September 2004
Goodnight Moon
By Margaret Wise
Illustrated by Clement Hurd
Publisher: HarperCollins
A baby rabbit snuggles down to sleep to the rhythm of a cosy rhyme that wishes all the objects in his room "Good night". Outside, the moon shines in a darkening sky while inside the shadows lengthen.
There is something comforting as well as hauntingly magical about this. The rhyme, listing each object in the room, has a steady, calming effect; and the little old lady who sits in the rocking chair whispering hush watches over the little bunny like a guardian angel.
On every page, a tiny brown mouse hides. Help baby find it - it will soon be a favourite bedtime activity.
Continue reading "Picture Book of the Month: Goodnight Moon" »
I finished reading Noel Streatfield's Gemma series last night. Enjoyed the books, but disappointed that they are just, once again, different versions of other stories by Streatfield.
Gemma ends, in Goodbye Gemma, with a scene that's right out of Ballet Shoes. And Lydia's encounter with the ballet master, Monsieur de Clara is obviously a reworking of Posy's encounter with Manoff (also in Ballet Shoes).
In fact Streatfield uses the same basic plot for most of her stories. There are usually three siblings, usually artistic in some way or other. Sometimes one of them isn't interested in performing at all and hasn't any talent. Sometimes one of them has plenty of talent but doesn't want a career in the theatre.
One sibling is usually very good looking, and sometimes quiet self-absorbed. At times, the untalented one is physically unattractive, and bad tempered.
The family usually has cash problems, but often has the good fortune of having someone who is willing to work for them (as a governess, a housekeeper or a general dogsbody) for free.
The following titles are my 10 favourite Streatfields. I think these are the books in which Streatfield's plots work best. Or maybe it just feels that way because they were my first Streatfields: I still own these books, which I mostly bought (or had given to me) when I was in primary and lower secondary school.
In order of preference:
1. Curtain Up, now called Theatre Shoes.
2. Ballet Shoes.
3. The Vicarage Family.
4. Thursdays Child.
5. White Boots, now called Skating Shoes.
6. The Circus is Coming.
7. When the Siren Wailed.
8. Ballet Shoes for Anna.
9. The House in Cornwall.
10. The Painted Garden, now called Movie Shoes.
It's tiresome how many of the books have been renamed to incorporate "shoes" in their titles. I believe it was a ploy by Streatfield's American publisher's to market the books as a series.
I hope to post mini reviews of the books over the next week or two. If you have a favourite Streatfield, do send in your own mini review. Just download the form which you will find by clicking on Mini Review Form in the Categories section of the blog (right hand side of the page).
Last night I got to thinking about book reviews for this blog and I came to the conclusion that it would be a lot easier if I provided a little form that will help all of us write a short, comprehensive synopsis-cum-review of a book.
I realise people don't have a lot of time to write huge chunks of text. It's also hard for me to write two reviews, for this blog and for the paper. This form will take care of both those problems.
So, if you're interested in offering your opinion about any book (maybe you want to recommend it, maybe you want to tell readers to stay away!!), just download the form at the end of this page, fill in the blanks and email it to me. I'll do the rest and you'll get to see your Mini Review on this blog!
In her comment on Too Many Books post, Julianne from 1/2 + 1/2 = 1 asked why I seem to review mostly children's book these day.
Well, if it's this blog we're talking about, it's because it's supposed to be an extension of my Tots to Teens column, which, as the name implies, talks about children's and young adult literature. I'm actually still reading and reviewing "adult" (this sounds very dodgy!) books or what some bookstores in Malaysia call "Serious Fiction". I also review non-fiction. In fact the last three non-children's books I reviewed for The Star were non-fiction titles.
When I was growing up, my parents didn't restrict my reading. Our family "library" (one large bookcase crammed with books) was never locked and I was never told not to read any of the books in it. As a result, I devoured Peyton Place when I was 9 and Anna Karenina soon after. For this reason, I don't like to think of books in terms of who they were written for, agewise. This seems, to me, rather limiting as who knows what one may find readable. Who would have predicted that a child would love Anna Karenina? But when I first read it, it seemed just a richer version of one of my sister's Mills & Boons romances and I was fascinated by the descriptions of the clothes and balls and grand ladies. Of course there's much more to the book than that, but that's the impression I got as a child.
If you read Tots to Teens regularly, you'll have noticed that I've written about books that most people wouldn't normally think of as suitable for children or teens. When I say "suitable" I mean "something that kids and teens will find interesting" rather than "appropriate in content, themes, language etc". Thus, a few weeks ago, A. S. Byatt's Possession was highly recommended as a book teens might enjoy. (Interestingly, there are many young adult titles like Doing It by Melvyn Burgess and Sugar Rush by Julie Burchill that the average (Malaysian) parent would deem unsuitable for teens.)
Anyway, this blog has always featured my current reading list (all genres) and I'm going to continue to share that with readers/visitors. I've also decided to provide links to my reviews of non-children's titles in the Links to My Reviews in the Star section so you'll notice some additions. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate the links to some of my earlier reviews (that appeared between 2000 and 2002). Lastly, I'm thinking of providing links to some of the more interesting Tots to Teens articles, but we'll see.
Perhaps Julianne and others would care to send me their reviews of books (all genres) that they've read. It doesn't have to be a long review. Just a summary of the plot and a bit about what they like or dislike about the book would suffice!
In the meantime, I'll try to write more reviews for this blog. And I'll really have to get moving with those questions for Jennifer Donnelly!
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.
I've chosen William Shakespeare's Sonnet XXX for this week's poem because, 1. This Sunday's Tots to Teens is about Shakespeare, and 2. I have always loved the sonnet, which is sad but hopeful at the same time.
It's about good friends and the importance of friendship to our peace of mind and happiness, and, as I have several dear friends who have been towers of strength to me, I can really relate to the final couplet in which Shakespeare declares that thoughts of his dear friend cancels all his sorrows and losses.
Sonnet XXX
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste;
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long-since-cancelled woe,
And moan th' expense of many a vanished sight;
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoanèd moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.
William Shakespeare
I've been looking for Untalkative Bunny stuff on the Net (UB is a show that's on the Disney Channel, Astro Channel 61). I found a site or two, with some cute pix. Here's one I really like:
BTW, that's Squirrel, Bunny's best friend, riding pillion.
This is Disco Chick:
In one of my favourite episodes, Untalkative Bunny and the chick dance through the night.
In an effort to drag this post back On Topic (books), here's a list of my fave bunny books/characters:
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter
(It looks like Benjamin has rather more flamboyant tastes than Peter! They're cousins by the way.)
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney & Anita Jeram (illustrator)
Rabbit as illustrated by Ernest Shepard in the original Winnie the Pooh books.
He's my favourite character in those books because he sort of reminds me of me: a brisk, sarcastic, moody, no-nonsense sort of chap. On the other hand, I loathe the Disney version.
Max from the books by Rosemary Wells.
I don't have a favourite book about Max; I just love him. He's so squishy and cuddly. Ruby, his older sister, is a bit of a bossy boots though. Martin (my husband) likes to say she's like me!! Well, maybe ... Hee Hee. (P.S. Max is an untalkative bunny!)
Bugs Bunny
I like it when he mispronounces words and when he dresses up as a dame!
Watership Down by Richard Adams
A wonderful and important book about a group of rabbits fighting to survive.
I can't think of anymore favourite bunnies/bunny books right now. Anyone care to jog my memory?
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 brings back fond memories, not because I particularly like it, but because everytime I had to recite a poem at school, my mother would tell me about how she once had a literature teacher who liked to make his students recite The Snare ad nauseum.
In fact, I'd never, till five minutes ago, read the entire poem. It's quite a sad little one, poor bunny! You can read a brief bio of the poet, James Stephens, here.
Anyhow, here is The Snare, in memory of my dearest mama.
The Snare
To A.E.
I hear a sudden cry of pain!
There is a rabbit in a snare;
Now I hear the cry again,
But I cannot tell from where.
But I cannot tell from where
He is calling out for aid;
Crying on the frightened air,
Making everything afraid.
Making everything afraid,
Wrinkling up his little face,
As he cries again for aid;
And I cannot find the place!
And I cannot find the place
Where his paw is in the snare:
Little one! Oh, little one!
I am searching everywhere.
James Stephens
Times Editions is promoting a new young adult fantasy, the first of a series, by Gregory Janicke. Book one is called The Dark Mystery of the Shadow Beasts. I tried reading it yesterday and fell asleep midway through chapter two. Will try again over the weekend, but I'm not too hopeful. The opening chapter didn't grab my attention in the least and I found the characters flat and cartoonish.
Oh, well. That's just me. Teens and tweens may well love it to bits ... especially since they seem to like Harry Potter. Hah!
Anyway, you can find out more about the author and his work at his own website, Art by Janicke.
If you like what you see, the book is available at all major Malaysian bookstores and on Amazon.com.
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