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| The Kingdom of Silk series |
Note from Nayu: Blogging gremlins were at work and refused to let me centre all the text in this post. Sorry! I hope they cooperate in the future so I can make it look uniform.
This review is slightly different in that I need to explain how I came across this sweet series which explores so many issues that families face in a way that isn't too frightening for readers of all ages, and provides ways to cope when life goes a bit haywire. I was invited to read and review book 6, The Tender Moments of Saffron Silk. I read it, loved it, and since it was an ebook I asked to read the rest of the series too, which I gobbled up in no time. So here's the order of books which they were written and ideally could be read, although they can be read on their own quite easily.
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| Book #1 with charming illustrations |
The Naming
of Tishkin Silk by Glenda Millard and Caroline Magerl, Children's, 9
years +, 10E/10E Cot death from the view of an older brother makes a
powerful read. Tissues are needed
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| Book #2 with more wonderful illustrations |
Layla Queen
of Hearts by Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King, Children's, 9
years +, 10E/10E A tale of a girl who might as well have been born a
silk who learns about dementia directly
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| Book #3 Perry is one special boy |
Perry
Angel's Suitcase by Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King,
Children's, 9 years +, 10E/10E A new member of the Silk family
arrives, only he thinks he won't be wanted. You'll see just how wrong he is.
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| Book #4 As touch a read as all the others |
All The
Colours of Paradise by Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King,
Children's, 9 years +, 10E/10E Time to learn more about Perry, why
he has 2 days of homeschool each week and why his mother is a secret.
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| Book #5 More tissues needed |
Plum
Pudding and Paper Moons by Glenda Millard, Children's, 9 years +,
10E/10E Scarlett's wishes were so like my own at her age.
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| Today's main review focus Book #6 |
5th March 2015, Phoenix Yard Books, 128 pages, Ebook, Review copy
Content: tissues, humour, family love, friendship
Series summary
In Glenda Millard’s beautifully written and multi-award-winning Kingdom
of Silk series, set in the evocatively realized Australian countryside,
we meet the uncommon Silk family. Parents Ben and Annie Silk have a
brood of five daughters (‘the Rainbow Girls’), a son named Griffin,
Griffin’s best friend Layla who ‘might as well be a Silk’, Nell - the
‘tiny bit magic’ fairy grandmother, and Perry Angel – an adopted son who
joins the Silk family midway through the series.
Through these whimsical, lyrical stories, Glenda Millard writes about
families like no other writer writes about families. The books explore
important themes of love, loss, friendships, home and belonging, in ways
that pull at the heartstrings but are never over-sentimental. Honey for
the soul.
The Tender Moments of Saffron Silk summary
Everyone knows that Saffron Silk has a talent for pretending to be
someone else but when the firebirds rage inside her head, and it hurts
even to breathe, Saffron barely has the energy to be herself.
Saffron's family don't know about the firebirds that come to warn her
of terrible headaches. And Saffron doesn't know how to tell them. But
her brother Perry Angel has learnt to read hearts and recognise tender
moments, and Perry knows that Saffron is frightened. Frightened of what
might be wrong with her and afraid that she might have to leave the
Kingdom of Silk forever..
Nayu's thoughts
Like with
many other books I review I ended up reading book first, then the
previous 4/5 books, then I reread this one. I'm glad I was able to
read the others (thanks to the lovely publicist), because my initial
thoughts were that Saffron's father was a bit of a lunatic, her
family was a bit too wacky, and I didn't entirely understand the
various relationships. The first time round I fully related to
Saffron's fear of what was wrong with her, just because it is so
scary having your body do things which you've no control over &
don't understand. The care and support of her friends and family made
me cry (I cry when I'm happy, sad, & overwhelmed), especially
that of Perry whose personal sacrifice I fully understood when I read
the stories where he first appears.
This entire
series is such a sweet read, covering emotionally complex issues in a
way that makes sense. I want a grandmother like Nell! She is heaps of
fun, sees the positive in everything, and knows that not everyone can
learn the same way, which is why Perry ends up being homeschooled 2
days a week and attending school for the rest. It is never openly
said (as far as I can remember) but it's obvious that Perry has some
form of Autism or Aspergers, and the way his adopted brother and
sisters view him is touching. I loved how Layla brightens everyone's
life after their dear sister Tishkin passes away.
I admire Saffron's
parents for sticking with their way of life and not minding what
other people think, for picking meaningful names, for being able to
follow their dreams. Liking handicrafts made me like Saffron's dad
being a wood carver and a baker – the naming books sounds
exquisite! This is a series I'll reread because they are touching,
and the illustrations heighten the meaning behind the story. A family
focused read with lots of grandmother magic!
Suggested read
For another series which focuses on a family check out
The Chocolate Box Girls by Cathy Cassidy and includes
Sweet Honey (Children's, 11 years +, 10E/10E)
How
to create magic when writing about serious issues for children by Glenda Millard
Nayu: It is such a pleasure to find out more from Glenda how she write a series which covers so many challenges in life that ideally people wouldn't face but find they have to. A huge thank you Glenda for creating a life enriching series.
There
are times when most of us need a diversion from life’s
difficulties. And what better way to do that than to read a book?
For there is magic in books; carpet-ride magic, that transports us to
places we’ve never been; perhaps to Treasure Island, 40,000 leagues
under the sea or even down a rabbit hole to Wonderland. This kind of
magic is capable of transforming us into people we are not; into
heroes, warriors or little princes from faraway planets.
And
then there is that other kind of book-magic where we discover
characters who are just like us, from families like ours. Characters
who think like us, act like us and feel the way we do. They might be
shy, guilty, angry, embarrassed or broken-hearted.
Age or gender is no barrier, we are interested to see how these
characters react, how they
cope with feelings of
loneliness, fear or oddness. Engaging with literary characters such
as these is, at best, like meeting someone in real life and finding
comfort in discovering a shared experience, a common background. We
feel less alone, more hopeful and courageous.
Each
of the seven books of the Kingdom of Silk series is based on events
that commonly occur in real families. In the 6th book, ‘The Tender
Moments of Saffron Silk,’ Saffron, the youngest of six daughters,
is ill. While she and her family anxiously await diagnosis, Saffron
reflects on something her grandmother told her. Books
are many things, Nell says, lullabies
for the weary, ointment for the wounded, armour for the fearful and
nests for those in need of a home. This has
been, and continues to be, my experience as a reader and one that I
hope readers of my
books (both children and adults) will enjoy.
I
have been a reader for far longer than I’ve been a writer. The
books I love best are always the ones I can lose myself in. For that
is what we do when we are immersed in a book. We lose all sense of
self and become. Yes, we become;
someone else, somewhere else. Since I have become a writer, my
motivation is to write books that my readers can lose themselves in.
I want to cast the spell of becoming
over my readers. I want them to weep for the loss of baby Tishkin, to
sing for joy at the coming of Perry Angel, to see the daisy-covered
hills and smell the eucalyptus trees of the small town of Cameron’s
Creek, far away over oceans and seas in the great southern land of
Australia.
Nell
Silk uses imaginative play, ‘dress-ups’ and her own brand of
magic to communicate with children. I am soon to be blessed with a
grandchild of my own. I hope to be a Nell kind of grandmother. One
who still remembers what it was like to be a little girl, wanting
people to explain things, give me answers to questions that were
important to me, in a way that was loving, kind and understandable.
One who believes that children have a right to answers. And most of
all, one who can find the right words to talk about the things that
are hardest to say.
So
if there is magic in what children’s authors write when touching on
difficult topics, I suggest it is this; we do our best to enchant the
reader, to cast the spell of ‘becoming’ over them, making it
possible for them to believe in the worlds we have created and feel
for the people who inhabit them.
