Chris S. Stephens has been a successful headteacher in West Wales, an English lecturer at Trinity College, Carmarthen, and more recently an advisory teacher for literacy in Pembrokeshire. He is current Officer for English in Wales at the WJEC (Welsh Joint Education Council) and working as a freelanc children's writer and literacy advisor.
By compiling A Wartime Scrapbook, Chris Stephens has not only added
to the Pont Library series the seasonal A Christmas Box and A
Seaside Treat having been widely welcomed but also produced a
text which will prove invaluable to those interested in various
aspects of the Second World War in Wales. A feature of this series
is the way text and illustration blend to produce a meld which is
both aesthetically pleasing, in keeping with the theme, as well as
being laid out so that the print is readable and not overwhelmed.
Close attention has been paid to layout, font variation, use of
colour and tone, the incorporation of illustrations, authentic
snaps, photos of wartime ephemera and reproductions of documents
and posters etc. with a number of illustrators responsible fore the
overall effect. Unfortunately, although the majority of the texts
incorporated are legible, readers may find it frustrating that
some, though authentic and decorative, are impossible to read as
printed; also, pupils today expect an index in reference texts, and
this would have made it a more easily used source book. The
contents page suggests pretty comprehensive coverage, and the needs
of the targeted audience those looking for relevant historical
in-put within the Curriculum Cymreig have to a great extent been
met. Being a scrapbook, it is inevitable that some aspects will
be left out. However, a more discerning readership will find some
omissions incongruous if not rather disappointing the failure to
make any reference to the contribution of the Bevin Boys being a
case in point.
*M. Lorna Herbert Egan @ www.gwales.com*
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