The Places You Will Go

Talking Books with Edward Gomez

If you enjoyed the interview I did with myself (!), you might want to check out my chat with Edward Gomez, father of a 15-month-old Isra, Godfather to my 15-month-old Ekath, and sometime reviewer of books.

I'm always curious about what other people are reading and especially what parents are reading to their kids.

I think parents who still enjoy children's books will stand a better chance of convincing their children that books are fun and cool ("Of course they're fun - why do you think I spend so much time reading them then?!").

Edward revealed some interesting facts about himself in this interview - my favourite is his crush on Jo, the little gipsy girl in the Famous Five books. I'm not convinced about him being like Piglet though ...

1. What was the first book you read when you were a cute little boy?

I can't really remember what the first book was. I know I had many Ladybird Read-It-Yourself and Peter and Jane books. I do remember though that one of my favourites was a Ladybird book of Greek mythology. I think there were stories about the 12 labours of Heracles and Persues and Medusa and Thesues and the Minataur.

2. If you were a character in a children's book who would you be?

I don't know who I'd want to be but I know who I most resemble - Piglet. Piglet is so pessimistic, so jumpy ... I identify with him

3. If you could live in a children's book for a week, as yourself, which would it be?>

I definitely want to live in Blyton's Five Have A Wonderful Time. The caravans, the circus folk, that bendy-wendy guy and Jo.... Ahh, Jo.. I had a crush on Jo as a kid. She was everything Anne wasn't. Was she butch? Nah, that was George. Jo was independent, a free spirit ... Hmm, funny but I still find girls like that attractive.

4. Did you read only boy-type books? Or were you into everything?>

Yeah, the Malory Towers and Naughtiest Girl books never did it for me. I guess I sort of always went for adventure books.

5. What picture books do you like? Any favourite picture book authors/illustrators?>

I'm not a big fan of picture books. I remember I had a very cool Peter Rabbit picture book when I was little, but no I can't say I have any real favourites. Illustrators? Well I like Earnest Sheperd's work but again, I don't really have a favourite.

6. Are/Is there (a) children's books you still re-read regularly? Name them.>

Well, A. A. Milne's Winnie The Pooh and House At Pooh Corner are children's books I only became acquainted with last year. They were a present from a (ahem) good friend. I really enjoy them and keep re-reading the stories. But I haven't re-read books I loved as a child in a long while. I recently found my old copy of Richard Adam's The Plague Dogs and made a mental note to re-read, but obviously haven't yet.

7. What (if any) book are you reading to your son at the moment?>

He seems to love Dr. Suess books, so I try and read one of them when I put him to sleep. Of course, I prefer Green Eggs and Ham to the other Suess books so the poor baby has had to listen to it over and over. I don't think he minds though.

8. If you were going to write a children's book, what would it most likely be about?>

I think there'd be dragons. Yeah, there'll definitely be dragons in the book. I bawled like a baby the first time I heard Puff The Magic Dragon in its entirety and I remember crying when my dad took me to watch Pete's Dragon so I guess my story would have to be about a dragon.

9. Name your five favourite children's books.>

A.A. Milne's Winne The Pooh and House At Pooh Corner, The BFG by Roald Dahl, Kenneth Grahame's The Wind In The Willows and The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

10. And lastly, "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

Hmmm... assuming that a woodchuck is able to chuck 10 hefty branches a minute and assuming also that a regular woodchuck day consists of at least 8 working hours and given the life expectancy of woodchucks which, if my memory serves me right, is about 10 years .... well, quite a lot. However, there're so many other factors to consider like do woodchucks start chucking the moment they're born or only when they reach adulthood, how motivated are woodchucks and finally, do woodchucks actually chuck wood or is that just a myth made up by lumberjacks ....

An Interview with Myself

Read this ... erm ... interesting post where I interview myself!

1. What was the first book you read when you were little?

The first book I read to myself was one of the Enid Blyton Mysteries. I can't remember which.

2. If you were a character in a children's book who would you be?

This is a difficult question to answer ... my choice has nothing to do with being like the character. It's to do with liking the character and thinking they're very cool. I'd like to be Sophie in Diana Wynne Jones's Howl's Moving Castle. She's brave and kind and she has an interesting experiences. And she gets Howl in the end. Swoon!

3. If you could live in a children's book for a week, as yourself, which would it be?

Another toughie. Hmm ... again, Howl's Moving Castle, although it's quite a dangerous story to live in, especially if I was living in the castle itself. If I were feeling less adventurous, it'd be Eileen Bell's Tales from the End Cottage, which is a very cosy sort of book, about a woman who lives, with her dogs and cats in a little cottage in the country. And I'd also like to live in one of J. P. Martin's Uncle books. Uncle is this eccentric millionaire elephant and his world is always fun.

4. When you were little did you read only girly books? Or were you into everything?

I liked adventures and mysteries as written by Enid Blyton, but yes, I guess I never got into Huck Finn, Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island and those sort of boy-type books. I did, however, love a book called Ajax: The Last of the Dragons. It has knights and battles between rats and stuff. Quite action-packed. I still have this book and I suspect it may the only copy left in the world as no one else seems to have heard of it ... apart from the British Library.

5. What picture books do you like? Any favourite picture book authors/illustrators?

I like so many picture books. It wouldn't be possible to list them all here. Fave writers/illustrators are John Burningham, Sandra Boynton, Barbara Nascimbeni, Lauren Child, Helen Oxenbury, Mick Inkpen, Maurice Sendak ... I could go on and on ...

6. Are/Is there (a) children's books you still re-read regularly? Name them.

Oh, yes, all the Diana Wynne Jones's, which I discovered in my late teens. Antonia Forest's. I still read my Enid Blytons. And lots of books for younger children too. I like good stories, nevermind what age group they're written for. I think if you don't read children's books simply because they're written for children, you're missing out on a whole lot.

7. What (if any) book are you reading to your son at the moment?

Martin and I are reading him The Chronicles of Narnia. It's Prince Caspian at the moment. Also, random picture books. And he's deep into The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage. He's reading that to himself!

8. If you were going to write a children's book, what would it most likely be about?
A boarding school, with some romance thrown in. Maybe even a ghost story.

9. Name your five favourite children's books.

Just five???? Okay, these are the five I couldn't live without:
i. End of Term by Antonia Forest

ii. Tales from the End Cottage by Eileen Bell

iii. The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones

iv. Uncle Cleans Up by J. P. Martin

v. Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson

I haven't included picture books because I think there should be a separate list for those!

10. And lastly, "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
This depends on the woodchuck (is he/she a small woodchuck or a large, muscle-bound one) and the sort of wood - twigs? Planks? Logs? What?