Love Roald Dahl. One of my childhood favorites. I think my favorite was The Witches, but it could be that that was the one that creeped me out the most, which made it the most memorable.
Love Roald Dahl. One of my childhood favorites. I think my favorite was The Witches, but it could be that that was the one that creeped me out the most, which made it the most memorable.
Quoting Kurosawa Fan (view post)
I know the movie scared the poop out of me when I was little.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Matilda by Roald Dahl
This is my final Dahl entry. He's tied with Babbit for the most single-novel entries on my list. I'm also a big fan of his adult-oriented short stories.
Any story about bookish, nerdy girls will probably get the Natalie Stamp of Approval. When the girl then develops telekinetic powers to enact vengeance on those who have wronged her, you know you have a winner.
There is a lot of child-fantasy fulfilment in the book: that you can learn and read anything, be the smartest kid in the class, be magical, punish unfair authority-holders, choose your new family who will never be mean to you, etc. We like Matilda, but not nearly as much as we dislike the other, horrible people in the book, like her evil headmistress and her shallow, self-serving parents. Watching them get their come-uppence is quite gratifying.
Okay, so you weren't that deprived.
I had big problems, as a child, with the ending of The Witches. Well, it didn't end so much as it just kind of... stopped. I remember turning over the page, staring at it, and then going back again. Surely I had missed something? Had someone ripped out the final chapter?
***
I decided to check out the one-star reviews of the book on Amazon to see if anyone else was annoyed, but all the one-star reviews are by Wiccans and Pagans who are offended at the depiction of Witches as child-hating evil people.
Apparently, there's a group of witches out there with no sense of fun. All of the Wiccans and Pagans I know are much more charming.
Wait a sec… isn't this a bit reminiscent of Chaucer?The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbit
Of the Babbit books on my list, this is the most appropriate for very young children. You could probably read it to someone who is 3-4 years old, although they would probably enjoy it up to 8-9.
In this light-hearted tale, a small kingdom is brought to the point of war over-- of all things-- the definition of "delicious" that should be included in the royal dictionary. A young boy, Gaylen, is sent out to poll the entire country to try and come to a consensus, and he ends up uncovering ancient mysteries and political conspiracies on the way. The book finds a nice balance between the mythic-- dwarves and mermaids-- and the sophisticated, with Hemlock, the queen's brother, attempting to overthrow the government.
Due to this book, I spent several years of my childhood randomly breaking out with: "Whistles and keys! Whistles and keys! Poor Ardis has lost her doll."
Also, did you read any Cormier when you were younger?
Also, love the love for Dahl. My favorite short story of his was probably "The Swan" and my favorite long work would either be the BFG or Danny Champion of the World. Loved Boy and Going Solo as a kid, too.
"Modern weapons can defend freedom, civilization, and life only by annihilating them. Security in military language means the ability to do away with the Earth."
-Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society
I have no idea what to think of the Boxcar Children now, but I loved them as a kid, always signed up for them when we got that monthly book order deal. I'm surprised there was never a movie made about them.
Nat, you missed the boxcar children boat. They're enjoyable only when you don't know any better (which I didn't, at the age of seven or whatever).
"Modern weapons can defend freedom, civilization, and life only by annihilating them. Security in military language means the ability to do away with the Earth."
-Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society
I don't remember being reminded of it while reading Chaucer...
I read Cormier when I was older, like 13-15. I remember really liking I am the Cheese and The Chocolate War.
Just my luck.
I read those two Cormier books just last year, and after having read them, I wished that I had read them when I was younger. I think the titles threw me off.
Re: Chaucer: The queen punishes the knight by sending him out on a quest to find out what women really want "more than anything else," giving him a year and a day to discover it and having his word that he will return. <from wikipedia>
this just reminded me of the "quest for delicious".
"Modern weapons can defend freedom, civilization, and life only by annihilating them. Security in military language means the ability to do away with the Earth."
-Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society
Wow, didn't realize how much Dahl I've read to my kid. We've read those four that you mentioned plus Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, which is really quite bizarre, even for him.
Coming to America (Landis, 1988) **
The Beach Bum (Korine, 2019) *1/2
Us (Peele, 2019) ***1/2
Fugue (Smoczynska, 2018) ***1/2
Prisoners (Villeneuve, 2013) ***1/2
Shadow (Zhang, 2018) ***
Oslo, August 31st (J. Trier, 2011) ****
Climax (Noé, 2018) **1/2
Fighting With My Family (Merchant, 2019) **
Upstream Color (Carruth, 2013) ***
It's like Dahl sat down and thought, "If I just wrote stream-of-conscious blather for 150 pages, I wonder if anyone would publish it? Oh, oh, and ALIENS!"
Ah, yes. That is a little similar.
At the end of the book (if you don't mind spoilers) Hemlock is trying to feed the fire of dissention by damming off the only water source in the kingdom, so the people are dehydrated as well as paranoid and cranky. When Gaylen manages to have the dam broken so that the rioting people can finally drink, they are united at last in the definition of delicious: "Delicious is a drink of cold water when you are very, very thirsty."
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
This is one of the books you have to read as an adult if you missed it as a child.
You may notice that this is one of the very few books on my list that have been translated from another language. I have absolutely nothing against children's literature not written in English, but I consistently find myself frustrated by translations. (This is true in adult literature as well.) Something often just feels slightly "off" to me, and I usually have a nagging suspicion that I'm missing the true beauty of a book by not being able to read it in the original.
I don't have that problem with this book. It might be that I've actually been able to read it in the original French. Or, it might be that the translations are particularly good. But I believe that it's because the book is deliberately written in such a pure, simple style that it can transcend the differences in grammar and syntax and be equally beautiful in any language.
This deeply allegorical tale follows a pilot who is stranded in the Sahara when his plane breaks down, and the strange, laughing little boy he meets there. In bits and pieces the pilot gleans the prince's story: he was the sole inhabitant of a small asteroid, and he loved a rose, who was selfish and vain and broke his heart.
The function of the story is to compare the Prince, who is simple, forthright, and logical as a child, with an unnecessarily complex and ridiculous grown-up world. It also explores the nature of affection and belonging, and why of a thousand roses we would only love one.
I cry at the end of this book. Every stinking time.
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
This book didn't come out until I was eight or so, but I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I had been a couple of years younger.
This is the story of Prince Brat, and insufferable pain who is not permitted to be whipped because he is royal. So, a peasant boy named Jemmy is whipped in his place. Unfortunately, Prince Brat loves to get Jemmy beaten, and so gets into trouble all the time on purpose.
Things get fun when Brat decides to run away, and tricks Jemmy into going with him. Brat's exposure to the world outside is a rude awakening, particularly when Jemmy gets mistaken for being the prince, since he is the one who is literatue, polite, and genteel.
The whole thing is an airy, rollicking adventure story with a few nice come-uppance moments. The minor characters are interesting with great names (like "Hold-your-nose-Billy.")
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Most of the historical fiction for children I've read has been awful. I suspect it's because the creative process goes backwards instead of forward: "Kids these days should know more about the industrial revolution! Let's write a book about it!" instead of beginning with an important idea, good characters, and a heart, and then putting it into the time and place that would be most effective.
Johnny Tremain is a book that takes place during the American Revolution while managing to still be about one particular boy, with whom we sympathize. Several historical characters are introduced, but this is mainly the story of a young man whose entire life plans (to be a silversmith) are ruined in a terrible accident, and he falls into the politics of the time without really meaning to.
Although I think the blending of history and fiction is handled well in this book, beware reading it to someone too young-- anyone below 9 or 10 will probably become bored with all the background information they need.
That poor man has been split in half by a courthouse!
"Modern weapons can defend freedom, civilization, and life only by annihilating them. Security in military language means the ability to do away with the Earth."
-Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craigshead George
Miyax, a 13-year-old Eskimo girl, is already conflicted between her home culture and that of school, where she goes by Julie. Her dissociation gets worse when her father dies and she is married to a young man of about her same age. After a distressing incident (more on that later) she runs away into the wilderness of Alaska, with the confused idea that she can somehow get to San Francisco, where her pen pal lives.
Instead, we have the greatest part of this novel, where Julie learns to survive in the wild and is eventually accepted by a wolf pack, with whom she communciates via cunning and survivalist tactics her father had taught her. The extreme landscape and weather, along with Miyax's introspection and fierce will to live, make for some gripping drama.
Be forewarned. (My mother wasn't, when she read it to me.) This book is for older or more mature young people. Miyax's marriage at 13 is supposed to be platonic, but her mentally deficient husband is goaded and teased by other boys into trying to rape her, which is when she runs away. The incident is treated carefully, but might confuse and frighten younger readers.
Ha! I hadn't noticed that. I was thinking about doing a post about the incredible ugliness of most of these covers. Many of the newer editions of classics were so singularly awful that I went through many pages of google to try and find a decent one.
Wait... "poor man"? That's a redcoat! Whose side are you on?
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
This would possibly be the most pastoral, languid book ever if it weren't for Toad. Badger, Ratty and and Mole would fish on the river, and lay on the banks, and consider how lovely it is to be an anthropomorphized animal in beautiful rural England.
But, instead, we have Toad. Insane, compulsive, obsessive, manic Toad. Usually, in a book like this, all the characters are eccentric, or all of them are placid. But, no. In The Wind in the Willows we have three English gentlemen and one bipolar amphibian. Go figure.
Swan Lake by Mark Helprin
Unusually enough, I am recommending this book for its visual beauty as well as its story. I insist you find the blue cloth-bound cover, like above, and make sure it has the artwork by Chris Van Allsburg. (Odd story-- I used to know Chris Van Allsburg's cousin.) This is a ridiculously beautiful book, with creamy pages and full-page glossy illustrations.
The story is obviously based on the Russian ballet, although with the magic taken out. Instead it is a story of star-crossed love and betrayal between a prince and the common girl he loves. Don't let the illustrations fool you-- this is more appropriate for 9-10 years old than the very young. It's challenging and lovely, and I'm somewhat dismayed to see that it appears to have gone out of print, but I'm sure you can find used copies.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster
Essentially, this is a book-length pun. The plays on words come thick and fast, and even if a child only understands a third of them, they're going to have a blast.
The plot, such as it is, concerns the very bored Milo who ends up going through a mysterious toll booth in a toy car and finds himself in the Kingdom of Wisdom, ruled by King Azaz, who is in charge of words, and the Mathemagician, who handles numbers. Unfortunately, the two princesses Rhyme and Reason have been lost, and so nothing in the land makes any real sense. Milo, along with a Tock the Watch Dog (see illustration, above) go on a quest to rescue them.
LOVE The Little Prince. I was certain it would make your list. Great pick.
Posting Permissions
forum
Reply With Quote
