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The It-Doesn't-Matter-Suit and Other Stories
A timeless collection of stories for younger children.
In the eponymous The It-Doesn't-Matter Suit, little Max Nix is on a quest to find the perfect suit he can go ice-fishing, cow-milking and town-walking in. There's magic afoot in Mrs Cherry's Kitchen and children will love to find their perfect Nighty-night little / Turn-out-the-light little Bed! in The Bed Book.
In the eponymous The It-Doesn't-Matter Suit, little Max Nix is on a quest to find the perfect suit he can go ice-fishing, cow-milking and town-walking in. There's magic afoot in Mrs Cherry's Kitchen and children will love to find their perfect Nighty-night little / Turn-out-the-light little Bed! in The Bed Book.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
7 people are currently reading
794 people want to read
About the author
Sylvia Plath
292 books27.9k followersSylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer, widely regarded as one of the most influential and emotionally powerful authors of the 20th century. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she demonstrated literary talent from an early age, publishing her first poem at the age of eight. Her early life was shaped by the death of her father, Otto Plath, when she was eight years old, a trauma that would profoundly influence her later work.
Plath attended Smith College, where she excelled academically but also struggled privately with depression. In 1953, she survived a suicide attempt, an experience she later fictionalized in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. After recovering, she earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Newnham College, Cambridge, in England. While there, she met and married English poet Ted Hughes in 1956. Their relationship was passionate but tumultuous, with tensions exacerbated by personal differences and Hughes's infidelities.
Throughout her life, Plath sought to balance her ambitions as a writer with the demands of marriage and motherhood. She had two children with Hughes, Frieda and Nicholas, and continued to write prolifically. In 1960, her first poetry collection, The Colossus and Other Poems, was published in the United Kingdom. Although it received modest critical attention at the time, it laid the foundation for her distinctive voice—intensely personal, often exploring themes of death, rebirth, and female identity.
Plath's marriage unraveled in 1962, leading to a period of intense emotional turmoil but also extraordinary creative output. Living with her two children in London, she wrote many of the poems that would posthumously form Ariel, the collection that would cement her literary legacy. These works, filled with striking imagery and raw emotional force, displayed her ability to turn personal suffering into powerful art. Poems like "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" remain among her most famous, celebrated for their fierce honesty and technical brilliance.
In early 1963, following a deepening depression, Plath died by suicide at the age of 30. Her death shocked the literary world and sparked a lasting fascination with her life and work. The posthumous publication of Ariel in 1965, edited by Hughes, introduced Plath's later poetry to a wide audience and established her as a major figure in modern literature. Her novel The Bell Jar was also published under her own name shortly after her death, having initially appeared under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas."
Plath’s work is often classified within the genre of confessional poetry, a style that emphasizes personal and psychological experiences. Her fearless exploration of themes like mental illness, female oppression, and death has resonated with generations of readers and scholars. Over time, Plath has become a feminist icon, though her legacy is complex and occasionally controversial, especially in light of debates over Hughes's role in managing her literary estate and personal history.
Today, Sylvia Plath is remembered not only for her tragic personal story but also for her immense contributions to American and English literature. Her work continues to inspire writers, artists, and readers worldwide. Collections such as Ariel, Crossing the Water, and Winter Trees, as well as her journals and letters, offer deep insight into her creative mind. Sylvia Plath’s voice, marked by its intensity and emotional clarity, remains one of the most haunting and enduring in modern literature.
Plath attended Smith College, where she excelled academically but also struggled privately with depression. In 1953, she survived a suicide attempt, an experience she later fictionalized in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. After recovering, she earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Newnham College, Cambridge, in England. While there, she met and married English poet Ted Hughes in 1956. Their relationship was passionate but tumultuous, with tensions exacerbated by personal differences and Hughes's infidelities.
Throughout her life, Plath sought to balance her ambitions as a writer with the demands of marriage and motherhood. She had two children with Hughes, Frieda and Nicholas, and continued to write prolifically. In 1960, her first poetry collection, The Colossus and Other Poems, was published in the United Kingdom. Although it received modest critical attention at the time, it laid the foundation for her distinctive voice—intensely personal, often exploring themes of death, rebirth, and female identity.
Plath's marriage unraveled in 1962, leading to a period of intense emotional turmoil but also extraordinary creative output. Living with her two children in London, she wrote many of the poems that would posthumously form Ariel, the collection that would cement her literary legacy. These works, filled with striking imagery and raw emotional force, displayed her ability to turn personal suffering into powerful art. Poems like "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" remain among her most famous, celebrated for their fierce honesty and technical brilliance.
In early 1963, following a deepening depression, Plath died by suicide at the age of 30. Her death shocked the literary world and sparked a lasting fascination with her life and work. The posthumous publication of Ariel in 1965, edited by Hughes, introduced Plath's later poetry to a wide audience and established her as a major figure in modern literature. Her novel The Bell Jar was also published under her own name shortly after her death, having initially appeared under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas."
Plath’s work is often classified within the genre of confessional poetry, a style that emphasizes personal and psychological experiences. Her fearless exploration of themes like mental illness, female oppression, and death has resonated with generations of readers and scholars. Over time, Plath has become a feminist icon, though her legacy is complex and occasionally controversial, especially in light of debates over Hughes's role in managing her literary estate and personal history.
Today, Sylvia Plath is remembered not only for her tragic personal story but also for her immense contributions to American and English literature. Her work continues to inspire writers, artists, and readers worldwide. Collections such as Ariel, Crossing the Water, and Winter Trees, as well as her journals and letters, offer deep insight into her creative mind. Sylvia Plath’s voice, marked by its intensity and emotional clarity, remains one of the most haunting and enduring in modern literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
January 3, 2021
#lerosclássicos
O “Fato do Tanto-Faz-Como-Fazia” foi escrito em 1959, pouco depois de a autora ter tido o seu primeiro filho, ainda que só tenha sido publicado postumamente, em 1996, com as divertidas ilustrações de Rotraut Susanne Berner, e dá um registo bastante diferente daquele que geralmente se associa a Sylvia Plath.
Nesta história infantil, a família Nix recebe uma encomenda, um felpudo fato de lã amarelo-mostarda, que poderá ser para o pai ou para um dos sete filhos, mas que acaba por ser vestido por aquele que não se preocupar com o que os outros possam pensar dele. Uma bela mensagem.
“O Max era feliz, excepção de uma única coisa. Mais do que qualquer outra coisa no mundo, o Max queria ter um fato só para si. (...) Ele queria um fato para O-Ano-Todo. Ele queria um fato para fazer tudo."
O “Fato do Tanto-Faz-Como-Fazia” foi escrito em 1959, pouco depois de a autora ter tido o seu primeiro filho, ainda que só tenha sido publicado postumamente, em 1996, com as divertidas ilustrações de Rotraut Susanne Berner, e dá um registo bastante diferente daquele que geralmente se associa a Sylvia Plath.
Nesta história infantil, a família Nix recebe uma encomenda, um felpudo fato de lã amarelo-mostarda, que poderá ser para o pai ou para um dos sete filhos, mas que acaba por ser vestido por aquele que não se preocupar com o que os outros possam pensar dele. Uma bela mensagem.
“O Max era feliz, excepção de uma única coisa. Mais do que qualquer outra coisa no mundo, o Max queria ter um fato só para si. (...) Ele queria um fato para O-Ano-Todo. Ele queria um fato para fazer tudo."
February 6, 2017
Αρκετά βαρετό, κουραστικό και προβλέψιμο. Γιος και μαμά λοιπόν μείναμε με μέτριες εντυπώσεις... ¨/
November 13, 2015
Sim, é um livro infantil.
Que tem uns desenhos lindos.
Com um gato, com um gato amarelo...
E melhor do que os desenhos,
o texto é de Sylvia Plath;
uma das estrelas do universo de escritores que idolatro...
A história é uma ternura,
como uma canção de embalar.
E com uma mensagem para pensar...
Cinco estrelas para um conto infantil?
Mas é bonito e enquanto o lia sorria,
portanto, Tanto Faz Como Fazia...
Que tem uns desenhos lindos.
Com um gato, com um gato amarelo...
E melhor do que os desenhos,
o texto é de Sylvia Plath;
uma das estrelas do universo de escritores que idolatro...
A história é uma ternura,
como uma canção de embalar.
E com uma mensagem para pensar...
Cinco estrelas para um conto infantil?
Mas é bonito e enquanto o lia sorria,
portanto, Tanto Faz Como Fazia...
Read
May 10, 2024সিলভিয়া প্লাথ ছোটদের জন্য গল্প ও কবিতা লিখেছেন এ তথ্যটাই জানতাম না,পড়া তো দূরের কথা। এই বইয়ের দুটো গল্পই বেশ মজার। কবিতাটাও বেশ।ছোটরা পড়ে (বা শুনে) খুব আনন্দ পাবে।
December 7, 2018
It makes you think how much of what you actually like you tend to reject just because you care or fear more about what other people think than what really matters.
This book describes, in its simple, point by point, character to character way, a predominant human condition. By using the youngest child as the protagonist, it also reinforces the freedom and honesty of children that adults tend to lose when they grow old.
This book describes, in its simple, point by point, character to character way, a predominant human condition. By using the youngest child as the protagonist, it also reinforces the freedom and honesty of children that adults tend to lose when they grow old.
February 13, 2018
Μου αρέσει η Σύλβια Πλαθ και ήμουν περίεργη να διαβάσω αυτό το παιδικό της πόνημα. Το χάρηκα. Το βιβλίο περιλαμβάνει τρεις μικρές ιστορίες (η τελευταία σε μορφή ποιήματος) που η Πλαθ έγραψε για τα παιδιά της. Έξυπνες, σύντομες, με ενέργεια και χάρη, δημιουργούν εικόνες και συναιθήματα κι αφήνουν όμορφα μηνύματα με χαριτωμένο τρόπο. Αξιόλογη η μετάφραση της Κατερίνας Αγγελάκη-Ρούκ με μια μικρή ένσταση στη μετάφραση των ονομάτων στη δεύτερη ιστορία (οκ Ηλιάκος αλλάΤσουρεκάκος όνομα παιδιού;). Πολύ ταιριαστά κι ευχάριστα τα σκίτσα του David Roberts.
#readathon18 [4] - Ένα παιδικό βιβλίο που εκδόθηκε από το 2012 και μετά. (Στα ελληνικά το συγκεκριμένο).
#readathon18 [4] - Ένα παιδικό βιβλίο που εκδόθηκε από το 2012 και μετά. (Στα ελληνικά το συγκεκριμένο).
May 14, 2020
2.5 Stars
Stories for children coming from Sylvia Plath may be surprising, sure, but not entirely unlikely — she was a rather versatile writer. Plath writes them well, too — all three stories in this volume are cute; delightfully written in a manner sure to appeal to kids, and accompanied by lovely illustrations by David Roberts to sustain and encourage interest. There's magic in "Mrs. Cherry's Kitchen" to capture children's fantasy; repitition (albeit a bit much) in "The It-Doesn't-Matter-Suit" to introduce and reinforce new ideas; and the loveliest, most imaginative rhyme and rhythm in "The Bed Book" — my favourite of the three — to keep them cheerful.
But stories for children are not to be mere enchantment, they also have morals and messages — perhaps the most crucial of all literature, considering how formative bedtime tales from our childhood are for our basic values and outlook — and this is where this book disappoints. For the most part; i.e. the first two stories; the implicit social conditions are rather dated — the two women characters are housekeepers, a mom and a wife, whiling their days away sewing and cooking. The moral of "Mrs. Cherry's Kitchen" comes off as slightly more problematic, where all appliances seem to be anthropomorphic workers who need to stick to their own jobs and prevented from going on a "strike". This is ofcourse, one of the problems of anthropomorphism — appealing as it is, the position of objects is never really as complex as that of humans. Thus, at two extremes of its worst, this story can construct either a bourgeoisie class/caste divide (if not urge a heirarchy) or serve to restrict the aspirations of its readers (kids!). All in all, not a good look for children growing up in the twenty-first century.
This book, then, is plenty imaginative, but perhaps requires a more cautious reading than afforded by children's general affinity to poring freely over wild expanses of the imagination.
Stories for children coming from Sylvia Plath may be surprising, sure, but not entirely unlikely — she was a rather versatile writer. Plath writes them well, too — all three stories in this volume are cute; delightfully written in a manner sure to appeal to kids, and accompanied by lovely illustrations by David Roberts to sustain and encourage interest. There's magic in "Mrs. Cherry's Kitchen" to capture children's fantasy; repitition (albeit a bit much) in "The It-Doesn't-Matter-Suit" to introduce and reinforce new ideas; and the loveliest, most imaginative rhyme and rhythm in "The Bed Book" — my favourite of the three — to keep them cheerful.
But stories for children are not to be mere enchantment, they also have morals and messages — perhaps the most crucial of all literature, considering how formative bedtime tales from our childhood are for our basic values and outlook — and this is where this book disappoints. For the most part; i.e. the first two stories; the implicit social conditions are rather dated — the two women characters are housekeepers, a mom and a wife, whiling their days away sewing and cooking. The moral of "Mrs. Cherry's Kitchen" comes off as slightly more problematic, where all appliances seem to be anthropomorphic workers who need to stick to their own jobs and prevented from going on a "strike". This is ofcourse, one of the problems of anthropomorphism — appealing as it is, the position of objects is never really as complex as that of humans. Thus, at two extremes of its worst, this story can construct either a bourgeoisie class/caste divide (if not urge a heirarchy) or serve to restrict the aspirations of its readers (kids!). All in all, not a good look for children growing up in the twenty-first century.
This book, then, is plenty imaginative, but perhaps requires a more cautious reading than afforded by children's general affinity to poring freely over wild expanses of the imagination.
Read
May 2, 2020Casa mia per il mio cognatone è diventata punto di ricettazione libraria, perché lui sa della mia profonda avversione al macero e dell'abilità che ho nel far 'giralibri' dove credo sia opportuno.
Questo piccolo libro non solo lo faccio mio, ma lo leggo anche, perché l'autrice mi aspetta da tanto tempo con le sue poesie, che temo bellissime.
E poi, anche i sogni dei bambini possono diventare poesia.
Questo piccolo libro non solo lo faccio mio, ma lo leggo anche, perché l'autrice mi aspetta da tanto tempo con le sue poesie, che temo bellissime.
E poi, anche i sogni dei bambini possono diventare poesia.
Read
July 20, 2024el cuento bastante sin mas bastante repetitivo pero imaginarme a plath escribiendo esta historia en su luna d miel en benidorm me parece algo top
January 31, 2024
Nici-Nu-Contează câți ani ai. Copilăros, delicios, înțelept.
December 4, 2016
O lectură perfectă pentru cei mici... :)
May 9, 2019
An OK story with fantastic pictures
May 7, 2022
un poco repetitivo pero bueno, será quizás por que no tengo 7 años
July 4, 2023
4,5 (niezbyt podobały mi się te charakterystyczne ilustracje)
Ale to była mądra i wesoła książka!
Tak naprawdę to moje pierwsze spotkanie z twórczością S. Plath. Jeśli jej pozycje dla dorosłych są napisane równie intrygująco, to chyba w końcu muszę sięgnąć po "Szklany klosz".
Ale to była mądra i wesoła książka!
Tak naprawdę to moje pierwsze spotkanie z twórczością S. Plath. Jeśli jej pozycje dla dorosłych są napisane równie intrygująco, to chyba w końcu muszę sięgnąć po "Szklany klosz".
Read
April 12, 2024Let me keep myself aloof from rating. I have read it way later than my childhood. The first story, most probably set in Germany, and the long rhyme should please the kids I think.
November 4, 2023
Pocieszająca, dające swego rodzaju ukojenie historia z pięknymi obrazkami. ❤️❤️
October 13, 2019
Rating: 4.5/5 || Recenzia pe Secretele Simonei
Costumul galben-ca-muștarul
Cine ar îndrăzni să poarte un costum galben-ca-muștarul? Câteva persoane? Atunci cine ar îndrăzni să îl poarte la o sesiune de schi? Nimeni altul decât Max Nix, un băiețel în vârstă de 7 ani. Acesta este cel mai mic dintre cei șapte frați ai familiei Nix și am observat în această carte cum el este într-adevăr tratat ca cel mai mic membru al familiei.
În momentul în care un costum misterios sosește la familia Nix, el este dat celei mai mari persoane. Nefiind potrivit pentru frații mari, costumul este dat mai departe, până ajunge la Max.
Mi s-a părut tare hazliu tot acest proces și a fost amuzant să aflu ce momente își imagina Max că ar fi potrivite pentru a putea purta costumul galben-ca-muștarul. Cred că orice copil care ar primi un dar pe care și l-ar dori mult ar visa ce ar face cu acel lucru în diverse situații.
Bucătăria Doamnei Cherry și Cartea Paturilor
Cartea Costumul Nici-Nu-Contează și alte povestiri cuprinde 3 povestiri hazlii numai bune pentru copiii plini de imaginație. După ce am lecturat Costumul Nici-Nu-Contează și m-am amuzat alături de Max, a fost foarte drăguț să mă întâlnesc cu spiridușii de bucătărie din Bucătăria Doamnei Cherry. Cu toate că această povestire a fost simpatică și amuzantă, pot spune că mai mult m-am amuzat la Max și la Cartea Paturilor care este o poezie extrem de lungă despre...paturi. Cred că este unica poezie despre paturi pe care am citit-o vreodată și v-o recomand cu mare drag dacă aveți poftă de o sesiune de râs!! Eu m-am amuzat la culme și mi-a plăcut mult traducerea realizată de Florin Bican al cărui stil îmi place foarte mult.
Citate:
Costumul galben-ca-muștarul
Cine ar îndrăzni să poarte un costum galben-ca-muștarul? Câteva persoane? Atunci cine ar îndrăzni să îl poarte la o sesiune de schi? Nimeni altul decât Max Nix, un băiețel în vârstă de 7 ani. Acesta este cel mai mic dintre cei șapte frați ai familiei Nix și am observat în această carte cum el este într-adevăr tratat ca cel mai mic membru al familiei.
În momentul în care un costum misterios sosește la familia Nix, el este dat celei mai mari persoane. Nefiind potrivit pentru frații mari, costumul este dat mai departe, până ajunge la Max.
Mi s-a părut tare hazliu tot acest proces și a fost amuzant să aflu ce momente își imagina Max că ar fi potrivite pentru a putea purta costumul galben-ca-muștarul. Cred că orice copil care ar primi un dar pe care și l-ar dori mult ar visa ce ar face cu acel lucru în diverse situații.
Bucătăria Doamnei Cherry și Cartea Paturilor
Cartea Costumul Nici-Nu-Contează și alte povestiri cuprinde 3 povestiri hazlii numai bune pentru copiii plini de imaginație. După ce am lecturat Costumul Nici-Nu-Contează și m-am amuzat alături de Max, a fost foarte drăguț să mă întâlnesc cu spiridușii de bucătărie din Bucătăria Doamnei Cherry. Cu toate că această povestire a fost simpatică și amuzantă, pot spune că mai mult m-am amuzat la Max și la Cartea Paturilor care este o poezie extrem de lungă despre...paturi. Cred că este unica poezie despre paturi pe care am citit-o vreodată și v-o recomand cu mare drag dacă aveți poftă de o sesiune de râs!! Eu m-am amuzat la culme și mi-a plăcut mult traducerea realizată de Florin Bican al cărui stil îmi place foarte mult.
Citate:
"Muntele avea trei piscuri și, pe toate trei, fie iarnă, fie vară, ședeau căciulițe de zăpadă, ca trei mari globuri de înghețată de vanilie. În nopțile când luna răsărea rotundă și strălucitoare ca un balon portocaliu, se auzeau vulpile scheunând în pădurea deasă de pini aflată mai sus de casa lui Max. În zilele senine și însorite, se vedea râul sclipind și clipocind hăt jos, în vale, mititel și subțirel ca o panglică de argint.
Lui Max îi plăcea unde locuiește.
Era fericit acolo. Un singur lucru îi lipsea.
Mai mult decât orice pe lume, Max Nix își dorea să aibă și el un costum." (p.4)
"Încercă să-și imagineze cum ar fi să poarte costumul lânos, vârtos, nou-nouț, galben-ca-muștarul, la schi. Un asemenea costum nu se mai pomenise în Winkelburg. Ce vor zice prietenii săi? Vor crede poate că galbenul e o culoare caraghioasă pentru un costum de schi. Ar arăta ca un câmp de floarea-soarelui pe zăpadă. Toți prietenii săi purtau costume de schi albastre și roșii. Niciunul dintre ei nu purtase vreodată un costu galben-ca-muștarul." (p.18)
"Căței, sau pisici,
Sau canari, sau canare
De-ți dansează pe pat
Cu noroiu pe picioare,
În Patul Pătabil
Deloc nu contează -
Gemu-n el nu lăsa urme,
Vopseaua nu-l colorează.
În schimb dacă vrei,
Stând în pt, să te miști,
Tanco-Patul i-un Pat
Aprobat de turiști.
Are-n el manivele,
Și roți are, dințate,
Iar când tragi de-o manetă,
Și din mlaștini te scoate." (p.70-71)
September 14, 2019
Nagyon izgatott, milyen lehet, amikor Sylvia Plath mesét ír, és ez bizony jó. Láncmese jelleggel és pont megfelelő mennyiségű ismétléssel. Könnyen lehetett volna unalmasan repetitív, de nagyon jól el van találva. Olyan ritmusa van a történetnek, az ismétléseknek, a szövegnek, hogy öröm volt olvasni. Tanulság is van, legkevésbé sem szájbarágósan. Közben az egész könnyed (ami nem az első asszociációm Sylvia Plath nevéről), gördülékeny. A négy és fél és a nyolc és fél éves is imádta, és én is. A fordítás remek, Dániel András illusztrációi tovább emelik az élményt, és ez a texturált mustársárga öltöny borító! Ez a kötet úgy tökéletes, ahogy van.
September 14, 2019
After reading The It-Doesn't-Matter-Suit in its beautiful Hungarian edition, I just had to get my hands on the "other stories" for children by Sylvia Plath, too. And I loved them to bits. I really like it when an adult is able to meet children's unbounded imagination. It was a joy to read, highly recommended to anyone interested in discovering an utterly different Sylvia Plath.
April 1, 2012
Max Nix longs for a suit. Not just an ordinary work-a-day suit, but a suit for doing Everything.
A darling story with gorgeous illustrations.
Also, in my personal headcanon this is what Barney Stinson read as a kid. ♥
A darling story with gorgeous illustrations.
Also, in my personal headcanon this is what Barney Stinson read as a kid. ♥
November 16, 2024
Un conte de la gran Sylvia Plath per als més petits (cicle mitjà) que transmet el missatge de ser un mateix ignorant tot el que puguin dir els altres. Amb una estructura repetitiva, senzilla i molt humor és molt recomanable per a tota biblioteca escolar.
June 9, 2011
A sweet children's story from an unexpected source.
March 3, 2012
I had a hard time adjusting my thoughts to Sylvia Plath haven written children's stories. I can see myself revisiting this story over and over again.
October 28, 2015
A great idea from a great writer but just one or three too many brothers to make this snappy little moral tale fun to read.
January 20, 2018
What an amazing children book. Is there anything Sylvia Plath couldn't write.
Read
July 24, 2018An endearing and uplifting tale.
December 24, 2018
Pentru cei mici, poemul „Cartea Paturilor” e tare amuzant, te cucerește, recomand :-)
January 7, 2019
Určite ANO.
A tie kresbičky sú super.
A tie kresbičky sú super.
February 28, 2024
Que importante ponernos ese traje todos y cada uno de los días de nuestras vidas…
Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews