Halloween Treat - Funnybones!

"This is how the story begins.

On a dark dark hill

there was a dark dark town.

In the dark dark town

there was a dark dark street.

In the dark dark street

there was a dark dark house.

In the dark dark house

there was a dark dark staircase.

Down the dark dark staircase

there was a dark dark cellar.

And in the dark dark cellar....

... some skeletons lived."

 This is by far, in my opinion, one of the most iconic openings to any children's book EVER! But then I am a little bias! Although 40 years on it is still a much loved story and I would bet has been read to most of the people in this country at some point in their lifetime. And if you're anywhere near my age, you probably grew up watching the brilliant animated series too (hop on Youtube if not!). It is of course the wonderfully spooky Funnybones by Janet and Alan Ahlberg! 

 As it is Halloween I thought I'd throw in a themed post this week, and so I raided my collection for something suitably scary! And when I say scary, I mean downright adorable! What's not to love about these skeletons and their dog? They have all the hallmarks of a classic comedy double act, one's little, one's big, they share a bed like Morecambe and Wise or Bert and Ernie, and of course one wears a silly hat! It's perfect! 

I'm sure you all know the story of Funnybones, but i'll give you a little reminder. The skeleton's decide to take the dog for a walk and scare someone while they are out. They end up in the park, where unfortunately the dog has a little accident and ends up as a pile of bones! Cue my favourite scene, where they have to try and put the dog back together, with hilarious results! I've always loved the set of illustrations here, and the idea that the bark depends on how the dog is assembled!

After they have successfully put the skeleton dog back together they go off looking for someone to scare. But the problem is everyone's asleep! Everyone except the skeleton animals in the zoo. Obviously. So they have a bit of fun there riding an elephant and chatting to the parrot.

But what's a good night out without scaring someone?! Probably very dull, if you're a skeleton! The few pages that follow are fab! Big and Little decide to scare each other, for lack of victims! They jump out from behind bushes at each other, hide in washing, and the dog chases them! It turns out they're massive scaredy-cats! 

I just want to say how much I love the illustrations in this book! They are absolutely charming, much like all of the Ahlberg's picturebooks. They are simple, playful, and vibrant. They make use of framing so well, and you get the feeling of reading not only a picturebook but also a comic. In Funnybones in particular their choice of colours is really effective. As we are told at the start, this story takes place in the dark, at night. Therefore a lot of the text is set against a black background. The use of white text, not only matches the colour of the skeletons, but also shows us what writing looks like in the dark! For the child reader this is probably not that obvious, but as an adult reader I see it as a lovely little nod to the way a child thinks. How else would your story show up!? These bold contrasts and brightly coloured illustrations make it an excellent books for all ages, from something that is visually stimulating for younger listeners, to the clear simple text and repetition for the early reader. This book has it all! 

Happy Halloween! 

Lx

Ps. Back to the list next time for the classic modern picturebook Guess How Much I Love You

Where the Wild Things Are

Hi everyone!

I have news, there is now an Instagram page for The Little Bookworm! Check it out @the.littlebookworm

I'm hoping to post all kinds of interesting things there, and maybe even do some live story times too! 

This post has been inspired by my lastest Insta post, which was to celebrate the birthday of the marvellous Mauric Sendak! His picturebook Where the Wild Things Are really ignited my passion for picturebook analysis, and my interest in the relationship between words and images in the picturebook format. There is so much more to a book than meets the eye and I find this so incredibly exciting! Once you know all the little codes and tricks you never look at another picturebook in the same way again! 

So for this post I thought i'd do something a little bit different and share some of my academic writing with you, on the subject of Sendak's Wild Things. The extract I want to share with you is all about the 'Picturebook Codes' as created by William Moebius. It is all about how the positioning of images on the page help to tell the story, and how text and image can work together, or indeed against each other, to create a narrative. I hope you find it an interesting insight into what it's like to study children's literature at a higher level. 

The centre spread (above) of Maurice Sendak’s celebrated picturebook Where the Wild Things Are (1963) is a clear example of what Moebius terms as ‘semic slippage’. This occurs when the images and text presented to the reader contradict each other, creating differing perspectives (Moebius, 2009, p.313). The image shows Max’s first encounter with the mythical creatures of his imagination (Sendak, 1963). The accompanying text says ‘they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws’ (Sendak, 1963). This creates a frightening image suggestive of other magical or fairy tales, in which the monster is a threat to the child protagonist. The emphasis placed on the frightening physical features of the creatures is not unlike the dialogue between the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood in the classic fairy tale. The text takes the conventional stance expected of a fantastical tale, but the illustration presents a contradictory image. Max is actually greeted by four friendly looking monsters that appear to be smiling and waving. They are not ‘terrible’ at all, and it is clear that Max is not scared of them. This juxtaposition between classic fairy tale text and the surprising imagery creates irony.

The text tells us that Max has arrived in ‘the place where the wild things are’ (Sendak, 1963). But as William Moebius points out, ‘What is a wild thing?’ (Moebius, 2009, p.313). By not capitalising ‘the wild things’ Sendak creates confusion around this phrase, sending ‘contradictory messages about the ‘who’ or the ‘what’ of the story’ (Moebius, 2009, p.313). On one hand it implies that the creatures are the wild things, but on the other it could be referring to Max whom the creatures later name ‘the most wild thing of all’ (Sendak, 1963). In the illustration the creatures look quite tame despite their fangs, horns and claws, and have big wide yellow eyes. Angry looking Max seems more of a threat to the creatures, than they are to him, despite their frightening textual descriptions. In fact Max looks rather unimpressed with their appearance, particularly as they are figments of his own wild imagination. By applying ‘the code of position’ as set out in Moebius’s essay Picturebooks Codes, it can be suggested that Sendak’s placement of the image in the top two thirds of the page is indicative of a ‘dream-vision’ (Moebius, 2009, p.316-17), a world from Max’s imagination. This imaginative quality is suggestive of the fairy tale or legend that the text seems to embody, but again creates confusion as they do not correspond.

The illustration shows us a more complex story of arrival than that of the text, which simply tells us ‘he came to the place’ (Sendak, 1963). The ‘code of position’ can again be applied to the image, in reference to the direction in which Max and the creatures are facing on the pages. Max has arrived from the left hand side, indicating that his journey has finished and that he is ready to continue his adventure across the page to the right. His left hand arrival also suggests that he has come from the stability of home and is continuing into the unknown. The stability of home, however, is tainted by Max’s anger and frustration, which is signified through the turbulence of the sea. This is contrasted with land, which is solid and much calmer. The monsters approach from the right hand side, indicative of their wild lifestyle, and move towards the stability of the left hand page and Max whom they will soon appoint as their King. Max wants to escape from the confines of home and become a true ‘wild thing’, whereas the monsters want some stability in their wild lives. These ideas are not conveyed at all in the text, which focalises Max as the child protagonist of a conventional fantasy. Whereas it could be argued that the illustration focalises the creatures and their emotional needs. The contrast between the text and image of this double page spread creates two varying perspectives.

So, as you can see, what seems to be a conventional fairytale story has a lot more layers once you know where to look! If you're interested in finding out more about William Moebius's 'Picturebook Codes' there's a great slide show here outlining all the codes in an easy to understand format! Or, you could track down the original essay 'Picturebook Codes' and give it a read.  

I hope you've enjoyed this little insight into the study of picturebooks, and can understand why I find it so interesting!!

I challenge you to pick up a picturebook and have a look for a few of Moebius codes, and see how it transforms your reading! 

Thanks, L x 

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No. 69 - You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!

So, we've finally hit the 60s on the list, and I must say I'm quite excited about the next ten books. There are some absolute classics, an anthology of poems and even a comic! I tend to only work through the list ten books at a time, so it's always a surprise to me when I look at the upcoming titles, and the next ten don't disappoint. Plus there are some favourites of mine on their way this time too! Talking of favourites, I've discovered a new one! The Mr Gum books by Andy Stanton! They're brilliant! 

The list just said 'Mr Gum', so I started at the beginning with You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! As you probably know, I am a great fan of books for reluctant readers. Anything that can spark the passion for reading in a child has my vote, and I think these books fit that bill exactly! Firstly they are small scale, which is less intimidating than a great big book, and the text itself doesn't fill the whole page either. I think sometimes the thought of having to read a whole book is actually what puts children off reading in the first place, and this books gets around that in lots of clever ways.

Along with small sections of text on each page, the style has a sort of handwritten, diary type feel to it. A bit like Liz Pichon's Tom Gates books the pages have a lived-in feel. There are big dirty smudges on the corners of the pages, illustrations in the margins, and often the text is handwritten, misaligned or in a different font. It is all very fluid and most importantly not very book-like! 

David Tazzyman's illustrations bring the non-book-y-ness to life! They have the spirit and animation of Quentin Blake's illustrations, and there's something a little bit Lauren Child about them too. They are cartoony, loose and seem to have a life of their own. Despite being made up of a few deft strokes of a pencil, they are 100% believable! You can smell the disheveled, stinker Mr Gum, and you can hear the flies buzzing around in Billy William the Third's Right Royal Meats butchers shop! It's gross, but awesome! And here again lies the draw of this book. It's disgusting! In a good way! This particular story involves rotten meat and dog poo! It has it's fair share of the grotesque. I mean the end papers have got dog poos, rat poison bottles and ketchup drawn on them!

But what I love most about this book is it's humour! It's surreal, and bizarre, and laugh out loud funny! In fact it's read out loud funny! I can imagine it going down very well in a classroom! It's silly, and that makes me smile. I love a silly book. One that appeals to both adults and children alike, with jokes and asides for everyone. This device is mostly found in picture books, so I was really pleased to see it venture out into the paper back. The Claude books by Alex T Smith have a similar feel too. More of the same please! It's a winner! And I knew I was on to a winner as soon as I read the opening page of You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!. 

Stanton's descriptions often skip the obvious and move straight to the things that we would usually pass by, or that we just didn't need to know, and of course these are often the funniest. It's a bit like observational humour, it's the little things that you take for granted that are actually the most amusing. We are told that Mr Gum hates children, animals, and fun, so far these are all very standard things for a nasty character, but Stanton also thinks we ought to know that Mr Gum hates corn on the cob too. It's so unimportant that it's funny. I love it! Plus who lists 'scowling at things' as a hobby!? 

Another thing that Stanton does really well is an underwhelming observation. For example 'The moles raced back their holes at the speed of moles.', and Jake the dog is seen 'chomping up the flowers in his big doggy mouth to see what they tasted like (generally they tasted like flowers)'. It is touches like this that I think make this book so appealing, and much more fun to read aloud. As a child this would have really tickled me and made me want to read more. 

This first Mr Gum story has won two awards, and it's easy to see why. I was also excited to discover that Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear (book no. 5) had been made into a musical! Bizarre, but not unexpected. Once you've been in Mr Gum's world a while anything is possible. 

So, I suppose you've guessed that this has been one of my favourite books so far! And yes, I will be popping to the library and getting the next one, despite the fact I'm probably about 20 years older than the intended audience! Reading this book has reminded me of being little again. I loved a funny book as a child, and the more bizarre the better. I'd have devoured these had they been around then, so why not do it now and re-live that joy!

I'm going to leave you with a review of this book from Bryony aged 8, which I think totally sums up it's appeal: 

"Funniest book I have ever read and will ever read... When I read this to my mum she burst out laughing and nearly wet herself... When I had finished the book I wanted to read it all over again it was so good."* 

Thanks for reading, L x

Next time, it's The Family From One End Street by Eve Garnett.

*From the reviews in the front of You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum! by Andy Stanton, illustrated by David Tazzyman.  

No. 70 - Berlie Doherty's Fairly Tales

I'm a huge fan of fairy tales, from the nursery school favourites, to the much darker and more complex tales of the Brother's Grimm, and everything else in-between. I just love the magic and mystery of these traditional children's tales. In the nineteenth century lots of these stories were complied into what we now think of as the canon of classic fairy tales. Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, to name but a few. The most famous collectors of these fairy tales were Joseph Jacobs, Charles Perrault, and the Grimm brothers. This standardised canon of tales seems very familiar, yes? Think again!

There are so many variations of these tales, that once you start digging you will find that there are much more interesting versions! I particularly like the variations of the 'beast' in Beauty and the Beast. For example in Russia he is 'The Snotty Goat', and in Italian versions of the tale he is 'The Mouse with the Long Tail' or 'The Pig King'. Likewise, an old French version of Little Red Riding Hood, The Story of Grandmother, sees our heroine eat her grandmother's flesh, drink her blood and do a striptease for the wolf!!* So you see, there is much more to the traditional fairy tale than meets the eye! I could go on, but instead I shall introduce you to this post's books.

Berlie Doherty's Fairy Tales are somewhat more traditional than Red Riding Hood baring all, however, they are certainly not boring. These beautiful adaptations, of which there are 12, are thoughtfully written, and the haunting illustrations by Jane Ray make them truly special. I couldn't track down the treasury of  these stories, nor could I find all 12 in the library, but the two I did find did not disappoint! So, I am going to talk to you about Berlie Doherty's re-tellings of Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.

The tale of Aladdin, as we know it, first appears in Arabian Nights, alongside the stories of Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba, so of course I presumed, like everyone else, that Aladdin must be a story from the middle east. I was wrong! And so was Walt Disney! Aladdin was originally a Chinese tale!

Berlie Doherty's Aladdin uses the traditional Chinese setting, which I think helps to move this story away from it's Disney counterpart. The banner of Disney is something that is totally wrapped up with the Western fairy tale genre, and I think that the more re-telling's that have their roots in the traditions of these stories the better! Don't get me wrong, I love a Disney film, but personally I think children are missing out on the richness of the genre if all they know are the squeaky clean Disney versions! Obviously, the ugly sister's chopping their toes off to fit into the glass slipper in Cinderella might not be suitable for a younger audience, but there are other variations that are more palatable!

Now, I was expecting the tale of Aladdin to be a fairly moral one, where love conquers evil, and everyone lives happily ever after. A story where Aladdin would win the Princess's heart in a way that didn't involve endless riches and swanky houses, but kindness, and heroics. Isn't that what fairy tales are all about? Well apparently not! Aladdin woos the Princess with magic jewels, and then when she marries someone else he wins her back by shoving her husband out of bed each night into a pile of poo! Once this husband leaves (and frankly I don't blame him!) the genie conjures yet more riches to please the Princess. Aladdin then summons up an extravagant gold palace for them, and they live there happily, content in their materialism. But it's this materialism that gets them in to a bit of bother, when Princess Badr-al-Badur (note that she's not called Jasmine!) sells the magic lamp to the evil Sorcerer, and he kidnaps her!

Even after Aladdin rescues her there is no moral epiphany! No realisation that their greed got them into trouble, or that they only needed each other to be happy! They're just pleased to get the lamp and the genie back, and resume life in their gold castle! If Aladdin and Badr-al-Badur were a modern couple it would be all designer clothing, and supercars, and an instagram account with millions of followers to like their boastful posts and boost their egos! Frankly I ended the story pretty disappointed in them! This however, doesn't at all detract from Doherty's brilliant re-telling of this tale, and the beautiful illustrations that accompany it. In fact it makes it all the more enjoyable!

Jane Ray's illustrations really make these stories. Although there are not many full page images, the illustrated page edges and end papers create a magical space for story telling to occur. Her interpretation of the characters is really interesting too, and this is something I noticed in Beauty and the Beast. Jane Ray has depicted her Beauty as being of African heritage, something that is very rare in the classic Western fairy tale canon. The canonical fairy tales, and indeed Disney's interpretations of them, depict their princesses as nearly always Western and white, especially in the early days of the Disney cartoons. In 1991 when Beauty and the Beast was made there had been no Disney princesses of colour, with Belle following in the footsteps of Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel. In 1992 Aladdin gave us Jasmine, and this was followed by Pocahontas in 1995. Things were looking up. Now, I am pleased to say it is not so rare, though some would say that they are still underrepresented. For me Jane Ray's choice of  Beauty's African heritage added another layer to the story from an analytic point of view, and made it more culturally interesting. Ray mixes the Western and African cultures subtly with the use of clothing. Beauty, although dressed in a Western Georgian style, is depicted wearing fabrics that use African patterning. Coupled with the theme of possession in this fairytale, could Ray be making a comment on the colonialism of the period?

Before I finish up I quickly want to talk about the illustration below. I really love it, as it very subtly shows the Beast watching Beauty. We see his reflection in the mirror, an the eye on the table, and indeed, his rather frightening figure behind her. There is real sense of possession here. However, it is also clear that she interests him; it is very voyeuristic, and as viewers we are sharing in that voyeurism by watching him watch her. The more you look at this image the more you realise that Beauty is overtly the object of the male gaze. There are lots of wolf-like creatures and clawed hands on the curtains, bearing down on her in a sinister way. There is no denying that the Beast appears to be a metaphor for a certain attitude towards women.

Of course, as we know in the end Beauty realises that she truly loves the Beast, agrees to marry him and he turns back in to a man. Hurrah! Love really does triumph in this tale. Not only Beauty's love for the Beast, but her love for her family too. She was willing to put herself in danger to save her father's life. Though I must just say she abandons them all to be with the Beast in the end!

If you're looking for a set of fairy tales that still retain the magic and tradition of the old school fairy tale, but feel more honest and refreshing, then look no further than Berlie Doherty and Jane Ray's beautiful adaptations.

Thanks for reading, L x

Ps. Next up it's something totally different! It's Andy Stanton's You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!



* If you want to read more about literary theory concerning fairy tales, or read some of these fabulous alternative versions, I highly recommend The Classic Fairy Tales edited by Maria Tatar.

No.84 - Handa's Surprise

Number 84 is another picture book, hooray! I love a picture book! This time it's the much loved classic, Handa's Surprise, a tale about friendship and fruit! 

This vibrant and cheery book tells the story of Handa, and her journey to her friend's village to deliver a basket of fruit. Handa lovingly packs a selection of fruit in a basket as a surprise for her friend Akeyo. Whilst walking to Akeyo's village however, the fruit is pilfered by a variety of different animals, each keen on a certain piece of fruit! When Handa arrives at Akeyo's village she gets a surprise of her own.... and I can't possibly tell you what that is, or it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, and that's the whole point of the book! 

The book takes it's form from the journey Handa takes, from one village to the next, and each page shows little Handa walking purposefully towards the next page. With every page turn the journey has progressed a little further, until she finally reaches Akeyo's village. Along the way though, Handa's basket is visited by an assortment of wild characters, first a monkey, then an ostrich, a zebra, an elephant, a giraffe, an antelope, and finally a parrot. As each animal steals the fruit, in the background we see the previous animal making off with it's fruity treat from the previous page, creating a wonderful sense of continuity and reinforcing the journey structure of the book.  

Illustrations, of course, play a huge role in all modern picture books, (unless of course you're reading The Book with No Pictures by B.J Novak...). The images in Handa's Surprise present a vibrant and dynamic picture of it's African setting. They are rich with earthy golds and bright blues, allowing you to image the heat of the sun, and the bright sunshine. Handa wears a pink dress with a green pattern, which echoes the colours found in her fruit bowl, and again gives a real feeling of warmth. The pictures have little hidden signposts helping us to read the story, like the retreating animals I mentioned earlier, allowing the child and the reader to talk about the images and discuss the story. The joy of picture books is that there is often more to the image than what you can see straight away, and this leads us to a closer reading of the pictures and greater engagement for the child. 

The pictures can also tell a totally different story to that of the words, which is something we so often see in picture books written post Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, the parent of all modern picture books. Prior to Sendak's masterpiece, most picture books relied on the images supplementing the written text, rather than being read in their own right. These days we expect the images to be the main focus of the picture book, and for that we can thank Sendak!

The text and images clearly tell different stories in Handa's Surprise. The written text follows Handa's thought process, as she wonders which fruit Akeyo will like best, but the visual story shows the animals stealing the fruit. If the story was told without the pictures, the story, and in particular the surprise ending, would make no sense! The images and the text work together to create a double narrative, which allows for even more enjoyment of the story, as the listener/reader can see what Handa cannot, and is in on the surprise. 

Overall, I think Handa's Surprise certainly deserves the accolade of 'classic picture' book. The choice of setting is very successful, allowing small children to explore another culture, through it's people, it's produce and it's animals. There will no doubt be fruits in Handa's basket that some children will never have come across before! The stars of the show however, are most certainly the illustrations which are bold and zingy, using colour in a really effective way to make this book instantly attractive. And of course the double narrative depicted through text and images makes for an enjoyable and entertaining story. I think Handa's Surprise is a must-have for all children's bookshelves!

Thanks for reading, Lx

Next up, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.

No.90 - The Brilliant World of Tom Gates

So, I've reached number 90, meaning I have officially completed a 10th of my challenge!!! Huzzah!! 

I think my favourite book from the first 10 has got to be Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, and I urge everyone who hasn't read it to go out and find a copy ASAP! You'll enjoy it! I'd also like to say how much I loved Michael Foreman's beautifully illustrated memoir War Boy, and again I urge you all to have a look at it! 

This post's book is The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon. Now, so far on this journey the books I've read haven't particularly felt like children's books. Thomas the Tank Engine has probably been the most childlike book so far, but even that felt quite grown up due to its old fashioned writing style. In a stark contrast to this Liz Pichon's book screams 'I AM FOR CHILDREN!!'. The cover itself exudes mischief, fun and childhood, to the point where it would seem that this book has actually been written and illustrated by the main protagonist Tom. And this is exactly Pichon's intention! The cover is as symbolic as the 'Keep Out' sign you might find on a teenagers door or diary, and as an adult reader I almost felt like I was prying! Tom, whom I would place at about 10 years old, is the heart and soul of this book and to all intents and purposes the book is written by him. When you open this book it's not your traditional print book, but instead it is more of a journal or notebook in which 'Tom' has doodled and recorded his life. Just take a look! 

Pichon absolutely succeeds in making you believe that this is the genuine article rather than a work of fiction, and I can imagine that this is very appealing for a pre-teen reader! I think some children, and in particular boys, as many studies have proven, struggle with a traditional print book. This is not to say that their reading skills are below average, but I just think that for some children the idea of a block of text can be quite daunting. What Pichon has achieved here, and in the rest of the Tom Gates series, is a book that is totally accessible. It's numerous amusing doodles, annecdotes and stream of conciousness style of writing keeps the readers attention in a way that a print book just can't. Children can't get bored of Tom Gates's world because the story changes and develops at such a fast pace! For an adult reader this was hard to keep up with and I struggled a little trying to put myself in the place of a 10 year old boy who liked nothing more than annoying his older sister and was obsessed with a rock band called Dude 3!! However, for many 10 year olds this will no doubt strike a chord, and I'll admit that some of Tom's world seemed familiar even to me! (In particular the trial of bumping into a teacher outside of school! Who doesn't remember how weird that was!? And Tom's teacher was wearing leather trousers!! Awkward!) 

I take my hat off to Liz Pichon for creating a book that so wonderfully (and amusingly, may I add) gets into the headspace and world of Tom. She makes it seems so effortless, and this is the beauty of this book. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is struggling to get a child into reading, in particular boys. It's a quick read, full of wit, mischief and in some ways the reality of school life when you're 10! The embarrassment of parents, the importance of seeing your favourite band, and the horror of school photos and parents evening! The doodles make it endearingly fun and there is even an interactive element, with a lesson on how to draw Tom's older sister Delia at the back! 

Although I was extremely conscious that this book was aimed at a child audience and felt like I was in forbidden territory, for the intended readership I think The Brilliant World of Tom Gates is a very original, enjoyable book that shouldn't be missed! 

Thanks for reading! L X

In other news I'm going to be taking a little break from the blog in September while I make preparations and get started on my MA in Children's Literature! It's all very exciting, but there is so much reading to do that I am going to have to focus on that for a bit. I'm hoping though that what I learn will inform my reading of the books on this list, and in turn produce more interesting posts for you to read, so it's a win win situation! Don't worry though, it won't be long before I'm back here telling you all about the course and the next book on the list, Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers! L x