No. 60 - The Little White Horse

Hello!  

Today I want to talk to you about Elizabeth Goudge's book The Little White Horse. The reason this post has taken so long for me to write, is because it has taken me since June to read this book!! The Little White Horse has both confused and delighted me!

    Not being a lover of fantasy stories as a child I think The Little White Horse had passed me by. To my shame, I had no idea what a classic it was; it won the Carnegie Medal in 1946, quite the accolade in the children's book world! Once I knew this, I set out with quite high hopes for this book, but found it a lot like Marmite! It seems you either love this book, or it's not to your taste! I'm in the latter camp I'm afraid, although it has had it's moments! 

    Now, the premise, as I understand it, (and bear with me here!) is that Maria, our heroine, has been sent to stay with her Uncle, Sir Benjamin Merryweather, because she is orphaned. She is accompanied by her stuffy governess Miss Heliotrope, and her faithful canine chum Wiggins. Although a nice change from London, there is another reason for her visit, which Maria must discover as her time as Moonacre Manor plays out. Something to do with moon maidens, a particularly nasty Frenchman, and lots of pink Geraniums! It's safe to say that I found this story really quite confusing, and if I'm totally honest, I'm still not quite sure about the finer points of the plot! What I can say though is that this book is truly bizarre, and for that reason it wasn't all bad!

    For a start it reeks of the Gothic and other classic genres! I found it channeling everything from Wuthering Heights to Dracula, with hints of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Secret Garden, and the Chrestomanci series, not to mention Five Children and It! It also has a time slip fiction feel to it too, which had me rather confused about what time period it was set in. It feels Victorian, yet there is an older vibe too (it took me way too long to work out that Maria's friend Robin wasn't a ghost!). Maybe the time period is undisclosed, who knows! It is fantasy after all! Or is it...

    This was something else I struggled with! I felt as though it was never fully committed to being a fantasy novel. Sometimes it was just normal, everyday life, and then there would be crazy moments, like when the cat shot great big, green beams of light out of his eyes! Yes, that really did happen! This book was full of surprising moments like that. Just when you think you're getting the hang of the story, Goudge springs another thing on you! 

You know Wrolf, the big old dog? 

Yeah..? 

Well he's actually lion, but no one ever notices!

What!? How can you not notice a lion walking about next to you, FOR MORE THAN HALF THE BOOK! 

    And then there was the unexpected, and frankly excessive use of the word cock!! The Men of the Black Cock (no laughing please!) are the Merryweather's sworn enemy, and their emblem is a big black cockerel. Whilst reading I came across cocks on people's shoulders, cock shaped swords, cocks on boxes, on boats! At NO POINT does Goudge use the word cockerel, and honestly, I think she did it on purpose! Let's just hope that her particular choice of vocab goes over the heads of the intended audience! It made me laugh though!! 

    The characters in The Little White Horse are wonderfully stereotypical. Maria is a spoilt child from a London household, used to the finer things. Miss Heliotrope the governess is the archetypal Victorian old maid and school mistress, and she's always getting Maria to practice her needlework, or read poetry. Although we do discover that Miss Heliotrope had an exotic past! Sir Benjamin is the usual big, blustery, jolly, aristocrat. He's not so keen on women, but dotes on Maria. And then there's dear old Digweed, the coachman/man servant, who scuttles around in the background like so many versions of this trope before him. The Old Parson feels like he is straight out of a Jane Austen novel! And the children of Silverydrew are always bursting into song like the chorus of children in an am-dram production! It's all very strange! The only characters that seem to break this conventional mould are Robin and his mother Loveday Minette. They are otherworldly, magical, and I'm not sure whether this is intentional or not. They almost feel like they've stepped out of another novel completely! It's safe to say that they were my favourite characters.

    But, despite the confusing plot, bizarre, if not slightly stereotypical characters, Goudge finishes the story quickly and neatly with 3 weddings. Long lost loves are reunited, Maria and Robin are married (despite Maria being, by my calculations, only 14!), and peace is restored to Moonacre Manor, the village of Silverydew, and the Merryweather estate. Goudge makes sure all loose ends are tied, and it's wonderfully predictable after the confusing chaos of the rest of the book! Everyone lives happily ever after! Hooray! 

    Overall, I found this book a confusing read! It's weirdness baffled me, but strangely this in itself was quite enchanting! If you think you have the patience then I suggest you try this book, but I think it appeals only to a certain kind of mind. I'm not a lover of fantasy and I think this may have been why I struggled with the plot so much. Even after writing this, I'm still not sure I totally understand what I've just read! 

Thanks for reading, L x

Next up, a book that I'm sure is on bookshelves everywhere, Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

No. 66 - Peter Pan

Hello! 

I've started a new routine at home, like many of you probably have, and Tuesday is my day for blogging. Hopefully I will be able to get hold of a lot of the books digitally and can continue to write a new post once a week for the time being. Maybe, I can even keep this routine up when things go back to normal! 

This week's book is in fact a play! We haven't had one of those yet! It's J.M. Barrie's fantastical tale, Peter Pan. The play was originally devised by Barrie as a way of amusing some boys he knew, the Llewellyns. If you've ever seen Finding Neverland, you'll know about the relationship Barrie had with these boys and their mother. If you haven't seen this film, I suggest you watch it, it's brilliant! Anyway, although the play came first, Barrie first published the story as a novel for children called Peter and Wendy in 1911, and later in 1928 the play was published, and has been amusing audiences across the world ever since!

Peter, the Lost Boys, Wendy and Captain Hook are a well know set of characters in children's literature. Of course made all the more popular by our friend Walt Disney! I'm not going to moan about Walt this time though as I've never actually seen the Disney Peter Pan (no gasping please!). Instead I'm going to talk to you about the version I know, the play, the original tale of Peter and Wendy. I've never read the novelisation of the play, but I might after this. You can read it for free on the super Project Gutenberg website. Maybe I'll read it and write another post comparing the book and the play. The Project Gutenberg website is great. You can read loads of out of copyright classics online or download them as ebooks for free. 

Now, during my degree Peter Pan was one of the play texts we studied, and my word there is a lot more to it than you expect! At first glance it seems to be a story of childhood vs adulthood, of growing up and loosing your belief in magic. In the famous scene where Tinkerbell is dying Peter Pan asks the audience to save her life by clapping if they believe in fairies. Here the entire audience, adults and children alike, are holding the fate of the character in their hands, literally. A critic once said that more often than not it was the adults who stood up during this scene, clapping furiously. Barrie is inviting them to embrace their childhood again, and the magic of believing in magic. In that moment, and indeed throughout the play, we are asked to suspend our disbelief, and it is interesting to see how far this stretches in adults and children. As we know, it is much easier  for children to believe and we see this is so many children's books. There is always a negative stance on adulthood, and how adults view the world. It is often suggested that adults grow out of believing in the fantastic, and this is a theme found in Peter Pan. However, instead of creating a closed world Barrie encouraged adults to relive their childhood fantasies, rather than shutting them out. Adults are as much allowed to look at Neverland as children are. In fact it has been said that Peter Pan was predominately written for adults, for this exact reason. This claim is backed up by the fact that the characters had already appeared in one of Barrie's novels for adults The White Bird. 

Once you start digging a bit deeper with this play you begin to notice the characters rather than the story. The story itself is muddled, confusing at times, and seemingly a lot happens with no real purpose. Pan is trying to kill Hook, Hook is trying to kill Pan, but it is never truly explained why. There are some fights, and then everyone flies home again, except stubborn Peter. It has been suggested that things never resolve themselves in Neverland because Neverland is not a real place. There are no consequences, they can do what they like. You feel like you've stumbled into a children's game that only makes real sense to those involved. 

Once we ignore the plot, we can start to look more closely at the characters, and this is where it gets interesting! Peter Pan, the boy who refuses to grow up, is a mythical character. Is he human? Is he a fairy? We are never sure. He famously says 'To die will be an awfully big adventure" suggesting that for him death is of no consequence and implies that maybe he is immortal. Peter, like Neverland, is made up and so anything can happen. Captain Hook on the other hand has a very real reminder of his mortality in the shape of the crocodile that has swallowed a clock! The creature ate Hook's hand and Hook is convinced that the crocodile would like to eat the rest of him. The ticking of the clock inside the crocodile's stomach can be heard every time the crocodile approaches Hook, like a ticking time bomb, a reminder that eventually Hook's time will be up because he is a mere mortal! Interestingly, in most productions of Peter Pan, the actor playing Mr Darling (the children's father), also plays Captain Hook (think of Jason Isaacs in the 2003 Peter Pan film). This double role reinforces the idea of Hook as mortal. In fact, is Hook actually Mr Darling? One of my theories is that Neverland is in fact an elaborate make-believe game played within the nursery. Peter Pan is a symbol for the Darling children's childhood, and his conflict with Hook or Mr Darling is about the way the children are growing up. The crocodile is a metaphor for their mortality, whilst Hook's need to defeat Pan, or childhood, is Mr Darling's ambition that his children will grow up to be successful adults. 

There is another theory that has been put forth many times, which will change the way you view this children's story forever. Some critics have suggested that Peter Pan is in fact a retelling of the Oedipus story, where the son tries to kill the father so he can marry the mother. In terms of this story, Peter Pan can be seen as the son, Hook the father and Wendy the mother. There is an extraordinary amount of emphasis placed on the figure of the mother in Peter Pan, and this Freudian reading of the story could explain why. Peter's main purpose seems to be to attack Hook at all eventualities, suggesting that if Hook were the father figure (he is the double of Mr Darling remember) Peter seems pretty intent on bumping him off. As for Wendy, she is portrayed as the mother very early on. In the first scene of the play she is playing at being her own mother with her younger brother John. Then once Peter arrives she becomes his mother, and in Neverland she is the Lost Boys' mother too. Despite being mother to all, Peter is very possessive of Wendy. This could be suggestive of an Oedipus complex. However, when Wendy asks him what his feelings towards her are (and she does this many times!) he always replies 'you are my mother', suggesting he has nothing but familial feelings for Wendy. 

I'm not sure how far I follow the Oedipal theory when it comes to Peter Pan, but it is interesting to explore these critical theories and use them to inform our reading of something that seems, on the surface, just a fantastical play for children. For me, the most interesting aspects of the analysis lie in the doubling of characters, and the theories surrounding the themes of childhood and growing up. I hope this has been of interest to some of you, I've certainly enjoyed writing it. It's not often now that I get to do a critical review of a text. Maybe I'll try and do more! 

Thanks for reading, L x

Next week, I'll be looking at Oliver Jeffer's picture book The Way Back Home. 

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. 72 - The Worst Witch

This is me, aged 5 or 6, dressed up as the Worst Witch for World Book Day! An easy costume I suppose, it was basically my school uniform, with the addition of a sash and a small tiger (masquerading as Mildred’s tabby cat!)! Unoriginal you might say, but for me it was the perfect portrayal of a character that I loved.

Before I knew anything about Hogwarts, Harry, Ron and Hermione, I was having my magical education at Miss Cackles Academy for Witches, with Mildred and Maud. Like our favourite magical comrades, Mildred and Maud are often finding themselves in sticky situations and getting into trouble with a cast of magical teachers. The most formidable of all is of course Miss Hardbroom, who is just as mean as her name suggests.

The headteacher of the academy is the long suffering and rather sweet Miss Cackle, who is always disappointed to see Mildred in her office AGAIN.

Mildred Hubble, as Jill Murphy describes her, is ‘the Worst Witch’. She is always getting into scrapes, embarrassing herself in front of her classmates, casting the wrong spells and mixing the wrong potions. Delightfully, she is a real, flawed character, someone who makes mistakes, even though she is trying her very best. 

Although Mildred has her fair share of bad luck, Murphy is at pains to remind us that she has lots of friends and is well liked. At no point do we feel sorry for Mildred because she has a support network of friends behind her, including her wonderfully loyal bestie Maud. Maud is a dumpy little witch with glasses and bunches, and contrasts beautifully with the gangly, uncoordinated Mildred. They are the perfect double act.

There’s one more person you need to know about before I continue, and that is Ethel, who Murphy describes as being a bit smug and bossy! She is top of the class and so looks down on Mildred with great contempt. But this doesn’t bother Mildred, instead she has her ways of dealing with Ethel, which, in this book, involves turning her into a pig!

When I picked up The Worst Witch I couldn’t remember much about the story, but the characters were firmly imprinted in my head, and strangely so was the school song…. The tune, the words, everything. I can attribute that to either of two things,

1.       The audiobook, which I listened to a lot!

2.       The ITV children’s TV series – the original one, not the new one, not the Netflix one (apparently there is one), but the original one. We’re talking the same era as The Queen’s Nose, when children's TV was at it’s best!

Now I can’t remember which of these had the song in it, but I know that both these heavily influenced my love of the books and these characters. As always, as I started reading the book read itself to me, in the same phrasing, voices and nuances as the audiobook, something I always love when revisiting a book for this blog, as you’ll know. 

The story is short, but sweet, and has everything in it that you’d expect from a book set in a magical school. There’s broomstick flying, witch’s cats, potions class, people getting turned into animals, a threat to the cosy contentment of the school, and a Halloween celebration. Sound familiar, I think so. 

The story opens on the eve of the cat presentation, where all the first-year girls get presented with their witches familiar; a black kitten. Of course, Mildred being Mildred, ends up with the only tabby cat. After that there is a magical interlude, where we learn more about what the girls get up to at school, with Mildred and Maud accidentally creating an invisibility potion in a class test! As well as potions class there is also practice for the Halloween celebration’s broomstick flying display, which I love the sound of! Who wouldn’t pay to see a broomstick display team!? This is not so exciting for Mildred however, who after borrowing a spare broomstick from Ethel (alarm bells!!) for the display ends up bringing the whole team to the ground during the performance. Ethel of course, had tampered with the broom, a trick that seems quite popular with magical folk!

This is the low point in the story. Everyone is cross with Mildred for ruining the display, and disheartened she decides to run away. However, just outside the school grounds she encounters a coven of witches, led by Miss Cackle’s evil sister, who are intent on sneaking into the school and turning everyone into frogs! Mildred thinks fast, turning them all into snails and taking them back to school to show Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom. The story ends in true Philosopher’s Stone style, with Mildred being publicly praised for having saved the school.

I would thoroughly recommend this book, its sequels, and it’s TV adaptions to anyone, especially children aged between 6 and 11. This was magical education before it was cool; this was my Hogwarts. 

Thanks for reading, L x

Next up, 'Wolves' by Emily Gravett

No.78 - Chrestomanci - Charmed Life

It seems an awfully long time since I sat down to do this, and to be honest, it has been! My last proper post was in August!! Anyway, I have welcomed in the New Year and The Little Bookworm's 2nd birthday, and have a few loose blog ends to tie.

I have two books hanging over from 2017 that are yet to be reviewed, mainly because I squeezed reading them into the last few weeks of the year, and then Christmas came along.

So, first up, at number 78 on the list, is the 'Chrestomanci' series by the British fantasy and sci-fi queen Diana Wynne Jones. For those of you who have never heard of her, she wrote Howl's Moving Castle, on which the very famous Studio Ghibli film is based (albeit loosely). Anyway, the list called for 'Chrestomanci: The Lives of Christopher Chant', but as I couldn't get hold of that one, I read the first book in the Chrestomanci series 'Charmed Life'.

Who's the dapper chap on the cover I hear you ask? Well that would be Chrestomanci himself, extremely powerful enchanter, ruler of his very own magical kingdom, and owner of a glorious amount of flamboyant dressing gowns! But the story's not really about him. Instead, the story follows the lives of orphaned brother and sister Cat and Gwendolen Chant. Cat and Gwendolyn are very different. Cat, or Eric as he is really called, is a timid boy with low expectations of his magical powers, always eclipsed by his bossy, and rather vile, sister Gwendolen. She appears to have all the magical talent in the family. However, when she starts taking extra magic lessons from a slightly dodgy wizard their lives take an interesting turn. 

Published in 1977, this book sits among some of the classics of children's fantasy literature, in particular the magical school genre, which was popular at the time, and that J.K Rowling so wonderfully revisited in the Harry Potter series. In my opinion, if done well this genre never gets old! For children it allows a level of escapism, through an already very familiar setting of school. Unlike something like Ursula Le Guin's 'A Wizard of Earthsea' however, the story is set in a domestic setting rather than a boarding school. However, the school room and the things the children get up to still very much sit within that genre. 

Cat and Gwendolen are sent to live at Chrestomanci Castle, with the great enchanter and his family. Gwendolen is convinced that the move is down to her amazing talents, and that she will be rich and spoilt forever, but that is not quite the case. I might not have anything to do with her at all.... 

When no one takes any notice of her magical abilities Gwendolen begins to wages war on Chrestomanci Castle and it's inhabitants. Determined to show the powerful enchanter what she can do she begins using her magic in dangerous and selfish ways, causing all kinds of nasty spectacles and horrid apparitions. As ever, cool and calm Chrestomanci ignores everything she does, no matter how vile, so Gwendolen decided she's had enough and disappears into a parallel world. However, she doesn't go without leaving something for Cat, a replacement sister! Enter poor old Janet, a non-magical (we could call her a muggle) girl from another parallel world. She is identical to Gwendolyn in looks but luckily not in temperament. She is a kind girl, who is totally confused by the whole thing, and frankly slightly annoyed that she's been dragged from her nice cosy life into Cat's world. 

As you probably know by now, I hate a plot line where the children don't tell the adults what's gone wrong. Honesty is the best policy I was always told, but it clearly doesn't spin a good yarn! 

Cat and Janet don't tell anyone that Janet is not Gwendolen! But what a mess the real Gwendolen has left for them to clear up! There is the issue of Cat's life for starters, but I won't spoil that for you as it's a nice twist. And then there is the very angry boyfriend of the maid who challenges Cat to a magical duel for something that Gwendolen did! Plus the whole story climaxes in a massive magical mutiny! I shan't give you all the details, but hopefully these events, plus a whole range of slightly bizarre, and even villainous characters, will entice you dip your toe into the World of Chrestomanci. 

Thanks for reading, L x

Next up another catch up post about Dick King Smith's classic story 'The Sheep Pig'

No.89 - Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins is best known as the flying nanny with the talking umbrella portrayed by Julie Andrew's in the famous Disney musical of 1964. But the real Mary Poppins was actually created 30 years before by Pamela Travers, or P.L Travers, as she was known. Travers wrote the first Mary Poppins book, which is the one that I have been reading, in 1934, but she went on to write 7 more tales of the English nanny and her magical adventure, the last of which was published in 1988.

The Disney film is based on the first four books, Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins Comes Back, Mary Poppins Opens the Door, and Mary Poppins in the Park. However, when I say based, I really mean very loosely indeed! From reading just the first book here are some differences I have spotted:

1. Bert is a peripheral character, not like Dick Van Dyke's cockney (!?) lead. 

2. Jane and Michael are not the only Banks children! There are also Barbara and John, the baby twins. 

3. Mary Poppins is not as lovely as Julie Andrews makes her out to be!

4. She is also not as posh as Julie Andrew makes her out to be!

5. The adventures in the book are so much more exciting than those in the film!

I could go on! 

Really the film and the books are non-comparable. They are so different from each other that I can see why Travers got so upset when she saw the film for the first time, and why she was so against selling the film rights in the first place. I love the musical, but I also really enjoyed the version of Mary portrayed in this book. She's a bit tougher on the children, a huge liar when it comes to admitting that she's magic and she really very very vain, but she is also wonderfully charming! I think the children both adore her, but are also quite scared of her too! 

As i've already said, the adventures in the book are far more exciting than anything that happens in the film. The laughing tea party on the ceiling is taken from the book, and they do 'Feed the birds, tuppence a bag'! The chalk painting excursion is also featured, although it is only Bert and Mary who go, and there are no race horses! But the Banks children and Mary Poppins also get up to some other great things too! When Michael gets up on the wrong side of the bed and is ghastly to everyone Mary takes them around the world in a minute. At each compass point they meet an animal from that part of the world who gives them a gift. In the original book these were people from each part of the world but this was deemed un-PC and they were changed to animals in the later editions. Mary Poppins also introduces the children to a very tiny, old lady made of butterscotch who runs a sweet shop with her two daughters. They later help Mary put paper stars back in the night sky. The children also take a night time trip to the zoo, where they find people in the cages and the animals roaming free, fully personified. The final story, which I think is lovely, is that of Maia. The children and Mary Poppins are out christmas shopping where they are met by a little girl. She is Maia, one of the seven Pleiades stars, known as the Seven Sisters. She has come down to earth to buy christmas presents for her sisters, and Mary Poppins and the children agrees to help her. Travers' original tales are truly charming, and certainly magical!

Last week I read a particularly interesting essay by Maria Tatar called A Thousand and One Tales, and in she refers to Lois Lowry's term 'Elsewhere'. Tatar explains that: 

'Elswhere is found in fairytales and fantasies - it is everything from "Once upon a time" to Wonderland, Narnia, Oz, Neverland, and Hogwarts... Elsewhere is a zone that... [gives] us what could be rather than what should be. It opens up perils and possibilities, creating an alternate world where magical thinking is validated and affirmed...' *

This got me thinking. 

If Narnia is 'Elsewhere', then the wardrobe must be the portal to 'Elsehwere', and if "Once upon a time" can transport us to these magical places, then maybe a person could too. I think Mary Poppins can be seen as a portal to Tatar and Lowry's 'Elsewhere'. Without her the children could not experience the magical events that occur in the book. She transports them to these places using her own magical powers. Magical thinking is both 'validated and affirmed'* in Mary Poppins's world. However, when they are back in reality she denies that any of the magic actually happened. Tatar suggests that 'The reality principle is soundly defeated in Elsewhere, if only to show that it is inescapable in our ordinary lives.'*. Mary Poppins' behaviour is the embodiment of this statement. By denying that anything magical ever happened, she actually makes the magic more magical and the reality even more real. Its a pity that Disney ironed out these extremes in a way. Although the magical nature of the musical is all well and good the actual stories have their mysterious sides too, which add to their appeal. 

With the current trend to remake the classic Disney films, I would love to see a film that really embraces the true nature and magic of P.L Travers books. In 2014 there was a hoax suggesting that Tim Burton was to remake the story, and frankly I would have loved to have seen that! However, I have discovered that there is new Mary Poppins film, Mary Poppins Returns, planned for release in 2018, starring Emily Blunt as our beloved nanny, so all we can do is wait, hope and watch this space! 

Thanks for reading, L x

Next up is The Adventures of Captain Underpants! A favourite of many so I have heard!

*Tatar, Maria, (2009) "A Thousand and One Tales" from Hearne, Betsy and Trites, Roberta Seelinger, A narrative compass: stories that guide women's lives, pp.39-46 (particular quotes from p. 43), Urbana, Illinois, University of Illinois Press.

No.94 - A Wizard of Earthsea

I'll be the first person to admit that fantasy is not really my bag. I've read a bit of Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman, and of course Harry Potter, but i've never tackled the likes of Tolkein for example! So when I was confronted with A Wizard of Earthsea I was interested to see how i'd enjoy it. Unfortunately, it was not for me! 

I don't want to be super critical of this book, but there were certain aspects that I struggled with. Originally published in 1968, A Wizard of Earthsea is a coming of age story about a young wizard searching to find his true self (sound familiar!?). Before reading this book I'd read that A Wizard of Earthsea could be considered a forerunner to boarding school/fantasy stories such as The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy and the Harry Potter series. This filled me with hope, as I really enjoyed both of these! However, the boarding school part of this story was extremely brief, and quite early on in the story. The entire plot was what I would term 'flitting', jumping from one thing to the next, leaving the reader feeling a tad confused. I felt there were many moments where I was left wanting just a little more story, or information. As a younger reader I feel I would have really struggled to keep up with the narrative, especially as the location was constantly changing, along with the array of characters and even their names. 

Names play a huge role in this story, as the hold the key to the true version of things, ie. characters and animals have their given names and their true names. Just explaining this to you has confused me, and gives you an idea of how complex this story is. By the end of Chapter One, Duny, the main character, is given his 'true name', and is referred to as Ged for the rest of the book. I know it sounds silly but it took me a while to understand what had happened and who Ged was, so I can imagine that for a child this would cause some confusion! 

The language and narrative style were also quite complex, and I found it much easier to read it out loud than in my head! I'd like to take this moment to apologise to anyone who had this book read at them over the last few weeks! Set around an archipeligo of islands there were lots of really odd place names such as Vemish, Iffish and Gont. Le Guin refers to all these places like you've been there, know exactly where they are and who lives there, which makes it even more confusing! There are sections where she explains locations and their mythology, which in some ways was helpful, but the way it was written was quite dense. However, she also provides some rather helpful maps, which made it much easier to chart Ged's journey! 

Our hero sets loose a dark shadowy beast/creature/thing which continues to follow him around the archipelago trying to kill him... I think! Every time he faces this thing it weakens his powers. The book is mainly made up of him sailing around, trying to run away from it! However, after consulting his mentor Ogion the Silent (a fine example of one of the names in this book, but not as good as Kurremkarmerruk the Master Namer, which i'm still not sure how to pronounce!!) he decides to go after the beast, and the book culminates in their face off. I shan't tell you anymore in case you fancy trying it out for yourself! Personally, it was quite a slog for me, but if you're used to fantasy fiction then you might really enjoy it!

Thanks for reading X

Next up, the children's classic Thomas the Tank Engine by Rev. W. Awdry

No.95 - Inkheart

Hello!

Firstly, I'm so sorry it's been so long! I've busy finishing my degree, but that's done now (hooray!) so I'm pleased to say that I can get back to reading for this project again!

I cannot understand why Inkheart by Cornelia Funke is not further up the list!? 95 out of 100 seems awfully low for such a good book! It deserves to be so much higher! It is a great read; a gripping, exciting, enticing and beautiful novel for ages 12+. It is a book within a book, a story within a story. Inkheart is not only the name of Cornelia Funke's novel, but the name of the book around which the story centres.

Have you ever wished the characters in a book would come alive and you could be part of their story? I know I have! But what if those characters were the baddies... Not sounding so nice now is it! For father and daughter, Mo and Meggie, this is their reality. When Mo reads Inkheart aloud the evil dictator Capricorn and his men appear out of the fantasy novel, changing Mo and Meggie's life forever.

I don't want to give too much away, as its a wonderful, interwoven story, and my description of what happens wouldn't fall close to doing it justice! You should all just go and read it instead!

What I can tell you is:

It is set in the Italian hills, in several little villages, which you can easily summon up in your imagination from the writing, which is lovely. I found the setting wonderfully refreshing, as so many books seem to be set in either the UK or America. It was really nice to explore a more European setting.

If you love books then this story is definitely for you! The humble book is treated like the most precious of jewels, and the words inside like priceless gold thread. Mo restores old books, taking care of them like sick and injured people. In turn his daughter Meggie has a similar affinity with them, keeping all her favourites in a secure box that she takes with her wherever she goes. They both have a habit of stroking a book before they open it, in a kind of greeting I suppose, which I think is a lovely thing and might even take to doing myself!!

There is a quote from another story at the beginning of every chapter. Funke has quoted the likes of Kenneth Grahame, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson and even Shakespeare to name but a few! Each quote she chooses foreshadows the contents of that chapter, linking her story with so many others, which I think is a really nice touch.

There is magic in this story! There are people disappearing in and out of books, there are fairies, and trolls and people made of glass. J.M Barrie's Tinkerbell even makes an appearance!

There are some really nasty characters too. Evil Capricorn for a start; and then some of his men are pretty horrible, for example Basta is someone you wouldn't want to meet on a dark night!

Inkheart is a fantastic tale of good and evil, with an edge that will entice any book lover. You feel the ups and downs of every character, and the heroine Meggy is a brave and powerful force! I would recommend this book to everyone, its been my favourite on the list so far. And, whats more, Inkheart is the first of a trilogy of books; Inkspell and Inkdeath are certainly on my 'to read' list now!

Next up, A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, which, if the cover is anything to go by, could be quite bizarre......

Thanks for reading, L x