Ariel, Stork, Captain Goose, and Elmer, the stowaway dodo, set off on a perilous airship trip halfway across the globe. On the way, they encounter all sorts of weather, from the updraughts of a thunderstorm to the swirling twirling winds of a tornado. The story and the science go hand in hand until you learn what Sparrow learned on his way to becoming the Weatherbird.
Ted Dewan's illustrations have given great pleasure to readers for some time. With The Weatherbirds he demonstrates his gifts as a teacher...explaining [weather systems] to us with the kind of clarity and wit that make learning a delight. Dewan's drawings just get better and better...he shares with Herge the rare gift of being able to draw tools you could pick up and use at once. The man is a marvel. PHILIP PULLMAN, THE GUARDIAN Ted Dewan's The Weatherbirds is a tour de force...a book to pore over until you know (painlessly) about hygrometers and the exosphere. NICOLETTE JONES, SUNDAY TIMES It should be a model of the genre...[the] story expands, as much as you and the little tykes prefer, into fabulously clear, thoroughly uncondescending explanations of clouds, rain, lightning, deserts, hurricanes. you name it. Why can't more children's books be like 'The Weatherbirds', informative and a bit of fun into the bargain? HARRY BROWN, IRISH TIMES |
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 INSIDE THE WHALE AND OTHER ANIMALS |
The "INSIDE ANIMALS" books
Winner of the 1992 Mother Goose Award Inside the Whale takes apart animals to show you what's inside, while Inside Dinosaurs puts them back together and shows you what might have been inside. Both books are written by Steve Parker.
With its stunning color drawings and clear, well turned prose, Inside the Whale is the next best thing to biology class and a lot less messy. This is the kind of book parents probably buy for their children and end up reading themselves. |
INSIDE DINOSAURS AND OTHER PREHISTORIC CREATURES |
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Winner, Children's Choice 2001 Kate Greenaway Award