Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-beano"
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).
Annuals
I’ve always loved annuals. They make smashing Christmas presents.
I’ve enjoyed The Beano, The Bash Street Kids, and others in my time. These days and in a completely different mood, I love The Friendship Book. It’s a gentle, often amusing, and thoughtful read and a great comfort book.
Other family members get the Private Eye annual. I know I turn to the cartoons first there when I get to look at it!
Annuals, I think, serve a great purpose in encouraging further reading. They are perfect for dipping into when you know you want to read something but don’t want anything “heavy”.
I will add flash fiction and short story collections are also great for that but hands up, I am bound to say that, given I am published in both! It is still true though!
Which annuals do you enjoy? D.C.Thomson, that wonderful publisher based in Dundee, are responsible for many of them. Long may they continue.
I’ve enjoyed The Beano, The Bash Street Kids, and others in my time. These days and in a completely different mood, I love The Friendship Book. It’s a gentle, often amusing, and thoughtful read and a great comfort book.
Other family members get the Private Eye annual. I know I turn to the cartoons first there when I get to look at it!
Annuals, I think, serve a great purpose in encouraging further reading. They are perfect for dipping into when you know you want to read something but don’t want anything “heavy”.
I will add flash fiction and short story collections are also great for that but hands up, I am bound to say that, given I am published in both! It is still true though!
Which annuals do you enjoy? D.C.Thomson, that wonderful publisher based in Dundee, are responsible for many of them. Long may they continue.
