The Places You Will Go

Say "No!" to Sham-Pooh! We Want the Real Pooh!

By DAPHNE LEE

Tots to Teens

MOST children now, if you say Winnie-the-Pooh to them, will think of that saffron-yellow tub of lard in a two-sizes-two-small red T-shirt, star of Disney's several series, all of which are based on A. A. Milne's books about the "bear of very little brain".

The latest Disney series is called My Friends Tigger and Pooh, and as usual, there is an annoyingly catchy theme song and characters who Milne would not recognise from his books.

Watching any of Disney's Pooh series makes me want to wring the bear's neck and also bash his friends, especially Tigger and Rabbit, to a pulp. Pooh, Piglet and Tigger are not exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer (understandable since they are toys who have stuffing for brains), but their stupidity reaches new, unchartered depths in the telly series. And the usually shrewd Rabbit (my favourite character in the original books) appears to be suffering from some form of dementia - worse still, Disney portrays him as a rather effeminate and neurotic elderly male.

But back to Edward Bear (that's Pooh's real name, although we also learn that he once lived in the forest under the name of Sanders) - the books he appears in are Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928). The former introduces us to the bear and his friends Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga and Roo, and Rabbit and Owl (the only two of the gang who are real animals and so, in theory, more brainy than the rest). Pooh has a growly voice and he does Stoutness Exercises. It's established that he is rather greedy, a bit of a coward, quite brainless, but perfectly amiable.

Fuzz Ball in a Top Hat

Tots to Teens
By DAPHNE LEE

IT’S easy to understand why bears are so popular with children (and many adults). They are attractively rotund, cuddly (looking) creatures which children readily identify with through that favourite of toys, the teddy bear. There are plenty of bears in children's lit. Pooh is arguably the most famous of them all, thanks, in part, to Disney. But my favourite literary bear is Little Bear.

He is the creation of Else Holmelund Minarik, although my impression of him is largely formed by the illustrations, done by my favourite illustrator of all time, Maurice Sendak!

Sticky Bears is 9 Pence!

By DAPHNE LEE

Tots to Teens

PADDINGTON Bear is 50 years old this year! I'm not a big fan of the series about the little bear (I have only read the first book, A Bear Called Paddington ), but have never been able to resist the bear himself, as drawn by the original illustrator Peggy Fortnum, or his mysterious past in Darkest Peru.

Paddington, who has a Peruvian name that he never divulges, lived with his aunt Lucy until she went to live in a home for retired bears. He then emigrated to England
where he met the Brown family, of 32 Windsor Place, London, at Paddington station.

When you first meet Paddington, he's a scruffy-looking thing sitting on a battered suitcase. All he has on is a wide-brimmed hat and a label, on a string around his neck, which says "Please look after this bear. Thank you."

Peggy Fortnum's sketches in the first chapter show messy fur in a vague bear-shape, including a snout that speaks volumes about its owner's curious and enquiring mind. Paddington reveals that he is rather partial to marmalade, and enjoys the odd sticky bun. An accident at tea leaves him plastered in strawberry jam and causes the driver of the taxi the Browns hire to say, "Bears is six pence extra ... Sticky bears is nine pence." This, in my opinion, is the high point of the book.

Memories in a Box

By DAPHNE LEE

Tots to Teens

WHO remembers reading The Magic Faraway Tree? When I was about six, I discovered this book and the others in the series, and re-read them constantly.

I was recently reminded of these magical stories when I found The Enchanted Wood (the first book in a series of four) in a box sent all the way from Yorkshire, England.

The box contained things that those who had filled it felt were quintessentially English. It was sent to Kuala Lumpur and, in return, a box, filled with quintessentially Malaysian things, was sent to Yorkshire.

The exchange of boxes was just one component of a year-long cultural exchange project between young Malaysian and English arts practitioners.

On opening the “York box”, each Malaysian participant chose an object that “spoke” personally to him or her. Of course, I chose the book.

Not only was it significant to me because I write about children’s lit, The Enchanted Wood also immediately reminded me of my childhood.

Wizard!

We're off to see the Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
You'll find he is a whiz of a Wiz! If ever a Wiz! there was.
If ever oh ever a Wiz! there was The Wizard of Oz is one becoz,
Becoz, becoz, becoz, becoz, becoz.
Becoz of the wonderful things he does.

Long Ago and Far Away

My old friend Sunita was mentioned in my column today and I received a text from her that said, amongst other things, "Did we stalk cows? Were there cows in Jalan Pawang?"

Jalan Pawang was the street we lived on in Segamat, Johor and no, I don't think there were ever cows there. In fact, I didn't actually stalk cows with Sunita. My fellow cow-stalker was my mum and we did it in the field facing my great-grandmother's house in Kolam Air! It was just more convenient and space-saving to say that I terrorised cows with Sunita.

By the way, the cows were not actually terrorised. Even the little calves knew how to lower their heads and butt. And a little calf with a knobbly head is still quite a large, scary thing when you're a short, fat kid.

Everyone's a Writer

It seems every other celebrity wants to write children's books. I suppose it's only a matter of time before our own Malaysian famous and shameless also start.

I wouldn't recommend it unless one is passionate about writing, and about writing children's books in particular. It would help if you've also read at least some kids' books.

I'm being very careful with my next picture book. Don't want to rush it as so many things went wrong with the first four, not least that I was foolish enough to be persuaded to write and publish FOUR at a go.

This week's column also touches on child authors. I don't think they should be published unless their age didn't influence the publisher's decision and is not a factor when it comes to reviewing them. What's your stand on this?

Still going strong at 78

TOTS TO TEENS

By DAPNE LEE

I AM writing this column on Nancy Drew’s 78th birthday – April 28, 1930! That was the publication date of The Secret of the Old Clock, the first in the Nancy Drew Mystery Series by Carolyn Keene.

Most readers know by now that Keene is as much a work of fiction as the much-loved girl sleuth. The Nancy Drew books were the brainchild of Edward Stratemeyer, founder of The Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book-packaging house that also produced popular series like The Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey Twins and The Dana Girls (published by Grosset & Dunlap).

Local Rhymes from Past Times

Reason to rhyme

TOTS TO TEENS
By DAPHNE LEE

A LARGE colourful book caught my eye in a local bookstore last week. Sayang: Pantun & Seloka Kanak-Kanak (MPH Publishing, 96 pages, ISBN: 978-9833698660 ) is a collection of old Malay nursery rhymes and songs, compiled by Azah Aziz and illustrated by Dzulkafli Buyong.

I recognised many of the rhymes in this book (for example Timang Tinggi-tinggi, Oh Bangau! and Gendang Gendut) from my childhood, , but I also noticed the exclusion of some of my favourites, like Waktu Fajar Saya Bangun, Bangun Pagi and Tektek Bunyi Hujan.

Still, reading the book was quite a nostalgic experience. Furthermore, the illustrations reminded me of a batik art calendar I was given when I was in primary school. The pictures in that calendar depicted farming and kampung scenes and absolutely fascinated me. I used to weave countless stories around those pictures and Dzulkafli's batik-style drawings brought fond memories of the days when a tattered calendar could keep me amused for hours (and days) on end.

See Peter, See Peter Put on an Apron

A reader emailed about my column (StarMag today), in which I expressed reservations about the Peter and Jane series. Her email included this statemend: "I should think young children would probably think boys tidying up doll houses and girls playing with cars as a bit odd, what say you? But perhaps this not the case anymore during these times where anything is possible."

I replied: "I believe that kids would consider boys playing with dollshouses and girls playing with cars odd only if their parents or other adults and children tell them so. Children have no concept of "gender-appropriate" colours, toys, jobs etc, and it's society and peer-pressure that forms and shapes their perceptions of what is "right" for them as girls and boys."

It strikes me as very odd that she, an 18-year-old, would have such thoughts about suitable toys for children, but as she says that she grew up with and loved Peter and Jane, I guess she must have been a little influenced by the books.