Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers
No. of pages 32
Published: 2013
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This book features in the following series: Little Greats, Picture Puffin, Picture Puffins, Red Fox, Red Fox Picture Books .
This book has been graded for interest at 5-7 years.
There are 32 pages in this book.
This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+).
This book was published in 2013 by Penguin Random House Children's UK .
John Burningham (1936-2019) studied illustration and graphic design at the Central School of Art, graduating with distinction in 1959. Many illustration commissions followed including iconic posters for London Transport, before the publication of Borka: the Adventures of a Goose with No Feathers, Johns first book for children (Cape, 1963) which won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration and heralded the beginning of an extraordinary career. John Burningham has since written and illustrated over thirty picture books, that have been translated and distributed all over the world. These feature his classic and much loved childrens books including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, by Ian Fleming (Jonathan Cape, 1964); Mr Gumpys Outing (Jonathan Cape, 1970) also awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal; Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (Jonathan Cape, 1972); The Shopping Basket (Random House, 1980); The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (Penguin/Puffin, 1983); Granpa (Jonathan Cape, 1984) later made into an animated film and Oi! Get off our Train (Jonathan Cape, 1989) and various books for adults England (Jonathan Cape, 1992); France (Jonathan Cape, 1998); The Time of Your Life (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2002) and When We Were Young (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004). Tug of War was republished in 2012, and a special edition of Borka, celebrating 50 years in print, was published in June 2013. Picnic appeared in the autumn of 2013 and The Way to the Zoo was published in the UK in 2014. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is celebrating its 50th year in print with a limited edition in hardback to be published in 2015.
Kate Greenaway Medal
Animals in literature
Birds in literature
Nature in literature
Self Esteem And Self Reliance in literature
Bullying in literature
This book is in the following series:
Picture Puffins
The "Picture Puffins" series is a collection of beautifully illustrated childrens picture books published by Puffin Books, a well-known imprint of Penguin Random House. This series is aimed primarily at children aged 3 to 7 years and encompasses a wide range of stories, including fairy tales, fables, original tales, and adaptations of classic literature. One of the standout features of the series is the vibrant and engaging illustrations that accompany the text. Many books in the series promote educational themes, such as friendship, kindness, sharing, and problem-solving. The narratives often carry moral lessons, making them suitable for both entertainment and educational purposes. The stories are typically written in simple, rhythmic language that is easy for children to understand and enjoyable to read aloud.
"When I was little, this was my favourite book; when my children were little, it was their favourite book. The story of how Borka, the youngest of six geese born to Mr and Mrs Plumpster without any feathers, is a touching tale of motherly love and triumph over adversity. Mrs Plumpster immediately knits poor, bald Borka a grey woollen jumper but when the family migrates south, Borka gets left behind because she can't fly. The abandoned goose is befriended by a friendly boat skipper who takes her on his boat back to London, where she is given a new home at Kew Gardens. The other geese don't mind about her having no feathers because there are so many other strange birds at Kew and anything goes. Borka is republished to celebrate its 50th anniversary." -- Katie Law * Evening Standard *
"Cape is right to publish this golden goose of an edition for an as-yet-uninitiated generation" * Observer *
