Beast of Bodmin Moor [Paperback]

 

 

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Christmas is an ideal time to restock your child's library and this beautifully illustrated, enlightening and entertaining tale should be in every childs christmas stocking this year.

Kent's story of a cat called Tegen is a heart warming adventure set on Bodmin Moor. Tegen tramps the wild landscape of Cornwall from Washaway to Wendford and pounces from Delabole to Dozmary and finds herself in some tricky situations. As I read it to my daughter she took delight in recognising the cat's route and as children have a natural affinity with animals she was intrigued after the first few pages.

The narrative is rich is high frequency words and some tricky new ones too, it is easy for parents to read aloud or could be read independantly from KS 2 and up. However, even my 11 year old nephew was enchanted by this adventure.

This book is not just another Cornish adventure story. Kent is a talented writer and whilst there was no doubt my daughter was thoroughly entertained, The Beast Of Bodmin Moor has assisted with the development of her reading and vocabulary whilst encouraging my daughter to 'look more closely' at her surroundings and to value and be inspired by them. A charming and valuable addition to her collection. Order today!

As a fellow publisher in Cornish, I must confess to being deeply envious of this book--I just wish that I'd published it! Being written by one of Cornwall leading authors (Alan Kent), and translated by one of the most fluent speakers of Cornish (Neil Kennedy), this book has an 'all-star cast'. Published by Evertype, the quality of design and typesetting is everything we've come to expect from this talented young man. The illustrator, Gabrielle Cailes, is a new name to me, but she has done superb work with this book, and I'd gladly have her illustrate any of my publications!

The negative review by one Stephen Allen Reeves comes as no surprise to those who unfortunately know him of old, and contains nothing new from him. In Cornish language circles he is, alas, quite ill known as a web troll. Banned from numerous web sites and discussion forums, under innumerable fake names, he has nothing but venom and bile to spew on those people and organisations who are actually doing something for the Cornish language. As an expert on fake versions of Cornish--he himself has concocted over a dozen!--one might suppose that he knows whereof he speaks on the subject. Alas, unlike his hatred, his knowledge of this beautiful language is minimal.

Ignore his malevolent maunderings, and buy this book!--after all, if you don't yet know Kernewek (the beautiful Cornish language)--you can still enjoy the English half of the text.

Bledhen Noweth da dheugh! Happy New Year!

Eddie Foirbeis Climo
GwaskAnOrlewen.com
Publisher in Traditional Cornish

Since I am possibly Alan Kent's No 1 fan, I may be a little biased but I do think that this warm, fascinating, enchanting and powerful tale is the best work of children's literature to have come out of Cornwall. Presented as a beautiful, English-Cornish picture book, with fabulous contemporary illustrations by Gabrielle Cailes and translated by Neil Kennedy, this is a collector's piece - a real work of art.

Deftly, and with the lightest yet surest of touches, we are drawn into the magical world of `Best Goon Brèn', the beast of Bodmin Moor, where local Cornish motifs link us with the Celtic underworld and with essential themes of European and world literature. Timeless issues of good and evil, the supernatural, the affinity between humans and the animal kingdom, heroism, the transcending power of love and friendship, plus the world of King Arthur are all here - presented with Alan Kent's impeccable aesthetics.

This fascinating tale is at once mischievous, mystical, and magical yet firmly grounded in contemporary Cornish experience. (My brother, a Cornish farmer, has seen the beast close up.) Three and four year old children at the nursery where I teach were immediately able to identify with the story, the pictures and the context. They loved the atmospheric illustrations and were amazed to see a map in a book showing their own place of Lostwithiel. One little boy was desperate to discover what happened to Excalibur, the sword of King Arthur. Others wanted to stroke the adorable cuddly beast cub that I received with my copy. My 84 year old mother was equally thrilled with this charming book which she declared to be "Exactly right" and is proudly passing on to a new great-granddaughter as cultural treasure trove.

As a vibrant resource for the acquisition of the Cornish language, this book is second to none. Linguistic content, theme and format all work together and have been thought through with Alan Kent's usual vision, skill and mastery. The superb illustrations are highly effective in creating a bond between the reader and the text and in inviting children to explore and interact with the language. This will stimulate, enable and encourage children in Cornwall and elsewhere to explore their cultural identity. The attractively laid out bilingual text, the comprehensive glossary, a map of the area with Cornish - English place name equivalents and an interactive game all invite engagement with the language and provide practical help for both adults and children in acquiring it.

Alan Kent has made an outstanding contribution to the preservation and health of the Cornish language, Cornish culture and Cornish identity with his academic work on Cornwall plus his wonderful drama, fiction and poetry. What joy that we now have this beautiful book for children.

Julie Tamblin
Learn Cornish in Cornwall

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5.0 out of 5 stars Review of 'The Beast of Bodmin Moor' by Alan M. Kent
This book was a pleasure! Suitable for children between five and ten years of age, it blends old tales of the beast with the 'urban myth' of the escaped big cats which are said to... Read more

Published 1 month ago by D. J. Randles

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