The Places You Will Go

Picture Book of the Month: Where the Wild Things Are

August 2004

Where the Wild Things Are

By Maurice Sendak

Publisher: Red Fox

When Max puts on a wolfsuit and creates a rumpus at home, he gets sent to bed without supper. Disgruntled, but not defeated, Max goes to where the wild things live and is made their king. But being wild isn't all it's cut out to be, and when Max sails home again, he finds his supper waiting. And it's still hot! This is Maurice Sendak at his best. Max exudes cocky mischief and the wild things are both scary and adorable - a combination that will keep kids and adults thrilled for many, many nights, and for many, many years to come!

Weekend Reading

Spent the weekend reading Kevin Crossley-Holland's Arthur trilogy. I also tried to get on with The Prophecy of the Gems by Flavia Bujold. In the end I gave up and started on a re-read of Elizabeth George's Playing for the Ashes.

Below are reviews of the Crossley-Holland and Bujold books.

THE PROPHECY OF THE GEMS
By Flavia Bujor
(Collins, 224 pages)
Hmm, yes, I guess I said it all when I admitted to giving up on this book in favour of a tried-and-tested murder mystery.

The author was 14 when she wrote this book and much has been made of her tender years, so much so that you get the feeling that the amazing thing about Prophecy is that its author is 14, not that it is actually a good book.

I would definitely not describe Prophecy as good. Its faults are what you would expect of a novel written by a 14-year-old - an unoriginal. uninspired plot; stilted dialogue; badly developed, cardboard-cutout characters. If your little sister were to present you with something like it you would say, "How nice, how sweet," but you would not rush to post the manuscript off to HarperCollins.

So, why has the book sold thousands and been translated into god knows how many languages? Why are journalists all talking excitedly about Bujor? I truly have no answers to those questions, except that, as I said earlier, maybe it's her age that's making people sit up and take notice.

Anyway, about the story: it's about three girls, Jade, Amber and Opal, who discover on their 14th birthday that they are destined to play a part in some huge battle between good and evil.

Read it for yourself if you think that sounds interesting, but you have been warned ... *

ARTHUR: THE SEEING STONE
ARTHUR: At THE CROSSING-PLACES
ARTHUR: THE KING OF THE MIDDLE MARCH
By Kevin Crossley-Holland
(Orion, 352, 384 and 400 pages)
I had no problems completing all three books. I read them in about four days - very , very quickly. I was able to do this partly because each one is divided into a hundred extremely short chapters. Some were only a page long. Also, the story is told mainly in the first person (Arthur, who is 13 in the first book, is learning to read and write and he practises by writing a sort of journal), therefore the tone of the narrative is very personal, which I liked because Arthur, as it turns out, is a very intelligent and sensitive boy, who has interesting and rather progressive ideas considering the time he lives in (the middle ages).

Before I read the books I thought they were going to be wholly about King Arthur. Actually, that's only part of it. This Arthur chap is given a magical stone in which he can see the story of the King unfold. It turns out that parts of King Arthur's story mirror Arthur, the Boy's life, so the latter ends up using the stone as a sort of medieval TV set cum Psychic Network station!

I really liked reading about the details of medieval life in Crossley-Holland's trilogy, although some of the grimmer aspects, especially involving sickly and dying children, and the crusades, upset me terribly. At one point in the first book, I bawled like a baby, really loudly too. Sniff.

But all in all, a must read. ****

Cut It Out!

In yesterday's Sunday Tots to Teens (29 August 2004) I've written about A. S. Byatt's Possession: A Romance in terms of it being:

1. a book that I think teens will enjoy (espcially teenage girls)

and

2. a big, fat book that one should have no qualms practising do-it-yourself-abridging on.

I really do believe that it's a shame to miss out on a good book just because you feel bad about skipping the less, erm, interesting bits.

Check out my new sidebar (bottom left of the screen) listing my other favourite big, fat books.

A Naughty Boy

Poems, in the form of nursery rhymes, were, for many of us, our introduction to stories. I will post a favourite poem each week. Email me your favourite poems and I will post them too.

This week, I've chosen another poem by my favourite poet John Keats. After I posted Mrs Reynold's Cat, Kwan said to me: "I had no idea Keats wrote poems like that. I thought he was only good at love sick, romantic verses!!" Ha Ha! Yes, I guess people do have that impression of the poet. The fact that he died young, of consumption, only heightens the image of a tortured young man who could only write angsty, love-lorn poetry.

Well, I'm happy to report that Keats actually had a great sense of humour and did much more than mope about thinking of his girlfriend Frances Brawne. One of the things he liked doing best was go on walking holidays and he wrote this week's poem while on a walking tour of Scotland.

The poem was written especially for his little sister, also called Frances, and enclosed in a letter to her.

The picture I've chosen to accompany the picture is of Keats looking, I think, rather naughty, which, as you will see, fits the poem.

A Song About Myself

There was a naughty boy,
A naughty boy was he,
He would not stop at home,
He could not quite be-
He took
In his knapsack
A book
Full of vowels
And a shirt
With some towels,
A slight cap
For night cap,
A hair brush,
Comb ditto,
New stockings -
For old ones
Would split O!
This knapsack
Tight at ‘s back
He rivetted close
And followed his nose
To the North,
To the North,
And followed his nose to the North.

There was a naughty boy
And a naughty boy was he,
For nothing would he do
But scribble poetry -
He took
An ink stand
In his hand
And a Pen
Big as ten
In the other.
And away
In a Pother
He ran
To the mountains
And fountains
And ghostes
And Postes
And witches
And ditches
And wrote
In his coat
When the weather
Was cool fear of gout,
And without
When the weather
Was warm -
Och the charm
When we choose
To follow one's nose
To the North,
To the North,
To follow one's nose to the North!

There was a naughty boy
And a naughty boy was he,
He kept little fishes
In washing tubs three
In spite
Of the might
Of the Maid
Nor affraid
Of his Granny-good -
He often would
Hurly burly
get up early
And go
By hook or crook
To the brook
And bring home
Miller's thumb,
Tittlebat
Not over fat,
Minnows small
As the stall
of a glove,
Not above
the size
Of a nice
Little baby's
Little fingers -
O he made
'Twas his trade
of fish a pretty Kettle
A Kettle - a kettle
Of fish a pretty Kettle
A Kettle!

There was a naughty boy,
And a naughty boy was he,
He ran away to Scotland
The people for to see--
There he found
That the ground
Was as hard,
That a yard
Was as long,
That a song
Was as merry,
That a cherry
Was as red--
That lead
Was as weighty
That fourscore
Was as eighty
That a door
Was as wooden
As in England---
So he stood in his shoes
And he wondered,
He wondered,
He stood in his shoes
And he wondered.

By John Keats

Cut It Out!

In Tots to Teens this week (29 August 2004) I've written about A. S. Byatt's Possession: A Romance in terms of it being:

1. a book that I think teens will enjoy (espcially teenage girls)

and

2. a big, fat book that one should have no qualms practising do-it-yourself-abridging on.

I really do believe that it's a shame to miss out on a good book just because you feel bad about skipping the less, erm, interesting bits.

Check out my new sidebar (bottom left of the screen) listing my other favourite big, fat books.

Michael Doesn't Do Warm and Fuzzy

Michael from Eye on Everything has posted his list of not-quite-comfort books on his site (see Not-So-Warm-But-Funny). It's his "I don't wanna think too much" list.

Michael says that when he's down he prefers zooming around a badminton court shouting: "Yaaaaaaarrrrggghhh!" with a pair of red underpants pearched on his spiky little head. OK, not quite, but, hey, why not check out for yourself what his fave mindless reads are.

Sorry, there are no pics of Mike charging around a badminton court.

Oh, PS. Thanks for the good wishes for my pregnancy, Mike! Will you be the baby's God Monster?

The Magic of Dance

Spent a wonderful long weekend gorging on a big pile of books lent to me by my dear friend, Kwan. I especially enjoyed the Sadler's Wells books by Lorna Hill and Noel Streatfield's Gemmas.

The former is set in the world of ballet, which has always fascinated me. The latter features Streatfield's favourite subject: a family of artistic, but otherwise rather ordinary and down-to-earth children. Many of Streatfield's books about talented kids are still in print. However, Hill's ballet series is not. Neither are any of my favourite ballet novels, like Laura's Summer Ballet, or the Satin Slippers series. I wonder why this is. Does the world of ballet not provide enough action and excitement for modern children and teens?

On the contrary, I believe that, in reality, ballet schools and companies are hot beds of debauchery - all those beautiful, young, supple bodies wearing next to nothing and in such close proximity ... ;-) Look at the movies Turning Point and Centrestage. Those kids did nothing but make eyes at one another (to put it mildly).

I think the time is ripe for a new ballet book/series that will tell it like it is. Admittedly, the ones I like (the out-of-print titles) offer a pretty sanitised view of the ballet world. It's all just hard work and girls getting off on the magic of dance. Not very realistic perhaps, but I still love them. Of course, there is always some romance but no one does more than kiss chastely. A passionate pas de deux is as much action as you'll get in these books!

Yikes!

Don't know how it happened but my UNFINISHED DRAFT of The Land of Far Beyond got published this morning (I've taken it off). Sorry, people. I will complete it and post it as soon as possible.

Just William

Poems, in the form of nursery rhymes, were, for many of us, our introduction to stories. I will post a favourite poem each week. Email me your favourite poems and I will post them too.

This week's poem, You are Old Father William by Lewis Carroll, was sent to me via email by Ariel of Coolcat's Jottings. Unfortunately, I seem to have ... er ... misplaced her comments about why this is one of her favourite poems.

If I remember correctly, Ariel said something about liking the way Father William always has a clever comeback for whatever's thrown at him. Me, I think the young man's obnoxious questions are a gas and I'd love to see his reaction to Father William's witty and sarcastic answers.

This is just one of several of Carroll's amusing verses which appear in his Alice books.

You Are Old, Father William

"You are old, father William," the young man said,

"And your hair has become very white;

And yet you incessantly stand on your head--

Do you think, at your age, it is right?"

"In my youth," father William replied to his son,

"I feared it might injure the brain;

But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,

Why, I do it again and again."

"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,

And you have grown most uncommonly fat;

Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door--

Pray what is the reason for that?"

"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,

"I kept all my limbs very supple

By the use of this ointment - one shilling a box--

Allow me to sell you a couple?"

"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak

For anything tougher than suet;

Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak--

Pray, how did you manage to do it?"

"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law,

And argued each case with my wife;

And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,

Has lasted the rest of my life."

"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose

That your eye was as steady as ever;

Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose--

What made you so awfully clever?"

"I have answered three questions, and that is enough,"

Said his father. "Don't give yourself airs!

Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?

Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs.

By Lewis Carroll

Doing It

As promised, my 2 sen on those young adult books I'm recommending in this Sunday's Tots to Teens:

Judy Blume
Forever
(Macmillan, 178 pages)
Story: Katherine meets Michael and they fall in love. After several dates that include lots of kissing and some heavy petting, they decide to bite the bullet and go all the way. Of course, things are less than perfect the first few times, but they do get better – phew!

Katherine has very progressive parents and a hip and happening Grandma who advises her on contraception (we should all be so lucky!) so she doesn’t have to go through the normal cloak and dagger that most “teens-on-the brink” do.

I like the bit where Katherine gets her period on a special weekend getaway. That’s such a big deal when you’re a teen and time with your beloved is so precious!

What I find very cringe-worthy is “Ralph” – I won’t say anymore. Read the book!

NB: This book was a big deal when I was a teenager. It's still a pretty candid account of a teenage girl's first sexual relationship. It was written in the 70s so there is no mention of AIDs, which in itself presents an interesting discussion point for parents and teens.

Valeries Mendes
Lost and Found
(Simon and Schuster, 244 pages)
Story: Daniel is grieving the death of his grandmother and guardian when several things happen. First, he meets Laura whom he tries, reluctantly, to adopt for his class’s “Adopt a Granny” programme. Second, his grandmother’s house is sold and the beautiful Jade moves in with her parents and beloved baby brother, Finn.

Daniel falls in love and finds solace in Jade who is not only pretty, but warm, bright and fun to be with.

He also grows close to Laura who is grieving too (for her father). The two help each other cope with the loss of a loved one.

Daniel introduces Jade to Laura and the three get along well until Laura notices that Jade seems share a uncommonly close bond with Finn. Secrets then come to light that nearly destroy the new relationships Daniel has built.

NB: Bereavement is the central theme of this beautiful story, which also deals with statutory rape, motherhood, love and commitment.

I like the way Mendes brings her characters to life with just a few simple phrases. Jade, especially, just dances out of the page at you: “The girl stood on the step, shimmering with colour,” “Her dress sang with rainbow-coloured stripes.” Lovely!

Garret Freymann-Weyr
My Heartbeat
(Young Picador, 138 pages)
Story: Ellen is 14. The two people she loves most in the world are Link, her brother, and his best friend James. Then one day, a classmate asks if Link and James are a couple, which starts Ellen thinking hard and asking all sorts of difficult questions about their relationship – with each other, with her, and with her parents, especially her homophobic father.

NB: Ellen keeps the tone of this book light and almost flippant despite the serious themes of sexual orientation, parental acceptance, emotional blackmail and underage sex.

I love the fact that Ellen and James become a couple, and it’s interesting how practical yet romantic their relationship becomes.

Ellen is so grown-up and smart for her age. And yet she’s vulnerable and babyish in some ways: I like the mix. She’s a very attractive, charismatic character. And James is just gorgeous. They make a really sweet couple.

Julia Green
Baby Blue
(Puffin Books, 246 pages)
Story: This is the sequel to Blue Moon, in which Mia deals with pregnancy. In this book she’s just had her baby and has to cope with motherhood (and breastfeeding!). She also has to deal with the pain of growing apart from her school friends as they continue their carefree teenage existence and she has to struggle with the responsibilities and difficulties of single-parenthood.

Mia’s parents are supportive of her decision to raise baby, but she feels that they don’t understand what she is going through. Will, the baby’s father, is also no help. He tries to get close again, but it’s clear that he’s motivated just by what he wants and seems to have no understanding of and interest in what Mia is experiencing as a mother.

It is when Mia meets another young, single mum, Colleen, and has someone to share and empathise with that things to start to look up and fall into place.

NB: As a mother I have to say Green writes very accurately and sensitively about what it’s like to care for a new baby, especially if it’s your first. I could really feel for Mia and found a story a very compelling and emotional one.