Talking about children's books and films. Useful information for parents.
28 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
I’m not so familiar with these books, but I imagine them comparable to the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books in North America, which have also undergone extensive rewrites, redesigns and upgradings over the years.
It’s always interesting to see what adults think will appeal to ‘modern’ children…
(This link thanks to bundleofbooks on Twitter…)
25 Mar 2012 2 Comments
in Books, books 10+, Classics Tags: adventure, fairy tale updated, maps, math, nonsense, puns, word play
by Norton Juster
Jules Feiffer, illustrations
Alfred A. Knopf, 1961
256 pp.
Age: 10+
Interests: word play, puns, adventure, nonsense, fantasy, science, math, modern fairy tales, philosophy
Also by this author: The Dot and the Line, The Hello, Goodbye Window, Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie, Otter Nonsense
Also by this author & illustrator: The Odious Ogre
21 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 5+ Tags: animals, birds, maps, nonsense, poetry, travel, word play
Jack Prelutsky, poems
Peter Sis, illustrator
HarperCollins, 2002
40 pp.
Age: 5 +
Interests: poetry, animals, birds, word play, nonsense, maps, travel
Next: Edward Lear’s The Quangle Wangle’s Hat and others
Also by this poet/illustrator team: The Dragons Are Singing Tonight, Monday’s Troll, The Gargoyle on the Roof
Also by this poet: The New Kid on the Block and many others
20 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Education, Issues, Parenting, Technology
Further to my last post about the iPhone, here’s an interesting article from Commonsense Media: “My Kids’ First iPad”. It’s written from the point of view of parents who are “early adopters” of media, and you can follow links to lots of app recommendations, etc.
I do see one good comment below the article though, about the speed with which content is presented, which concerns me as well. The commenter advises computers be used alongside traditional reading material, which encourages kids to slow down and develop longer attention spans.
In general, Commonsensemedia.org is a great resource for all tech subjects in relation to raising kids – if you have teenagers for example, and are concerned about social media and privacy, or cyberbullying, or appropriate content controls, they are always posting advice and information on those topics.
14 Mar 2012 3 Comments
in Books, books 4+ Tags: city life, mystery, travel, wordless books
by Barbara Lehman
Houghton Mifflin, 2004
32 pp.
Age: 4 +
Interests: wordless books, mystery, travel, books
Also by this author: Museum Trip, Rainstorm, Trainstop, The Secret Box
To Read Next: Flotsam, other puzzling books
13 Mar 2012 1 Comment
in Classics
Is this even possible? Yes it is! According to this article from The Guardian by Victoria Sussens-Messerer, a Bavarian historian named Franz Xaver von Schönwerth was recording and collecting fairy tales around the same time as the Brothers Grimm. However while their collection enjoyed huge success across Europe, Schönwerth’s 3-volume work sank into obscurity.
This could be due to the fact that Schönwerth actually did what the Grimms claimed to do: he recorded the stories faithfully and didn’t put his own spin on the morals, didn’t tinker with them or ‘polish’ up the language. (As opposed to the Brothers Grimm. More here.) At the time Schönwerth’s works were not bestsellers, but now that they’ve been rediscovered, their authenticity is what gives them such appeal and value.
Among versions of tales which also appeared in Grimms, cultural curator Erika Eichenseer discovered 500 unknown fairy tales. She published them last year in German and is now having them translated into English. The Guardian has one of them on their site: The Turnip Princess.
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related post: Fairy Tale Controversy, Part 3 (including info on the Grimms’ tinkering with their tales)
13 Mar 2012 7 Comments
in Books, books 10+ Tags: British history, crime, ghosts, horror, poetry, romance, violence
GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER – 1981
Alfred Noyes, text
Charles Keeping, illustrations
Oxford, 1981
32 pp.
Age: 10 +
(Reading Level: 9 +)
Interests: poetry, romance, history, horror, ghost story
Also by this illustrator: Charley, Charlotte and the Golden Canary, The God Beneath the Sea, Beowulf, The Lady of Shalott, Through the Window, Charles Keeping’s Classic Tales of the Macabre
12 Mar 2012 2 Comments
in Books, books 10+ Tags: American history, British history, history, horses, knights, nonfiction, war
GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER – 1975
by Victor Ambrus
Oxford, 1975
39 pp.
Age: 10+
Interests: nonfiction, history, horses, war, knights
Also by this author: The Three Poor Tailors, Mishka, Drawing Animals, Drawing on Archaeology
10 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Just Fun Stuff, Movies
Here’s a link to watch the animated short film which won the Oscar this year – The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. A wordless hymn to the romance of books, with a distinct nod to Buster Keaton.
Rarest Kind of Best 
Farewell Britannica – End of Empire
15 Mar 2012 1 Comment
by Kim in Commentary, Technology Tags: nonfiction, reference
In an inevitable yet still somewhat shocking move, Encyclopedia Britannica has announced that they will no longer be issuing their encyclopedia in book form.
I don’t have any fond memories of leafing through the actual Britannica as a child – our shelves were inhabited by the more prosaic World Book Encyclopedia…
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