Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "d-c-thomson"
Annuals
Did you use to get annuals when you were younger? Do you still get them?
I am fond of The Friendship Book (D.C. Thomson - those wonderful Dundee based publishers have produced this for decades).
This is one of those books that is always on the present list at a certain time of year I won’t mention yet because we’re still in the summer. I refuse to think of the C word until the autumn at the earliest (and just wish the shops would do the same).
When my family was younger, they loved The Beano annual, and when we could get it, The Bash Street Kids one. They weren’t the only ones to read them either! I still have a soft spot for Minnie the Minx in particular.
For anyone who might not know, The Beano is veritable institution amongst comics and again produced by D.C. Thomson and again going back decades. I think I’m right in saying it is well over 50 years old.
I’ve got no time for snobbery around comics, comic books, annuals etc.
The important point here is they do get people reading (and the hope is of course they go on to read books with a higher text content later. My family did. What matters is getting that love of reading to develop and annuals and comics can be a great place to start).
I am fond of The Friendship Book (D.C. Thomson - those wonderful Dundee based publishers have produced this for decades).
This is one of those books that is always on the present list at a certain time of year I won’t mention yet because we’re still in the summer. I refuse to think of the C word until the autumn at the earliest (and just wish the shops would do the same).
When my family was younger, they loved The Beano annual, and when we could get it, The Bash Street Kids one. They weren’t the only ones to read them either! I still have a soft spot for Minnie the Minx in particular.
For anyone who might not know, The Beano is veritable institution amongst comics and again produced by D.C. Thomson and again going back decades. I think I’m right in saying it is well over 50 years old.
I’ve got no time for snobbery around comics, comic books, annuals etc.
The important point here is they do get people reading (and the hope is of course they go on to read books with a higher text content later. My family did. What matters is getting that love of reading to develop and annuals and comics can be a great place to start).
Books as Presents
I don’t know how many books are given as presents at Christmas but it must run into millions.
Hardbacks, paperbacks, audio books, ebooks - a fabulous celebration of the written word, fictional and factual. I love that aspect.
Yes, I’ve got books on my wish list this year - I always do - no surprises there.
I still have an annual (The Friendship Book which is still going strong after many decades and published by that marvellous publisher, D.C. Thomson of Dundee). I wonder how many kids got into reading thanks to having an annual every Christmas. Certainly they’re a great way to encourage reading.
Comics and comic books can serve the same purpose. Flash fiction, my genre, can do so too because these can tempt the reluctant reader in - you don’t have to read a brick of a novel (a) all at once and (b) as your way into reading. You cam start smaller and build up or read the brick a bit at a time.
The important thing is to read and I hope whatever book presents you receive this year, you have a fabulous time reading them!
Hardbacks, paperbacks, audio books, ebooks - a fabulous celebration of the written word, fictional and factual. I love that aspect.
Yes, I’ve got books on my wish list this year - I always do - no surprises there.
I still have an annual (The Friendship Book which is still going strong after many decades and published by that marvellous publisher, D.C. Thomson of Dundee). I wonder how many kids got into reading thanks to having an annual every Christmas. Certainly they’re a great way to encourage reading.
Comics and comic books can serve the same purpose. Flash fiction, my genre, can do so too because these can tempt the reluctant reader in - you don’t have to read a brick of a novel (a) all at once and (b) as your way into reading. You cam start smaller and build up or read the brick a bit at a time.
The important thing is to read and I hope whatever book presents you receive this year, you have a fabulous time reading them!
