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

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