Robert McCarty's Blog, page 6

June - Dangerous and Generous

���Forests to the [early] Northern European peoples were dangerous and generous, domestic and wild, beautiful and terrible. And the forests were the terrain out of which fairy stories, one of our earliest and most vital cultural forms, evolved. The mysterious secrets and silences, gifts and perils of the forest are both the background to and source of these tales....

Forests are places where a person can get lost and also hide -- and losing and hiding, of things and people, are central to European fairy stories in ways that are not true of similar stories in different geographies. Landscape informs the collective imagination as much as or more than it forms the individual psyche and its imagination, but this dimension is not something to which we always pay enough attention.��� 
��� Sara Maitland, Gossip from the Forest

March -- Stories Are Forever

                                                          Descent to Rivendale by Enrico Forsatti

Recent criticism has made clear that children���s literature exists as literature: that it has forms and genres, an imaginative scope, a mastery of figurative language, an enduring cast of characters, a self-conscious sense of authorship, a poetics, a politics, a prose style.��� Seth Lerer, author of Children's Literature from Aesop to Harry Potter

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Tolkien -- The Way of a Real Tale

���I don���t like anything here at all.��� said Frodo, ���step or stone, breath or bone. Earth, air and water all seem accursed. But so our path is laid.���

���Yes, that���s so,��� said Sam, ���And we shouldn���t be here at all, if we���d known more about it before we started. But I suppose it���s often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo, adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that���s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn���t. And if they had, we shouldn���t know, because they���d have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on, and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end. You know, coming home, and finding things all right, though not quite the same; like old Mr Bilbo. But those aren���t always the best tales to hear, though they may be the best tales to get landed in! I wonder what sort of a tale we���ve fallen into?���

���I wonder,��� said Frodo, ���But I don���t know. And that���s the way of a real tale. Take any one that you���re fond of. You may know, or guess, what kind of a tale it is, happy-ending or sad-ending, but the people in it don���t know. And you don���t want them to.��� 
��� Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel, The Lord of the Rings
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American Gods. . . "A sort of weird, sprawling picaresque epic"  

The Unifying concept for American Gods came to Neil Gaiman in Reykjavik in 1998, 6 years after he had moved to the USA.

The turning point came in Iceland, when he saw, in a Reykjavik visitors (tourist) center, a diorama of Vikings in their boats crossing the ocean to America. It was then that the idea came to him. He wondered if they took their Gods with them to this rather strange world of the USA. And, presuming that they did, what has happened to them?

  The Letter. . . the soul of America

Following this experience in Reykjavik, he sent a letter to his publishers about the book he wanted to write about America. Here are Gaiman's own words, excerpted from  the letter:

"American Gods will be a big book, I hope. A sort of weird, sprawling picaresque epic, which starts out relatively small and gets larger. Not horror, although I plan a few moments that are up there with anything I did in Sandman, and not strictly fantasy either.

It's about the soul of America, really. What people brought to America; what found them when they came; and the things that lie sleeping beneath it all.

That was the goal. That was the destination."  Source: The Guardian

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Lost or abandoned or subsumed into the American Dream...

Neil Gaiman had already emerged as a successful writer when the first edition of American Gods was published in 2001. However, the book's impact could not have been anticipated. This was a turning point book, a game changer.  It sold over a over a million copies and swept major book awards (Nebula, Locus, Hugo and more).It has been translated into 22 languages. Gaiman had touched a nerve with readers and continues to do so today.

Not long after the publication of American Gods, Gaiman had an outstanding, candid, interview with Rudi Dornemann and Kelly Everding on Rain Taxi  I have watched or read a multitude of Gaiman's American Gods interviews; this is the most informative.

"For my part it was very much a way of trying to use the tools of fantasy and some of the tools and engines of horror to try and describe the world. . . . I was trying to describe the experience of coming to America as an immigrant, the experience of watching the way that America tends to eat other cultures. ...everything homogenizes, it blands. I think I was trying to talk about both the blanding of other cultures, the way the rough edges get knocked off very quickly and the way the things that make them special and unique get forgotten or lost or abandoned or subsumed into the 'American Dream.'

In addition to that I wanted to talk about future shock: the way that we are currently slamming into the future incredibly fast and what that means, and what it means that the future that we were heading for in 1984 now feels incredibly dated. For that matter, 2001 feels incredibly dated. Where does that come from? So trying to take all of that and put it into a framework that would also let me write about the House on the Rock, and do these little historical short stories as well, which were such a joy to write...The point being that you had a world in which the gods were written about and treated as simply part of the world. And I thought wouldn���t it be a really cool thing to try and put that into the here and now. If people did come over with their gods, what are their gods doing, how are their gods doing? That���s really where the whole thing sprang from.."

The middle photo is of Cairo Illinois.
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Cairo (Kay-ro), Illinois

In the revised version of American Gods, Shadow, the central protagonist, is deep in the Wisconsin woods, on the run and lost, when he encounters  a large black bird, a raven. This awesome bird is"rending and tearing goblets of red meat from the corpse" of a fawn. The bird is a messenger and guide on behalf of Shadow's employer and mentor, an ancient God named Mr. Wednesday. The raven tells Shadow that Mr. Wednesday, " Will see you in Kay-ro."
"Kay-ro?", Shadow asked?
"In Egypt."
"How am I going to get to Egypt?" 
"Follow Mississippi. Go south. Find Jackal."   

Shadow continues his journey and finds Cairo, Illinois, in Egypt County. The real Cairo, located in southern Illinois at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, is a dying city. Once home to over 15,000 people, the current population is under 3,000. The decline was precipitated by bridges over the rivers, a reduction in river shipping, and racial tensions. The abandonment was in full swing when Gaiman visited in the early 1990's; Gaiman found this city in decline an ideal setting for many important events in American Gods: these included a refuge for Shadow provided by two ancient Egyption  gods who were running a successful funeral home.

The illustration of the raven is by Nicholas DeLort. The postcard photo is of Cairo in 1922, before the decline.

There are numerous grim Youtube videos of the ghost town of Cairo. The exception is Zachary Sigelko's 5 minute video, Why You Should Visit Cairo  .

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Soon the Going Really Gets Strange

In 2001, before Coraline and the book of Neverwhere, Kera Bolomik wrote this NY Times review of American Gods.

"Neil Gaiman's new book is a noirish sci-fi road trip novel in which the melting pot of the United States extends not merely to mortals but to a motley assortment of disgruntled gods and deities. Early in 'American Gods'- we are introduced to Shadow, a man who has been released from prison only to learn that his wife has died in a car crash. With nothing to return home to, Shadow accepts a job protecting Mr. Wednesday, an omniscient one-eyed grifter. Then the going really gets strange.

Soon the ex-convict finds himself in an alternate universe, where he is haunted by prophetic nightmares and visited by his dead wife. As he cruises the country with Mr. Wednesday, Shadow begins to realize that he is not dealing with ordinary oddballs: Mr. Wednesday reveals himself to be Odin, the chief Scandinavian god, for example. . . 

This might all sound like a bit much. But Gaiman -- who is best known as the creator of the respected DC Comics 'Sandman' series -- has a deft hand with the mythologies he tinkers with here; even better, he's a fine, droll storyteller." 

The illustration is of Shadow and his dead wife, Laura Moon, who has rescued him from two Men in Black (Mr. Wood and Mr. Stone), both of whon lie dead under the chair. Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.

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Fantasy

"Fantasy is a different approach to reality, an alternative technique for apprehending and coping with existence. It is not antirational, but pararational; not realistic but surrealistic, a heightening of reality.  In Freud's terminology, it employs primary, not secondary process thinking. It employs archetypes, which, as Jung warned us, are dangerous things. Fantasy is nearer to poetry, to mysticism, and to insanity than naturalistic fiction is. It is a wilderness, and those who go there should not feel too safe."  
Ursula K. Le Guin

The illustration above, depicting the migration, in ancient times, of the Siberian worshipers of Nunyunni -- the mammoth God -- to North America, is from the TV production of American Gods. 

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Walk That Road to the End

"All we have to believe with is our senses, the tools we use to perceive the world: our sight, our touch, our memory. If they lie to us, then nothing can be trusted. And even if we do not believe, then still we cannot travel in any other way than the road our senses show us; and we must walk that road to the end.��� 
��� Neil Gaiman, American Gods

The photo is of La Crosse, Wisconsin.
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The World Was Dangerous

"I spoke over the phone with Neil Gaiman about Wisconsin. In 1992, when he moved to the western edge of the state, not far from the Twin Cities, Gaiman says: ���I thought I understood America. The Midwest, and by inference America, was weirder than I could have imagined.��� It���s not just the roadside attractions like the House on the Rock or a preserved version of America���s biggest block of cheese from the 1960s, he says. ���The world was weird. The world was dangerous. Winters could kill you. You���d turn on the radio and hear about a woman who had gone out to fill her bird feeder in her carpet slippers and they���d frozen to the sidewalk.��� As he was coming to know this strange new place, Gaiman was also reading books on folklore and American history. ���I was driving around America,��� he told me, ���and finally it all congealed into this book called American Gods.���

Excerpted from a Gaiman interview with David M Perry in the Pacific Standard

The photo is by Tyler Lariviere, Chicago Sun-Times/Associated Press

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The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre   
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst   
Are full of passionate intensity.
 
William Butler Yeats (1919)

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A Sense of Wonder

"There's something raw about American Gods, too. It's a polished piece of writing, no doubt about that, but it has that simultaneous urgency and sprawl of a writer finding their feet. Gaiman's latest novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, is a perfectly-formed parcel of tight writing and economic plotting; American Gods spills over the edges of the page as Gaiman gives himself an almost runaway-truck freedom to pile anything and everything that tickles or interests him into the novel.". . but there's also a lot of hope, a lot of fun and a sense of wonder which makes this a joyful, satisfying and enriching experience."

 

 David Barnett in his insightful comments above, presents an excellent overview of American Gods -- excerpted from his 2014 Guardian review. 
The photo of the House On The Rock carousel is courtesy of FanGirlQuest.

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Movies

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part���: Everything Is Not Awesome. Everything Is an Ad.

"The new animated Lego movie is pretty much like the last one. Or maybe I���m thinking of another one, not that it much matters. There are differences between editions, most fairly negligible. The unifying factor, to note the obvious about the state of big-screen children���s entertainment, is that they are all feature-length commercials. The 'Transformers' series helped pave the way for Legos by flipping the old idea that movies (like 'Star Wars' were the creative source for the licensed merch, the lunchboxes and action figures. Now, toys, board games and so on are sometimes the originating point.

This isn���t news; I know it, you know it. But it seems worth repeating again and ad infinitum, especially given that ' The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part' isn���t as distractingly fun, shiny and bright as the more satisfying franchise installments. It drags and sometimes bores, which makes it easier for your mind to drift elsewhere, to thoughts of family, deadlines, chores, the creative impoverishment of the big studios and the casual, fundamentally corrupt commercial exploitation of the child audience. Put differently, what distinguishes this from the
Lego movies is that they���re good commercials."

By Manohla Dargis in her NYTimes review.  Here is the trailer for LEGO 2.

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How To Train Your Dragon -- Part 3

"Dazzling animation, light-on-its-feet humor and a ton of heart bring the ���Dragon��� trilogy to a thrilling end. . . DeBlois (the director) traces the growing maturity of Hiccup and Toothless in two different worlds, the emotional bond between human and dragon leading to an ending as heartbreaking as it is hilarious. There���ll be no spoilers in this review. The subtleties of How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World sneak up on you and hold you captive. Just go with the film���s irresistible flow. There���s magic in it."

By Peter Travers in Rolling Stone. Here is the DreamWorks trailer for How To Train Your Dragon.

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What They Took With Them

���As soon as I read Jenifer Toksvig���s poem, What The Took With Them, and even more so after I took part in an early performance of it, I was struck by its immense power,��� said Cate Blanchett in an interview.

���The rhythm and words of the poem echo the frenzy and chaos and terror of suddenly being forced to leave your home, grabbing what little you can carry with you, and fleeing for safety,��� she added.

Blanchett performs the poem alongside fellow actors Keira Knightley, Juliet Stevenson, Peter Capaldi, Stanley Tucci, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kit Harington, Douglas Booth, Jesse Eisenberg and Neil Gaiman. 

Here is a link to the very moving What They Took With Them 5:15 minutes

Sponsored by the UNHCR.

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KidLitosphere

"The ' KidLitosphere ' is a community of reviewers, librarians, teachers, authors, illustrators, publishers, parents, and other book enthusiasts who blog about children���s and young adult literature. In writing about books for children and teens, we���ve connected with others who share our love of books. With this website, we hope to spread the wealth of our reading and writing experience more broadly.

KidLitosphere Central strives to provide an avenue to good books and useful literary resources; to support authors and publishers by connecting them with readers and book reviewers; and to continue the growth of the society of bloggers in children���s and young adult literature." 

The illustration is by Morgan Weistling.

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NRA

The One Year Anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas High School Massacre Was February 14, 2018

The power of the NRA is huge. They have stopped the Federal government from enacting legislation.

People with criminal records or mental illness can still buy assault weapons legally. 

What wonder tales will be told about this nightmare?

Photo of young girl and her father courtesy HuffPost.

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PGI -- Paws Giving Independence 

PGI. . . Paws Giving Independence has been helping people in need since 2008, over ten years!   
Congratulations to this wonderful non-profit, volunteer therapy service dog organization that began at Bradley College (Peoria,Illinois) with two nursing students.

PGI places its dogs free of charge. PGI���s service dogs benefit individuals with spinal cord injury, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, balance problems, and more. PGI is run exclusively on public donations and endowments.

Most of PGI's dogs are rescued dogs. They are trained specifically for an individual's needs. The training process for each individual takes more than a year. The bonus is unconditional love. Here is a website link: PGI

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Dog News

New York City Now Has An AKC Dog Museum.

It's filled with dog photos, paintings and memorabilia. 

Here is a link that will take you there, via an ABC video

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Born Without a Tail. . . It's A Keeper

"I can't say too much about this book, it's more than a 'dog book' it's a people, animals, life book. I was hooked from the first page . . .. You will love getting to know the author, her animals and the people in her life. The writer has a great way of drawing you in, making you at home in her world. Anyone who's ever had a heart dog, a misfit cat, ever been touched by the love of an animal should enjoy this book. It's a keeper." Amazon Reviewer

The author, C. A. Wulff, is an active, passionate, animal (especially dogs) advocate.

The photo is of Ms Wulff with the rescued dog, Waldo, now departed. Here is a link to the book: Born Without a Tail

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Why Am I ?

We believe that Why Am I ?, C.A. Wulff's wonderful new Yelodoggie book should have a big marketing push and wide distribution. Kids 4-8 love it and we are hoping it will be the beginning of a series. Accordingly, we have renewed our search for a publisher who will also love the book, embrace its potential, and launch it into the world.

Why Am I ? is a joyous Yelodoggie book that helps children recognize and appreciate differences and to embrace that which is unique in each of us.

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The Planet Of The Dogs Series

"The Planet Of The Dogs series...is an impressive read that not only offers great story, accompanied by lovingly realistic illustrations by Stella Mustanoja McCarty, but conveys a refreshingly sincere, unaffected message about the necessity, nobility, loving natures, and even healing abilities, of dogs. Unlike most ���dog books���, a single dog is not the hero here; the heroes are the whole race. And they save the world by following their noses with unconditional love". . . Jamie McQueen, The Magic Bookshelf

You can read sample chapters of Planet Of The Dogs, Castle in the Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, at www.planetofthedogs.net. The books are available free to therapy dogs and their owners (via planetofthedogs@gmail.com)

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To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring, it was peace." - Milan Kundera 

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February: Fear and the Celebration of Courage in Wonder Tales

               
"I went away in my head, into a book. That was where I went whenever real life was too hard or too inflexible.��� -- Neil Gaiman in The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

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Give Them Hope  

Neal Gaimen wrote the following statement about hope: "What makes children's fiction children's fiction? What makes fiction for adults? What do people respond to and what do I respond to. One of the keys to children's fiction for me is you owe it to the world, and you owe it to the kids, to give them hope." 

The illustration is by Morgan Weistling.

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Alternate Reality

Neil Gaiman takes readers to alternate realities, beyond time as we experience it. In his books and short stories, we often journey to the past where we encounter the darkside and evil. There are obstacles and dangers to overcome. Gaiman's books appeal to a worldwide audience of both young adult and adult readers. This is in addition to his children's books.

Many adult and young adult readers are very passionate about, and feel a heartfelt connection to, his books and to Gaiman himself. Several of his books have been made into well received radio, television and film productions.

Gaiman has been an avid reader since childhood and is a public advocate for books, writers, and libraries. He is also an advocate for refugee children. He is an excellent public speaker who makes very real connections with his audiences.

He has a multitude of videos on YouTube and Vimeo that attest to his ability to engage an audience, his close relationship with readers, and his unique persona. They are informative and disarmingly candid. 

The photograph of Neil Gaimon is by Alan Amato.

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A Master of Fear

"(Gaiman) is a master of fear, and he understands the nature of fairytales, the relation between the writer, the reader and the character in the tale. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, like Coraline and like The Graveyard Book, has a young central character ��� a resourceful and determined child ��� who finds his world transfigured by terror and strangeness . . .  .The narrator of The Ocean at the End of the Lane starts his story with that feared disaster of childhood, the seventh birthday party to which no one came. . . Fairytales, of course, were not invented for children, and deal ferociously with the grim and the bad and the dangerous. But they promise a kind of resolution, and Gaiman keeps this promise."

Excerpted from A.S. Byatt's excellent Guardian review of The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

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The Origins of the Book

Neil Gaiman explains to an audience in a video appearance at Google that took place on his book tour for The Ocean at the End of the Lane, that the book was an "accident". He intended to write a short story for his wife, the composer and singer Amanda Palmer, whom he deeply missed. She was in Melbourne and very focused on making an album. Gaiman kept writing and the book took on a life of its own. 

At the time he spoke, the book had received great reviews and was number one on the NY Times book list. The video is quite intimate and includes many insights into the book ( the kid will be very much like me "), and into Gaiman himself.

Here is a link: The Ocean talk. He also discussed the Origins of the The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the NY Book Expo.

 

The illustration is by Nuriko-Kun/DeviantArt

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A Novel About Survival

"The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a novel of childhood and memory. It's a story of magic, about the power of stories and how we face the darkness inside of us. It's about fear, and love, and death and families. But, fundamentally, I hope, at its heart, it's a novel about survival." Neil Gaimon

The illustration of The Ocean at the End of the Lane is by Shane Gallagher/DeviantArt

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"There are times when dreams sustain us more than facts. To read a book and surrender to a story is to keep our very humanity alive."

Helen Fagin -- Scholar, Author, 100-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor, and cousin to Neil Gaiman; thanks to Maria Popova and her very special website, Brain Pickings.

 

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Fear and Courage

I first encountered Neil Gaiman in Coraline, the story of a little girl who finds a secret door in her family's new house; the door leads to a passageway that brings her to an eerie parallel reality. At first, she is intrigued and enchanted by this world. In time, she realizes that she is in great danger. She escapes as dark forces begin to overwhelm her, and in the process, helps others. The animated movie version was  extremely well done.

This link will take you on a visit to Gaiman in his USA home: CBS Coraline Gaiman Interview

This link will take you to a conversation with Caro Llewellyn where a very candid Gaiman discusses his youth and Coraline:

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Survival

Coraline was also my first Gaiman book where a child is the main protagonist. Two of the Gaiman books that I have since read, The Ocean at the End of the Lane and The Graveyard Book, are each about about the ordeals of  boys. And like Gaiman himself, both boys, being great readers, are often transported to the world of the imagination. And like Coraline, they are books about survival. 

Coraline,The Graveyard Book and The Ocean at the End of the Lane are very different from each other, but they share a common problem: young lives are endangered and the worlds they live in are interwoven with an alternate reality.

Nobody Owens

I was initially not interested in reading The Graveyard Book.The concept of a boy raised by ghosts in a cemetery had no appeal for me. However, I respected the multiple awards the book received (Hugo, Newberry, Carnegie and more). And then, in the course of writing this blog, I read several reviews which led me directly to the book and to the world of the Graveyard -- to the enigmatic Silas; to the wondrous Mrs Lupescu; to the boy, Nobody Owens;and to an alternate world of incredible danger. I was won over. 

Here is an excerpt from the book, an excerpt where a reader can find a sense of the dimensions of Gaiman's vision of life in the Graveyard. It is a moment about 2/3 of the way into the book wherein the boy, Bod Nobody (now 12 years old), is protesting that he can go out in the world and take care of himself and learn about his past despite the dangers and the evil that await him beyond the graveyard. 

"I can learn. i can learn everything I need to know, all I can. I learned about ghoul-gates. I learned to Dreamwalk, .Miss lupescu taught me how to watch the stars. Silas taught me silence. I can Haunt. I can Fade. I know every inch of this graveyard." 

The Graveyard Book is a terrific adventure, the story of very human boy, Bod, raised and taught since infancy in a graveyard  by ghosts and spirit beings,  As the years go by, he deals with a wide range of problems, from teen age bullies to the evil Jacks of all trades, assassins from ancient times. One of them murdered Bod's family, and because of an ancient prophesy, made in the time of the Pharaohs, they are all on a mission to kill Bod.  

His journey is extremely arduous and filled with unexpected twists and turns. However, Bod has the courage and wits to survive the dangers of the dark side, and in the end, to prevail.

The book cover of Coraline and the top two illustrations are by Dave McKean.

The illustration of the Jacks of all trades (assassins) is by Chris Riddell..

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Unforgettable Enchantment

Here is an excerpt from the NYTimes review by Monica Edinger, a dedicated teacher of 4th graders in NYC, blogger (Educating Alice) of children's literature, and author:

���The Graveyard Book,��� by turns exciting and witty, sinister and tender, shows Gaiman at the top of his form. . . I read the last of 'The Graveyard Book' to my class on a gloomy day. For close to an hour there were the sounds of only rain and story. In this novel of wonder, Neil Gaiman follows in the footsteps of long-ago storytellers, weaving a tale of unforgettable ��enchantment."

The illustration is by Dave McKean.

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Neverwhere

"I wanted to talk about the people who fall through the cracks, to talk about the dispossessed ��� using the mirror of fantasy, which can sometimes show us things we have seen so many times that we never see them at all ��� for the very first time,��� --  Neil Gaiman in his introduction to the revised edition of Neverwhere

The statement above, encompassing many dimensions, was my key for reading the great, sprawling, sometimes uneven, epic that is the book of Neverwhere.  

Richard Mayhew, the young protagonist of Neverwhere, is a nice young man who is living the life of many upward bound young people. And like many others, he doesn't really connect to the world he lives in. And when his good heart impels him to help a desperate young woman named Door, whose life in in danger, one thing leads to another and he enters  another dimension -- Neverwhere -- an alternate reality that exists underneath London where darkness, danger, cruelty and fear abound. This is the story of Richard's courageous journey through Neverwhere.

 

Richard's Loyal Friends

Neverwhere affords Neil Gaiman a playground for his incredible imagination. The book is filled with a plethora of characters, many of them fascinating. Door, a young woman of fantastic powers and considerable charm, is saved by Richard in the early part of the book, and he joins her in the quest to find who murdered her family. Hunter, a striking woman, is the epitome of a fearless and skilled bodyguard. And the splendid Marquis de Carabas is a facile facilitator of nearly everything.

 

The illustration of Hunter, Door, and Richard is by fulreavr/Deviant Art

The Marquis de Carabas

The Marquis de Carabas is, like Perrault's cat, facile, glib, smart, manipulative, brave, and loyal -- when it serves him well. He is a fascinating character; instead of magic boots, he has an in incredible coat. Here is Gaiman' description of the coat, taken from an addendum to the revised Neverwhere, entitled, How The Marquis Got His Coat Back.

"It was beautiful. It was remarkable. It was unique. It had thirty pockets, seven of which were obvious, nineteen of which were hidden, and four of which were more or less impossible to find -- even, on occasion for the Marquis himself. . . In addition to its unusual pockets, it had magnificent sleeves, an imposing collar, and a slit up the back. It was made of some kind of leather it was the color of a wet street at midnight. and. more important than any of these things, it had style." 

Here is a YouTube video excerpt introducing the Audience to The Marquis

The illustration of the Marquis is by Ka-ren, Deviant Art. 

Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar

Gaiman has created two over the top despicable villains, Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar that threaten Richard and his allies throughout Neverwhere, ultimately torturing and killing The Marquis (he later recovers). They incorporate an inhuman disdain for life, suffering, pain, and cruelty. And they exist in a different dimension of time. Here is an excerpt of an angry Mr Croup on the phone with their employer, while Mr Vandemar, nearby, is listening and eating live frogs which he is stuffing into his mouth.

"Sir, might I remind you, that Mr. Vandemar and myself burned down the City of Troy. We brought the Black Plague to flanders. We have assassinated a dozen kings, five popes, half a hundred heroes, and two accredited gods. Our last commission before this was the torturing to death an entire monastery in sixteenth-century Tuscany. We are utterly professional." 

The illustration of Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar is by Chris Ridell.

All of these characters, and over a hundred more, are integral to the surreal world of Nevermore and Richard's quest to discover who murdered the family of Door.

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Return to Neverwhere

Neil Gaiman, is currently writing a sequel to the extraordinary Neverwhere. The title of this new book is  The Seven Sisters .
 
Gaiman said that he had been prompted to write the sequel both by the changes in the world over the past 20 years and his work with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). Under the latter���s auspices, he has visited refugee camps in the Middle East and spoken to people displaced by the conflict in Syria. . . Here is a link to a David Barnett article in the Guardian with information regarding The Seven Sisters.

The photo was taken of Gaiman and Syrian refugee kids when he visited a UNHCR refugee camp.
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An Alternate Neverwhere
I was recently reading  Neverwhere when I encountered KTO's traveling outdoor theater surreal presentation/experience Quixotage. This is like a visit to an alternate Neverwhere. KTO's street theatre incorporates music, dance, and elements of circus into surreal living theatre performances. This tradition lives on, in Eastern Europe and especially in Poland.
 
The extraordinary KTO Theatre, under creative director Jerzy, is based in Krakow. They travel, they are a theater on the road, and have been witnessed by over one and a half million people. 
 
The photo is by Witold Siemaszkieuicz.
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"We like to think we live in daylight, but half the world is always dark; and fantasy, like poetry, speaks the language of the night." -- Ursula K. LeGuin
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Movies

The Kid Who would be King

I haven't seen this film, however the action-packed trailer looks like a hot fantasy movie for young boys, combining revenge of the underdog with the legend of Arthur. Here is a link to the trailer: Who Would Be King 

Here is an excerpt from a review by Blige Ebiri: "What ensues is a brisk, well-mounted children���s fantasy, with Cornish giving the story an entertainingly apocalyptic spin. . . The action is creatively staged, without ever getting too intense or scary for young viewers. And the script balances humor, pathos and wish fulfillment as it portrays Alex���s rise from mopey dreamer to confident warrior, without overdoing the mythic portent."  Link: Bilge Ebiri NYTime
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Watership Down and Disney's Plans for the Near Future

I posted last month about the film of Watership Down, a wonderful, multi-dimensional creation of the world of rabbits and their struggle to live. True to the book, the film does not sugar coat the story pf the rabbits quest for a life free from fear and danger. Netflix produced the film and it can only be seen there at this time. Netfix will continue to produce wonder tales with integrity as they are now working with Guillermo del Toro to produce Pinocchio.

I wonder if Disney's market driven decision makers will respect the original wonder tales in their upcoming productions of live action adaptations of their "classic" animated films. The next six film "classics" scheduled by Disney are: Dumbo, Aladdin, Mulan, and Maleficent, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

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Lego 2

Opening in February, Lego 2 has excellent reviews. Here is a link to Peter Bradshaw's in the Guardian. Here is the trailer for LEGO 2

 

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Wynken, Blenken, and Nod -- Amanda Palmer

Neil Gaiman is married to an artist and musician, Amanda Palmer, an exciting performer and singer, and judging by her music and videos, a charismatic, candid, warm, and generous spirited woman. YouTube has many engaging videos of Palmer, including several with her husband. One of them, recorded at the Boston Book Fair, wherein she is interviewed by Neil is interesting and revealing; more insights into this very special woman are found in her Ted Talk. A favorite Amanda Palmer creation of mine is a lovely musical fantasy of the classic Wynken, Blenken, and Nod which features the recently born child of Amanda and Neil. Here is a link to this amazing video: Wynken Blynken and Nod Amanda Palmer

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Circling the Waggins

"There���s a lot more to living with dogs than wet noses and going walkies. Cayr Ariel Wulff entertainingly chronicles the rocky flip side of pet care in "Circling the Waggins," a heroic tale of triumph over turmoil and exhaustion. Wulff and her companion Dalene take in the misfits that have defeated lesser souls . . . Despite the challenges presented by this demanding and eccentric crew, Wulff���s chronicles may still send you to the animal shelter to do a bit of rescue on your own. You���ll want to reap the rewards of love and joy which "Waggins" so beautifully describes."

Goodreads review excerpts by Author Bob Tarte (Enslaved by Ducks)

 

 

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Giving Books to Underprivileged Children

There is a website, The Literacy Site Store, that contributes books to kids based on visitor clicks. They also sell or facilitate sales for a variety of merchants which funds books. Last year, visitor clicks funded 389,872 books for children in need. Purchases at The Literacy Site store funded an additional 16,179 books.

First Book, an affiliate of The Literacy Site Store, announced a current plan to distribute 1.5 million books to underprivileged kids. Here is an excerpt from their announcement: " First Book, the nonprofit social enterprise focused on equal access to quality education for children in need, today announced the launch of OMG Books Awards: Offering More Great Books to Spark Innovation, a program that will unlock more than $4.7 million in funding to distribute 1.5 million brand new books and eBooks to children living in low-income communities."

The photo (NYTimes) was taken in the Children's Zone Academy in Harlem; the book was distributed via First Book. 

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Refugee Children

Twelve million  Syrians have fled their homes in fear. Half of them are children.

An estimated 4 million children have been born in Syria since 2011, meaning that half the country���s children have grown up only knowing war. It is details like this that are lost in most headlines about Syria, especially those generated by the White House.

The USA was settled and built by immigrants, most of the escaping fear and oppression, all of them seeking a better life. And the majority, were seeking a better life for their children.

 

The photo is from Alweiwei's incredible documentary, Human Flow. Here is a link to an excerpt (2:26).

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The Yelodoggie Search

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We believe that Why Am I, C.A. Wulff's wonderful new Yelodoggie book should have a big marketing push and wide distribution. Kids 4-8 love it and we are hoping it will be the beginning of a series. Accordingly, this new year marks the beginning of our renewed search for a publisher who will also love the book, embrace its potential, and launch it into the world.

Why Am I is a joyous Yelodoggie book that helps children recognize and appreciate differences and to embrace that which is unique in each of us.

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Planet of The Dogs -- Excerpts

"Our story begins long, long ago, before there were dogs on Planet Earth. . .

In Waggy Valley, on the Planet of the Dogs, dogs were coming from everywhere for the special meeting called by the dog council. This was the first time in many years that a special meeting was being held where all dogs were invited. In every direction, as far as the eye could see, the roads were filling up with dogs of all kinds -- big dogs, little dogs, dogs with long shaggy hair, dogs with neat short fur. . . 

Led by Miss Merrie, the dog council came running out to the top of a low open hill at the end of the valley. The council had dogs of all ages and types so that all the dogs felt represented. They lay in a circle around their queen.

 Miss Merrie was a very wise toy poodle who had lived a long time. Not since she was a puppy had there been a gathering like this. Like the other dogs, she was wagging her tail in greeting. It soon became very quiet except for the sound of the moving air created by all those wagging tails. After some welcoming woofs, Miss Merrie told the dogs why they had been asked to come to the meeting.

 ' There is trouble on Earth, the Planet of the People. Some people have become mean and greedy. They take things from other people and often hurt them. They need to learn again about love.��� A chorus of howls erupted when the dogs heard that people had forgotten about love' ". . .

You can read sample chapters of all the books in the series,  Planet Of The Dogs, Castle in the Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, at www.planetofthedogs.net. The books are available free to therapy dogs and their owners (via planetofthedogs@gmail.com)

The illustration from Planet Of The Dogs is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty. 

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"Man is troubled by what might be called the Dog Wish, a strange and involved compulsion to be as happy and carefree as a dog."

James Thuber

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January -- Reflections of Hope in Story

                                                                  Illustration by Kjell Midthun.

Stories of Wonder

After the soldiers leave, there is more food, more working together, and more  occasions for stories to tell. This has been true for centuries, since before the Greek tales of the Odyssey, the medieval saga of Beowulf, and the bawdy Italian tales of Basile. Wonder stories brought hope and imagination without boundaries. They were the source for  fairy tales. And they continue to this day.

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The Defining Activity of Magic

"An alternative term for ���fairytale��� is ���wonder tale���, from the German wunderm��rchen, which catches a quality of the genre more eloquently than ���fairytale��� or ���folk tale��� because it acknowledges the defining activity of magic in the stories. The suspension of natural physical laws produces a heightened and impossible state of reality, which leads to wonder, astonishment, the ���ajaib (astonishing things) sought in Arabic literary ideas of fairytale."
 Marina Warner   in the Guardian

 

The illustration from Brother and Sister is by Alexander Zwick.
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Little Tom Thumb -- From Rags to Riches

The boy was inspiring. Unlike his six brothers, he was courageous even in the face of great poverty, famine, abandonment, and danger. And yet he was the smallest of them all, the runt of the family. He was called Little Tom Thumb (Le Petit Poucet). Using his wits, he overcomes the dangers of being lost in the forest at night, tricks an orgre, steals his magic boots, uses them to serve the king and is well rewarded for his help. So it is that the smallest, yet fearless boy takes all of his family from rags-to-riches.

"Hardship anchors this tale in the socio-economic climate of 17th century France. The plague had reappeared, droughts had caused disastrous harvests, famine was widespread, and an extra mouth to feed could literally mean the difference between life and death. . . "  Mary Louise Ennis, The Oxford companion to Fairy Tales.

An amalgam of motifs from earlier times, Little Tom Thumb was written by and attributed to Charles Perrault and published in 1697. The story has had great popularity through the years, initially due to translations, the accessibility of chapbooks, and Gustav Dore's illustrations.

 

The illustration of Tom secretly listening to his parents is by Gustav Dore.

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The Golden Age 

Both adult and children's literature flourished in the the nineteenth century. in an era where  the industrial revolution, science, empire,and for many, prosperity, flourished. It was a time of glory in many ways for the world of story and wonder tales. The period from mid-century to World War One, often referred to as the Golden Age of children's literature, was an era of wonderful books from Alice in Wonderland and Peter Rabbit, to The Secret Garden and The Wind in the Willows.

This was also the era of extremely well received and widely read disparate books such as Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio; the Oz books by Frank L. Baum; books about the adventures of young American  boys by Mark Twain; and the incredible variety of stories by Hans Christian Anderson.

The popularity of the books was certainly enhanced by the talented and imaginative illustrators of children's books. These included: Tenniel, Rackham, Dore, Nielsen, Cruickshank, Crane, and Potter.

In many ways, the optimism of the era was a false promise of things to come, for the 20th century would soon see turmoil and war on an unprecedented scale.

The illustration of Alice at the tea party is by John Tenniel. 

The illustration of Pinocchio is by Enrico Manzatti.

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World War One -- The End of The Golden Age

 To Germany

"...When it is peace, then we may view again

With new-won eyes each other's truer form
And wonder. Grown more loving-kind and warm
We'll grasp firm hands and laugh at the old pain,
When it is peace. But until peace, the storm
The darkness and the thunder and the rain."

The poem (an excerpt) is by CHARLES HAMILTON SORLEY, a Britsh poet who died at the age of 20 serving in the  Army, in the Battle of Loos, in World War One. At least 20,000 died on that day, December 15, 1915.The photo is of Charles Hamilton Sorley.
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Antoine de Saint-Exupery -- Light In the Darkness of World War Two

Antoine de St. Exupery (1900-1944) was a wonderful writer. During the 1930's, as the menace of Hitler grew stronger and cast a shadow over Europe, St. Exupery, was flying in North Africa and South America as air postal service was being established. Conditions were often dangerous. He was also writing. In 1939, the wonderful Wind Sand and Stars  was published. The book was based on his experiences and thoughts as an aviation pioneer (including a crash in the North African dessert), and his insights about being alive. It won several literary awards including The Grand for fiction from the French Academy and The U.S. National Book Award. Here is an excerpt:

���To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible. It is to feel shame at the sight of what seems to be unmerited misery. It is to take pride in a victory won by one's comrades. It is to feel, when setting one's stone, that one is contributing to the building of the world.��� 

By this time, Europe was being destroyed.by Adolf Hitler. From the brutal conquest of Poland in 1939, and continuing beyond the surrender of France in June 1940, the world was falling apart. And it continued into the decade of the 40's  with even more destruction, chaos,and conquest as well as the horrific Jewish genocide.

St. Exupery, unable to fight the Nazi war machine as a pilot, went to the USA where he worked to to try to convince the USA to fight Hitler. And he wrote. Two of the books from that time are outstanding: Flight To Arras which was based on his experiences as a French air force reconnaissance pilot in 1940; and the celebrated,The Little Prince.(which he also illustrated). Celebrated from the time of its publication, the book has been published in over 250 languages.Here are three excerpts:

" And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. . .

'What makes the desert beautiful,' said the little prince, 'is that somewhere it hides a well. . .

The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart."

The fact that St. Exupery wrote this wonderful story when World War 2 was destroying Europe, makes him, and the book, even more remarkable. With The Little Prince, St. Exupery truly created light amidst the cruel darkness of war.

Antoine de St. Exupery died in 1944 when he was shot down flying a reconnaissance mission for the Free French Air Force. 

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There are a multitude of Videos of The Little Prince on You Tube. Among them is a new documentary about The Little Prince including shots of St. Exupery. Here is a link to the trailer: Invisible Essence.

Here is the trailer for the delightful animated film adaption of The Little Prince .

The top photo is of St. Exupery. The lower photo is of European refugee children sent to England during the war. The illustration is from The Little Prince book.

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Give Them Hope

What makes children's fiction children's fiction? What makes fiction for adults? What do people respond to and what do I respond to. One of the keys to children's fiction for me is you owe it to the world, and you owe it to the kids, to give them hope. Neil Gaiman

Next month in this blog, I will consider this quote from Neil Gaiman as it relates to Coraline The Graveyard Book, American Gods, Neverwhere, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I will also touch briefly on The Marquis de Carabas, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, as well as Trigger Warnings.

The illustration from The Ocean at the End of the Lane is by Clifford Harper.

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Jackie Morris Lives in a Stone Cottage on the Coast of Wales

Jackie Morris has created and illustrated remarkable children's books. She lives close to nature and if you click this link -- Jackie Morris in the Guardian -- you will find wonderful illustrations from her book, The Ice Bear. Accompanying the illustrations is a narrative by Jackie telling the story of how the book evolved. Here is an excerpt:

"The bears formed a circle around the lost child, like white petals on a daisy. This was the image where the whole book began. I had wanted to work on a book about polar bears for a long time, but wasn���t sure where to start. But no story begins in just one place. A story is like a river that is fed by streams, trickling in, small at first until it becomes a river of words. The image of the child in the circle of bears was strong. My job was to work out how he had arrived there, and then to get him out, safely."

Here is an excerpt of the review of The Ice Bear from the excellent Bright Star Bedtime Stories website:

In the Beginning of Time

"In the tradition of myths of old, this powerful story entwines magical themes, shape shifting, harsh realities and pure emotions into a story from another time. The concepts of love, balance and respect for all life are strong reoccurring themes in Jackie Morris��� books.

'In the beginning of time, people and animals lived together on the earth and there was no difference between them.��� Thus begins the story of a changeling child, the cub of a polar bear who is stolen away by the trickster raven. Raven leaves the bundle of fur to be discovered by a hunter. . .' "

The illustrations from The Ice Bear are by Jackie Morris.

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Movies 

Mary Poppins Returns

Reviewers are mild or even critical of the new version of Mary Poppins; however, it sounds like kids will certainly  enjoy it. However, this Critics Consensus from Rotten Tomatoes is essentially positive : Mary Poppins Returns relies on the magic of its classic forebear to cast a familiar -- but still solidly effective -- family-friendly spell.

Here, however, is a comment from Manohla Dargis in the NY Times: Bathed in nostalgia, ���Mary Poppins Returns��� is being framed as a homage, and there���s clearly some love here. Mostly, it is a modest update, one that has brushed off the story, making it louder, harsher, more aggressively smiley.  

Here is a link to the trailer: Mary Poppins Returns. 

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Watership Down

The latest movie of this classic book is in four parts and is a co-production of Nertflix and the BBC. It opened on Netflix on December 30, 2018. Reviewers have very divergent views. Here are excerpts from a  favorable review by James Parker: Boston Globe and the Atlantic.

"In the beginning,��� says a dream-reverberant voice in the first seconds of Netflix���s Watership Down, ���Frith made the world. And he made the stars by scattering his droppings across the sky.��� And in the beginning, Richard Adams, who was working at the time for the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, told his children a story about some rabbits. Some of the rabbits were nice; some of the rabbits were nasty. And he wrote the story down, and a few years later, in 1972, it was published. . .

 

But the thing about a story like this, a story in which a gang of rabbits is forced out of its warren by the bulldozers of greenbelt development and obliged to go on a harrowing adventure to find a new home, is that it doesn���t date. Is it even necessary to point out that, in the almost half a century since Adams first scattered his bunny droppings across the sky, this tale has sharpened in resonance? So all you have to do is tell it. And the Netflix version, made in collaboration with the BBC, tells it straight and very well. . ."

A much less satisfied review was written by By James Poniewzik, TV critic for the NY Times: Watership Down

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Finding Fido: Practical Steps for Finding Your Lost Pet

Between 3 and 4 million pets are put to death in shelters across the U.S. every year. Some of them are owner surrenders, some are impounds, but the vast majority of them are missing or stolen pets. C.A. Wulff and A.A.Weddle, the administrators of the service Lost & Found Ohio Pets, have compiled a guide to address this sad reality. ���Finding Fido��� offers tips for preventing the loss of a pet; advice for what to do with a stray pet you���ve found; and a step-by-step plan in case the unthinkable happens, and you lose a pet. 

Here is an excerpt from an Amazon 5 star review :

"Would you know what to do if you found a stray pet? You might think that calling animal control would be the best thing for the animal - but you'd be wrong. Lots of food for thought in this book, including what to do if you find a stray pet,how to keep  from losing a pet, and what to do if your pet is lost."

The authors, C.A. Wulff and A.A. Weddle, donate all of the proceeds to ARME's Beagle Freedom Project, a group that rescues dogs used in laboratories.

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LitWorld brings the joy of reading to children in more than 60 countries

The following information was excerpted from the Lit World Website:

Opening the path to future

Our programs encourage sharing stories, building community, and cultivating a love of reading and writing to help literacy skills grow stronger. Literacy for LitWorld means reading, writing, speaking, and creating. We focus on outlets for creative expression, the value of the read aloud to immerse children in language and reading, and ways to amplify young people's stories to dignify their experience and give them a voice in the world. . .

Working together with local people

We partner with local, grassroots organizations who know the language, culture, and needs of their communities . . . . . The beauty of LitWorld���s curriculum is that it is built to adapt to unique environments to give kids and families the opportunity to read, write, and share their stories.

This is the 10th year of LitWorld's incredible World Read Aloud Day.
Here is a link for more information about this terrific event:World Read Aloud Day

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K9's for Warriors --

The Life Changing Impact of Therapy Dogs in Helping Vets with PTSD. . .

 

This is an excerpt from the K9's for Warriors website:" I am the Founder of K9s For Warriors. We save warriors and rescue dogs. Some are veterans, some are active duty, and all are heroes and have served in the military. Our warriors all suffer from Post-traumatic Stress Disability (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI), which can be deadly disorders."

This was written by Shari Duvall,the woman in the photo on the left. Her own son returned home to Jacksonville Florida with PTSD after two tours as a bomb dog handler in Iraq. As of November 2018, K9's for Warriors has rescued 967 dogs and 507 veterans. Here is a testimonial from one of them.  

William & Andy Cooks, April 2016
The program gave me great tools to use in battling my PTSD in the form of Andy, my awesome new furry buddy. I also gained a new group of brothers that I went through the training with, and we support each other. I plan on continuing to push myself with the help of Andy to go out into public and spread the word about K9s For Warriors. I really feel like helping other veterans find peace will help me find peace. I didn't leave anyone on the battlefield in Iraq, and I will not leave anyone behind now that I am back home.

Here is the link to the K9's for Warriors website.

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School Days at Stoneman High School, Parkland, Florida, February 14, 2018

The photo of students being evacuated after the massacre is by Joe Raedie/Getty.

Guns Send Over 8,000 US Kids to ER Each Year, Analysis Says 

To my knowledge, the only legislation now being enacted in the USA for sane gun control relates to prohibiting the sale of bumper stocks. The power of the NRA and their unbalanced control over politicians is extremely alarming. The following information was excerpted from a very informative Associated Press article by LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer, that appeared in US News on October 29, 2018.

"Gun injuries, including many from assaults, sent 75,000 U.S. children and teens to emergency rooms over nine years at a cost of almost $3 billion, a first-of-its-kind study found.

Researchers called it the first nationally representative study on ER visits for gun injuries among U.S. kids. They found that more than one-third of the wounded children were hospitalized and 6 percent died. Injuries declined during most of the 2006-14 study, but there was an upswing in the final year.

The scope of the problem is broader though; the study doesn't include kids killed or injured by gunshots who never made it to the hospital, nor does it count costs for gunshot patients after they're sent home."

The photo of the young girl survivors of the Stoneman High School massacre is by an AP photographer.

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The Coalition to to Stop Gun Violence

CSGV���s guiding principle is simple: We believe that all Americans have a right to live in communities free from gun violence. We pursue this goal through policy development, strategic engagement, and effective advocacy.

The photo is from New York magazine.

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The Yelodoggie Search

We believe that Why Am I, C.A. Wulff's wonderful new Yelodoggie book should have a big marketing push and wide distribution. Kids 4-8 love it and we are hoping it will be the beginning of a series. Accordingly, this new year marks the beginning of our renewed search for a publisher who will also love the book, embrace its potential, and launch it into the world.

Why Am I is a joyous Yelodoggie book that helps children recognize and appreciate differences and to embrace that which is unique in each of us.

 

 

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Planet of The Dogs

"Our story begins long, long ago, before there were dogs on Planet Earth.

There was plenty of space in those days for people to settle and grow things. . .There were clear lakes and cool streams with lots of fish. There were fields and woods with game to hunt. . .  Many people settled in these places of abundance and prospered. . .

And then there came a time when the abundance and happiness found on Planet Earth were threatened by people like the warrior tribes of Stone City. They had forgotten how to love. . .Their numbers began to grow and soon they were taking the homes, land, and farms where peaceful people lived. . .  Something had to be done -- but what could anybody do? No one knew it at that time, but help would come from far, far away, from the Planet of the Dogs.

You can read sample chapters of Planet Of The Dogs, Castle in the Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, at www.planetofthedogs.net. The books are available free to therapy dogs and their owners (via planetofthedogs@gmail.com)

 

 

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���You think those dogs will not be in heaven! I tell you they will be there long before any of us.���  

 -- Robert Lewis Stevenson

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December -- Celebration, Joy from the World of Story

                                                         The illustration is by Lennart Helje

 

Letters from the North Pole

Every Christmas, over the years between 1920 and 1942, four children received a letter, in an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole, from Father Christmas. 

They were the beloved children, John, Michael, Christopher, and Priscilla, of J. R. R.Tolkien. John, the first-borne child, was 3 years old when the first letter arrived in 1920.

The letters told wonderful tales, with illustrations, of Father Christmas and his life at the North Pole. There were stories that involved North Polar Bear, Snow Elves, Red Gnomes, and Goblins. The Goblins tried to invade the Storerooms but were thwarted by the Elves. One of the Elves, Ilbreth, became Santa's chief assistant.

The letters were edited by Baillie Tolkien, second wife of his youngest son, Christoper, and published as a book.There have been several editions, beginning in September, 1976, 3 years after Tolkien's death. Here is a link to the Introduction to the Letters From Father Christmas.

Here is the message in the first letter to John: "I heard you ask daddy what I was like. and where I lived. I have drawn me and my house for you. Take care of the picture .I am just off now for Oxford with my bundle of toys -- some for you. I hope I shall arrive on time: the snow is very thick at the North Pole tonight. Your loving Father Christmas."

The illustrations are from the letters sent to the children by Tolkien.

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Charles Dicken's Awakened The Christmas Spirit in England 

The industrial revolution brought both prosperity and poverty to England.  Landed gentry became wealthy business owners with a lack of regard for human welfare. A rising, comfortable,  middle class developed alongside desperation, prostitution, and child labor.  Charles Dickens never forgot his painful years as a poor boy working for many years under very harsh conditions. His imaginative fantasy,  A Christmas Carol, was a wonderful story, and created great change among people. 

"In the mid 1800s, Christmas was a dying holiday, much as it is today. Many of its traditions were being neglected, and even the idea of "Peace on earth, good will to men" was considered passe. Then something extraordinary happened: Charles Dickens published "A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas." It was an instant success, and launched one of the biggest comebacks in history: not of Dickens, but of Christmas.". . .  Waitsel Smith

I recently reread A Christmas Carol and was once again caught up in this powerful story of fear, awareness, and celebration that had such a huge impact. Here is an excerpt that takes place when Scrooge meets the third ghost/spirit.

"Ghost of the Future!��� he exclaimed, ���I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?���

It gave him no reply. The hand was pointed straight before them.

���Lead on!��� said Scrooge. ���Lead on! The night is waning fast, and it is precious time to me, I know. Lead on, Spirit!���

The Phantom moved away as it had come towards him. Scrooge followed in the shadow of its dress, which bore him up, he thought, and carried him along.". . 

Here is a link to read it all: the Project Gutenberg's free ebook of the original Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. 

The illustration is by Harry Furniss.

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Humane Relationships

"At their best, the storytelling of fairy tales constitute the most profound articulation of the human struggle to form and maintain a civilizing process. . . The more we learn to relate to other groups of people and realize that their survival and the fulfillment of their interests is related to ours, the more we might construct social codes that guarantee humane relationships. --  Jack Zipes on The Art Of Storytelling Show

                                  

 

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Here is a link to the Reading of Dickens' Christmas Carol  by Neil Gaiman at the    NY Public Library  

 

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 Event of Joy

This post has become an annual event on this blog. I have looked at many terrific Flashmob musical events, but, for December, I keep returning to this extraordinary video . . .

People and musicians gather one by one, and then more and more people, in a wonderful video that celebrates the Joy of the season with music. This is also a timeless testament to humanity and hope. It builds, non-stop, to 6 wonderful minutes.

Here is the link to Joy... Ode To Joy 

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Kwanza

"Unlike Christmas and Hanukkah, Kwanzaa was not born out of religion. Instead it is a largely social and communal holiday that grew out of the civil rights movement. . .  it is now looked at as a chance for people of all races and backgrounds to celebrate African culture the same way we celebrate Irish and Mexican culture on St. Patrick���s Day and Cinco de Mayo. . .Families celebrate Kwanzaa in many ways. Celebrations typically include a feast on Dec. 31, accompanied by dancing, African drums, singing, storytelling and more. Many also partake in the kikombe cha umoja, or unity cup, which is passed from person to person. . ." 

Here is a link to read more from an informative article by Tyler McCarthy, quoted above, about Kwanzaa

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A Rescued Christmas Tale Classic  

Mr Dog's Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn, written by Albert Bigelow Paine (1861-1937),  is a wonderful Christmas book and a rescued treasure. Paine was a prolific writer, his work ranging from lauded biography (Mark Twain and Joan of Arc); to popular travel journals; and to delightful children's stories and books. He created an entire world of stories of the Deep Woods and The Hollow Tree.

Over the years, the story, originally published in 1898, became lost to most of the world. However, it remained a favorite in the family of Betsy Cordes for three generations, and was read aloud, every Christmas Eve. Under the guidance of Ms Cordes, and with the wonderful illustrations by Adam McCauley, Mr Dog's Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn has been given a new life.

 

Here is a quotation from the book: 

"But by and by Mr. Dog thought about something else. He thought it would be too bad, too, for them to be disappointed that way. You see, Mr. Dog liked them all now, and when he had thought about that a minute he made up his mind to do something. And this is what it was���he made up his mind to play Santa Claus!"

Here is a link to the Picture Book Review for an excellent in-depth visit with Mr Dog and his friends.

Here's a link to learn more or to order this delightful Christmas book: Mr Dog's Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn.   

The illustration is by Adam McCauley. 

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The Ghost Dog of Christmas Past

Circling the Waggins, a wonderful book by C.A. Wulff. is a journey into the heart and mind of a dedicated pet lover who shares her experiences, concerns, and deep emotions with the reader.The setting is a cabin-home in a national park forest. The characters are several adopted dogs, cats, and, for a while, domestic mice -- and two compassionate women. Here is an excerpt:

"I feel like we are haunted by the ghost dog of Christmas past. The season brings a million reminders of our Troll, a dog who had loved Christmas more than any other time of year. He would get excited at the first signs of holiday decorations, and his eyes would shine with a child���s wonder. On Christmas morning, he would race to be the first dog under the tree, to tear at the packages full of biscuits and rawhides. Each of the dogs would tear at a package, but Troll unwrapped with such gusto and fervor, that they would all abandon their presents to stand back and watch him, and then make off with whatever treats he had revealed." 

Here is a link to a Goodreads review of Circling the Waggins

The photo of Troll is by C.A. Wulff.

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United by Festive Tales of Fantasy

"This time of year, the stories that most unite us are fantasies in which we are not (except as small children) asked to put our faith. Unlike, say, the biblical accounts of Adam and Eve and the birth of Jesus, these festive tales generally do not draw masses of faithful who insist as a point of dogma on their literal truth. On the contrary, either our playful seasonal stories are clearly understood from the start to be fictional or, in the case of Santa Claus, they become fictional in time."

Posted by Maria Tatar , quoting Stephen Greenblatt, on her Breezes from Wonderland Blog.

The illustration is by Jenny Nystr��m. 

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Movies

Becoming Astrid

A new film based on the early life of Astrid Lindgren has received excellent reviews by critics and audiences alike. I have long admired Lindgren's talent, her writing achievements, and her life. "Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002)  was a gifted, prolific, independent Swedish woman -- a single mother -- who wrote a very large number of successful children's books. She is best known for her Pippi Longstocking series. Her books have been translated into 70  languages. One hundred and sixty five million have been sold.

I wrote about Astrid  Lindgren in the August, 2018, posting of this blog.

Here is the Trailer: Becoming Astrid.  

The  photo is of Astrid and her daughter taken by an unknown photographer.

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Laurel and Hardy

Peter Bradshaw, writing in the Guardian:  ". . . the melancholy twilight of comedy gods, Laurel and
Hardy (with) brilliant impersonations by Steve Coogan and John C Reilly (that) lift the muted charm of this biopic about their troubled music-hall tour of Britain. . ." 

This is a film for mature audiences as the review and trailer reveal: Laurel and Hardy

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Holmes and Watson

This one is for kids. Silly slapstick fun with two funny men: John C. Reily and Will Ferrell. Reily transitions from Oliver Hardy to Dr. Watson. Total irrelevance to Conan Doyle.

Here is a preview:Trailer: Holmes and Watson

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Mirai

Mirai opened to excellent reviews and audience reaction. Here's an excerpt from KennethTuran in the LATimes: "Without any preamble, Kun's courtyard refuge turns into a kind of magic zone where no-limits fantasy and recognizable reality unapologetically intertwine in a way that is quintessentially Hosoda.

Here is a link to the trailer for: Mirai

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Fantastic Beasts :The Crimes of Grindelwald  

"The team behind ���Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald��� throws an awful lot at the screen during this clotted two-hour-plus diversion, the latest installment in the J.K. Rowling-verse. As is often the case in a Rowling production, evil is ascendant, seeping through both human and magic realms like poison gas.

Mostly, though, because Rowling builds worlds, what ���Grindelwald��� has is a great deal of story. The movie is chockablock with stuff: titular creatures (if not nearly enough), attractive people, scampering extras, eye-catching locations, tragic flashbacks, teary confessions and largely bloodless, spectacular violence. It���s an embarrassment of riches, and it���s suffocating. . ." By Manhola Dargis  in the NYTimes

Here is a link to the trailer: Fantastic Beasts, The Crimes of Grindelwald

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Therapy Dogs and Veterans Helping Veterans

This excellent documentary (4 minutes15 seconds) takes the viewer into the world of veterans with PTSD and other disabilities whose lives have been helped in tangible ways through PPH therapy dogs. Here is a link to this excellent, upbeat video: PPH Video

Paws for Purple Hearts uses therapy dogs trained by veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) to help their comrades with combat-related injuries... "PPH is built upon the trusted and time-honored tradition of Veterans helping Veterans...  These programs have changed the lives of many Veterans struggling with PTSD.

 Here is a link to their website Paws For Purple Hearts 

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Why Am I ?...A Yelodoggie Illustrated Story Book

With the arrival of the Christmas season we continue our search for a publisher who will love Why Am I ?, recognize its potential, and launch it into the world.

Why Am I ? is a joyous book that helps children to understand and appreciate differences and to embrace that which is unique in each of us. 

Why Am I ? teaches tolerance. We believe that Why Am I ?, C.A. Wulff's wonderful new book, should have wide distribution. Kids 4-8 love it and we see it as the beginning of a series.

 

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SAVE THE CHILDREN

In this season of hope for all of us who are fortunate to have access to wonders like the world of children's literature, I think of the ceaseless work being done by Save The Children to bring hope to millions.

"Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm.

We do whatever it takes for children ��� every day and in times of crisis ��� transforming their lives and the future we share.

In 2017, we reached over 49 million children directly through our and our partners' work. Follow this link to read our latest Save the Children Annual Review."

 

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Reading As Doorway to  a Better Life

Mommy and Me and Talk to Me are two delightful complimentary books available to new mothers. Over 65,000 have been donated thus far, primarily to medical organizations that put them in the hands of new mothers. 

Flint, Michigan, had a terrible problem with their city water supply and many infants and young children ended up with lead poisoning.  A female pediatrician discovered the situation and brought it to the nation���s attention. The Yeager Family Foundation has partnered with her and in 2017 provided over 4,300 copies of Talk To Me to help young children in Flint begin their journey on the road of reading.

The University of North Carolina is using their books in their outreach programs for young families throughout the State, and they were able to incorporate them into their support efforts for families adversely affected by this year's devastating hurricane.
 
For more information regarding these very special books visit the Yeager Foundation Website.

 
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Did the dogs really save Christmas?  An interview with Santa.
 

Interviewer: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions and clarifying things.

Santa: I���m happy that the story is finally coming out.

Interviewer: Is it a true story?

Santa:  Absolutely.

Interviewer: Why haven���t we known about it before?

Santa:  I think it was lost in the mists of time���It took place hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

Interviewer: Is it true that there was to be no more Christmas?

Santa: I���m sorry to say that it���s true. Until the dogs arrived.

Interviewer: The dogs?

Santa: It was a surprise to all of us in Santa Claus village. None of us, and that includes all the elves, had even heard of dogs.

Interviewer: Is that because you were so far North and rather isolated?

Santa: Well, that and the fact that dogs has just started arriving on planet earth. Prior to that time, there had been no dogs on Earth.

Interviewer: Really! Where did they come from? And how did they find you?

Santa: They had started coming down from their own planet ��� the Planet of the Dogs. They came down to help people. Somehow, they had heard we were in trouble, and one day, there they were, just like that.

Interviewer: How many were there? And what about the snow and the cold weather? Didn���t it bother them?

Santa: I never counted, but there sure were a lot of dogs. And most of them loved the snow. There were a few others that weren���t that happy with our weather, but they kept warm enough one way or another. And there were two nice kids, a brother and sister, who were with them. They could talk to the dogs and seemed to guide them.

Interviewer:  I don���t understand how two kids and a big bunch of dogs could save Christmas. . .

You can read the rest of this brief interview with Santa and sample chapters of Snow Valley Heroes on www.planetofthedogs.net

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Joy to the World from

the Planet Of The Dogs

 

 

 

Photo of his dogs, Darcy and Caboose, courtesy of Richard Bradley (A Rock In My Shoe).

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"Because of the dog's joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift."
-Mary Oliver

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November -- Courage, Luck, and Hope

 

 "Both the oral and literary forms of the fairy tale are grounded in history: They emanate from specific struggles to humanize bestial and barbaric forces, which have terrorized our minds and communities in concrete ways." Jack Zipes from his introduction to Spells of Enchantment.

The photo is of a Russian peasant family before 1918. 

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Courage, Magic, and Amazing Outcomes

Fearless Ivan and His Faithful Horse Double-Hump by Pyotr Yershov as retold by Jack Zipes

Until I read this wonderful story of a courageous, flawed, simple, and very likable young farmer, Ivan, and his magic pony, Double Hump, my only encounters with Russian wonder tales was in the form of ballet, music, and illustrations.  Like other classic tales, because Ivan is fearless and good-hearted, he is rewarded with Double-Hump, the magic little horse. I have found magic to be a great enabler in Russian wonder tales. Fearless Ivan, with the aid of Double-Hump, is able to overcome an extraordinary series of obstacles and dangers. And the ending is a very satisfying delight. 

Yershov published the original version of this tale in the form of a poem in 1834. He borrowed from many Russian tales and the poem became a popular favorite. It remained so through the ensuing years despite efforts to suppress it in the mid-nineteenth century. This, no doubt was precipitated by the fact that the Tsar in the poem is a cruel and incompetent despot.

Jack Zipes has included several pages of relevant historical and biographical information. The charming illustrations by Russian artists are from the Jack Zipes book,Tales of Wonder, Retelling Fairy Tales through Postcards. 

Several Ballets of this tale have been created over the years in Russia.

Here is a link to a one these ballets. This version was produced by the famous Marinsky Theater in St. Petersburg with music composed by Radion Shehedrin: The Little Humpbacked Horse.  

Film studios in Moscow made a first class animated film of this wonder tale in 1977; here is a link to The Magic Pony.

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Discovering the Russian Fairy Tale Heritage 

After reading Fearless Ivan, and learning more about the poet, Yershev, I have gone on to read several more Russian tales from the past. They are all new to me and  are quite different, especially in structure, from Western European tales as exemplified by the Brothers Grimm.
 
I have found them to be filled with magic and incredible, episodic stories. They are involved with nature, mystical events, surprises and danger. Vasilissa The Beautiful is a classic example.

Life is hard in this tale, even for the  beautiful. For there are envious and cruel people. and there are fierce and powerful forces in the forest like the ancient evil witch,  Baba Yaga.

There are times and events when courage alone isn't enough. A gift of magic is needed. This was the case of Vasilisa the Beautiful. where the spirit of her mother always looked over her. Here is an excerpt from the book wherein her dying mother give Vasilisa her magic doll and eternal protection.

" 'My little Vasilissa, my dear daughter, listen to what I say, remember well my last words and fail not to carry out my wishes. I am dying, and with my blessing, I leave to thee this little doll. It is very precious for there is no other like it in the whole world. Carry it always about with thee in thy pocket and never show it to anyone. When evil threatens thee or sorrow befalls thee, go into a corner, take it from thy pocket and give it something to eat and drink. It will eat and drink a little, and then thou mayest tell it thy trouble and ask its advice, and it will tell thee how to act in thy time of need.' So saying, she kissed her little daughter on the forehead, blessed her, and shortly after died."

As in the Cinderella tale, Vasilissa's father goes on a journey, leaving her with a scheming, evil, stepmother and her two cruel daughters, who send Vasilisa to the powerful evil witch, Baba Yaga.  This is a powerful witch who kills. However, the doll protects Vasilissa through many dangerous events until finally, in the end: "Vasilissa rose and went at once to the Palace, and as soon as the Tsar saw her, he fell in love with her with all his soul. He took her by her white hand and made her sit beside him. 'Beautiful maiden,' he said, 'never will I part from thee and thou shalt be my wife.' "

Translation by Post Wheeler, from the book Russian Wonder Tales; posted by SurLaLune  

https://www.surlalunefairytales.com/r...

The illustration of the book cover is by Ivan Bilibin. The illustration of Vasilisa and Baba Yaga is by Forest Rogers. 

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The Russian Counterpart to the Brothers Grimm

In the 1850's, a Russian scholar, Alexander Afanasyev, published over 600 Russian and Slavic Fairy and Folk Tales. Here are excerpts regarding his work from Wikipedia:

"Alexander Afanasyev became interested in old Russian and Slav traditions and stories in the 1850s ('folklore' as an area of study did not exist at the time). . . His early scholarly articles, drew upon the so-called Mythological school that treated legends and tales as a mine of information for the study of more ancient pagan mythology. In such an interpretation, he regarded the fairy tale Vasilisa the Beautiful as depicting the conflict between the sunlight (Vasilisa), the storm (her stepmother), and dark clouds (her stepsisters). A great archivist, his works provide copious information, evidence, documents, and passages of the old chronicles relating to Old Russian culture, history and tradition, as well as other Indo-European languages, folklore and legends, in particular German traditions (he knew to perfection German as well as all SlavIn the languages and ancient ones)."

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Russia

 Russia, where Afanasyev collected over 600 wonder tales, was for centuries a land of near constant conflict, with a society dominated by nobles, where rulers led by the sword, and where the peasants who worked the land were serfs, people with no freedom . . .a country with distances so vast that its territory, from east to west, extends over eleven time zones. The Orthodox Church was powerful and restrictive.The Tsars ruled with large armies and large conquests. At this time, the country, except for travel by nobles, was isolated from the West; industrialization had not occurred, and there was no middle class. 

 

 

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Russian Fairy Tales Far from the Ancient Slavic Myths

Post Wheeler, a journalist, scholar, and diplomat translated and published Russian Fairy Tales in 1912. Here is an excerpt from his insightful Introduction:
"The only things the skazki (folk tales) picture that are common to Russian country life today are those things which in Russia never change-the wide, windswept steppe and dense forest, the love of animal life and the comradeship of the horse, the dread and terror of the long winter cold, and the passionate welcome given to the springtime sun. What ever else they may tell the student is in a tongue now unntelligible to the peasant, who has least of all been aware that, in these centuries-old repetitions there have been handed down to a new era pictures indelible, though blurred and indistinct, of an ancient age, of times, customs, religion and deities no longer his own.

For the beginning of the skazki (folk tales) we must go back to the remote time when the early Slavonians, parting from the parent stock in Central Asia, reached the Russias, developing there their myth-mass and setting up their hierarchy of Pagan gods. . ."  

 

The illustration from a Russian wonder tale is by Ivan Bilibin.

 

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Mythology and Folk Tales 

Jeremiah Curtin was a nineteenth century American scholar, passionate ethnologist, and translator who was conversant in more than 10 languages. His studies encompassed Russian and Slavic cultures. In 1890 he published Myths and Folk-Tales of the Russians, Western Slavs, and Magyars. 

Here is an excerpt from the Introduction to his book:

"There are masterpieces in literature filled with myths, inspired with myth conceptions of many kinds, simply colored by the life of the time and the nations among which these masterpieces were written and molded to shape by artists, made strong from the spirit of great, simple people, as unknown to us as the nameless heroes who perished before Agamemnon. How much mythology is there in the Iliad and the Odyssey, in the ��neid, in the Divine Comedy of Dante, in the works of the other three great Italian poets? How much in Paradise Lost? How could ���King Lear��� and ���Midsummer Night���s Dream,��� or the ���Idylls of the King��� have been written without Celtic mythology? Many of these literary masterpieces have not merely myths in their composition as a sentence has words, but the earlier ones are enlarged or modified myth-tales of those periods, while the later ones are largely modeled on and inspired by the earlier."

 

The myth of the firebird has many variations and lives on today.The illustration on the left, Feathers of the Firebird, is the identifying visual from the blog of popular author Sophie Masson.

The illustration on the right is by Anna and Elena Balbusso for a new version of the tale, Ekatrina and the Firebird, by Abra Staffin-Wiebe. You can read it on this link: TOR

There is also an exceptional animated Firebird  based on the music of Igor Stravinsky, with animation by the brilliant  Paul and Ga��tan Brizzi for Fantasia 2000. The Brizzi Brothers worked for Walt Disney Animation from 1994 to 2000. I was transported by this film sequence (8:52).

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We Must Endure

 ���'We must endure, Alyosha.' That was the only thing she could say in response to my accounts of the ugliness and dreariness of life, of the suffering of the people ��� of everything against which I protested so vehemently. I was not made for endurance, and if occasionally I exhibited this virtue of cattle, wood, and stone, I did so only to test myself, to try my strength and my stability."

Maxim Gorky

 

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 Movies

Here are trailers for 3 new-to-me movies of interest.
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The Nutcracker and the Four Realms 

A new retelling  by Disney including new music. Opening November 2.Link:  Nutcracker 2918 Trailer

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The Grinch 2018

The Grinch is again creating havoc for Christmas. Opening November 9. Link: The Grinch 2018 Trailer

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The House with a Clock in its Walls

The trailer looks like silly, flawed fun for young teens. From Rotten Tomatoes: Critics Consensus: An entertaining PG detour for gore maestro Eli Roth, The House with a Clock in Its Walls is a family-friendly blend of humor and horror with an infectious sense. . . 

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Room to Read. . . millions of books for millions of kids

This is a wonderful program.Here are excerpts from their website. 

"Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in low-income communities by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond. . .   

"Our Girls��� Education Program ensures that girls complete secondary school and have the skills to negotiate key life decisions. Our program reinforces girls��� commitment to their own education, works with girls to develop essential life skills and increases support for girls��� education among their parents, school staff, and communities."

Here is a link to the Room to Read Literacy Program 

Here is a link to the Room to Read website

The photo is from a Room to Read classroom in Cambodia.

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How To Change The World in Thirty Seconds

An Audacious Title -- What Does It Mean?

"If you love animals and are dismayed when you see stories of animal abuse and cruelty in the news; if you ever
wished you could do something about it, but you just didn't know where to start, this book has you covered. Just 30 seconds a day on the Internet can not only make a difference, but can also change the world. . . . for novices as well as experienced animal rescuers.  Combining case histories with practical tips, this guide demonstrates how to use the Internet to advocate for dogs; from simple clicks to more advanced methods."

The above is from Amazon; the excerpt that follows is from an Amazon review:

 "While there is a focus on animal rights activism, the information provided extends to various causes and campaigns. Despite being an online activist for a long time, I found so many new resources and websites to use! Well-worth reading."

 

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 Fences for Fido - Unchained. . . one dog at a time

"Fences for Fido is an award-winning, non-profit organization that builds donor-funded fences free of charge for families who keep their dogs on chains, tethers and in small enclosures. We also provide:

A warm, insulated dog house
Spay/neuter services
Critical vet care

In the past 9 years, Fences For Fido has unchained over 1600 dogs in NW Oregon, central Oregon and SW Washington!"

Here is a link to a terrific video montage of Joyous Dogs after a visit from Fences for Fido.

 

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USA. . . I am hopeful

More than 800,000 people registered to vote this year as part of National Voter Registration Day, which fell on Sept. 25.

I am hopeful that the midterms will be a step to the light and away from the darkness that has come to the USA.

The photo is by Elena Shumilova.

 

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Why Am I ?

Why Am I ? ��� a joyous Yelodoggie Book ��� celebrates self-empowerment and the benefits of inclusion. It helps children recognize and appreciate differences and to embrace that which is unique in each of us.

Yelodoggie travels far and wide, up and down, inside and outside, from outer space to the waters of the sea ���gaining confidence and leaving his insecurities behind ��� while seeking to answer Why Am I different ?...Why Am I Yellow ? 

Why Am I ? opens the imagination and perspective of children to the world around them.

We continue searching for a publisher who will love Why Am I ?, recognize its potential, and launch it into the world. This is a book for our troubled times. Our primary motive is wide distribution.

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Reading, Imagination, Children, Libraries

"Fiction is the lie that tells the truth.

We all have an obligation to daydream.

We have an obligation to imagine . . .

Individuals make the future and they do that by imagining that things can be different."

The quotation is from Neil Gaiman's new book, Art Matters Because Your Imagination Can Change the World. The book is Illustrated by Chris Riddell; you can read it all by clicking this link: Gaiman Guardian.

 

 

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 Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale  

"What would happen if someone kidnapped a couple of Santa���s reindeer so that he could not deliver his presents on Christmas Eve?  The dogs from The Planet of the Dogs have returned. 

Daisy and Bean from Green Valley head north to help the dogs rescue Dasher and Dancer, and they meet a host of new friends in the process.  But will they make it in time to save Christmas?  All of the ���Planet of the Dogs��� books are well written.  Not only are they fun to read. . . The short chapters are perfect to keep the attention of the target audience.  Dog lovers will especially like these tales, but everyone else can enjoy them too.  Snow Valley Heroes has the potential of becoming a favorite holiday story for both children and adults."

Review by Wayne Walker for Home School Buzz, Home School Book Review, and Stories for Children Magazine

The Planet of the Dogs series of children���s books tell the stories of the first time dogs came to planet Earth to teach people about unconditional loyalty and love -- and to help bring peace from invaders. To read sample chapters of any book in the series, visit PlanetOfTheDogs 

The illustration from Snow Valley Heroes is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty. 

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"Man is troubled by what might be called the Dog Wish, a strange and involved compulsion to be as happy and carefree as a dog."

James Thurber

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October -- Light In The Darkness

  

 

                                     

  The tale of Little Thumb  emerged, like many oral tales, from very early times. He was the youngest and    smallest of seven brothers, the children of a poor woodcutter and his wife. Little Thumb, with his         courage  and clever thinking amidst great dangers, casts a light in the darkness, prevailing as he does   over starvation, fear, and even death itself. The wonderful illustration of Little Thumb and his brothers  going into the forest was created by Edmund Dore for inclusion in Charles Perrault's iconic book (1697) of   8 fairy tales. It was the first written version of this tale.

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I Often Wonder . . .

What was it like, in the centuries when wonder tales were told and passed on, for a  peasant woman to walk out of her house in the damp early morning, hoping that the invaders had been turned back and that her husband was still alive.?

What was it like for a father to call his sons from the fields and run together into the woods and hide from the ruthless military?

What was it like for a family, carrying food and their youngest child, as they ran up a rocky hillside to seek shelter behind the walls of the city?

For most of the western world and beyond, survival was an ongoing part of life.

Oral tales were entertainment and escape.They often brought laughter, and always brought hope. They were light in the darkness. 

The painting is by Pieter Bruegal.

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Sara Maitland Took Me to Twelve Forests 

Sara Maitland lives in an isolated shepherd's cottage in Galloway, Scotland. She is known as a feminist, and as an accomplished writer who pushes the boundaries. Her books, divers and wide ranging, fiction and non-fiction, have been  well received and include prize winners. Titles range from Far North to On Becoming a Fairy Godmother.

In Her Own Words:  "I write fiction ��� mainly short stories now ��� mostly hyper- (or magic) realist, exploring the boundaries of beauty and terror. I use a lot old stories (myths, fairy stories, folk tales etc.) to my own more contemporary ends. I have recently got very interested in ���the new nature writing��� and issues around ecology and sustainability. I am presently writing a book about Forests and Fairy Stories (which is a cross over fiction/non-fiction work) . . ."  Scottish Book Trust

Sara Maitland has always had a strong interest in spiritual life and since her divorce from from an Anglican priest (after 21 years) she has embraced a life involving silence and meditation. Here is a quote and a comment by author Kathleen Jamie from her Guardian review of Maitland's  A Book Of Silence.

 "What I want to do is live in as much silence as is possible at this moment in our history." It's not complete isolation - although she has no near neighbours, she has the internet and a car - but she is aiming for a prayerful life of "80% silence".

"There is an interior dimension of silence, a sort of stillness of heart and mind which is not avoid, but a rich space."  Sara Maitland

The photos are of Sara Maitland in Galloway. Here is a link to many excerpts from her writings on citydesert 
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 World of Magic Opens Before Us . . .

"Wilhelm Grimm, wrote that fairy tales were the 'last echoes of pagan myths. . . A world of magic is up before us, one which still exists among us in secret forests, in underground caves, and in the deepest sea, and it is still visible to children. (Fairy tales) belong to our national poetic heritage..." 

Seth Lerer -- Children's Literature, A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter

The photo was taken in a forest in R����sepori; Finland.

 

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 Sara Maitland and The Northern Forests 

"Forests to these northern European peoples were dangerous and generous, domestic and wild, beautiful and terrible. And the forests were the terrain out of which fairy stories,
e of our earliest and most vital cultural forms, evolved. The mysterious secrets and silences, gifts and perils of the forest are both the backgound to and the source of these tales."

The above quote is from a wonderful book by Sara Maitland, Gossip From The Forrest, The Tangled Roots Of Our Forests and Our Fairytales. Maitland writes about forests with insights and knowledge. She visits and camps in 12 UK forests, one each month, all with a history, and she rewrites 12 Grimm tales, one for each forest. The history and ecology of each forest, past and present, comes alive in this remarkable, lovely, book. 

 

Fairy Tales from Sara Maitland's Forests

The rewritten fairy tales from this book that I have read thus far are imaginative and very well written -- they flow -- while honoring the concept(s) and core of the originals; the "gifts and perils" of the forest are woven into the stories.

For instance,The Seven Swan's Sister, rewritten by Maitland, contains the primary plot elements of the original, but the focus of the tale is now on the ordeal of the courageous sister, a "young woman with a fierce integrity". Throughout the tale, she embodies hope, ultimately freeing her brothers from the spell. The forest protects, shelters, and nurtures her for much of the story.  

 Here is a link to Gossip From The Forest.

Here is a link to an article Maitland wrote on the Top Ten Books Of the Forest.

The illustration from the Seven Swan's Sister  is by Mercer Mayer.

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The Great Forests

Here is a link to an awesome video of the great forests of Finland. The music, inspired by the forests, is  Finlandia, by Sibelius. There is no narration. Time: 9:37

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 Almost Beyond Belief

Ruth Franklin is from a family of Holocaust survivors. Growing up, she heard stories and had experiences that left her with unresolved thoughts and emotions. The Diary of Young Girl, by Anne Frank, was a very important book in her life. Franklin's literary accomplishments are many and include the much lauded, A Thousand Darknesses: Lies and Truths in Holocaust Fiction (2010).

In a provocative New Yorker article entitled, Transported, How should children's books deal with the Holocaust?, she quotes this telling observation by scholar and author Jack Zipes: "Both the oral and literary forms of the fairy tale are grounded in history: They emanate from specific struggles to humanize bestial and barbaric forces, which have terrorized our minds and communities in concrete ways." 

Franklin's article is comprehensive and deals head on with the basic problem: "The essential difficulty in writing convincing fiction about the Holocaust is that the events are so horrific that they seem almost beyond belief. What if the best way to make them feel real is to render them through the realm of imagination?"  She  writes that this was the solution that Jane Yolen found with her breakthrough book, The Devil's Arithmetic (1988).

Four years later, she published Briar Rose, a rewritten version of the centuries old tale first made famous by the Grimm's, wherein the tale of Sleeping Beauty becomes a template for this version of the story where fantasy frames the horrific events of Chelmno.

In March, 2018, 30 years after the publication of The Devil's Arithmetic, Yolen has published her third Holocaust novel, Mapping the Bones. "Although it uses ���Hansel and Gretel��� as a loose model, just as ���Briar Rose��� used ���Sleeping Beauty,��� the fantastical element operates mostly at the level of allusion, and the book unfolds as a historical novel."

Franklin concludes her exceptional article in part by quoting an Afterward written by Yolen for The Devil's Arithmetic: ��� 'Fiction cannot recite the numbing numbers, but it can be that witness, that memory.' We may emerge from these books without grasping the true horror of their stories. But at least we���ve learned how to listen to them." 

The top photo is from the movie The Devil's Arithmetic.

Here is a link to the trailer for the movie

Here is a link to the Partisan Waltz, music of the Polish Partisan's who fought the Nazis: Partisan Waltz

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Reading Briar Rose Today

After reading Nancy Franklin's article, I felt compelled to read Briar Rose. I am not from a family of Holocaust survivors; however, I have naturally had compassion for everyone who suffered because of those horrendous events of WW2, And I had friends who lost many cousins, aunts and uncles in the holocaust. 

I have now read Jane Yolen's Briar Rose. It is a compelling book; a unique achievement, a timeless crossover YA novel.  A brilliant revision of Sleeping Beauty. There were several moments in the story that touched moved me deeply. Yolen's ability to deal with the horrific events in a balanced way is remarkable.

The photo is of children who suvived the holocaust. Lambach Camp, Germany.

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Folklore Is a Reflection

"From mouth to ear to mouth, the old tales went. It was a generational art, a regenerational art, passed on and on. Each story was a cultural heirloom, preserving traditions in strange and sometimes original ways. Cinderella, arising from somewhere in preliterate China, brought along vestiges of footbinding with its emphasis on the tiny shoe. The briar in Sleeping Beauty encapsulated the Druidic language of trees, which sees the briar as signifying eroticism���.Folklore reflects the society that creates it." 

Jane Yolen Courtesy of Terri Windling 

The illustration of Puss and Boots is by Carl Ofterdinger. 

 

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MOVIES 

Smallfoot The trailer looks like simple fun. The critics are mixed. : Here is the Critics Concensus from Rotten Tomatoes: Smallfoot offers a colorful distraction that should keep younger viewers entertained - and a story whose message might even resonate with older audiences.Here is link to the trailer: Smallfoot

 
Mary and the Witches Flower A film made by talented people who worked under Miyazaki. This excerpt from A.O. Scott of the NYTimes in accord with the opinion of the majority of critics on Rotten Tomatoes: 
Based on ���The Little Broomstick,��� a durably popular novel by Mary Stewart, and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, ���Mary and the Witch���s Flower��� is a charming children���s entertainment that sometimes seems to have been genetically engineered from other such entertainments. The rustling forests and voluptuous clouds recall the work of Hayao Miyazaki, and Mary herself shows an obvious kinship to the young witch in ���Kiki���s Delivery Service.��� Here is a link to the Trailer: Mary and the Witch'sFlower

The illustration is from Mary and the Witch's Flower

Mary Poppins returns  for Christmas. Here is the trailer.

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Refugees and Migrants in Children's Books...

 

Monica Edinger has a wonderful blog: Educating Alice. She is a fourth grade teacher in New York City, and an authority on children's literature. She is also the author of ���Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad.��� She recently reviewed 6 pictuure books dealing with refugees and migrants. The following is an excerpt from her blog: 

I had the great privilege to review six timely migration-centered picture books for the New York Times, Please check them out here."

 The cover illustration by Julie Morstad. The book is  Camille Andross. 

 

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Little Man, Little Man

"A James Baldwin Book, Forgotten and Overlooked for Four Decades, Gets Another Life. This is the heading for an article with welcome news by Alexandra Alter in The NY Times. Here is an excerpt from the article: 


"The story unfolds from the perspective of a curious, irrepressible 4-year-old boy named TJ, who loves music and playing ball, and navigates a neighborhood where gun violence, police brutality, alcoholism and drug addiction are looming threats ��� an outside world that even his warm home life with loving parents can���t shield him from...

Now, roughly four decades later, Baldwin���s relatives have resurrected the work, with a new edition from Duke University Press, and it could scarcely be more timely. It���s arriving at a moment when children���s book authors and publishers are more frequently placing black and brown children at the center of narratives about everyday life, often taking on charged social issues like mass shootings, addiction and police violence against African-American youth. They are finding an avid audience among young readers growing up in an increasingly diverse nation.

Some Baldwin fans and scholars hope that with the new edition, Little Man, Little Man   will rightfully assume its place in the canon of African-American children���s literature, alongside works by Langston Hughes, Julius Lester, Walter Dean Myers and John Steptoe."

 The photo of boys in Harlem is by Ruth Bernhard,

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 LitWorld Opens the Reading Door

"Litworld is currently running programs in 27 countries, working with 57 partner organizations.

Our programs encourage sharing stories, building community, and cultivating a love of reading and writing to help literacy skills grow stronger. Literacy for LitWorld means reading, writing, speaking, and creating. We focus on outlets for creative expression, the value of the read aloud to immerse children in language and reading, and ways to amplify young people's stories to dignify their experience and give them a voice in the world. The power of people���s own stories and a wide range of diverse children���s literature are cornerstones of our programming."

The photo is from Kenya.

Here is a link to a delightful 2 1/2 minute LitWorld Video

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The Canine Therapy Corps

The canine human connection is awesome.

The Canine Therapy Corps, based in Chicago Illinois, has approximately 65 volunteer teams working in a wide range of programs across the Chicago Metropolitan Area.

The variety of services they are providing is quite wonderful. They include: autism;  children who have suffered sexual abuse; children with severe emotional and behavioral problems; people trying to overcome chemical dependencies; unaccompanied immigrant minors; hospital patients of all ages; veterans with PTSD and depression; and more.   

The Canine Therapy Corps makes an ongoing difference and has eased pain for thousands of people.

 

 Here is a link to:  Canine Therapy Dogs

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 Parade of Misfits

The selections in Parade Of Misfits give an amusing and sometimes raw glimpse into the life of Cayr Ariel Wulff as an animal advocate. She is an excellent writer who can tell a hilarious story about lobster Halloween costumes, but effortlessly segue into the joy and melancholy of Christmas with canine companions past and present. Adorable pictures are included! -- Cherry Ophelia reviewer on Amazon

 

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Never Again

I hope that the coming November elections will will bring people into the government who will help the Gun Control movement and the Refugee Crisis despite the NRA and bigotry.

Here is a link to a father of one of the students murdered in the Parkland, Florida, massacre. He is speaking briefly at a memorial service. GunControl

The photo is of student pallbearers at the funeral service for their 35 year old geography teacher, Scott Biegel,  killed in the the Parkland School massacre. Photo by Charles Trainor Jr., Miami Herald/TWS.

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���Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn���t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.��� 

 Mark Twain

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Why Am I ?

Why Am I ? ��� a joyous Yelodoggie Book ��� celebrates self-empowerment and the benefits of inclusion. It helps children recognize and appreciate differences and to embrace that which is unique in each of us.

Yelodoggie travels far and wide, up and down, inside and outside, from outer space to the waters of the sea ���gaining confidence and leaving his insecurities behind ��� while seeking to answer Why Am I different ?...Why Am I Yellow ?

Why Am I ? opens the imagination and perspective of children to the world around them.

We continue searching for a publisher who will love Why Am I ?, recognize its potential, and launch it into the world. This is a book for our troubled times. Our primary motive is wide distribution.
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 Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale  

" Banished to the Ice Castle, the King of the North seeks revenge.  What better way to get revenge than to ruin Christmas?  When Tip and Top, two of Santa���s elves discover  that Dasher and Dancer are missing, the Dog Council calls upon Daisy and Bean to help some of their friends from the Planet of Dogs travel to earth to save Santa���s reindeer. . . 

There is so much to like about Snow Valley Heroes. . . McCarty has brought together many captivating elements to create a beautiful story.  The illustrations provided by Stella Mustanoja McCarty are absolutely stunning and add a great deal to an already charming story." Cheryl Malandrios Children and Teens Book-Connection. 
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We have free reader copies of all the books in the Planet Of The Dogs series for therapy dog organizations, individual therapy dog owners, librarians, teachers and independent bookstores. . . email us with a postal address at planetofthedogs@gmail.com and we will send you the books. 

To read sample chapters of any book in the series, visit PlanetOfTheDogs 

The Planet Of The Dogs series (including Castle In The Mist and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale) is available from many Internet sources and through independent book stores of all sizes. 

The illustration from from Snow Valley Heroes is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty. 

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"In the world which we know, among the different and primitive geniuses that preside over the evolution of the several species, there exists not one, excepting that of the dog, that ever gave thought to the presence of man."   Maurice Maeterlinck

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September -- This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land

                    

                      

                                                            The illustration is by Thomas Hart Benton                                                                   

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Mark Twain's writings embodied the still evolving, complex life of the USA in the 19th century. From river journeys to jumping frogs, his 28 books, stories, and articles were written for adults and read by multitudes of all ages. They were what later became known as crossover books. He deplored and laughed at pomposity and hypocrisy. And his imagination was inspired by, and grounded in, reality.

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A River Fantasy That Became a Classic

Mark Twain said that when the conditions for writing were in place, his imagination did the work and the writing flowed. Huckleberry Finn, his fantasy journey of a white boy and a black man on the Mississippi river must have been born in, and flowed from, his imagination in this way. The book became a classic that crosses the boundary of time.

"It's lovely to live on a raft. We had the sky, up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made, or only just happened- Jim he allowed they was made, but I allowed they happened; I judged it would have took too long to make so many.��� ��� Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The painting is by Thomas Hart Benton   

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Mark Twain. . .the Man from Hannibal, Missouri 

"He was also sympathetic to just how absurd and unreasonable the expectations of adults could be. As a boy, Twain himself was a notorious truant who skipped school religiously. He witnessed murders, befriended prisoners and slaves, and attended minstrel shows. Rather than irreversibly corrupting him, these childhood experiences informed much of his fiction. A more ���sivilized��� upbringing would have bored Twain and impoverished the nation���s literature. 

Twain sympathized with education reformers in the 1880s who opposed corporal punishment in schools. But he also sympathized with people who opposed school altogether. Mandatory universal education was a recent development at the time, and Huck represents the impossibility and undesirability of forcing all children to attend school. . .

Twain himself was only willing to go so far in his public statements about race. He decried racism and slavery privately, and he knew that the sympathetic depiction of the character Jim in Huck Finn might limit his readership in the Southern states. . . Late in life, Mark Twain wrote a devastating and outraged essay called 'The United States of Lyncherdom,' but he withheld its publication until after his death." -- Nick Romeo in the Daily Beast

The illustration by E.W. Kemble is from the first edition of Huckleberry Finn. 

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Huckleberry Finn . . .excerpted from an 1885 review

" In Tom  Sawyer we saw Huckleberry Finn from the outside; in the present volume we see him from inside. He is almost as much a delight to any one who has been a boy as was Tom Sawyer. But only he or she who has been a boy can truly enjoy this record of his adventures, and of his sentiments and of his sayings. Old maids of either sex will wholly fail to understand him or to like him, or to see his significance and his value. Like Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn is a genuine boy; he is neither a girl in boy's clothes like many of the modern heroes of juvenile fiction, nor is he a 'little man,' a full-grown man cut down; he is a boy, just a boy, only a boy. And his ways and modes of thought are boyish . . .  so Mark Twain understands the American boy, and especially the American boy of the Mississippi Valley of forty or fifty years ago. The contrast between Tom Sawyer, who is the child of respectable parents, decently brought up, and Huckleberry Finn, who is the child of the town drunkard, not brought up at all, is made distinct by a hundred artistic touches, not the least natural of which is Huck's constant reference to Tom as his ideal of what a boy should be. . ."   

Cover by E.W. Kimble

 

 

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���Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.��� 

Mark Twain -- Preface to Huckleberry Finn

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Huck Finn's America

"No book (Huckleberry Finn) is as regularly ransacked. Bowdlerized, when not outright banned, from the moment of its publication in 1884, it has been read like a rune and interrogated for its embodiment of American anxieties about race and freedom and language, the call of the open road (or river). 'The brilliance of Huckleberry Finn,��� Toni Morrison wrote, 'is that it is the argument it raises.'. . .

Mr. Levy is excellent on Twain, on his drawl, his gait, his evolution on race matters ��� from youthful racism to passionate believer in the reparations owed former slaves ��� and even better on his contradictions. Twain, Mr. Levy reminds us, a friend to Frederick Douglass and benefactor of black college students. . . "

Parul Sehgal in her review of Huck Finn's America by Andrew Levy

The photo of the Mississippi river is courtesy of 1 Mississippi, Blue Stem Communications- 

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"Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.��� -- Mark Twain
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Opinions of Huckleb erry Finn by Four Writers

 

���It is an American epic and one that supplies an understanding of the country (Waldo Frank, W. H. Auden)."

"I believe that Huckleberry Finn is one of the great masterpieces of the world. ��� To say that some of the plotting of Huckleberry Finn is imperfect or that some of the episodes are unconvincing is as irrelevant as it would be to complain, as one critic did, that Coleridge���s Ancient Mariner was ���improbable������ (H. L. Mencken),

���There are, indeed, incoherencies in Huckleberry Finn. But the book survives everything ��� all is imbeded into a powerful mythic image��� (Robert Penn Warren).

From an article by Professor Tom Quirk, University of Missouri in Mizzou 

The illustration is by Edward Ardizzone.

 

Here is a link to an excellent, brief (3:19), and insightful video biography of Mark Twain.

 

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                 From the Mississippi to the Yellow Brick Road

                                                 The painting of the Medicine Man is by Morgan Weistling.
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L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of OZ was an original fantasy. It was also a reflection of life in nineteenth century America, a time of ongoing growth and change, of invention, railroads,  and possibilities. It was a time of optimism and turmoil, of hype and hope.

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Go West Young Man

After his marriage to Maud Grange, the problems of family finances, and the call of opportunity in the ongoing opening of the West, took Baum from the east to Aberdeen, Nebraska(1888.1891). Unfortunately, this was a time when a great drought and concurrent hard economic times would shadow his efforts to start a new life.

In Aberdeen, he opened an ill-fated retail store that subsequently failed. He then opened and wrote a weekly newspaper, the Aberdeen Weekly Pioneer. This was a logical step as he had written frequently since boyhood, including a variety of newspaper jobs. Despite his efforts, the newspaper was unable to support Baum and his family. of four sons.

The great drought in Aberdeen was to later influence Baum's description of Dorothy's world in Kansas. Here is an excerpt from the opening of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz:

"When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere."

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Moving On

The family, now with four sons, moved to Chicago (1891) where Baum wrote for the Evening Post. He also created, wrote, and published a trade publication, The Show Widow.  This was during the time period when the City of Chicago presented the largest wold's fair in the world, the Columbia Exposition (1893) . A world of marvels, abounding in neo-classic beaux arts architecture, the fair was a celebration of the American experience. It was visited by 27 million people and is thought to have been an inspiration for the Emerald City of Oz.

Baum's fortitude finally brought him success and fame. Mother Goose in Prose, in 1897 was his first successful book,  The illustrations were by Maxfield Parrish. His next book, Father Goose in Prose, in 1899, was an even bigger hit, and best selling children's book of the year. The illustrations by WW Denslow were an important part of the book's success. Baum was on his way.

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"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses longing to be free..."

From the poem the New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus(1847-87)

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The Yellow Brick Road

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published in 1900,and also became the #1 best selling children's book for that year. Many sequels followed over the years (14 to 17 -- reports vary) and over 40 other books under a variety of pseudonyms. A play, produced in 1902 of the Wizard of OZ was a big hit and toured the USA. 

Like Lewis Carroll and Hans Christian Anderson in Europe, Baum created an original fantasy that broke with the past. Traditional fairy tale elements -- an arduous journey, overcoming dangers, abundant magic, a hopeful ending -- are major elements in the story. However, Baum also created a highly imaginative and original tale, highly influenced by the non-stop events in 19th century America. The book was, of course, the inspiration for the iconic movie of 1939 with one major difference: the events in the book really happened, whereas the the events in the movie were Dorothy's dream.

 

 

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 Turning Point

Just when it looked like evil would triumph.. .

"But Dorothy they did not harm at all. She stood, with Toto in her arms, watching the sad fate of her comrades and thinking it would soon be her turn. The leader of the Winged Monkeys flew up to her, his long, hairy arms stretched out and his ugly face grinning terribly; but he saw the mark of the Good Witch's kiss upon her forehead and stopped short, motioning the others not to touch her.

'We dare not harm this little girl,' he said to them, 'for she is protected by the Power of Good, and that is greater than the Power of Evil. All we can do is to carry her to the castle of the Wicked Witch and leave her there.' "

L. Frank Baum -- The Wonderful Wizard Of OZ

 

The illustration is by W.W. Denslow.

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The Visionary is Made Commonplace

���In Oz, turn- of- the- Century America,(be it Chicago or California) becomes a visionary landscape, and at the same time the visionary is made commonplace. In Oz, a familiar thing like a scarecrow is magically a person, and at the same time, a magical person like the wizard is actually a balloonist from Omaha.��� - Jerry Griswold , Audacious Children

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Movies

Christopher  Robin

The consensus seems to be that there are shortcomings to this movie, but that the wonderful charm of the original characters prevails.

"Even though the story around him is at times questionable, the performance and realistic animated rendering of this character is the perfect distillation of Winnie-the-Pooh's essential, philosophical self."

Excerpted from the review by Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service.

Here is a link to the trailer for Christopher Robin

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Dog Days

I've read many reviews and this appears to be a light, sentimental movie for people who find small dogs endearing. Here's an excerpt from Tomris Laffly's review on Roger Ebert.com:

"Anyone who's ever felt altered by an animal companion will easily find something to love in this shamelessly happy, defiantly nice film."  Here is the trailer for Dog Days. 

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Ottawa Therapy Dogs

"Humans and animals share a powerful bond. That bond can be a source of comfort, peace and relief for those who suffer from physical or emotional pain. Handlers volunteer with their therapy dogs to improve clients��� physical, emotional and communication abilities. Therapy dogs can sometimes achieve results when other therapies have failed. Some of the healing benefits of therapy dogs include reduced blood pressure, anxiety, stress and loneliness."

The wonderful work done by Ottawa Therapy Dogs ranges from hospitals and palliative care fcilities to schoolrooms.  Here is a link to a video to see their R.E.A.D. program helping kids to become readers.

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Ever Onward...

The Fight Against Gun Violence Continues Here is an update by Lois Beckett in the Guardian

"To vote National Rifle Association-backed candidates out of office, a coalition of gun violence prevention groups has launched a $1.75m campaign to register 50,000 young voters before this November���s midterm elections. Part of that money is going to nearly a dozen local groups, including March for Our Lives Phoenix, who are working to register 18- and 19-year-olds to vote. . .to is by Evelyn Hoc

The Our Lives Our Vote campaign is backed by Everytown for Gun Safety and Giffords, two gun violence prevention groups, and NextGen America, an advocacy group founded by the billionaire Tom Steyer, a major Democratic donor. The coalition says it has registered 27,000 voters through online and mail-in voter registration drives, focusing on 10 states where National Rifle Association-backed politicians are on the ballot. It���s now dedicating $600,000 to local groups organizing voter registration drives, including two groups run by high school students. . . ".

The photo is by Evelyn Hochstein for The Guardian.

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America the Beautiful

America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Katherine Lee Bates 

The illustration is by Thomas Hart Benton

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Books of Young America in the GoldenAge

Jerry Griswold, writing in Audacious Kids, points out significant differences between major children's book classics from the USA and England during the Golden Age. Among the great stories In England in that era were The Wind In the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. Among the American books that Griswold considers are Hans Brinker, The Wizard of Oz, Little Women, Pollyanna, and Huckleberry Finn. Here is an excerpt wherein he discusses the differences:

"Unlike English counterparts during the same era (1850-1914), American children's books do not offer Arcadian paradises . . .Instead, the world of America's literary juveniles is clouded over by familial problems: its heroes and heroines are orphans (mistreated, impoverished, neglected, and dispossessed) who come from "broken homes", who are adopted into second families where they are likely to be unloved and to encounter parental surrogates who are antagonistic and have to be overcome."

Jerry Griswold -- Audacious Kids, The Classic American Children's Story

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Born Without a Tail -- The New Edition

In the first edition of her book, Born Without a Tail, C.A. Wulff takes us on a journey from childhood through adulthood, sharing tales, (mis)adventures and insights garnered
from a lifetime of encounters with a menagerie of twenty remarkable animals. The new edition has a prologue about Wulff's journey into advocacy; and, it also has several additional photos. Here���s a review by an Amazon reader:

Cayr Ariel Wulff's artful story-telling shines in this delightful memoir of life amid a pack of
frequently ill-mannered though always lovable dogs. Throw in an odd assortment of cats, and chaos ensues as Cayr and her partner get in over their heads, bite off more than they can chew, and generally find themselves railroaded by those who REALLY run the show: their beloved pets! I couldn't put this book down until I'd finished! 

Here is a link to The New Edition of Born Without A Tail: 

The book cover is by C.A. Wulff; the photo is of Wulff and Waldo, now departed. 

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Alice is Back

The Morgan library in New York City is a truly fascinating place, especially for book lovers. On September 22, the Lewis Carroll Society of North America will hold their fall meeting at the Morgan, a get together with an excellent agenda for all Alice lovers. 

I would think that two of the featured guest speakers will add a unique extra dimension to the meeting: Michael Patrick Hearn and Adam Gopnik. Hearn is recognized as a top scholar of children's literature. His books include The Victorian Fairy Tale, The Annotated Huckleberry Finn, and The Annotated Wizard of Oz. Gopnik is a leading leading writer for the New Yorker, known for his imaginative and insightful articles.

The illustration is by John Tenniel.

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Wonder Tales

"Rarely do wonder tales end unhappily. They triumph over death. The tale begins with "Once upon a time" or "Once there was" and never really ends when it ends. The ending is actually the beginning."

Jack Zipes -- Spells of Enchantment: The Wondrous Fairy Tales of Western Culture

 

The book cover is from a publication of Jack Zipes' collection of over 300 fairy tale postcards.

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Why Am I ?

Why Am I ? ��� a joyous Yelodoggie Book ��� celebrates self-empowerment and the benefits of inclusion. It helps children recognize and appreciate differences and to embrace that which is unique in each of us.

Yelodoggie travels far and wide, up and down, inside and outside, from outer space to the waters of the sea ���gaining confidence and leaving his insecurities behind ��� while seeking to answer Why Am I different ?...Why Am I Yellow ?

Why Am I ? opens the imagination and perspective of children to the world around them.

We continue searching for a publisher who will love Why Am I ?, recognize its potential, and launch it into the world. This is a book for our troubled times. Our primary motive is wide distribution.
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  The Planet Of The Dogs Series

The Planet of the Dogs series of children���s books tell the stories of the first time dogs came to planet Earth to teach people about unconditional loyalty and love -- and to help bring peace from invaders.

"The fantasy involved in the books is appealing . . . The reality involved is also appealing. It involves the universal love of dogs by humans and vice versa, human condition of fighting and war and capacity for love and peace . . . While reading these, I kept wishing I was reading them out loud to a couple of kids instead. I could imagine each night reading another chapter and the kids waiting with bated breath for what would happen next. . ." Karen Boss -- excerpted from her Amazon review.
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We have free reader copies of all the books in the Planet Of The Dogs series for therapy dog organizations, individual therapy dog owners, librarians, teachers and independent bookstores. . . email us with a postal address at planetofthedogs@gmail.com and we will send you the books. 

To read sample chapters of any book in the series, visit PlanetOfTheDogs 

The Planet Of The Dogs series (including Castle In The Mist and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale) is available from many Internet sources and through independent book stores of all sizes. 

The illustration from Castle In The Mist is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty.

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 "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the primary difference between a dog and a man."--- Mark Twain

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August -- More Nordic Tales and The World Beyond

 

                            The illustration from Selma Lagerl��f's The Wonderful Adventures of Nils is by Boris Diodorov.

 

 Fairy tales report from imaginary territory ...a magical elsewhere of possibility; a hero or heroine, or sometimes both together are faced with ordeals, terrors, and disaster in a world that, while it bears some resemblance to the ordinary conditions of human existence, mostly diverges from it in the way it works, taking the protagonists -- and us, the story's readers or listeners -- to another place  where wonders are commonplace and desires fulfilled. -- Marina Warner -- Once Upon A Time, A Short History of Fairy Tales

 
The illustration of the Tomten is by Harald Wiberg.

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Sweden

Sweden, after 1850, changed from being a largely agrarian society to one that embraced the industrial revolution. An era of prosperity developed and continued into the next century. It was,however, a conservative culture, dominated by tradition and the ethos of the Lutheran church. Nevertheless, two exceptional women writers flourished, both of whom, in their own ways, lived full, independent lives, outside the mores of mainstream  society. 

Selma Lagerl��f (1858-1940) was an excellent writer, and an independent woman in a rather repressive society.The plays of Henrik Ibsen and, later the films of Igmar Bergman speak to this stifling atmosphere in no uncertain terms.

Selma is second from left, top row, in this school photo.

Langerl��f overcame very difficult childhood years and was working as a teacher when she entered a writing contest.
She submitted several pages from a work in progress that was to become her first novel -- G��sta Berling's Saga (1891). She won the contest and the book became a Swedish classic.

She appears to have been deeply influenced by the beauty of Varmland,an area in western Sweden where she grew up, and by the family tumult created by her alcoholic father.

"The scene is laid on the shores of Lake Fryken (Lake L��ven in the story) in V��rmland. Using wolves, snow, supernatural elements and eccenaric upper-class characters to project an exotic image of 1820s V��rmland, the novel can be compared to magic realism. The title is meant to give associations to the Icelandic sagas. The first sentence, 'Finally, the vicar was in the pulpit', is one of the most famous in Swedish literature . . . Wikipedia

This book propelled Lagerl��f into a life as a writer of popular novels. Soon she had sponsors that included the Swedish Royal Family as well as recognition and membership in the Swedish Academy. In 1909, she became the first woman to win the Noble Prize (1909).

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A Children's Book in 30 Languages

When asked by the Swedish National Teachers Association to write a geography book for children, Selma Lagerl��f came up with an imaginitive approach that endures today: The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1906) is a delightful story of a young mischievous farm boy who is shrunk to the size of Tom Thumb. Clinging to a goose to escape danger, he finds himself flying on the back of the goose. His travels take him to many adventures where he must overcome dangers and obstacles in the natural world. Very well written, the book is filled with continual surprises. Here is an excerpt.  

"The boy had grown so giddy that it was a long while before he came to himself. The winds howled and beat against him, and the rustle of feathers and swaying of wings sounded like a whole storm. Thirteen geese flew around him, flapping their wings and honking. They danced before his eyes and they buzzed in his ears. He didn't know whether they flew high or low, or in what direction they were travelling.

After a bit, he regained just enough sense to understand that he ought to find out where the geese were taking him. But this was not so easy, for he didn't know how he should ever muster up courage enough to look down. He was sure he'd faint if he attempted it." 

Here is a link to read The Wonderful Adventures of Nils.  

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Selma Lagerl��f's  Private Letters

 

 

Despite the pressures of mainstream Swedish society, Selma had the courage to live her own life; she was not living in a Doll's House. Fifty years after her death, her private letters were published, revealing that throughout her adult life, she maintained deeply felt relationships with two other very accomplished women: Sophie Elkan and Valborg Olander.

Great discretion was necessary. In addition to the mores of a very conservative society,there was a Swedish law (1864) against homosexuality, including women, that stayed in effect until 4 years after Lagerl��f's death. 

Here is a link to a compassionate and informative article in Artlark regarding Selma's private life and her important lesbian relationships with Sophie Elkan and Valborg Olander.  A well regarded tv series,based on their letters, was produced in Sweden in the 90's.

The top photo is of Sophie Elkan, Selma Lagerl��f, and Valborg Olander.

The photo of the two women is of Selma and Sophie.

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Storytellers

"Storytellers ought not to be too tame. They ought to be  wild creatures who function adequately in society. They are best in disguise. If they lose all their wildness, they cannot  give us the truest joys."

- Ben Okri, author and  Man Booker Prize winner (Thanks to Terry Windling)

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Astrid Lindgren . . . Children's Books In 70 languages 

Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002)  was a gifted, prolific, independent Swedish woman who wrote a very large number of successful children's books, still considered to be wonderful by her readers today.

She is best known for her Pipi Longstocking series. A single mother, she said that Pipi was written to entertain her daughter (who was ill), and asked her for a story about Pipi Longstocking. Pipi was later made into several popular films and a television series. 
Her books have been translated into 70  languages. One hundred and sixty five million of her books have been sold worldwide.

The photo of Astrid Lindgren is by Jacob Forsell.
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 Pipi Longstocking

"Pippi is red-haired, freckled, unconventional and superhumanly strong ��� able to lift her horse one
-handed. She is playful and unpredictable. She often makes fun of unreasonable adults, especially if they are pompous and condescending. Her anger comes out in extreme cases, such as when a man ill-treats his horse. Pippi, like Peter Pan, does not want to grow up. She is the daughter of a buccaneer captain and has adventure stories to tell about that too. Her four best friends are her horse and monkey, and the neighbours' children, Tommy and Annika." -- Excerpted from Pipi Longstocking on Wikipedia

 Here is a ink to the  Pipi Lingstocking books.

Here is a link to a delightful You Tube montage of the TV show  based on the Pipi Longstocking books.

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TheTomten 

Astrid Lindgren wrote the story of the Tomten, a Swedish Elf, with a hushed, intimate quality.  A Swedish writer, Viktor Rydberg had earlier written a poem about the Tomten. This was a point of departure for LIndgren. In her hands, and with the wonderful illustrations of Harald Wiberg, the book became a Swedish classic. It was followed by the Tomten and the Fox: Here is an excerpt:

"The Tomten is awake. He lives in a corner of the hayloft and comes out at night when human beings are asleep. He is an old, old Tomten who has seen the snow of many hundred winters. No one knows when he came to the farm. No one has ever seen him, but they know he is there. Some times when they wake up, they see the prints of his feet in the snow. But no one has ever seen the Tomten."

 

Here is a You Tube link to The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren, from a poem by Viktor Rydberg, iluustrated by Harold Wiberg.  

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"I want to write for a readership that can create miracles. Children create miracles when they read. That's why children need books . . ."

 Astrid Lindgren

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 Carl Larsson . . .Romantic and Idyllic Art

Carl Larsson (1853-1919) created a body of work that personified the dream of wonderful family life. His fame and popularity became widespread as the quality of book printing in color improved. A House In the Sun was published in 1909 by the innovative German publisher Karl Robert Langewiesche. It was a great success, selling 40,00 copies the first year. The book and Larsson are well known and admired to this day in Northern Europe.

Larsson grew up in poverty and had a very difficult and painful boyhood. However, his life and his work changed after marrying the gifted artist Karin Berg����. They had eight children and their life together was the source of his many  pastoral paintings. 

Here is a link to Carl Larsson's work on Google

Here is a link to Larsson's page on Amzon.

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Jon Bauer . . .Among Gnomes and Trolls

Jon Bauer was a wonderful Swedish artist who found inspiration in Swedish mythology and folk tales. He first achieved popular fame with his  wonderful illustrations of  Swedish Folktales, His watercolors of the mystical world of trolls, animals, and princesses have become iconic. 

I find his work to be in the top tier of classic children's artist/illustrators. His technique is his own as seen in the illustration on the left of Princess Tuvstarr. The story and Bauer's evocative illustrations for this myth and others can be seen by following this link to Art Passions.

 A tragic accident took place when Bauer and his wife (artist Ester Ellquist) and their young child were traveling in Sweden. They took a ferry boat that capsized in a heavy storm on lake Vatt wherein all the passengers and crew were lost.

Here is a Here is a link to a delightful YouTube presentation of Bauer's work with Swedish Folk Tales 

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 Movies 

Eighth Grade 

I haven't seen this movie yet, but Manohla Dargis wrote that it was outstanding.I have great respect for Ms Dargis. I will see it; meanwhile, here are excerpts from her review: 

"There are few more poignant, exasperating creatures than teenage girls. (I speak from personal experience.) And rarely are they as heart-pangingly real as the girl fumbling through the sharp, smart comedy ���Eighth Grade.��� Like a lot of people, Kayla (the wonderful Elsie Fisher), spends a lot of time tethered to a cellphone that serves as her touchingly imperfect portal to the world. . . Eighth Grade��� is a simple story of an unremarkable girl, tenderly and movingly told. It was written and directed by Bo Burnham, a stand-up comic who started out by posting videos of himself on YouTube.  

Movies about teenagers are often filled with contrived excesses, but Mr. Burnham understands that some of the most pronounced extremes ��� the drama, the comedy, the horror ��� take place in that lonely room known as our heads. Not much happens in ���Eighth Grade��� except that, for Kayla, everything does and with exclamation points." 

Here is a link to the trailer for Eighth Grade

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Christopher Robin and Dog Days will open in early August

Here is a link to the trailer for Christopher Robin

Here is a link to the trailer for Dog Days

 
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A Perfect Vacation Choice

An excerpt from one of 51 enthusiastic reviews on Amazon for Circling the Waggins:

"Circling the Waggins" is a most enjoyable read! Cayr's vignettes of life with her pets are alternately humorous, poignant, thought provoking, informative, and sentimental. Each chapter tells of a separate situation and can be read in a short time, making it an especially good choice for those many times one wants a "quick read". A PERFECT vacation choice!

 She truly brings her animal family to life in her books. I look forward to her future sharing of her life with "the pack".
 
 
Here is a link to Wulff's books on Amazon.
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Echoes of Today

Traditional  picture books become a gateway to the hi+tech world . . .

New Technology and Books: Inspired by her own young children growing up in an era where new readers have choices between books and digital games, Julia Turner, editor and chief of Slate, writing in the NY Times, reviews four kid's books that deal with the dilemma:Unplugged, Doll-E 1.0; Snail Mail; Blue Rider. Here is an excerpt from her article:

 "Four new picture books make inventive use of that sturdy old technology (picture books) as they tell stories for kids living modern, computer-saturated childhoods. Some of these books are skeptical about the value of our wires and devices, while others embrace the possibilities change may bring."

"The love story at the heart of BLUE RIDER (by Groundwood) . . . is between a young girl and a book."

The illustration from Blue Rider is by author Geraldo Valero

Here is a link to Julia Turner's article

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Gun Violence Continues while the NRA Prevails

The Photo is of journalist John McNamara and his widowed wife, Andrea Chamblee.

"J ohn McNamara went to work at the Annapolis Capital Gazette on a Thursday. Then a gunman walked in the door. Andrea Chamblee, his wife, writes about the shock that has followed: forgetting appointments, managing a million logistics, canceling vacations, fielding reporters��� calls and sleeping very, very little . . . ."

Here is a link to this gripping and poignant article : Washington Post
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KidLitosphere ....The Source for Kid Lit Blogs
 
KidLitosphere Central strives to provide an avenue to good books and useful literary resources; to support authors and publishers by connecting them with readers and book reviewers; and to continue the growth of the society of bloggers in children���s and young adult literature.
Here is a link: KidLitosphere
 
 
 
The illustration is by Pawel Kucynski
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K9's on the Front Lines rescues and trains abandoned dogs from shelters for Veterans with PTSD
 
 A specially trained PTSD service dog can quite literally save a recipient���s life by neutralizing negative emotions and providing a sense of security. 
 
PTSD is the result of a normal reaction to a highly abnormal, traumatic situation. It affects one in five combat Veterans . . .
 

Veteran recipients previously
or made suicidal by the effects of PTSD are gradually gaining their lives back, advancing their careers, bringing their families back from the brink of collapse and divorce, and becoming emotionally available to their children again. 

 
Here is a link to K9's On The Front Line
 
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 Why Am I ?

Why Am I ? ��� a joyous Yelodoggie Book ��� celebrates self-empowerment and the benefits of inclusion. It helps children recognize and appreciate differences and to embrace that which is unique in each of us.

Yelodoggie travels far and wide, up and down, inside and outside, from outer space to the waters of the sea ���gaining confidence and leaving his insecurities behind ��� while seeking to answer Why Am I different ?...Why Am I Yellow ?

Why Am I ? opens the imagination and perspective of children to the world around them.

We are searching for a publisher who will love Why Am I ?, recognize its potential, and launch it into the world. This is a book for our troubled times. Our primary motive is wide distribution.
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The Planet Of The Dogs Series

The Planet of the Dogs series of children���s books tell the stories of the first time dogs came to planet Earth to teach people about unconditional loyalty and love -- and to help bring peace from invaders.

We have free reader copies of all the books in the Planet Of The Dogs series for therapy dog organizations, individual therapy dog owners, librarians, teachers and independent bookstores. . . email us with a postal address at planetofthedogs@gmail.com and we will send you the books. 

To read sample chapters of any book in the series, visit PlanetOfTheDogs 

"I love this series of books."--  Don Blankenship, Teacher and Reviewer, Good Books for Kids

The Planet Of The Dogs series (including Castle In The Mist and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale) is available from many Internet sources and through independent book stores of all sizes. 

 

The illustration from Planet Of The Dogs is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty.

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"Sir, he's a good dog, and a fair dog; can there be more said?" 

William Shakespeare. The Merry Wives Of Windsor

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July -- Nordic Tales of Life and the World Beyond -- Part One

                                                Painting by Albert Edelfelt 

We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel . . . an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.��� 

��� Ursula K. Le Guin 

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 Norway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Awareness, Pride, and Hope

The Nordic lands have their own heritage of oral tales, myths, and legends. Their stories, unlike the Grimm's Germanic tales, are embellished by description. As with the classic tales of Western Europe, they also embody fantasy, open the imagination, and give hope to the listener or reader.

Both Norway and Finland had witnessed centuries of intermittent war and oppression by others, namely, by Sweden, Denmark, and Russia. In both countries, there was a deep connection to nature -- to the land, the lakes, the mountains and the sea. 

In the nineteenth century, in both Norway and Finland,
their heritage of oral tales actually influenced history. Dedicated people went to the countryside, wrote down the ancient stories and songs and published them. They were widely read and played a major role in raising awareness and pride and influencing the rise of nationalism. 

The painting is by Erik Werenskiold.
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Preserving National Treasure

In Norway, the oral tales were collected by writers and scholars Peter Christan Asbj��rsen (1812.1885) and Jorgen Moe (1813-1882).In Finland, a country doctor, Elias L��nnrot (1802-1884), traveled throughout remote areas where thousands of verse-songs from the Finnish past could still be heard. He attended to the medical needs of the country people and collected their verse-songs in what became known as the Kalevala. 

"Asbj��rnsen and Moe developed a friendship while still attending school and together they determined to do for Norwegian folklore what the Brothers Grimm had accomplished for German folklore...(they) sought to preserve a national treasure, one that both reflected and shaped  a national identity...preserving the most profound expressions of the Norwegian soul...Asbj��rnsen and Moe preserved a robust folkloric tradition and did for Norway what the Sagas did for Iceland and the Kalevala did for Finland." --  Maria Tatar, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales.

A Land of Mountains, Trolls, Great Forests and the Sea

Several editions of the Norwegian tales were published beginning in 1841. They were very well received and very popular. Peer Gynt inspired the great playright, Henrik Ibsen, to write a verse play, that is still performed and celebrated today. Edvard Greig composed music for the play Here is a link to the music for Peer Gynt. 

 

In the celebrated Norwegian tale, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, all is lost after the young girl, who has ridden bravely on the back of a huge bear, kisses a handsome prince and lights a candle -- though forbidden to do so --  to see his face. Here is an excerpt: 

'What have you done?' he cried; 'now you have made us both unlucky, for had you held out only this one year, I had been freed. For I have a stepmother who has bewitched me, so that I am a White Bear by day, and a Man by night. But now all ties are snapt between us; now I must set off from you to her. She lives in a Castle which stands EAST O' THE SUN AND WEST O' THE MOON, and there, too, is a Princess, with a nose three ells long, and she's the wife I must have now.". . . The story continues, for where their is courage, there is always hope.

 

Norway declared independence from Sweden in October, 1905.  

The illustration of the Trolls and the Changeling is by Jon Bauer.

The illustration from East of the Sun and West of the moon is by Ella Williams.

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Finland 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A New Nationalism

Imagine a northern country of ancient forests and lakes, sparsely populated by independent, hardworking but poor people who came into their own in 1809 when they were freed from Swedish domination. The Russian Empire attacked and defeated the Swedish Empire, and Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy of Russia. After six centuries under Sweden, Finland was on the way to self government and a new nationalism 

Here was a land bordered by the sea in the south and west, where the great trees of the heartland provided a source of income for many, and where the snows of winter were a major factor in developing a resilient people where children learn to ski at an early age. This is a land of people that had (and still have today) a very close connection to nature; a land which has, to this day, an abundance of wildlife including moose,  bear, wolves, and wolverines. And through their mythic oral history, they found added incentive to true Finnish identity.

Finland declared Independence from Russia in December, 1917.

The painting is by Albert Edelfelt.

The Kalevala

The Kalevala was passed on for centuries by rune singers before Elias L��nnrot, in his pioneering effort, recorded and published them in 1835 and 1849. In earlier times, there were hundreds of Rune singers in small villages and hamlets throughout the land. During  the Finnish Renaissance of the nineteenth century, artists, writers, composers (including Jean Sibelius), students, and ordinary people listened to Rune singers reciting the mythic verses of  The Kalevala.

Rune singers had  prodigious memories. For example, among the singers who contributed to Elias L��nnrot's  research was a woman, Larin Paraske (1833-1904), who could recite 32,000 verses.  accompanied by the soft string sound of the Kantele.

The painting of rune singer Larin Paraske is by Albert Edelfelt.

The Mythic Stories

The stories told by the rune singers range from the creation of the world to a journey to Deaths Domain; from wedding feasts to charms for getting cattle home. They include the forging of the magic Sampo -- a source of prosperity and  happiness -- and it's tragic loss by evil forces. Here is an edited excerpt of the loss of the Sampo: 

"She spreads her wings to fly, raises herself aloft like an eagle, 
She flies swiftly along  seeking out V��in��m��inem,
one wing brushed the clouds, the other grazed the water . . .

Now the old woman of North Farm is coming, a remarkable bird is moving along,
Like a hawk to judge by the shoulders, a griffin to judge by the trunk,
She takes V��in��m��inenby surprise . . .

The vessel was about to sink straight down, the ship to keel over on it's side . . .  

Translation from the Kalevala by Francis Magoun

The painting of the fight for the Sampo is by Gallen Kellala.

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Transcending National and Cultural Boundaries

The Kalevala is a great poem and a national epic, but it is also a work of art which trancends national and cultural boundaries, which is read in many languages, which has a message also for our time. General problems, difficulties and riches of human nature and human life can be seen behind its myths, and their message touches also the people of today." -- 
The Kalevala, An Epic of Finland and all Mankind by Heikki Kirkinen and Hannes Sihvo

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Tolkien and The Kalevala

"J.R.R. Tolkien, already a scholar of Beuwulf and the Sagas, learned Finnish in order to explore the Kalevala for himself. . . He lamented the lack of proper English mythology and his ambition was to create a mythology for England, which he eventually did with his legendarium." 
Emily Watson,  Editor of Quadrapheme

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 Here is a link to music by Sibelius inspired by the story of Kullervo in the Kalevala. 

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  Tove Jansson -- From the Dark Years of War to the Wonder of the Moomins

Tove Jansson (1914-2001) was a young writer-artist when the Russians invaded Finland in November,1939. All of Europe was headed to the chaos, destruction and fear of WW 2. Like other Finns, the next years of her life would be dominated by war. Jansson used cartoons to lampoon both Hitler and Joseph Staln. Her work became a feature in anti-fascist magazines. The Finnish war with Russia was in two parts,1939-1940. and 1941-1944. The Finns then had to drive the German Army out of Lapland. The war finally ended in 1945. It was in 1945 that Jansson created the Moomins, her benevolent troll-like characters, that would later become a beloved series of children's books.

In the years that followed, Moomin popularity spread, slowly at first, and then quite rapidly. A big push came when Jansson began publishing a Moomin comic strip (1954) in the London Evening News; at that time, the largest newspaper in the world. She was soon reaching 20 million readers daily in over 40 countries. Jansson created the comic strip for seven years while still creating books and painting.She then turned the comic strip over to her brother, Lars, who continued thr strip, often with collaboration, until 1975. 

Moomins were also very popular in Japan where a charming cartoon series, aimed at adults appeared in 1969. I have posted a link below, You Tube offers many more.

Television followed in Europe. There then came movies, theater, theme parks, and even opera. Moomin merchandising grew in a multitude of ways, from coffee cups to stuffed toys.Today, the Moomin brand is estimated to have a value of 700 million Euros per year. What started as wonderful adventures in Moomin Valley has become a big business. 

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The Moomins --  Like Nothing Else in Literature

"A lost treasure now rediscovered . . . A surrealistic masterpiece."
Neil Gaimon 

"Jansen was a genius of a very subtle kind. These simple stories resonate with profound and complex emotions that are like nothing else in literature for children or adults: intensely Nordic, and completely universal."
Phillip Pullman

The illustrations are by Tove Jansson. 

Link to Moomin Blog

Link to well done profile/bio of Tove Jansson

Link to a charming episode from the popular Japanese animation Moomin series: M��r��n

Link to the Moomin Cafe in Tokyo 

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Fairy Tales

"Fairy-tales are interesting things. Stories too large for one era or culture. Messages we shape and shape again. That draw us in and try to teach us lessons. Be wary of the stranger in the woods. Be kind to older ladies you encounter. The way you look can be a blessing or a curse, depending." Deirdre Sullivan: author 

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Nordic Tales, Part 2, will be posted in my August blog featuring Sweden, Astrid Lindgren; Selma Lagerd��rf; the collector, Clara Stroebe;Tomten, the troll, and more.

 

 

 

 

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Movies

Briefly Noted:

Incredibles 2 : Light Fun . . . 

Isle of Dogs : Intelligent fun and delightful dogs . . . 

Early Man: inspired silliness and light fun . .  .

CoCo: excellent. a breakthrough film . . . great music

Treat yourself to the best. . . Here is a link to a 3 minute and 24 second montage of Hayao Miyazaki films: Miyazaki 

The illustration is from Howl's Moving Castle-

 

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The Animal Protector Series of Children's Books
 

The Animal Protector Series uses fictional
 animal characters and action-packed storylines to shine a
 spotlight on animals that are in need of human protection,
 but their plights have often been ignored in today���s
 society. To date, there are five planned books in the
 series; the first, out now, is called Smidgey Pidgey���s
 Predicament . . .  Books are also in the works featuring rodeo
 calves and hermit crabs, with more storylines planned for
 2019.

The series is written by Tamira Thayne, and illustrated by C.A. Wulff.

 

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What Happens Next?

"Since a gunman killed 20 first graders and six adults with an assault rifle at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, there have been at least 239 school shootings nationwide, according to an analysis in February of figures provided by the Gun Violence Archive. In those episodes, 438 people were shot, 138 of whom were killed."

Christine Hauser in the New York Times.

What happened to the momentum to modify the gun laws? The politicians are quiet. The president is quiet -- at least about the gun laws.

What happens next?

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PAL-- People Animals Love

Therapy dogs bring the human canine connection to Washington DC and nearby areas courtesy of PAL:

"Our mission is to utilize the human-animal bond to brighten the lives of the lonely, ease the pain of the sick, and enrich the world of at-risk children. . .   .  In our Pet Visit Program, wagging tails and wet noses ease the loneliness of the elderly and comfort the sick. Warm, gazing eyes help early readers feel comfortable reading out loud when dogs visit libraries. In our PAL Camp and PAL Club, hundreds of lower-income children deepen their natural connection to the amazing animal kingdom with a rich Animal Studies program  . . .. 

Here is a link to visit PAL

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"In contrast (to the written tales), the beauty of storytelling is how the same story is slightly different each time it is told, even by the same storyteller.  Oral fairy tales are elusive creatures that folklorists study, record and try to trace through history." 

Excerpted from Heidi Anne Heimer's  excellent article, What Is a Fairytale?  on SurLaLune  

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 Why Am I ?

Why Am I ? ��� a joyous Yelodoggie Book ��� celebrates self-empowerment and the benefits of inclusion. It helps children recognize and appreciate differences and to embrace that which is unique in each of us.

Yelodoggie travels far and wide, up and down, inside and outside, from outer space to the waters of the sea ���gaining confidence and leaving his insecurities behind ��� while seeking to answer Why Am I different ?...Why Am I Yellow ?

Why Am I ? opens the imagination and perspective of children to the world around them.

We are searching for a publisher who will love Why Am I ?, recognize its potential, and launch it into the world. This is a book for our troubled times. Our primary motive is wide distribution.
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The Planet Of The Dogs Series

We have free reader copies of all the books in the Planet Of The Dogs series for therapy dog organizations, individual therapy dog owners, librarians, teachers and independent bookstores. . . email us at planetofthedogs@gmail.com and we will send you the books.  

To read sample chapters of any book in the series, visit PlanetOfTheDogs 

The Planet Of The Dogs series (including Castle In The Mist and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale) is available from many Internet sources and through independent book stores of all sizes. 

"Castle In The Mist is the second book in the Planet of the Dogs series and I must say I enjoyed it, cover to cover. This work can be read as a sequel to Planet of the Dogs, an ideal situation, but can also be read as a stand-alone with no loss to the flow of the story." --  Don Blankenship, Teacher and Reviewer, Good Books for Kids

The photo by Susan Purse is of her therapy dog, Bandit, and his friend, Chase, reading Castle In The Mist.

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" If you can look at a dog and not feel vicarious excitement and affection, you must be a cat." - Author Unknown

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