Stella & Rose's Books

Why rodents in children's books you may ask?

Simple answer - my husband and I are the proud owners of four beautiful dumbo-eared rats. We got our four girls ('does') back in March 2015.

After much deliberation (which pets should we get - cats? rabbits? hamster? rats?), we decided on rats. So we researched cages, food and all necessary equipment. When all this was purchased and set up, we had another choice to make: boys or girls? After much changing of our minds (we'll definitely have boys – two – called Caspian and Reepicheep – so we thought!), finally we decided on girls as they were just so pretty. We picked them up from a breeder not too far away from us and set about getting to know their individual characters.

(Published on 1st Mar 2016) Read full article

In 1946 my family bought their first jeep – a Willys with a civilian registration DJY 201. 70 years later I still own and drive that jeep.

Above: Cliff in the jeep in 1956.

About 8 million horses died during World War One, they were used for transporting men, materials and guns. In World War Two the US Army needed a replacement for the horse and in early 1940 the US Army issued a specification. The Bantam Car Company and Willys-Overland were the only two companies that responded to the Army's call, although over 130 companies had been invited to respond. They had been given a 49-day deadline and Willys-Overland asked for more time to finish their vehicle.

(Published on 12th Jan 2016) Read full article

Or, for those of you who enjoyed my previous article about our garden visitors, here are “More Garden Visitors” to our garden here in Portugal. Cliff and I have been settled here for a year now and continue to be amazed at the abundance and variety of wildlife we see right outside our back door. Mind you, we have to look very closely on occasions to see the beauty, or some would say peculiarities, of the little creatures that frequent our flowers and the nooks and crannies in the stone walls. Here are some we found particularly fascinating.

(Published on 30th Dec 2015) Read full article

We have been fortunate in my part of the world (Hay-on-Wye, UK) to have enjoyed a glorious Autumn. The colours of the leaves as they have turned have been stunning – and the weather has been mild with some sunny days which have added to the beauty. The season is now turning to Winter. I know this is not a favourite season for many but I quite like Winter. Well actually, what I like is seasons to be seasons! So there should be a gradual warming with new plant growth and lambs in the fields in Spring, warmth and lazy sunny days in Summer, glorious colours in Autumn, with a gradual cooling towards Winter which should be cold, crisp and with snow on the hills!

(Published on 24th Nov 2015) Read full article

After reading other Enid Blyton titles (mostly Secret Seven and Famous Five), I discovered in my local library another series penned by Blyton - the Adventure Series. To me the titles in this series felt more grown-up and exciting than the other books I'd read by Blyton and they quickly became my favourites (with perhaps the exception of 'The Secret of Spiggy Holes' - my favourite Blyton title of all time!).

As with other Blyton books you have a group of central characters and in this series they are Philip and his sister Dinah, together with orphaned brother and sister, Jack and timid Lucy-Ann. Philip is an animal lover and no animal seems to dislike him. Dinah, his sister is adventurous and in total contrast to Lucy-Ann, whom you feel would rather not get into these dangerous adventures, but would opt for a quieter time if she didn't always want to be so close to her beloved brother, Jack! Jack is bird mad, and his quest to go bird watching contributes to some of their adventures. An example of this is in 'The Castle of Adventure' - Jack wants to watch some eagles and when he decides to stay overnight he realizes that he is not alone in the castle! Last but not least, who can forget Kiki, Jack's 'scarlet and grey', very talkative parrot?

(Published on 15th Nov 2015) Read full article

It was that time of year again... the last Saturday of August (Bank Holiday weekend) and The Followers of Rupert AGM. Every year, Stella & Rose's Books make a pilgrimage to Warwick with all our Rupert stock in tow. This year was no exception.

What was different this year, is that it was my first time (believe it or not in the almost 20 years that we have been a part of this event) that I went along with Maria and her husband, Steve. Usually, the group would include Maria, Steve (Maria's husband and fellow Follower), Chris & Cliff. However, Chris & Cliff are now people of leisure living it up in Portugal and so I was roped in!

(Published on 1st Nov 2015) Read full article

MOLLY BRETT (born: Mary Elizabeth Brett)

The daughter of the noted animal painter Mary Gould Brett, Molly was born in 1912 and brought up in a country district of Surrey. She had little formal training but after taking a correspondence course she started illustrating and writing children's books.

She wrote and illustrated more than sixteen books for the Medici Society and illustrated many other books,however, here we are most interested in the books she illustrated for Enid Blyton. There are thirteen in total, all published by Brockhampton press between 1951 and 1961.

(Published on 30th Oct 2015) Read full article

As this was my 1st Enid Blyton Day, I had been anticipating it for some time. To increase my knowledge of our stock for weeks I had been cataloguing and pricing any Enid Bylton books which were sitting in our store room. There was also great excitement as this website was being built all with the 12th of May in mind as a launch day. At times it was touch and go to see if everything was going to be ready in time, thankful everybody pulled together and Stella and Rose's Books were ready for the fair 1 only week early, which is most unusual.

On the 11th May, the difficult decisions are made, which books do we take and which books do we leave in the shop. Thankful as I had a day off I could escape these difficult decisions and the boxes of books were packed up by my colleagues. With everything packed ready to go the next day, all that was needed was a good nights sleep.

(Published on 30th Oct 2015) Read full article

Stella & Roses Books were delighted to participate in the Enid Blyton’s Society Day meeting at Twyford, UK on 7th May.

Above, left to right: Stella and Roses Books Stand; Settling down for the 1st talk of the day; Enid Blyton's daughter, Gillian, at our stand.

The aim of the Society, which was formed in early 1995, is to provide a focal point for collectors and enthusiasts of Enid Blyton through its magazine The Enid Blyton Society Journal, issued three times a year, its annual Enid Blyton Day and its website. (www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk).

Around 100 enthusiasts, including Enid’s two daughters Imogen & Gillian, spent the day gossiping (sorry I think networking is the word), browsing the Enid Blyton items for sale and listening to a talk on the early years of Enid Blyton as a governess in Hook in the 1920’s by Mark Davison. The talk was based on material from Mark’s book ‘Hook Remembered’ (mark.davison@virgin.net).

(Published on 30th Oct 2015) Read full article

The Secret Seven series of 15 books, by prolific author Enid Blyton, follows the adventures of a strictly secret society made up of 7 children, who like to solve mysteries that they happen upon, or actively go looking for!

The History:

Although many may think, like I did before doing this research, that The Secret Seven - the first title in this series - is the first time we are introduced to the seven, this is not the case. In 1947, At Seaside Cottage a small volume was published by Brockhampton Press and featured the main characters of Peter and Janet, with their golden spaniel, Scamper. A year later in 1948, Secret of the Old Mill was published, in which Peter and Janet, after reading a book called The Secret Society, decide to create a secret society of their own, using the old mill on a hill near their home as a meeting place. They invite five of their friends to join them, and so The Secret Seven are born.

(Published on 30th Oct 2015) Read full article

"Most people love butterflies and hate moths," he said. "But moths are more interesting - more engaging.” Thomas Harris, The Silence of the Lambs

One of the wonders of grand-children (and they are so many that I have neither the time nor talent to do them justice) is that they can take our imagination by the hand and lead us down paths of curiosity we haven’t known since we were young ourselves.

“What are moths, Pompar?” A simple enough question from a six year old but, just as the attention of the bee stimulates a flower to offer nectar, suddenly my childhood fascination with these mysterious creatures of the night sky came flooding back. Luckily, it was late August and Isaac was staying with us for a while over the holidays. Here was a golden opportunity for Isaac and I to do something together.

(Published on 16th Oct 2015) Read full article

Stella & Rose's Books were delighted to attend the 21st annual meeting of Biggles & Co - a group of enthusiasts who meet to celebrate the life and works of Captain W.E. Johns. 

The event, held this year on Saturday 17th April 2010 at Lodden Hall, Twyford, is a wonderful opportunity for those who enjoy these books to get together and chat about Biggles, Gimlet, Worrals and all their chums... There is also a large number of quality books and artwork to browse and buy - a great chance to fill gaps in even the most comprehensive collection!

After arriving around 9am there was an hour to set up our stall and display all those Biggles books which we had carefully transported from our two shops. All went smoothly and, after a final check to ensure that Biggles was sufficiently presentable to meet his adoring public, the doors opened and the real business of the day started - meeting old & new friends, and exchanging views on our favourite literary hero.

(Published on 16th Oct 2015) Read full article

Why collect the books of W.E. Johns? This is the question I find myself asking again after seven years of collecting. With the last of the main run of books being published in 1970 it is definitely not that I read them as a child and they bring back happy memories as I am not that old! Maybe it is fond memories of the 1985 Biggles film as I would have been at an age to be influenced by these things. Most certainly it is because I came to work in a bookshop, however I worked for Stella Books for three years before I started collecting.

What I do remember vividly is being drawn in by the design on the covers of some of the 1930s Biggles books, in particular the blue covers showing a bi-plane flying over palm trees and pyramids. My thinking at the time was "I want to read some of these books that I keep selling every day; stop 'wasting' money on paperback books and buy something which I will be able to resell, hopefully for at least what I paid for it".

(Published on 1st Oct 2015) Read full article

In the short time I have been adding books into stock at Rose's Books I have been amused by the obscure items you find hidden between the pages. Often the item has been used as a bookmark so I can only assume that when a reader is looking for something to mark their page, they grab the first thing that comes to hand - as you will see from the following list.

A black and white photograph of a young man and a dog.

The outer cardboard wrapper from a film cartridge. I googled the make and looks like it could be for a box camera from around the 1930s.

(Published on 26th Aug 2015) Read full article

View current stock of Books about Dogs

Firstly, I should explain to those of you that are unaware, I am profoundly deaf. I decided to apply for a Hearing Dog to enhance my life after my pet dog, Holly, passed away. Finally after 5 years of waiting, the day was upon us!

Wow! Time flies! I brought Betsy home with me for the first time on 31st May 2014. A whole year has flown by already!

Above: 1. Betsy alerting me and 2. Betsy laying down after I have asked "What is it", so that I know it is an emergency alarm!  

Betsy has been good for me in so many ways – some obvious and some more subtle. She has made me feel much more confident about going out and about on my own – simply shopping or going to the bank or doctors. I feel much happier being home overnight without my husband if he has to go away due to work. In the past, I would worry that I wouldn't wake up in the morning for work or perhaps the burglar alarm would go off in the night and I wouldn't hear it. Now I sleep a lot better knowing that Betsy will wake me up in the morning or if she hears an alarm.

(Published on 3rd Aug 2015) Read full article

In English the word “date” has multiple meanings, so if you are thinking romance, then sadly this is most likely not for you!

 

Now, when I started working in a book shop and you asked me to find the publication date of the book, I would think “yes I know how to do that” well after a few years I changed to “errr why is it so difficult to find the publication date!”. Now after a few more years, I finally feel I am vaguely getting to grips with the process, and so I thought I would share some of the tips I have picked up.

(Published on 30th Jun 2015) Read full article

When I was very young, even before I could read, I was enthralled by the story of a vain little seal called Snorri.

In the late 50s my big sister Elspeth had been been given the book, “Snorri the Seal” as a prize at her primary school when she was seven years old and I suppose that as she grew out of it, so I grew into it, and became as fascinated by the pictures contained within as Snorri was by his own reflection in the ice.

The book follows the perilous misadventures of a baby seal called Snorri who ignores his mother's warnings about the dangers of the Arctic and its creatures and instead swims happily among the ice-floes. As he wanders further from home he is attacked by Growler the polar bear, spied upon by a pair of scheming seagulls called See and Saw and stalked relentlessly by a killer whale called Grab.

(Published on 18th May 2015) Read full article

View current stock of Military books

It is always pleasant to chat with customers who drop into our Tintern shop, and I have heard all manner of fascinating anecdotes and family recollections and learned many facts over the years which I would not otherwise have known.

The other day, as I was circumnavigating the shop collecting together books for the orders which had been placed online, I was apprehended by two jovial gentlemen in Room 10 - which is currently home to our collection of Military Books. They were astonished by the range, as well as the quality, of our military books section and were enthusiastically working their way around the shelves, calling out delightedly as they discovered some elusive gem or a volume which brought back memories of previous events in their lives.

(Published on 1st May 2015) Read full article

View current stock of C.F. Tunnicliffe books

It is often illustrations that people remember from childhood books. They can describe the illustration but have no idea who produced it. I am no exception as I can remember illustrations from the Ladybird book 'What to look for in Winter' very clearly but it is only recently that I have discovered that they were by C.F. Tunnicliffe.

Above: Tunnicliffe illustrations from 'Mereside Chronicle'

Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe was born on 1st December 1901 in Langley near Macclesfield in Cheshire. When he was eighteen months old the family moved to a farm at Sutton Lane Ends where Tunnicliffe spent the rest of his childhood. Tunnicliffe's interest in art began here and his drawings would appear on the walls of the cowshed and stable! His artistic talent was recognised by the Headmaster, Buckley Moffat, and Charles went on to attend the Macclesfield School of Art as well as going to the Manchester School of Art one day a week.

(Published on 16th Apr 2015) Read full article