July is Classics Book Month on TTLG - Day Five

Roald Dahl is one of those writers whose books have truly stood the test of time. James and the Giant Peach was first published in 1961. Today readers of all ages are still falling in love with this delcisouly odd story, and the memorable characters that Dahl created. 

  
James and the Giant Peach
Roald Dahl
Illustrations by Quentin Blake
Fiction
Ages 5 to 8
Penguin, 2001, 0141304677
There can be no doubt that James Trotter had every reason to be miserable. Not only had his beloved parents died in an unfortunate accident involving a rhino, but he also had had to leave his wonderful home by the sea to go and live with his frightful aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. These two women did everything they could to make James’s life as unhappy as possible; they did not give him enough to eat, they made him work very hard, and all in all they were a thoroughly despicable pair.
   Then one day James was given an odd gift by and even odder little man. It was a bag of strange little green crystals that moved and wriggled. The old man told James that if he put the crystals in water and then drank up the drink he, James, would have all sorts of wonderful and good things happen to him. Unfortunately James dropped the bag and every one of those little crystals wriggled away and were gone before James was able to retrieve them.
   The magic of the crystals was not altogether gone however. Ssoon the dreadful aunts and James saw that a peach was growing on their sad little peach tree. It grew and grew and grew until it was as big as a house. Of course the aunts were eager to profit from having such an extraordinary peach on their property, and soon crowds of people came to gaze at the enormous fruit. One night James went to look at the peach and saw a tunnel leading into the heart of the peach. James went into the tunnel and crawled up it until he found himself inside the peach stone and in the company of an extraordinary collection of creatures.
   The creatures seemed to know just what to do, and soon the peach, with its passengers, was bumping and rolling down the hill. James and his new friends were off on a grand adventure; one which would require all of them to use their skills and talents for the good of the whole group.
   This wonderful story, which has become a classic, is touching, funny and a joy to read. Roald Dahl perfectly balances adventure with wonderful characters and a gripping story, and Quentin Blake’s signature illustrations beautifully compliment the text.

July is Classic Books Month on TTLG - Day Four

Madeline is another one of those books from my childhood that I was later able to share with my daughter. I always greatly admired the little girl who was not afraid of the tiger in the zoo, and wished very much that I could be as brave as she was.

Madeline
Ludwig Bemelmans
Picture Book
Ages 3 to 7
Penguin, 1996, 014055761X
   Madeline lives in an "old house in Paris that was covered with vines" with eleven other little girls. Miss Clavel takes care of them, accompanying them as they go for walks through the streets of Paris, as they takes their meals, and as they get ready for bed. Now, though Madeline is the smallest of the girls, she is also the bravest, the most audacious, and the one who causes poor Miss Clavel the most headaches and worry.
One day Madeline really gives Miss Clavel an even bigger than normal fright. In the middle of the night, Madeline starts to cry and Miss Clavel quickly calls the doctor who determines that this is a very serious business indeed; Madeline is very ill and must go to the hospital at once.
   For many days the eleven remaining girls who live in the house all covered with vines must wait and wonder, until at last they are allowed to go and visit Madeline - and what a surprise they get when they walk into her hospital room.
   This classic tale has lost none of its appeal and simple charm. For little girls today, as for those who first read this book when it was published in 1939, Madeline who says "Pooh-pooh" to a tiger in the zoo and who is not afraid of mice in the kitchens, is an instant friend and playmate. Wonderful full page illustrations - which are  instantly recognized by women all over the world - are rich with color and movement, and they beautifully reflect the mood of the text.
This book was one of the 1940 Caldecott Honor winning titles.

July is Classics Book Month - Day Three

Anne of Green Gables was one of those books that I somehow missed out on when I was younger. I have no idea how this happened but it did. Thankfully I 'discovered' the book when I was an adult and I loved it. 

Anne of Green Gables
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Fiction
Ages 9 and up
Random House, 1982, 055321313X
   To the amazement of the good people of Avonlea, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert have decided that they are going to adopt an orphan boy; Matthew is no longer as young as he used to be and he could do with a little help around the farm. The thing of it is, when Matthew goes to get the boy from the train station he discovers that some kind of mix-up has taken place, and there is a girl waiting for him at the station and not a boy. She's not just any girl either. This girl has flaming red hair, she never seems to stop talking, and what she says can be very peculiar and very funny.
Though Anne Shirley has had very little education, she has somehow picked up a lot of ideas, and she is a bottomless well of questions. At first Marilla is convinced that Anne should be returned to the orphan asylum as soon as is possible, but Anne, in just a few days, grows on her. Matthew is convinced that Anne should stay, and before Marilla quite knows what is what, Anne is settled into one of the gable bedrooms in the Cuthbert house.
Marilla with her sharp tongue and old-fashioned ideas, and Matthew with his gentle, quiet and generous ways, soon find themselves severely tried by the “scrapes” that Anne gets into. No matter how hard she tries, Anne still manages to ‘find’ trouble.
There is the time when Anne gets her best friend Diana quite drunk by accident. On another occasion Anne puts some very unexpected flavouring in a cake. She mistakes a bottle of iodine for a bottle of vanilla. The result is too dreadful to eat. One day Anne finds herself playing the part of a poetry heroine only to discover that the boat in which she is sitting is sinking.
When she is not getting into trouble, Anne is coming up with all sorts of ideas, the more “romantic” they are the better. Anne’s biggest asset, perhaps, is that she has an “imagination.” Of course this gift gets her into scrapes sometimes but it also makes her life endlessly amusing and interesting, and others find themselves gravitating towards her, wanting to hear her funny sayings, her stories, and her imaginings.
In what seems like no time at all, Anne is a very much loved member of the Avonlea community. There is no doubt that Marilla thinks the world of her, though she would never admit as much. Anne is a little bundle of sunny energy who gets many of the people around her thinking and doing things that are quite out of the ordinary.
Though this book was originally written at the turn of the century, and though the writing style and some of the ideas and sentiments expressed in the book are somewhat old-fashioned, there is no doubt that the irrepressible little redhead who decries “woe” and similar dramatic phrases is timeless in her appeal. Anne Shirley is funny, loveable, and at times she sets her world on its head with her antics. What she also does is she gives her love and affection freely, and she is generous and well-meaning. The little girl who never had a real family and who was starved for love finally has a home of her own, and we delight in her good fortune. We also enjoy sharing her various adventures,  seeing in her triumphs, and laughing out loud at some of her more outrageous mistakes. With grace and obvious affection, L.M. Montgomery shares her Prince Edward Island world with us, and shows us that good things can still happen to good people.

July is Classic Books Month on TTLG - Day Two

Another book that I had when I was little was The Story of Babar. I started with French copy, and then later was given one in English. It was a wonderful to share this book with my daughter when she was little. Funnily enough, when I went to university I wrote my dissertation about elephants.

The Story of Babar

Jean de Brunhoff

Picture Book

Ages 4 to 6

Random House, 1961, 0-394-80575-5

   One day Babar the little elephant is riding on his mother’s back when a wicked hunter shoots at the two elephants. Poor little Babar’s mother is killed, and when the hunter chases him, Babar runs away, running and running until he reaches a town. In the town Babar sees some very well dressed people walking in the streets and he begins to wish that he too could look like them.

   Luckily for Babar he meets a wealthy and kind Old Lady who takes him under her wing. She has Babar fitted for some very elegant clothes, and she invites him to live with her. Soon Babar is taking lessons, is driving a car, and is becoming a real town elephant. However Babar cannot forget his former life in the forest. He misses his friends and family, and when his two cousins Celeste and Arthur arrive in the town one day he is overjoyed to see them. When the cousins go back home Babar decides to go with them, and a thus begins a new and exciting chapter in his life.

   Though this book was first published in 1937, it still has a great deal of appeal for today’s young readers. Jean de Brunhoff’s artwork is unique with its simple lines and delicate colorization, and his story of how a little elephant finds his place in the world is full of understanding and hope. 

July is Classic Books Month on TTLG - Day one

For the month of July I am going to post reviews of some of my favorite books. Some will be picture books or board books, and some will be titles for older readers.

When I was a little girl, my mother had a book that she grew up with that she shared with me. It was called Eloise, and I loved it. Many years later, Simon and Schuster sent me a copy of this same book and I was thrilled to see that Eloise is still going strong. Not long after reviewing this new edition of the the first Eloise title, I went to New York City for a SCBWI conference with my husband. Rather than staying in the hotel where the conference was being held, we stayed in the Plaza Hotel and I was able to have tea in the Palm Court in the hotel, and to whisper a friendly "hello" to the portrait of Eloise every time I went by it. Just a few months ago I took my daughter to the Plaza Hotel, and she paid her respects to portrait of the little girl, just as I had done.

The Absolutely Essential Eloise

Kay Thompson

Drawings by Hilary Knight

Scrapbook written by Marie Brenner

Picture Book

Ages 5 and up

Simon and Schuster, 1993, 0-689-82703-2

   If you go to the Plaza Hotel in New York City you may be lucky (or unlucky) enough to meet Eloise. Eloise is six and she lives at the Plaza - on the top floor - with her Nanny, her dog Weenie, and her pet turtle Skipperdee. You will soon find that Eloise loves to "talk talk talk," that she has the most vivid imagination, and that she can, at times, be a real pest. For the people who work and stay at the Plaza, Eloise is mostly a pest.

For example, Eloise invites herself to the parties and weddings that are hosted at the hotel. Then there are the times when she rides the elevators up and down, and the times when she goes to "help the Switchboard Operators" by pulling out all the wires on the switchboards. Even Nanny and Eloise's tutor Philip are tried almost beyond the point of endurance at times. Poor Philip is "always glad to go home."

There can be no doubt that Eloise is one of the most fascinating, entertaining, and delightful picture book characters ever created, and this first book about her is a classic. Hilary Knight has created the most wonderful illustrations that perfectly compliment the text. Kay Thompson wrote her story from the point of view of Eloise, which means that the story is full of very long sentences, odd descriptive words, and verbatim accounts of conversations she has had with the people in her life. Nanny likes to use words like "rawther" and "mawning," and Eloise often says "for Lord's sake" which she has clearly picked up from Nanny.

At the back of this special edition there is a "Scrapbook" in which readers will find the story of Kay Thompson, Hilary Knight, and how Eloise came to be created. Naturally, Eloise herself makes comments in some of the captions to the photographs. After all, "me Eloise" is the hero of this tale and deserves centre stage. Readers will be delighted to learn that there is a large portrait of Eloise in the Plaza Hotel in New York City, and that the Plaza is one of the places listed in the "Literary Landmarks Register" - all on account of the precocious six-year-old who loves to drive grown-ups to distraction.

To find out more about Eloise, take a look at her website.