Busytown: Holiday reading lust
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They had a Winnie the Pooh reading at Canterbury's orientation one year. Shocked at how much innuendo was buried in those innocent childhood stories, presumably to entertain parental readers. A passage about Pooh being stuck in Eeyore's hole made a particular impact on the young adult audience.
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Sacha! You're as bad as Craig!!
Well, okay, not quite as bad. -
damn - I can't find the cartoon of Piglet dragging a bloody Eeyore head saying "that's enough of that emo shit"
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Check out Mr McGregor's got a Flymo!
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Well, okay, not quite as bad
Nowhere near the talent, I assure you
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3410,
Hey, Sacha, if I don't bump into you on the day... happy Christmas.
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Continuing with the Scandinavian kids' books theme... did anyone else love the Little Old Mrs Pepperpot books by the Norwegian author Alf Prøysen - or am I truly alone in that regard? :)
And back to Moomins - thanks to the Werewolf review (great recommendation, btw!) I now have a long list of Moomin books I need to seek out at Arty Bees. Because (horror!) I only have two!
<backstory>I've spent the last decade or so trying to recreate the book collection I had as a child - which is variously a) at my mum's house in the UK or b) long gone to the charity shop because mum didn't understand how much those books meant to me. omigod was there a fight (and tears) about that little episode...</backstory>
Anyway, so now I have fun fossicking around in second-hand bookshops building up my collection again, but a quick check this afternoon revealed the fact that I have been very lax on the old Moomintrolling - and I really have to get the set because they were just so darned *magical*.
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Sasha - I think you may have your holes confused.
Eeyore doesn't have a hole - he lives in Eeyore's Gloomy Place (a pile of sticks) by the stream.
Rabbit, however, does have a hole, in which Pooh gets stuck having eaten too much in the way of elevensies. Christopher Robin reads a Sustaining Book to the North end of Pooh, while Rabbit hangs his washing on the South end, and after a week Pooh is thin enough to be pulled free.
And I am quite sure that A A Milne didn't mean it to be read in any double-entendre kind of a way...
Snigger.
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damn - I can't find the cartoon of Piglet dragging a bloody Eeyore head saying "that's enough of that emo shit"
But you can console yourself with this heart-warming tale of how Pooh responded to swine flu.
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That delicious little page ran all through my very large & varied whanau like
-well, a virus! -
I think you may have your holes confused
Likely. Although there was an easy consensus about Mr Milne's sniggerworthiness.
And cheers, 3410
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Rabbit, however, does have a hole, in which Pooh gets stuck having eaten too much in the way of elevensies. Christopher Robin reads a Sustaining Book to the North end of Pooh, while Rabbit hangs his washing on the South end, and after a week Pooh is thin enough to be pulled free.
And I am quite sure that A A Milne didn't mean it to be read in any double-entendre kind of a way...
This always bothered me -- if a bear eats, a bear presumably excretes. Now, the bear proverbially does his business in the woods, but in this case his south end is stuck in rabbit's living quarters, and we have to wait long enough for him to metabolize the food he so unwisely consumed while waiting for his friend...
A bear whose name - well never mind. Not A Pretty Thought.
(Am pretty sure this in the Poohperplex.)
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I also recall another really good Scandinavian childrens' book series, but the name escapes me - about a bunch of kids living on neighbouring farms?
The Six Bullerby Children or The Children of Noisy Village (Barnen i Bullerbyn). Also by Astrid Lindgren who wrote the Pippi books.
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Rabbit must be a remarkably forgiving friend, is all I can say. On the other hand, aren't bunnies, for all their fluffy charm, coprophagic little monsters? (Another small detail that I don't remember being featured in Watership Down : "Oh Hazel, I'm starving!" "Wait a minute, Fiver, and I'll have something nice and hot for you...").
Probably best not to be too literal when it comes to animals in children's books, as the great Pterry suggests in Where's My Cow? -- which is dedicated to the proposition that we're fools to catechise children about "what does the [cow, chicken, pig, etc] say?" when what farm animals mostly say, in our daily experience, is... "sizzle."
(I also recall another really good Scandinavian childrens' book series, but the name escapes me - about a bunch of kids living on neighbouring farms?)
Noisy Village, by Astrid Lindgren! We loved these books. Especially the bit about two houses with a huge tree between them, so the children could climb from one top-storey bedroom to the other. Might look the books out and re-read the Christmas chapters aloud tonight... ta for the reminder!
I am another who wanted to like Moomins but just couldn't. I find them faintly terrifying, but appreciate the vision of parenting therein. I should try again, now that there are graphic novel versions. And I've got Tove Jansson's The Summer Book to read over winter. It's bracingly dark and unfussy and weird.
And pooh to you Pooh-pooh-poohers! It's comforting stuff for those of us with hearts of marshmallow, as Zen as you could wish for, AND endlessly satirisable,* so there's something for everyone. No need to squabble. (*I liked what Jon Bridges did with James James Morrison Morrison recently.)
A belated apology to Danielle for not putting a "Warning: will freak out tender souls and pregnant ladies and especially both" on that Helen Simpson story. It took me by surprise too - all that chortly Brit-lit novel-of-manners stuff and then BAM! Apocalypse now! Still, the darkest season of the year is always a good excuse for a decent horror story. Like, I dunno, giving birth sans midwife in a freezing barn and then having a bunch of kings turn up to say hi, with not a casserole between them. Shudder!
On that note, off to stock up on brandy and buttermilk and bacon... and the Book Fairy just wrapped up a few late-arriving parcels from Amazon, hurrah. Keep the discussion rolling as you wish... or put a bookmark in it and come back in the New Year. Happy holidays and happy reading, everyone!
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Thank you Jolisa. This has been a pretty cool place to hang out over the last few days. Although, having provided some inspiration by accident (which, in spite of my TCFS response, really had me all 'Yusss', and Kungfu all over the lounge), the depth of literary knowledge amongst this crew makes me realise that although I read more than most blokes I know, during the bookmarked period I need to read, and re-read, about 1000 more books to catch up.
I leave you with The Cocteau Twins doing Frosty the Snowman, with Calvin and Hobbs in support. The casserole one is a favourite.
Arohanui. -
Just back from a highly successful trip to the children's section of the local book store. Those represented in the booty include George Selden, Tove Jansson, Philip Pullman, and Ellen Raskin.
My big find (which I am totally keeping for myself): "The Serial Garden", a complete collection of Joan Aiken's stories about the Armitage family. Can't wait to finish work and go home to curl up and read Harriet's Hairloom, Rocket Full Of Pie, and all the others.
a class that weeps openly together will get along better
I suspect this is also the reasoning behind certain required courses in graduate programs...
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The Six Bullerby Children or The Children of Noisy Village (Barnen i Bullerbyn). Also by Astrid Lindgren who wrote the Pippi books.
YES. I think I know what my post-Christmas mission is...find a copy! I've been trying to find out what it was called for years.
Continuing with the Scandinavian kids' books theme... did anyone else love the Little Old Mrs Pepperpot books by the Norwegian author Alf Prøysen - or am I truly alone in that regard? :)
Certainly not - I remember them with much fondness.
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I really enjoyed James Wood's story on Paul Auster. As much as I enjoy reading Auster's books, they do lend themselves to parody.
Interestingly, the dystopian story by Helen Simpson reminded me directly of Paul Auster's In the Country of Last Things, where he uses the same technique of a letter or diary found, but makes a full meal out of it.
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My big find (which I am totally keeping for myself): "The Serial Garden", a complete collection of Joan Aiken's stories about the Armitage family. Can't wait to finish work and go home to curl up and read Harriet's Hairloom, Rocket Full Of Pie, and all the others.
Aw... Joan Aiken rocks. Love The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, which a friend described to me (quite accurately) as a boy's own tale even a girly could love. Then, with the sequel, Black Hearts in Battersea, we're introduced to Dido Twite -- who I still have a literary crush on. (In my imaginary library of unwritten books is a collaboration between Aiken and Diana Wynne-Jones, where Dido and Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle meet. That's a fireworks display I'd pay cash money to see.)
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Dido Twite is my absolute heroine. I totally want to be her.
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Yes, webweaver, Mrs Pepperpot, and that strange O with the line through it on the cover. Who wrote the Emil and the detective series? I thought Emil such an exotic name, and often took those books out on our Saturday morning visits to our local library.
For Christmas my grandfather used to take us to Whitcombe and Tombs and we were allowed to choose any book we wanted - which was such a treat. He was the lawyer for Blackwood and Janet Paul, Hamilton publishers and booksellers, and he also kept us stocked with their wonderful children's books. But for my Christmas treat I often chose the Rupert annual, which seemed slightly rebellious.
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Yesyes, I'd like to join the Joan Aiken fan corner. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase series was the backdrop to my childhood. Dido Twite's my heroine too. I particularly love Night Birds on Nantucket, where Dido is pitted against the sinister Aunt Tribulation, she of the knee-high bottle green boots. Heh. All the books in the series are fabulous, especially the early ones. I did feel that the concept got stretched a bit far by the final ones such as Cold Shoulder Road.
Not part of the Wolves series but also totally fabulous are The Whispering Mountain, set in Wales, and Midnight is a Place, set in the dark satanic mills of northern England. Totally satisfying stories and memorable villains. -
a collaboration between Aiken and Diana Wynne-Jones, where Dido and Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle meet. That's a fireworks display I'd pay cash money to see.)
My money would be on Dido and her Battersea street smarts.
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Probably best not to be too literal when it comes to animals in children's books,
Indeed.
"Ouch" said Christopher Robin as Pooh squeezed the life out of his limp body whilst biting off his head.
"Hmmm, serves him right for not knowing what bears do" said Eeyore
" I blame anthropomorphic children's stories"
Meanwhile Tigger was lying in wait for piglet. -
How the hell am I supposed to get my novel done when you write such great 'essays' and put such wonderful comments on here? Meh. And, such fantastic company you keep with wise and witty and winsome responses.
I had EVERY intension of revising the first 45,000 of my novel today to send to agent and editor but it's after lunch and I haven't even started yet!!!
I blame you Jolisa for my distraction *grin*
For the record - Shakespeare rocks hard out in my classroom. And, kids DO get Lear if you take them through it with their child of a father lense (aren't parents stupid?) and I'm with the others re Macbeth and Polanski (why else did I every consider writing the sequel which has spawned into a trilogy? I want Shakespeare sitting next to Christ when I get to heaven - great company.And, whoever it was who reacquainted me with the classic 'Rinse the Blood off my Toga' - ahh memories. Great. Great.
Now, I shall delete you from my favourites so that I'm not so easily tempted to get off task.
Back to Scotland
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