Todd Klein's Blog, page 25

Rereading: THE CHANGE-CHILD by Jane Louise Curry

Illustrated by Gareth Floyd

This is the second book in Curry’s Abaloc series, though there’s little to connect it to the first, “Beneath the Hill,” until the last few chapters.

Eilian is the daughter of poor farmers in central Wales in the time of Queen Elizabeth the First, but through a relative she didn’t know, Eilian discovers suddenly that she is in line to inherit a fine, large house and estate. That estate is coveted by another rich landowner, and he plots to have his son betrothed to Eilian, even though she finds the boy repulsive. Eilian and her grandmother decide to escape into the hills further south to Mamgu’s people on the edge of a dark forest. They call themselves the Red Fairies, but it seems they are mostly as human as anyone else, though gifted with music and other talents. On the way, Eilian makes a new friend, Goronwy, a boy who seems to have some uncanny abilities. When Mamgu tries to bargain with Eilian as a prize for her own people’s gain, Eilian and Goronwy must flee deep into the forest to his own people, the real Fair Folk of legend, but they have troubles and hardships of their own.

I enjoyed reading this again, but it’s a complex story with lots of Welsh names and poetry that takes a bit of work to follow. Still, recommended.

The Change-Child by Jane Louise Curry

The post Rereading: THE CHANGE-CHILD by Jane Louise Curry appeared first on Todd's Blog.

Rereading: STOWAWAY TO THE MUSHROOM PLANET by Eleanor Cameron

This is my least favorite of the Mushroom Planet series, and it doesn’t help that my paperback edition omits the illustrations by Robert Henneberger, and has only this poor imitation on the cover.

David and Chuck believe they will never be able to return to the small hidden planetoid orbiting Earth known as Basidium, as the space ship their friend Tyco Bass helped them build was lost at sea, but then they meet Tyco’s cousin Theo, who has come to the house on Thallo Street in Pacific Grove, California. He and the boys are soon friends, and Theo helps them build a new space ship so they can all visit Basidium. Then a young scientist, Horatio Peabody, arrives to give a lecture to their space club, but Horatio is nosey and soon finds out about the impending flight. He hides aboard the spacecraft, and once it takes off, reveals himself, and his plans to report Basidium to the world when they return, something David and Chuck are dead set against, as they want to protect the gentle mushroom people who live there from harassment and exploitation. Horatio doesn’t care what they think, he’s after the glory of the scientific discoveries, which will make his reputation.

Once on Basidium, Horatio acts horribly to the friends there the boys have made, and pushes his way into their secrets. Meanwhile, the boys are needed to help with missing Basidiumites, and they must try to stop Horatio with the help of Theo and Ta, the leader of the gentle people.

I found the character of Horatio to be quite annoying, though I guess that was Cameron’s intent, and the plot of the book is less well crafted than the first one, especially at the end. Worth reading, and the series improves again after this.

Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron

The post Rereading: STOWAWAY TO THE MUSHROOM PLANET by Eleanor Cameron appeared first on Todd's Blog.

Rereading: FREDDY AND THE BASEBALL TEAM FROM MARS by Walter R. Brooks

As the Freddy series neared its end, Walter R. Brooks continued to have fun with the characters, even the silly Martians he introduced in the previous book. Here the Bean farm animals have put together a baseball team that includes the four-armed Martians, who turn out to be excellent pitchers but poor hitters. Freddy becomes the team manager, but in disguise, as he’s also investigating the kidnapping of one of the Martians probably by previous enemy Mr. Anderson, though where the missing Martian is being held proves hard to discover. Mr. Anderson may also be involved with a series of odd burglaries where access to upper floors of homes across a wide area has been accomplished by unknown means. The book is a mix of baseball and detective work, with plenty of action and humor, as always. Silly in some ways, but still full of wise insights into human and animal nature as well as social satire.

Recommended.

Freddy and the Baseball Team from Mars by Walter R Brooks

The post Rereading: FREDDY AND THE BASEBALL TEAM FROM MARS by Walter R. Brooks appeared first on Todd's Blog.

Rereading: THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ by L. Frank Baum

The second Oz book by Baum is where the series really began for me when I was a child, I didn’t care for the first book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” very much. Here illustrator John R. Neill takes over for the rest of Baum’s series, and many more beyond it. I like his drawing style better, his human figures are more realistic yet he manages to present the characters first drawn by W. W. Denslow in a way that retains their general look integrated into Neill’s own style. Several important new characters are introduced that will become mainstays of the series, and the book has humor and satire for adults as well as plenty of adventure for kids.

Tip is a boy living in the Gillikin country, the north quadrant of Oz in the hands of a disagreeable witch, Mombi, who uses Tip as a servant and works him hard. Tip dislikes Mombi, and sometimes plays jokes on her even though he knows he’ll be punished. One such joke is a scarecrow-like figure made of wooden sticks and wearing old clothes with the head of a pumpkin that Tip has carved like a Halloween pumpkin with a wide grin. He puts it outside their house where Mombi will find it when she comes back from visiting a fellow magician. Mombi is startled by Jack Pumpkinhead, but decides to use a new magic powder she’s just acquired to bring him to life. The pumpkin man proves to be somewhat simple-minded, but docile and obedient, and Mombi declares she will use him for all her chores, and do away with Tip as revenge. When Tip hears this, he decides to run away, and he takes Jack with him. Later, to help Jack move faster, he makes a wooden horse brought to life with the magic powder, which he’s also stolen. The Sawhorse is temperamental, but also willing to do as told, and he provides a mount for Jack. Both characters became series regulars. The three head south to the Emerald City to visit its ruler, the Scarecrow.

That ruler welcomes them, and takes a liking to Jack and Tip, but no sooner are they friends than the Emerald City is attacked and conquered by a female warrior, General Jin-Jur and her army of women who have decided that men have ruled long enough, and it’s time for them to have a turn, adding social satire on the women’s suffrage movement to the story. The Scarecrow and his new friends manage to escape, and they seek out The Tin Woodman, who is now the ruler of the Winkies in the western country of Oz, and with his help, they plan to reconquer the Emerald City. Many more adventures follow, and other new characters are introduced, including The Woggle-Bug, The Gump, and eventually Oz’s new ruler Ozma.

I enjoyed rereading this, I feel Baum’s writing skill had improved from the first book, and the story moves along well. The characters and events are interesting and appealing, and at times surprising. My copy is the Dover edition of 1969, their second printing with a new informative introduction by Martin Gardner. It has all the art from the first edition of 1904, including the color plates, though the reproduction of those is not as good as their facsimile of “Wizard.” Recommended.

The Marvelous Land of Oz by L Frank Baum

The post Rereading: THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ by L. Frank Baum appeared first on Todd's Blog.

Incoming: MIRACLEMAN, THE SILVER AGE Trade Paperback

Images © Marvel

Yes, decades in the making, as Neil had planned out three arcs of his Miracleman story. The Golden Age saw print from Eclipse in the early 1990s, The Silver Age was begun from Eclipse, but left unfinished when that publisher went under. Many years later, Marvel had the rights to the characters, and both Golden Age and Silver Age have now been republished complete, with lots of new art from Mark Buckingham, who also co-wrote some of Silver Age. I was happy to letter or reletter these new versions, this one just arrived here, though it was released in May. Fine work, if I say so myself. Original retail price $24.99. Look for it at your comics retailer, or use the link below.

Miracleman The Silver Age by Gaiman and Buckingham

The post Incoming: MIRACLEMAN, THE SILVER AGE Trade Paperback appeared first on Todd's Blog.

Rereading: THE BLACK STALLION by Walter Farley

Cover and illustrations by Keith Ward

I loved this series of books about race horses when I was a child, and I bought many of them with my own pocket money. The first, above, is perhaps the best, and it was adapted into an excellent 1979 film as well.

Teenager Alec Ramsey is returning from a visit with his uncle in India on a tramp steamer (cargo ship) when he sees an amazing horse being loaded into the hold at a port in Saudi Arabia. The Black, as Alec came to call him, was huge, muscular, and full of fight, a challenge for his handlers. Later, the ship is in a strong storm and taking on water. The crew and passengers try to get off in lifeboats, leaving Alec behind. He has made friends with the stallion, and helps get him free and away from the sinking vessel, but Alec becomes caught in the ropes and is towed into the water by the strong horse. After the storm passes, horse and boy land on a small island where they remain shipwrecked for weeks. In that time, Alec gradually gains the trust of the horse, and helps keep him alive. Alec also manages to ride the feisty beast. When his campfire sets things ablaze by accident, a rescue ship arrives to take them on board, another challenge. Later, when they reach South America, Alec is able to contact his parents and get money for him and The Black to come home to Flushing, NY.

In the second act of this exciting story, Alec meets Henry Dailey, a former champion jockey and then horse trainer, now retired. Henry agrees to keep The Black in his barn and pasture, and gradually trains both horse and boy to ride as one. Dailey is amazed at The Black’s speed, and with Alec they cook up a scheme to get this mystery horse with no papers into a race against the top two race horses of the day in Chicago. That makes up act three, and the entire story is thrilling and satisfying. The last chapter still makes me choke up a bit. Recommended.

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley

The post Rereading: THE BLACK STALLION by Walter Farley appeared first on Todd's Blog.

And Then I Read: MASKERADE by Terry Pratchett

This is the fifth book in the Witches sub-series of Pratchett’s vast Discworld saga, featuring the Lancre witches Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, who are looking for a third to complete their coven. The likely candidate is Agnes Nitt, but she’s not having it, and leaves Lancre for the big city Ankh-Morpork to try for a career as an opera singer. Agnes has a fine voice, but lacks confidence, and once in the opera house, finds herself being used as a vocal stand-in for a much prettier young singer with a poor voice, not what he had in mind at all. The opera house is, of course, haunted, with plenty of references to “Phantom of the Opera,” and more than one corpse, as well as more than one possible culprit. Soon Granny and Nanny have followed Agnes and are on the trail of the ghost, using their unique talents in clever ways. Despite loads of scathing satire on opera in general, the plot is complex, the characters amusing, and in all, it’s a fun book with more variety and depth than I expected at first. Recommended.

Maskerade by Terry Pratchett

The post And Then I Read: MASKERADE by Terry Pratchett appeared first on Todd's Blog.

Rereading: THE WONDERFUL FLIGHT TO THE MUSHROOM PLANET by Eleanor Cameron

Like other 1950s novels for children I’ve reread recently such as “Rusty’s Space Ship” by Evelyn Sibley Lampman and “Freddy and the Space Ship” by Walter R. Brooks, this story, Cameron’s first, plays with the idea of space travel that was the fascination of children of the time, and specifically her own son David. Like those others, the science is poor and the methods of space travel unbelievable, but Cameron’s skill as a writer makes this one work for me as a fantasy and wish-fulfillment, with overtones of magic and mysticism that allows the ideas to succeed.

David Topman is shown an ad in a local paper by his father one day, an ad asking for children to build a space ship and bring it to a Mr. Tyco M. Bass on Thallo Street in his town of Pacific Grove, California. David is thrilled by the idea, and enlists his friend Chuck Masterson to help. Chuck’s grandfather has lots of wood and aluminum sheeting they’re able to use, and the boys finish their ship in a surprisingly short time and deliver it to Mr. Bass, a few blocks from their home. Mr. Bass proves to be a strange but charming small old man with an amazing house having mushrooms in the cellar and an observatory at the top. He explains he’s discovered a small planet orbiting earth that he calls Basidium-X, which is hidden from ordinary telescopes, but can be seen with the special filter he’s invented. Further, Mr. Bass has built a rocket engine, an oxygen source, and an impervious coating that will allow David and Chuck to travel to the small planet with his help and instructions, if they’re willing to take the risk. Mr. Bass has a particular reason for their trip, he believes he’s descended from inhabitants of the planet, and that they need help. But can they actually get there?

Just when you want to give up on this story for the many impossibilities, Cameron draws you back in with fine writing, clever ideas, and intriguing mysteries. First of a series that I’ll be rereading, and recommended.

The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron

The post Rereading: THE WONDERFUL FLIGHT TO THE MUSHROOM PLANET by Eleanor Cameron appeared first on Todd's Blog.

Incoming: ROBIN, TIM DRAKE COMPENDIUM ONE Trade Paperback

This massive 1,100 page trade paperback collects stories featuring Tim Drake as Robin, see the image above for a complete list. I lettered several of the BATMAN issues, the majority of the lettering is by Tim Harkins. I can’t say I remember much about the stories I worked on, but the Batman books were fun at the time. Retail price is $59.99. Due out July 23, check with your comics retailer, or the Amazon link below if interested.

Robin Tim Drake Compendium One

The post Incoming: ROBIN, TIM DRAKE COMPENDIUM ONE Trade Paperback appeared first on Todd's Blog.

Rereading: BENEATH THE HILL by Jane Louise Curry

The Arthur and Griffith cousins are having fun together at the Arthur’s farm for summer vacation, but that fun is threatened by the coal strip-mine operation just over the hill, where the huge steam shovels are working night and day, disrupting the area with noise and destruction. Miggle, one of the children, has planned a treasure hunt for the cousins, but that soon gives way to explorations of unknown caverns inside the hills when they meet Kaolin, a boy who lives there with his ancient family, descendents of people who were pushed out of Wales centuries ago. The mining has awakened an evil power that wants to destroy everyone, and the children are caught up in its delusions and tricks, but their dog Willy is able to see through the illusions and get them out of danger, though Kit is nearly drowned. Inside the mountain, amazing things and wondrous stories are revealed, and Miggle has found a key that can help Kaolin’s family and also defeat the Bane, as they call the evil spirit in the quarry, but can they get the key to the right place beneath the hill in time?

This is the first of many fantasy novels by Curry, and the first of eight books in the Abaloc series. It’s ambitious and full of ideas, but perhaps a bit too full, with too many characters, and by the end seems rushed, though the story is creative and appealing. Recommended.

Beneath the Hill by Jane Louise Curry

The post Rereading: BENEATH THE HILL by Jane Louise Curry appeared first on Todd's Blog.