Archive | April 2013

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Apr28

The Wind in the Willows illustrated by Robert Ingpen

I just finished reading a fun book that’s beautifully written and full of surprises. It’s a classic “chapter book” for young readers, following the lives and adventures of a society of animals. I once called it the perfect book for springtime, because the author obviously appreciates the beauty of the great outdoors. It opens with a mole who decides he’s tired of cleaning his underground hole — so he throws down his brush and runs out into the sunshine, where the fields lead him to his very first glimpse of a sparkling river.

The mole is welcomed to the river by a friendly water rat, and a few chapters later he meets the wise old badger who lives in the nearby woods. But of course, they talk about that grand yet frivolous Mr. Toad who lives in the exquisite manor that’s just around a bend in the river. The toad flits from one passion to the next — when the book opens, it’s boats, and then later, it’s horse-drawn wagons. But the toad is absolutely spellbound by the newly-invented automobile, and starts purchasing (and then crashing) several of them…

I love the story about the book’s author, Kenneth Grahame, who had retired from his job as a secretary at the Bank of England. He’d just gotten married, and as he settled into a comfortable life on the river, he didn’t publish any fiction for the next 10 years, according to Wikipedia. But when his wife gave birth to a son, Grahame would entertain him with bedtime stories, and it was the little boy’s energy which ultimately inspired the character of Mr. Toad. Grahame described the impetuous frog as dreamy, audacious, frivolous, and triumphant — and he ultimately collected all the animals’ adventures into a novel-sized book.

It’s a book that’s beloved by adults as much as children, since it’s really two different books rolled into one. That opinion comes from the original Christopher Robin himself, in a book called The Enchanted Places. (Winnie the Pooh was written by A. A. Milne, who based the character of Christopher Robin on his own son, Christopher Robin Milne.) When he grew to the age of 54, Christopher Milne wrote The Enchanted Places, remembering that The Wind in the Willows was much loved by his family when he was growing up, and was often re-read. Ultimately his father A. A. Milne even created a stage play based on The Wind in the Willows!

Another fan of the book was the president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. At the close of his presidency in 1909, he took the time to write Kenneth Grahame a thoughtful note of appreciation. “Indeed, I feel about going to Africa very much as the seafaring rat did when he almost made the water rat wish to forsake everything and start wandering,” the president fondly tells the author. And just six weeks later, Theodore Roosevelt left the presidency behind – and embarked on a safari of Africa.

I guess I’m saying that this book is powerfully written, and its left a strong impression on people who’ve read it!

Georgie’s Halloween by Robert Bright

Apr26

The cover of the children's picture book Georgie's Halloween

It was 1958, and President Eisenhower was presiding over the post-war boom. And illustrator Robert Bright decided to write a gentle children’s book about a charming little ghost named Georgie. Bright had already written stories where George meets a magician and some attic-pilfering robbers. But eventually, he’d end up writing a book about Georgie’s Halloween.

It’s a fun book for Halloween, because Bright uses two colors – orange and black – for each of his illustrations. The first picture shows seven children dressed in costumes – there’s a witch, a pirate, and a clown. A dark black patch signals night behind them, making the costumes seem even more cheerful. And the book opens with a warm moment of appreciation. “Wherever there are children there is Halloween, with pumpkins and funny faces, with tricks and with treats.”

First Bright recaps the basics of his character. (Georgie lives in the attic of Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker, and he’s friends with Herman the cat and an owl named Miss Oliver.) Georgie was shy and stayed hidden – like a ghost should – which gives the story a kind of hushed magic. And of course when Halloween comes around, he doesn’t have to wear a costume, since “he was so especially perfect for Halloween just as he was.”

His mouse friends in the attic urge him to enter the yearly costume contest – though that doesn’t seem proper to Georgie. Even his owl friend, and Herman the cat, urge him to enter, and there’s a smiling moon, and a grinning pumpkin in his window. But instead, Georgie spies on the town’s party on the green, peeking out from behind a tall tree. Yet in each illustration he creeps closer to the costumed parade…

Bright really outdoes himself with this book’s illustrations. The moonlit house and the nighttime party scene both lend themselves to exciting effects with light and shadows. The white spaces seems to be the gleam of moonlight, and the dark lines turn into stark shadowy highlights. And in a two-page drawing, the light spaces are complemented by the orange of the children’s costumes.

Georgie hides behind a corn stalk, but the cat and the owl urge him on. And when he finally arrives, the children shout “It’s Georgie! It’s GEORGIE!” The happy ghost runs home to tell his mouse friends about his triumph. When he gets home, the mice will present him with their own award for best costume of all.

“And all the way he could still hear the children cheering.”

Captain Underpants Comes to Boise

Apr21

Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo Boxers

This is pretty exciting. Scholastic Inc. held a big contest this month, and over 3,000 librarians entered for a chance to win it. The prize? An in-person visit from Dav Pilkey, the author of the popular Captain Underpants series. The winner? A small public library in Boise, Idaho. And then pandemonium broke out…

“Word of the author’s visit isn’t just a schoolyard rumor,” reported the Boise Weekly.

“It spread like wildfire,” a Boise librarian told the newspaper. They’d actually stopped some of the event’s publicity, because the news was already spreading like a virus.

“I had never seen such buzz about an event in Boise…” remembers a friend in Boise. “Later, I read that people waited in line for three hours, and some were turned away!” A librarian later told him that over 1,500 people converged on the library! Fortunately, my friend arrived early, bringing his two children for a special treat, and they ended up being among the first 20 people in line.

Captain Underpants comes to Boise

So what was the famous author like in person? “He was awesome and chatted with the kids, drawing little sketches in each of the kid’s books.” Ironically, Dav Pilkey began his doodling as a fidgety kid in elementary school, according to the article in Boise Weekly. As a grown-up, he turned that experience into a series about two elementary students who ultimately convert their doodles into a photocopied comic strip, showing how they helped fight supervillains with the help of Captain Underpants. And now all across America, students are drawing their own comic strips, which ultimately find their way to Dav Pilkey (who gives them an appreciative nod).

“I didn’t want the book to be a story about a superhero,” he tells the newsweekly. “I really wanted it to be about a kid or two kids who just didn’t fit in with school.” fact, some parents still complain about the book’s rowdy tone, and according to the American Library Association, it was last year’s #1 target for book-banning campaigns — receiving even more complaints than 50 Shades of Grey. But Pilkey shares the other side of the story with the Boise newspaper, saying that some parents actually get emotional as they tell him their children love reading now — thanks in part to his funny books.

And seated at a public library in Boise, he tried to return some of the love. Rather than just giving a talk, he requested a chance to sit down and meet individually with the children, autographing their books — and often adding another doodles. “That really makes book-signing worthwhile for me, that personal connection,” he said.

Captain Underpants - Dav Pilkey autograph

“I’m very honored to have this job. It feels like, in some silly way, my books are making a difference.”

“Willie and the All-Stars” by Floyd Cooper

Apr15

Willie and the All-Stars by Floyd Cooper

In honor of Jackie Robinson Day — the anniversary of his debut in major League baseball — I’d like to share this review of an appropriate children’s picture book — Willie and the All-Stars (written and illustrated by Floyd Cooper).

“It was 1942 and nothing came easy, not even a boy’s dreams.”

Even young Willie’s baseball is made out of string and tape, and he lives alone with his grandma in “a tiny one-room apartment on the North Side of Chicago.” But on his grandmother’s radio, he listens to the baseball games at Wrigley Field, and dreams about someday hitting a home run of his own. Even when he’s running to the store, he imagines he’s stealing bases!

Unfortunately, in 1942 it takes more than talent for a boy to grow up to be a Major League baseball player. “It’s also about the color of his skin,” explains an old man in Willie’s neighborhood. Later Willie talks to his friend – a white Irish boy who has the same dreams. “Ol’ Ezra tells me I ain’t never gonna play in the Majors,” Willie says.

“You don’t know that for sure,” his friend replies.

Author-illustrator Floyd Cooper created some wonderful illustrations for this book. There’s realistic watercolors, many of which feature a greyish-yellow background, like the special haze of an old photograph. He catches Willie’s expressions perfectly, like when he’s dreaming wistfully at his window, or holding the radio almost reverently. Even Ol’ Ezra comes across as very thoughtful – and eventually he’s the one who gives the two young boys tickets to a very special game at Wrigley Field…

An author’s note at the back of the book explains the history behind this story. Baseball became segregated in 1888, and for decades all-black teams traveled America’s back roads to play exhibition games. During World War II, the Major League owners staged special all-star games against players from what were then called the “Negro Leagues.” As the story arrives at its big moment, Cooper writes that their players “seemed a bit hungrier for the victory.”

Willie watches a game – but what inspires him even more is how when it’s over, two players from the opposing teams dared to walk to the pitcher’s mound, shaking hands in a show of acknowledgement. Then the story ends abruptly, though the book’s next page still adds in some extra significance. “Who knows how many dreams were kindled by their determination?” the author writes at the end of the author’s note. Though the real happy ending to this story obviously lies in the history of professional sports.

Major League baseball was integrated in 1947….