The Places You Will Go

Picture Book of the Month: A Kiss for Little Bear

November 2005

A Kiss for Little Bear

By Elsie Holmelund Minarik

Illustrated by Maurice Sendak

Publisher: HarperCollins, 32 pages

I was introduced to Minarik's delightful characters via the animated television series shown on Nickleodeon on weekday mornings. Little Bear and his parents, his friends Cat, Hen, Duck and Emily, the little girl, are even more wonderful in print!

In this book (my favourite in the series), Little Bear sends a picture to his grandmother who likes it so much she thanks him with a kiss that is carried to him by various animals including his friends, a frog and a couple of skunks who are so inspired by the caress that they decide to marry!

Fans of Sendak should pay special attention to the picture drawn Little Bear - you're in for a surprise that will surely make you smile!

Sucker for Punishment

Several weeks ago I signed up for National Novel Writing Month! Why? Well, as I said to a colleague (Eyeris, actually), "Because I sign up for everything!"

My motto should be: Sign Up Now, Regret Later!

Imagine that on the family coat of arms!

Picture Book of the Month: The House on East 88th Street

October 2005

The House on East 88th Street

Written and Illustrated by Bernard Waber

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, 48 pages

The Primms move into a lovely old house only to discover that it's already inhabited ... by a big green crocodile named Lyle. Luckily, he proves to be friendly and peaceful, and not inclined to attack or sup on human flesh!

This is the first of several books about Lyle and the Primms. Collect them all!

Elementary, Dear Macca!

The Silly Side of Sherlock Holmes: A Brand New Adventure Using a Bunch of Old Pictures

By Philip Ardagh

This book made me scream with laughter!

Philip Ardagh, of Eddie Dickens fame, strings a lot of original Sherlock Holmes (from The Strand Magazine 1891-1927) illustrations together, sticks in funny captions and comes up with a whole new "mystery" that will have you in fits.

(The version that's available in Malaysia has a different cover - Holmes's famous silhouette.)

Ardagh has also written The Not-So-Very-Nice-Goings-On at Victoria Lodge, which has illustrations from the 1890s's editions of The Girls Own Paper.

I have also received High in the Clouds, his collaboration with Paul McCartney, for review but can't bring myself to read it. It just looks terribly wordy and not too exciting.

Not feeling very well and so not inclined to read anything that doesn't immediately strike my fancy.

Anyway, stay tuned for whether I think Macca is a hack.   

How Should Harry Potter Die?

It looks like there are quite a few of you out there who are really into the idea of Harry Potter dying. I've received several emails asking about the poll that appeared and then disappeared. Well, here's the link again. You probably have to join the Yahoo group SO what do YOU think to vote, so if you think that's more bother than it's worth, just post a comment with your suggestion(s) for the best (i.e. worst) way for Harry to pop his cork.

If you want Harry to die but aren't sick enough to think of the way he should go, here are a few ideas:

• Force fed pate til he chokes.
• Tickled to death with the tail feathers of a thousand parrots.
• Baked in a pie like those 4 and 20 blackbirds.
• Turned into a pumpkin and made into soup.

So go on then. Think slow, think painful, think no more bad books! Yayyy!!!

Harry Potter: Death by Playmobil

What would John and George Say?

Madonna's done it. So has LeAnne Rimes. And Billy Joel. They've all sold millions of records, and they've also written books for kids. Now it's Sir Paul McCartney's turn. High in the Clouds (Faber) sees Macca joining the growing list of musicians ("musicians") who think they have something to contribute to the world of children's literature.

This is what The Sunday Times (UK) says about it:

"This book had a initial print run of 50,000 copies. It was put together by committee — Paul McCartney, children’s author Philip Ardagh, and animator Geoff Dunbar — and it shows: it is lumbering, awkward and not very beautiful." Read more ...

Can't wait to see for myself ...