helen
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hejparry.bsky.social
helen
@hejparry.bsky.social
770 followers 320 following 900 posts
reader, aspiring writer, wool-gatherer, cat-wrangler
chronically lazy
she/her
immigrant in Belgium!
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hejparry.bsky.social
Enjoyig Renaissance sea monsters this evening:
Detail of a coloured printed map showing a red/orange/yellowy sea monster with a long divided nose like a pair of bendy compasses, round eyes and five plumes sprouting from its head; where its neck should be is a ruff of feathers or leaves; a lime green tail snakes out of the water at a little distance. Originally published in ‘Europa Descriptio, Emendata’; reproduced in ‘Sea Monsters in Medieval and Renaissance Maps’ by Chet Van Duzer
November 27, 2025 at 8:44 PM
hejparry.bsky.social
Every Wednesday, I’m going to post a children’s book I’ve enjoyed.

If you’ve read it too, or you want to share another book, join in.

Picklewitch & Jack, by Claire Barker.

Why do I like it? Read the alt text!

#ukkidlit #kidlituk
Photograph of my hand holding a copy of Picklewitch and Jack in front of a brightly patterned cushion. Jack, named Lord Smartypants by the children in his previous school, doesn’t know that at the bottom of the garden at his new house there lives a little witch. Fudgenuts and bats’ bums! Jack’s life is about to take a wild turn. I love this book because (a) it made me laugh so much and (b) I want to be Picklewitch. If I’d read it when I’d been eight I’d have taken up residence in a tree and never washed again. The illustrations are by Teemu Jehani and they are perfect.
November 26, 2025 at 5:03 PM
hejparry.bsky.social
Morning!
Having reread the first two vols of The Book of Dust & feeling slightly pilgrimy about that, I’ve now started The Rose Field, a bit like reaching the shrine. You can see my favourite bookmark in the photograph, peeps out lime a very flat daemon.
My copy of The Rose Field by Philip Pullman with its lovely cover showing two camel riders in silhouette travelling across a desert under a flaming sky.
November 24, 2025 at 11:03 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Snow & traces of cat.
Thin covering of snow with two lines of cat pawprints running lightly through it; bottom to top in the left; across the top right-hand corner. No sign of the cat who by then was toasting herself in front of the gas fire in the sitting room.
November 23, 2025 at 9:07 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Every Wednesday, I’m going to post a children’s book I’ve enjoyed.

If you’ve read it too, or you want to share another book, join in!

The Wrong Shoes, by Tom Percival.

Why do I like it? Read the alt text!

#ukkidlit #kidlituk
A copy of The Wrong Shoes, by Tom Percival. The cover illustration is a drawing of a young boy sitting down with a rucksack. This was recommended to me by a friend and I’ve just finished it. It’s the story of a boy whose poverty makes it hard for him to manage and fit in at school. It’s a very powerful depiction of how poverty impacts so many areas of a child’s life, and the difficult choices Will has to make, but all folded into a compelling story with characters it’s easy to care about. The book is beautifully illustrated too, by the author.
November 12, 2025 at 11:13 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Hello! What a coincidence, I am nearing the end of What Moves the Dead by T.J. Kingfisher, reading through my fingers & not just before I sleep because I am of a cowardly disposition. A retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher & very unsettling, some good jokes too.
My hand nervously holding a copy of What Moves the Dead by T. J. Kingfisher. The cover illustration is of a hare entwined with the shape of the skeleton of another hare but made up of pink mushrooms.
November 10, 2025 at 12:21 PM
hejparry.bsky.social
Not only is the story exciting (see alt text in previous post), the illustrations by Bill Geldart are amazing. They bring another dimension to the book.
Double page spread of a boy in a bed, holding up a candle and looking round fearfully at demonic dogs dancing towards him Picture of a girl holding her arms aloft and screaming. Her arms are bound by a tape that had fastened a sketch book lying in front of her. Around her, eyes A boy swimming through a tunnel, depicted in ellipses
November 5, 2025 at 11:52 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Every Wednesday, I’m going to post a children’s book I’ve enjoyed.

If you’ve read it too, or you want to share another book, join in.

The Hungry Cloud, by Tom Ingram.

Of all the unjustly forgotten children’s books, this stone cold classic is the most unjustly forgotten.

#ukkidlit #kidlituk
Copy of The Hungry Cloud, by Tom Ingram, illustrated by Bill Geldert. The cover illustration shows two children in a small boat looking back at a castle-like structure in a rock. Behind the castle is an ominous black cloud. Published in 1971, it’s the story of Kai and Flor. While their royal parents are away, a mysterious cloud appears above their home, Scortallin castle. Meanwhile, they meet an unsettling travelling entertainer with his troupe of performing dogs, and an artist with a terrible gift. As it becomes clear that the entire kingdom is in terrible danger, how can the children save everyone they love? I was completely obsessed with this book as a child. It is genuinely tense and the atmosphere is heightened by the illustrations, just the perfect companion to the story. I have never met anyone else who has read it and I can’t understand why not. If you ever find a copy, seize it!
November 5, 2025 at 11:44 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
I am reading some creepy stories: From the Abyss by D.K. Broster, here pictured against my mother’s carpet, a horror story of its own.
From the Abyss: Weird Fiction 1907-1945, by D.K. Broster, edited by Melissa Edmundson. The book has a striking 1929 cover illustration of a woman in a black fur and red hat holding a cigarette in a red cigarette holder. It is lying on a carpet horribly patterned in cream, green, pink and brown.
October 31, 2025 at 4:42 PM
hejparry.bsky.social
Every Wednesday, I’m going to post a children’s book I’ve enjoyed.

If you’ve read it too, or you want to share another book, join in!

Fight Back, by A.M. Dassu.

Why do I like it? Read the alt text!

#ukkidlit #kidlituk
Photograph of my hand holding a copy of Fight Back by A.M. Dassu, which has a cover illustration of a girl in school uniform and a hijab and behind her a group of other school children wearing religious symbols. I have actually just finished reading this! I liked it because the main character, Aaliyah, was believable and sympathetic. And the book tackles a potentially contentious subject with grace and compassion, but without ever becoming preachy. It’s very true that wearing the hijab is usually portrayed negatively in the British press, and this book will show you that it is not necessarily a symbol of repression at all. OK, now I have made it sound like not fun, but it is fun!
October 29, 2025 at 4:43 PM
hejparry.bsky.social
Morning! I enjoyed that book, hope you are too.

I’m reading Lioness by Emily Perkins. It’s about a wealthy woman whose developer husband is accused of corruption, & her growing friendship with her liberal and permissive neighbour. Brilliant, sharp writing.
My hand holding Lioness by Emily Perkins against a garish cushion.
October 27, 2025 at 7:10 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Every Wednesday, I’m going to post a children’s book I’ve enjoyed.

If you’ve read it too, or you want to share another book, join in!

Invisible in a Bright Light, by Sally Gardner.

Why do I like it? Read the alt text!
Photograph of Invisible in a Bright Light by Sally Gardner. The cover shows a theatre proscenium with a ghostly ship suspended above a girl in a spotlight, the whole decorated with shells & fish. I am a massive fan of Sally Gardner & this is probably my favourite of her books. It’s set in Copenhagen, 1870, & includes a lost ship, an opera house, a cave of dreamers & absolutely magical writing. Here’s the beginning: ‘Do you want to finish the game?’ says the man in the emerald green suit. ‘What game?’ asks the girl. ‘One thing is certain,’ he says, ignoring her question, ‘when you have finished the game, everything will have changed.’ Deep under the sea in the cave of dreamers hang the sleepers, suspended from boat hooks. […] How can you not want to read on?
October 22, 2025 at 3:27 PM
hejparry.bsky.social
I am reading Honeyeater by Kathleen Jennings. A small town built on Australian swamps haunted by - what? It’s lush & unsettling & not quite like anything else.
My hand holding a copy of Honeyeater by Kathleen Jennings in front of red marble. The cover illustration shows a young woman in a white blouse with most of her face obscured by a headpiece of tropical flowers, insects on her blouse. Like a Golden Age Dutch still life but with a person in it
October 20, 2025 at 11:57 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Dewy spider’s web this morning
Thin branches of an ornamental cherry, lots of green leaves patched with red and one small cluster of dark berries. Floating over them is a spider’s web covered in tiny dewdrops that make it look like a white ghost
October 16, 2025 at 7:04 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
I am having my mind blown by Mary Butts & her novel Armed with Madness. I bought it after I saw discussion of it here on Bluesky. It’s brilliant but also wtf.
My hand holding a copy of The Taverner Novels by Mary Butts in front of red marble. This edition comprises Armed with Madness & The Death of Felicity Taverner. The abstract swirly cover image, which brings to mind a cave or passage, also somehow depicts my experience of reading it.
October 13, 2025 at 10:34 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Afternoon! I am reading No Such Thing as a Free Lunch, a collection of brilliant short stories by Rosalind Brackenbury. They were originally published as a pamphlet in 1975, now reissued by Walmer Books.
My hand holding a paperback copy of No Such Thing as a Free Lunch by Rosalind Brackenbury, Introduction by A.L. Kennedy.
October 6, 2025 at 1:43 PM
hejparry.bsky.social
It’s only the second Wednesday, & I’d already forgotten!

Every Wednesday, I’m going to post a children’s book I’ve enjoyed.

If you’ve read it too, or you want to share another book, join in!

Valentine Crow & Mr Death by Jenni Spangler.

Why do I like it? Read the alt text!
#ukkidlit #kidlituk
My hand holding a copy of Valentine Crow & Mr Death by Jenni Spangler, with a Buy one get one half price sticker tastefully lingering on the top right-hand corner. Foundling Valentine Crow is taken on as an apprentice by Death, helping collect souls whose time has come to move on from this world. But when he finds his best friend Philomena’s name on the list, he decides to change her fate. But can he, & should he? I liked this because it deals with some large questions & is funny & sharp without shying away from sadness. Also maybe I am a closet goth. Great pictures too.
October 1, 2025 at 11:36 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Every Wednesday, I’m going to post a children’s book I’ve enjoyed.

If you’ve read it too, or you want to share another book, join in!

The first is a novel I read a few years ago now & it's stayed with me: High Rise Mystery, Sharna Jackson.

Why do I like it? Read the alt text!
#ukkidlit #kidlituk
Photograph of the book High Rise Mystery, by Sharna Jackson. There’s been a murder in the Tri estate, and sisters Nik and Norva are going to solve it. From the first sentence, ‘If you think discovering a body is a fun adventure, you’re 33% right’, this story rollicks along as logical Nik (‘the Nut’) and spontaneous Norva (‘the Gut’) work their way through the evidence to find the killer. What I particularly enjoyed: the relationship between the sisters and the dialogue. You’ll be hearing these characters chatting in your head long after you’ve closed the book.
September 24, 2025 at 7:34 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Morning! I am reading Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova for the English book club I am helping set up at my local library. A decaying old cinema staffed by odd & prickly people who all spend far too much time there, a sense of beauty & grotesquerie, things are not going to end well…
My hand holding a copy of Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova. The cover image shows four people sitting in red cinema seats but where their faces should be white light is shining.
September 22, 2025 at 9:36 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Sunday + broken boiler + snotty cold + cat = perfect excuse to stay in pyjamas all day. Cheers everyone!
Photograph of incredibly beautiful, noble and floofy tortoiseshell cat comfortably ensconced on duvet yet ready to supply the ailing photographer with paracetamol and hot drinks at a moment’s notice well yes she did lie on top of me gnawing my fingers when I tried to sleep but cat ways are not our ways
September 21, 2025 at 11:51 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Morning!

I am reading Memories of the Future, by Siri Hustvedt. A novelist rediscovers an old diary from 1978, the year she arrived in New York. Memory, stories, selfhood, time, feminism. Beautifully written, thought provoking, really enjoying it.
My hand holding a paperback copy of Memories of the Future by Siri Hustvedt against wallpaper embossed with golden fans. The photograph on the cover is arresting: a young woman in a blue dress is reading suspended in the air; below her, two piles of books on the floor; above her more books are falling.
September 15, 2025 at 6:55 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
This morning I rescued two lime tree hawk moths in the kitchen. They seemed entirely uninterested in surviving but I hope that’s just a fleeting trauma and they’ll be all right.
A lime tree hawk moth in the clinging to a hazel tree. A second lime tree hawk moth peers out from a crook in the branches.
September 13, 2025 at 12:28 PM
hejparry.bsky.social
Rereading The Mouse & his Child by Russell Hoban. It’s brutal! Definitely for children, not adults.

Dystopia, murder, war, slavery. Characters casually eaten or killed. A dream we already know cannot be fulfilled. All in beautiful, melancholy prose.

Can only read a chapter a day!
Photograph of my hand holding an old paperback copy of The Mouse and his Child by Russell Hoban in front of a colourful cushion. Inside I found I had written in pencil that I had ‘finshed’ this book on ‘Sat. 17th Jan. 1981 at 1/4 past 6’. I didn’t usually write that sort of thing in books so perhaps past me found it as amazing and horrifying as present me does.
September 9, 2025 at 6:37 AM
hejparry.bsky.social
Good news! My copy of the new Briggs’s Dictionary of Fairies has just arrived & very pretty it is!

Bad news! It’s not actually a re-issue of the Dictionary of Fairies, as I thought, but of Abbey Lubbers, Banshees & Boggarts: A Who’s Who of Fairies, a copy of which I already own.

Confusing!
Two books: on the left, Abbey Lubbers, Banshees & Boggarts: A Who’s Who of Fairies by Katherine Briggs; on the right: Briggs’s Dictionary of Fairies: Banshees, Boggarts & Other Folklore Creature by Katherine Briggs, illustrated by Fee Greening
September 5, 2025 at 2:47 PM
hejparry.bsky.social
David Fickling Books & the Arvon Foundation have announced the winner of their Search for a Storyteller: Jessica Ellis, for Piglet & Pear.
They describe the book as 'a powerful, emotional & beautiful verse novel' - sounds wonderful.
Congratulations Jessica!
Text says Search for a Storyteller Winner: Piglet and Pear, by Jessica Ellis
September 5, 2025 at 6:48 AM