Barking Planet Children's & YA Books

February: Feeling Good, Days Gone By, The Golden Age

           The illustration by Inga Moore of Mr.Toad and his friends is from the Wind in the  Willows.

 

      The Possibilities

Fantasy, Hope, and Tales That Were Told

"By entering the world of fantasy and imagination, children and adults secure for themselves a safe space where fears can be confronted, mastered, and banished. Beyond that, the real magic of the fairy tale lies in its ability to extract pleasure from pain. In bringing to life the dark figures of our imagination as ogres, witches, cannibals, and giants, fairy tales may stir up dread, but in the end they always supply the pleasure of seeing it vanquished."  -- Maria Tatar in her Introduction to The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales.

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The Golden Age

Fantasy  

The delightful illustration on the left is by E.H. Shephard from the original edition of Kenneth Grahame's classic book, The Wind In The Willows. The book has delighted children and adults alike for over 100 years. It was one of the many exceptional books published in the Golden Age of children's books, an era that lasted from the late nineteenth century to World War One. They include Peter Rabbit, The Secret Garden, Peter Pan, Tom Sawyer, The Wizard of OZ, Pinocchio, and Ann of Green Gables,. Children's book publishers were flourishing. It was also during this era that wonderful illustrators like E.H. Shephard, Arthur Rackham. Sir John Tenniel, Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway, Kay Neilson, and Walter Crane became important.

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Mr.Toad and the Edwardian World

Toad is probably the most well known character in the Wind In the Willows. He also has appeared in several books by other writers as well as plays, movies, and TV.

Toad, as a denizen of Edwardian  England is also a parody of the upper class. Although a very nice fellow (in his own words), he was also self-centered, self-important, impetuous, and rather indifferent to most others. He was a satirical version of the immature country gentleman who inherited his wealth.

Seth Lerer wrote a history of "Children's Literature from Aesop to Harry Potter". in which he writes cohesively about the Edwardian Era, The Golden Age, and The Wind in the Willows. Mr. Toad appears in the book several times. Here is an excerpt that relates Toad's world to Edwardianism.

"For The Wind in the Willows sweetness and decorum are the two poles of its nostalgia. And yet, here the vision of Victorian England lies less in garden party photographs than in the technological inventions that would captivate the fancies of the rich: new playthings such as motorcars, new challenges to nature, new threats to country sweetness and social decorum. Toad lives at the epicenter of Edwardian anxiety in the book. His fascination with the motorcar, his appetites, his mania, all descend into theater. Toad stands as something of a figure for Edwardianism itself. . ."

 

 

The illustrations are by E.A. Shephard (top) and Inga Moore (bottom). 
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Mr. Toad and His Motorcar Obsession 

"In the story, Mr. Toad is a crazed follower of the latest fads and has become an obsessive motorist after having his horse-drawn vehicle forced off the road by a passing automobile. “What dust clouds shall spring up before me as I speed on my reckless way!” he declares, on his conversion from horse-drawn to motor vehicles. Before long he has crashed seven cars, been in the hospital three times, and paid a fortune in fines for motoring offenses. His friends try to prevent him from pursuing his dangerous hobby by placing him under house arrest, but he escapes, steals a car, and ends up in prison. He then escapes, steals the same car again, and drives it into a river." Tom Standage, Lit Hub

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The Natural World

There are several occasions in Grahame's world where the beauty and mysteries of the natural world evoke moments of wonder.

“All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

The illustration of Mole from The Wind In the Willows is by E. H. Shephard.

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Reality and The Edwardian (Golden) Age

There was a dark side to this self-satisfied culture of power and prosperity known as the Edwardian Age --  named for the British King who succeeded Queen Victoria.The ruling oligarchies of Western Europe were marked by incompetence, lust for more power and wealth, and arrogance. They exploited weaker cultures and after centuries were finally emerging from years of barbaric colonialism.

Ultimately, the oligarchies are responsible for the deaths and suffering of World War One.

 

The painting of King Edward is by Sir Luke Fildes.
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The Golden Age Ended with World War One.

Death and Pain Were Everywhere,

Poets Were Serving in the Trenches.

Here are excerpts from a poem . . .

To Any Dead Officer BY SIEGFRIED SASSOON

Well, how are things in Heaven? I wish you’d say,

  Because I’d like to know that you’re all right.

Tell me, have you found everlasting day,

  Or been sucked in by everlasting night?- . .

So when they told me you’d been left for dead

I wouldn’t believe them, feeling it must be true.

Next week the bloody Roll of Honour said

“Wounded and missing”—(That’s the thing to do

When lads are left in shell-holes dying slow,

With nothing but blank sky and wounds that ache,

Moaning for water till they know

  It’s night, and then it’s not worth while to wake! 

 

Good-bye, old lad! Remember me to God,

  And tell Him that our politicians swear

They won’t give in till Prussian Rule’s been trod

  Under the Heel of England ... Are you there? ...

Yes ... and the war won’t end for at least two years;

But we’ve got stacks of men ... I’m blind with tears,

Staring into the dark. Cheero!

I wish they’d killed you in a decent show.

 

Sassoon saw heavy combat. He was very brave, survived the trenches, was hospitalized, and became widely appreciated as a writer and poet.

 

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Download Soldiers going home 1918Armistice Going Home 1918

 

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To Our Readers,

This will be our final blog for an indefinite period, Thank you.

Robert

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Going Back

“Yesterday I visited the battlefield of last year. The place was scarcely recognisable. Instead of a wilderness of ground torn up by shell, the ground was a garden of wild flowers and tall grasses. Most remarkable of all was the appearance of many thousands of white butterflies which fluttered around. It was as if the souls of the dead soldiers had come to haunt the spot where so many fell. It was eerie to see them. And the silence! It was so still that I could almost hear the beat of the butterflies’ wings.”
Unnamed British officer, 1919

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A Fairy Tale Is More Than Just a Fairy Tale

When some one says to you – and I’ve heard this comment in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian – “that’s just a fairy tale,” it generally means that what you have just said is untrue or unreal. It is a polite but deprecating way of saying that your words form a lie or gossip. Your story is make-believe and unreliable. It has nothing to do with reality and experience. Fairy tale is thus turned into some kind of trivial story – silly, infantile, not to be believed. Moreover, fairy tales are allegedly for children, amusing stories to pass the time away and to be dismissed. If children believe in them, read them and listen to them, they cannot be taken seriously.

 

Yet, we all know that the opposite is true. We all know that we believe or want to believe in fairy tales. We are all ready to answer Peter Pan’s monumental question whether we believe in fairy tales with a resounding “yes!” We all know that fairy tales are tied to real life experiences more than we pretend they aren’t. We ward off fairy tales and pretend that they are intended mainly for children because they tell more truth than we want to know, and we absorb fairy tales because they tell us more truth than we want to know. They are filled with desire and optimism. They drip with brutality, bluntness, violence, and perversity. They expose untruth, and the best are bare, brusque, and concise. They stamp our minds and perhaps our souls. They form another world, a counter world, in which social justice is more readily attained than in our actual world where hypocrisy, corruption, hyping, exploitation, and competition determine the outcome of social and political interactions and the quality of social relations...

This is a wonderful article. Here is a link to read it all. Jack Zipes OUP 

The illustration of Little Red Riding Hood is by Nickolaus Heibelbach. The illustration of the Mad Tea Party is by John Tenniel.

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Original, Imaginative, Independent. Animation

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FF2

Directed and animated by Jonathan Djob Nkondo

Music and Sound design: Nicolas Snyder 

Cellist: Hadas Kleinman

Vocalist: LaKesha Nugent 

Link: FF2  Time: 1.42

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Future Thoughts

 

 

Everyday life and new technologies in the near future. Imaginative 

 

Created By Loek Vugs

 

Sound by Rik Kooyman

 

From the Netherlands

 

Link: Future Thoughts  Time: 2.57

 

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La jeune fille et les nuages 

Visions, music, beauty, surreal

Created by Georges Schwizgebel

He is quite prolific

Link; La Jeune fille et les nuages  Time: 38

 

 

 

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Putin Kidnaps Children

Ukraine: Only 125 of the nearly 14,000 children forcibly transferred by Russia have been successfully returned home.

Kidnapping by Putin's People. It starts with a bus ride.

 

At the end of October, the Russians evacuated the children to Crimea from Kherson, which was then still under the control of Russian forces. 

Daria Herasymchuk, assistant to the President of Ukraine responsible for children's rights, said at a press conference on Tuesday that only 125 children forcibly transferred by Russia have been returned to Ukraine. Kyiv Independent reports about it .

According to Herasymchuk, Russia has illegally transferred nearly 14,000 children from Ukraine during the war.

"We managed to identify and confirm information on at least 13,899 children who were abducted and transferred by the Russian army, and unfortunately we can say that only 125 of them have been able to be returned home," Herasymchuk said, according to the Kyiv Independent.

According to the human rights assistant, Russian forces have killed 456 children during the war and an additional 897 children have been injured.

The human rights organization Amnesty International reported in November that Russian forces have forcibly transferred Ukrainian civilians from occupied territories to other areas and further to Russia.

The forced transfers have been so systematic and extensive that, according to Amnesty, it is probably a crime against humanity.

The US think tank Institute for the Study of War reported earlier that Ukrainian children, among other things, are ostensibly taken on vacation to Russia, but in reality they end up being adopted there by Russian families.

Iida Kantola, editor

ne Kids Voiceless

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Ask any dog...do you enjoy kids reading dog stories to you?
If you have a therapy reading dog and like the idea of kids reading dog books to dogs, send us an email at planetofthedogs@ gmail.com, and we'll send you a complimentary book from the Planet Of The Dogs Series. Your choice.

We will also send complimentary reader copies to librarians and  teachers with therapy reading dog programs. The photo by Susan Purser is of her nephew Chase, reading  Castle In The Mist with Bandit, her therapy dog. 

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Why Am I ?  by Arl Wulff

"If children want to find out and delight about their identity, I strongly suggest you surprise them with  Why am I ?, a colorful book about a curious tiny dog who searches for answers about his identity. This existential story will make your heart beat with joy."
 
-- Jack Zipes, Author, professor emeritus of German, comparative literature, and cultural studies.

 

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Castle In The Mist

 

Prince Ukko, the ruthless leader of the Blackhawk tribe, has kidnapped the two children of his rival, Bik, the Warrior Chief of Stone City. There will be war unless the dogs can free the children from The Castle In The Mist.

" I feel Castle in the Mist is also a beautifully-crafted tale. This particular book has a slightly darker tone, but is still completely readable by children. As a matter-of-fact my 10-year-old son, Michael, says the book is 'great' and thinks: 'it is cool that the dogs come from their own planet.' As well, the illustrations really give depth and visual characterization to the manuscript."  

Charyl Miller Pingleton -- The Uncommon Review

Illustration 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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January -- The Tree Of Life Lives On, Beyond Boundaries,

 

                                         Yggdrasil, The Tree of Life in Norse Legend

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Mythology Has No Borders

Legends have no borders.

Fairy tales have no borders.

Reading opens the doors that take the child beyond all borders. 

From fear and darkness, 

To light and peace.

For a child who has found the stories,

There are no borders to the imagination.

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Vestiges of Norse Mythology have endured for centuries. Variations of Norse Myths and concepts from The Tree of  Life, Yggdrasill, have appeared both before and after the era around 1200  AD in Iceland, when they were first written down.

Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland.

Yggdrasil

According to Norse mythology, the first human man was Ask, or ‘ash-tree’. The Norse believed that humankind is made of the same kind of tree that binds the realms of the mythic cosmos together—with one root among the gods, one among the anti-gods, and one among the dead; and that tree is Yggdrasil.

The gods pass their judgements there every day… This ash tree is the biggest and best of all trees. Its limbs are spread over the whole world and stand over the sky. Three roots of the tree hold it up, and they extend very far. One is with the gods, and the second is with the anti-gods, where the Yawning Gap once was. The third is over Niflheim (Realm of the Dead)

Illustration by Mark Simonetti.
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Old Norse

""Many of the poems in the Poetic Edda have exactly such phenomena, but in Old Norse, which existed as a meaningful language community for several centuries. This means that there is older Old Norse and younger Old Norse, just as there is older and younger modern English.

So, because so many of these poems do contain verifiably older language than we would expect if they had been composed when they were written down in the 1200s, modern scholarship accepts the Poetic Edda as essentially an authentic transmission of genuine pre-Christian stories about the Norse gods and heroes.

Then Snorri’s Prose Edda stands at the beginning of a long tradition of teachers of this lore of gods and heroes, arranging and making sense of more ancient materials like those collected in the Poetic Edda."
 Excerpted from articles in Wondrium by Jackson Crawford, Professor at large and expert on Old Norse languages and mythology.

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The Tree of Life and Tolkien's The Old Forest of Middle Earth

The Tree of Life has been an important part of many cultures over the centuries. It has been known by several names including: The Celtic Tree of Life, a symbol of a quest for spiritual enlightenment. Many cutures for the North Iroquois, the Bahai, and The Ancient Mesopotamians, The Chinese and more. The Holy Tree is the name given to the tree which Buddha sat under meditating for 49 days in his quest for enlightenment.

 

Middle Earth, created by J.R.R. Tolkien, has an Old Forest that has survived the war and turmoil  of earlier times -- huge areas of forest have been wantonly destroyed. The trees of the Old Forest remember those times and are often angry. As the Hobbits learned, the Old Forest  can be foreboding. It is here that the Ents are found. The Ents are huge, ancient tree-like sentient beings that have big leg-like roots that allow them to walk; they also have human-like faces.  On Middle Earth, I find that the Old Forest itself is like one big Tree of Life.

A scene with an Ent in the Old Forest from the Hobbit movie.  

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Norse Mythology -- 

Neil Gaiman, a master story teller with a huge following, topped the best seller list with his book, Norse Mythology. The following excerpts are from a review by Ursula Le Guin in the Guardian.

"Gaiman’s characteristically limpid, quick-running prose keeps the dramatic impetus of the medieval texts, if not their rough-hewn quality. His telling of the tales is for children and adults alike, and this is both right and wise, it being the property of genuine myth to be accessible on many levels. . .

Gaiman plays down the extreme strangeness of some of the material and defuses its bleakness by a degree of self-satire. There is a good deal of humour in the stories, the kind most children like – seeing a braggart take a pratfall, watching the cunning little fellow outwit the big dumb bully. Gaiman handles this splendidly. Yet I wonder if he tries too hard to tame something intractably feral, to domesticate a troll.

It all comes back to the matter of interpretation. In her 2011 book Ragnarok, AS Byatt used the Norse mythos to express her own childhood experience of world war and as a parable of the irrational human behaviours that result in mass ruin and destruction. Such interpretations are perfectly valid in themselves but don’t serve well as a retelling of the myths. They are more of the order of meditations on a religious text, sermons on the meaning of biblical stories. Gaiman does not use the Norse material this way; he simply tells us the story, and tells it well."

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The Word for World is Forest by Ursula Le Guin

In 1972, Ursula Le Quin, motivated in part by deep concerns for the outrageous Vietnam War and the destruction of the environment, wrote this Hugo prize winning book.  Concepts found in the Tree of Life are found throughout the forest. And wherever there is land, there is forest. The  trees that cover the land provide homes and gathering places for the native Athseans. The trees also play an integral part in their dream-based lives; their dreams both heal them and guide their behavior.

The following excerpts are from Goodreads.

"Centuries in the future, Terrans (earth people) have established a logging colony and military base named "New Tahiti" on a tree-covered planet whose small, green-furred, big-eyed inhabitants have a culture centered on lucid dreaming. Terran greed spirals around native innocence and wisdom, overturning the ancient society . . .

Terran colonists take over the planet locals who are named after their planet, Athshe, meaning "forest," rather than "dirt," like their home planet Terra. They follow the 19th century model of colonization: felling trees, planting farms, digging mines and enslaving indigenous peoples. The natives are unequipped to comprehend this. They're a subsistence race who rely on the forests and  have no cultural precedent for tyranny, slavery or war. "

 

Le Guin writes a thought provoking, logical, resolution which I shall not reveal.

The photo of Ursula Le Guin is from the Guardian. The photo of the trees is courtesy of the Tree People.

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Avatar and James Cameron

This movie of the imagination drew an extremely large -- record breaking --   number of viewers, enough to sell 2.8 billion dollars of tickets. I am fascinated by the fact that so many people wanted to see a film based on myth and history. The plot centers on a conflict regarding precious minerals found only on the planet Pandora.

James Cameron, the outstanding creator (producer, director, animation director, and writer) of Avatar and the new sequel, Avatar, The Way Of Water, has opened the doors of perception for a huge, world-wide audience. The visual and sound experience is immersive, from the camerawork to the acting.

Cameron has great knowledge and respect for myth, science fiction, and classic literature. Some of the story seems influenced by Le Guin's book, The Word For World is Forest: The greater influences are The Norse Legends and especially those of the Sacred Tree, Yggdrasil. And the greatest influence of all is the extraordinary imagination of James Cameron.

Three sequels have been written,

I recommend the following Wiki link to learn more about  The World of Avatar Wikii and related matters. Well written and informative. The following excepts  are from the LINK: Hometree, Na'vi Habitat, and Natural Resources.

Photo of James Cameron is by Britannica..

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Hometree

Over 20,000 years old, Hometree is the spiritual and physical home of the Tipani clan of the Na'vi. It is where they sleep and eat, learn and labor. The tree itself is over 150 meters tall and its diameter is many times that of a giant sequoia. Its interior is distinguished by a massive helical core and boasts multiple levels upon which the Na'vi communally craft and enact their rituals and customs.

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Na'vi Habitat

Each Hometree has enough room to comfortably accommodate the members of each Na'vi clan. There are no cases of Na'vi overpopulation as they live in equilibrium with the finite resources of their surrounding environment, subject to the same Darwinian forces as the jungle's other inhabitants.

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Natural Resources

Pandora is a treasure trove of both living and nonliving natural resources. It is the first celestial body to host intelligent sentient lifeforms away from Earth and is also home to a plethora of diverse and spectacular species unlike anything ever speculated by humanity. In terms of nonliving resources, several large areas of the moon's surface contain the extremely  rare superconducting mineral unobtanium. This mineral is worth twenty million standard dollars per unrefined kilogram and twice that in its refined state. The mineral's superconductivity makes it a baffling scientific discovery. The photo is of mining unobtanium.

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Legends, Myths, and Truth

"After all, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of 'truth', and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode; and long ago certain truths and modes of this kind were discovered and must always reappear.". James Cameron

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Original, Independent, Animation

Future Thoughts

Experimental, Highly accomplished, Innovative

Created by Loek Vugs

Sound Rik Kooyman

Link:  Future Thoughts Time: 2.55

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Pique-Nique Au Bord Du Chemin (Roadside Picnic)

Abstract, original, always moving on

Created by Benjiman Jeffroy, Nina-Lou Giachetti

Music: Uèle Lamore 

Link: Pique-Nique  Time: 2.02

 

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King of the Sea

Remarkable, touching, exceptional visuals inspired by music.

My new music video for Kwoon. Credits : Written & Directed by Stéphane Berla; Music by KWOON Eddy : 

Producer - Camille Principiano
Executive Producers : Jean François Bourrel / Nicolas de Rosanbo / Céline Vanlint

Link to: King of the SeaTime: 5.15

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Warrior Librarians

The Fight by Ukrainian Warrior Librarians  by Stephen Marche, the Guardian

When Russia invaded Ukraine, a key part of its strategy was to destroy historic libraries in order to eradicate the Ukrainians’ sense of identity. But Putin hadn’t counted on the unbreakable spirit of the country’s librarians

The battles of the 21st century are hybrid wars fought on any and all fronts: military, economic, political, technological, informational, cultural. Often ignored, or relegated to marginal status, the cultural front is nonetheless foundational. The wars of this century are wars over meaning. As American forces learned in Iraq and Afghanistan, if you lose on the cultural front, military and economic dominance swiftly erode. . . Most wars are fought over who will define the future. The Ukrainian war is a struggle over who will define the past. . .

The libraries are on the frontline. The Russians targeted them from the beginning. In the initial invasion, Russian forces demolished the state archives in Chernihiv,  . .They ransacked the archives in Bucha just as they looted every cultural institution they conquered. . . “Those who burn books will eventually burn people,” the German poet Heinrich Heine said. But in the Ukrainian war, the Russians burn books and people together.

The photo is of one of 348 libraries destroyed by the Russians as of October, 2022.+?

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Kids Picture Books

While children’s books are, on the whole, often scorned by the literary world as not altogether serious, perhaps no format is treated with the same dismissiveness as picture books. Even board books are respected at the very least as convenient chew toys, and chapter books look enough like novels to constitute a respectable gateway to true literature. But picture books seem like a transitory phase, suitable for a sleepy bedtime read-aloud or the shushed classroom break of story time, but hardly worthy of consideration on their own.

Most picture books are recommended for kids ages 4 to 8. That’s already too narrow. But picture books are tossed out even faster since many schools expect kids to read by the end of kindergarten. Because so many parents like to think of our kids as progressing and developing new skills, we allow picture books to fall away by the time kids are sounding out their Dr. Seuss.

The above is from Pamela Paul's New York Times article, Don't Let This Happen.

The illustration is by Richard Scary.

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"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose."

Dr Seuss

 

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Pioneering Black Cartoonist

 

Elizabeth Montague made national news in 2019 for being the first Black cartoonist for the New Yorker. Her debut graphic memoir, Maybe an Artist, depicts Montague's childhood as a Black suburban kid who had to grow up in a post-9/11 world where casual racism and prejudice from her peers were the new norm. Liz also recognized early she was dyslexic and used that to reimagine her career. We spoke with Montague about her new book and how her passion for visual storytelling changed her entire life.

Q: Why do you believe your comics resonate with so many people?

A: I tried to not be super dark and dour. I’m still touching on important and sensitive topics, but hopefully doing it in a way that isn’t depressing. And I feel like I do a pretty good job of not making light of tough subjects but making tough subjects more digestible. MORE   interview by Publisers Weekly

Link to see her cartoons: Liz Montague

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Why Am I ? by Ari Wulff 

I love this book. . . I come at this wonderful book, as I do all kid’s books; with the three-pronged perspective of being a parent, a parent of a disabled child with particular special challenges and needs, and finally as an Early Childhood Pre-K teacher of 3-5 year old children.

First time parents who don’t have much previous involvement with kids are often bemused or even befuddled by the simplicity of many popular kids’ books. Everyone summons respect for Seuss, and other unique iconic work, but many look at some enduring but seemingly simple books by the likes of Eric Carle, Susan Boynton, Margaret Wise Brown, Crockett Johnson, and Mo Willems to name just a few, . . Wulff's drawings are enchanting and delightful. My students adored them and looked at the book many times after each reading. That's a nice bonus, but to me, the overwhelming value of the book is the seemingly simple story that looms larger as it's told. -- This Amazon Customer Review was written by a teacher:

Why Am I was written and illustrated by Ari Wulff.

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Loyalty, Dogs and Kids...

How do you explain loyalty to children? Does loyalty have a place in the world outside? Is it a virtue? Does loyalty bring trouble and problems? Or is it rewarding?

Does loyalty have a beginning and an end? Where can a child find examples of loyalty that they can experience and understand? In stories? In daily life? In computer games?

Dogs offer a wonderful way for a child to understand loyalty. Dogs are the embodiment of loyalty and a story with dogs can illustrate loyalty...

Suppose it is long, long ago...A sister and brother, are on a journey that will take them home. They have stopped for the night and are sleeping at a campsite in the woods. They have been riding on horseback, accompanied by two soldiers who are believed to be loyal to their father, and by their two dogs.

Betrayal...But the men are not loyal. They are traitors and the children find that they have been kidnapped. The children's dogs appear to be dead. 

Thus begins a hard journey for the children, through the mountains to the land of the Forest people. There the children are imprisoned in an old castle. Their father cannot rescue them, because he does not know where his children have been taken. The children are dismayed and frightened. 

Loyal Dogs...Until one cold foggy night, with the forest and the castle enveloped in mist, the sound of howling dogs is heard by the imprisoned children. Their dogs, their loyal dogs, have found them. Hope returns. And thus unfolds the story of the      Castle In The Mist .

The illustration above , from the book Castle In The Mist, are by Stella Mustanoja-McCarty.

Complimentary copies of the award-winning Planet Of The Dogs Series are available for therapy reading dog owners and organizations.  Write us at [email protected]. and we'll send you the books.

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"And the woman said,"His name is not Wild Dog any more, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always . . ." -- Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories (1902)

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December -- Holiday Hope, Memories, Thanks and Joy

                   This is a time for Hope and Celebration - Light in the darkness,  Wonder and magic.

 

 

Classic Christmas Books by Dickens and Dylan Thomas

"The language around Christmas is usually pretty treacly, as befits the season. But future writers should remember that one of the amazing things about the holiday’s ur-text, Charles Dickens’s 1843 novella, “A Christmas Carol,” is that it’s pretty grim, that is to say realistic, when it comes to depicting Scrooge’s past and Tiny Tim’s present. Without Dickens’s eye and ear for extreme emotional and fiscal predicaments, the story’s more fantastic moments wouldn’t have the weight of truth. It is that balance—between emotional forthrightness and plain good old-fashioned invention—that makes Dylan Thomas’s “A Child’s Christmas in Wales”. . .an enduring work, too.

 

Thomas’s piece, a forty-five-minute prose poem, sounds like a cello when read aloud, deep and playful. Cobbled together from earlier writings, Thomas’s reminiscence about his post-First World War childhood in Wales—when “all the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea”—has the value of lived experience, and humor. Encouraged, in 1952, by two women producers to record it, Thomas arrived unprepared and apparently overserved in the liquor department for the session, but it’s his voice that we still associate with the work. The recording sold modestly at first; the book, published posthumously in 1954, went on to become his most popular work in America." Hilton Als, New Yorker

The top illustration by John Leech is of Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim from Charles Dicken's Christmas Carol.

The next illustration, also by John Leech is of Scrooge and the  third ghost from A Christmas Carol.

Artist unknown for A Child's Christmas in Wales.

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Here is a link to YouTube where you can hear Dylan Thomas reading the original Child's Christmas in Wales

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 Transforming Christmas          

'It was Charles Dicken's's A Christmas Carol that transformed Christmas, first in Victorian England as the industrial age was barreling ahead, and then throughout Europe and beyond. Dicken's's notion that the true Christmas spirit embodied caring and generosity, especially for those less fortunate, influenced the thinking of multitudes and transformed the holiday. 

While Christmas Day had always been a sacred, solemn feast day within the Christian faith (just as the Winter Solstice had been in many pagan cultures before it), it wasn’t until the middle part of the 1800s that many began to see it less as a site of religious devotion than as a holiday to be celebrated, and to be celebrated most specifically through the act of giving. 

 

"While A Christmas Carol didn’t spawn this tradition itself, it, more than any other force, popularized it throughout the western world.  Through its powerful, secular story of redemption through charity and love, Dickens imparted to all that Christmas was a time to celebrate all that was worthwhile about the human race, most specifically our love for one another, and our compassion for those less fortunate." -Jonathan Morris, The Antiscribe

 

 

A Christmas Carol (1843) was written with the passion born of hard experience.

Charles Dickens had a painful childhood as an impoverished 12 year old boy from a broken family. With his father in debtor's prison, Dickens was forced to leave school and work ten-hour days for six shillings a week under harsh conditions in England's new industrial economy. Children could be found across the country working in mills, factories, and coal mines—transforming Europe into the continent we know today. 

 

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Redemption for Scrooge

"I don't know what to do.' cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath; and making a perfect Laocoon of himself with his stockings. `I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody. A happy New Year to all the world. Hallo here. Whoop. Hallo.' "-- 

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

Photo of Scrooge (Bruce Cromer) celebrating is from Cincinnati Playhouse production of a Christmas Carol musical. Photo by Mikki Schaffner,
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The Legend of Santa Claus

The legend of Santa Claus, himself, was greatly enhanced by the poem  A Visit from St Nicholas, written for his children, by the American, Clement Clarke Moore, in 1823.

Images by great illustrators have also deeply influenced perceptions of Santa and Christmas. This is especially true for children. However, significant impressions in the minds of adults were also made by the Dickens illustrations of John Leech (and later by Arthur Rackham) in Great Britain, and the yearly illustrations by Thomas Nast of A Visit From St Nicholas in the USA.  

With the passing of time, the spirit of Christmas has changed. The idea of gifts for children, and then others, has evolved with stories, TV, films, merchants, and ceaseless marketing into an often overwhelming distortion of the original spirit of A Christmas Carol. 

But the spirit of Christmas does live on.

Illustration by Tomas Nast.

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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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Kwanzaa

"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. Established by professor and activist Maulana Karenga in 1966, Kwanzaa was meant as a way to bring the African-American community together once a year for a celebration of its culture and heritage. Over the years, the exclusive nature of Kwanzaa was stripped away by Karenga, and 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."

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For Children, The Christmas Spirit lives On In Animals

The Tailor of Gloucester -- A Christmas Tale

By Beatrix  Potter 

Talking animals and their involvement in the lives of people have always been part of the great tradition of wonder stories.The Tailor of Gloucester, Beatrix Potter's classic Christmas tale, revolves around many mice; Shimpkin, the cat; and a sick and impoverished tailor who is kind to trapped mice. The tailor faces disaster in the early pages of the book. He is ill and will not be able to meet a deadline and finish a splendid coat for the mayor. But then, on Christmas Eve, a turning point comes --  in the form of compassionate mice.

The amazing Beatrix Potter illustrated all of her books.

 

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Animals Celebrate In Myriad Ways

I started to make a list. . .

 Mr Dog's Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn, a classic 19th century Christmas tale;  Babar, the elephants, and Father Christmas; Winnie the Pooh and all his friends; Mr Toad, Mole. Badger, Water Rat, and all the wonderful creatures of the Wind In the Willows; Huckle the Cat and all his friends in Busytown; and, of course, Santas' Reindeer.

The list continues, but I must finish this before the holidays.

 

Illustration by Jean de Brunhoff.

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New Collection of Wonder Tales Retold by a Storyteller

Haunting and Hilarious Fairy Tales

I first heard Jack Zipes tell a wonder story on You Tube about 20 year ago. He was captivating. He has now rewritten a delightful book in the voice of the storyteller. Read them out loud and you will see what I mean. They began in written form as Norse Tales, and Fairy Tales by the Grimms. The book has incredible illustrations by Rolf Brandt (who wrote the first version).

Photo by Kelly MacWiliams, UMN News

 

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From Australia

We are happy to report that Why Am I by Ari Wulff is being read and enjoyed in Australia.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Children's Book!  Reviewed in Australia by Elrond on 17 November 2022. "This book is a delight. Wonderfully illustrated and beautifully written it contains a very important message. A message about self esteem, self worth and self discovery. The little yellow dog makes a journey into the world to discover why he is yellow and learns that all of us are different and that being different should be celebrated. I would recommend this book wholeheartedly."

 

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Christmas in Ukraine

On 12 April 2022, UNICEF stated that 4.8 million of Ukraine’s 7.5 million children were displaced, with 2 million having left the country. Of those, an estimated 1.9 million are of school age.

Imagine that in our country.

We send hope, to all the refugees, wherever they are.

Photo by Enrico Morenatti AP

 

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Free Books for Mothers of Infants That Open the Doors to More Books

Reading and talking to infants has proved to be vital to the development of infants and to their future. The following is an excerpt from the Yeager Foundation website.

"If you would like one of our printed children's books titled Mommy Talk, Talk to Me, or Let’s Talk send your name and address to Doug Yeager at [email protected] and specify which you are requesting.  Mommy Talk, Talk to Me, and Let’s Talk are available in English or in Spanish.  Single copies are free to individuals and quantities are free to nonprofits, schools, public agencies, libraries, pediatricians, and pediatric clinics and hospitals.  We have distributed more than 115,000 copies free of charge."

Giving Books In The Christmas Spirit.

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“One can never have enough socks,” said Dumbledore. “Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People insist on giving me books.” Dumbledore in the Socerer's Stone.

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Santa tells the true story and clears up the confusion in this 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?

Here is a link to the rest of this brief Interview

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Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale

"What a truly wonderful and unique Christmas story for the whole family.

Snow Valley Heroes by Robert J. McCarty and illustrated by Stella Mustanoja McCarty is the third offering in the series; "Planet of the Dogs." What an imagination this team has! . . .While I grant you that this story is pure fantasy, it is logical fantasy and uses the story of Santa, his elves, real people, and of course the dogs of Planet of the Dogs . . .  an ideal book to snuggle up with the little ones on a cold winter night and simply enjoy." 

Don Blankenship, editor/reviewer, Good Books For Kids, Top 50 Amazon Reviewer

The illustration is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty.

 

 

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"To err is human, to forgive, canine"-- Anonymous

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November -- Courage, Endurance and Magic

 

 

         Fearless Ivan and His Faithful Horse Double-Hump

 by Pyotr Yershov as retold by Jack Zipes. A story 0f courage, endurance, and magic.

This is a wonderful story of a courageous, flawed, simple, and very likable young farmer, Ivan, and his magic horse, Double Hump.  Like other classic tales, because Ivan is fearless and good-hearted, he is rewarded; his reward is the magic little horse, Double-Hump.  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, offering hope to all if you have courage and endurance.

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 retold Pyotr Yershov's story of Ivan and it flows with charm and surprises. Zipes has also included several pages of relevant historical and biographical information. The charming illustrations by Russian artists are from another Jack Zipes book, Tales of Wonder, Retelling Fairy Tales through Postcards. The illustration above, by an unknown artist. shows Fearless Ivan capturing the Firebird.

Russia, for centuries was 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 and no voice. . .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 the time of Fearless Ivan, the country, except for travel by nobles, was isolated from the West; industrialization had not occurred, and there was no middle class.

"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 

 

The photo of the serf family is by an unknown photographer.

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Pinocchio is Back

 

Pinocchio was created and  evolved in the turbulent political and strife-torn world of nineteenth century Italy. The book was originally written -- and then rewritten and added to the original version --  by political activist and journalist Carlo Collodi.

 

Back Story and Collodi

Asked to name the two most important things about Pinocchio, most Americans would answer: First, his nose grows when he lies, and second, he is a wooden puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy. At this, Carlo Collodi would most likely shake his head. The 19th-century Italian author, who wrote the book that inspired the Disney movie and countless other adaptations. . . including a version from the director Guillermo del Toro coming out later this year,  saw his character very differently.

A radical political commentator who turned to children’s literature late in life, Collodi wrote a complex, unsettling novel—miles away from the morality tale that Pinocchio’s story has become. Collodi’s is a multilayered work of fiction that, although primarily aimed at young readers, is imbued with social criticism and pessimistic humor, and can be read, among other things, as an irreverent attack on established authority. . .

From an article, The Politics of Pinocchio, by Anna Momigliano in the Atlantic

 

 

The illustration is by Enrico Mazzanti.

 

Retellings

 

There have been a multitude of Pinocchio retellings over time in books, theater, and film, including Disney's very popular 1940's version. The Disney studio's recently made an unsuccessful revised version (see below)

 

Today, the big news is that the master of fantasy, the Award winning director Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, The Shape of Water), has, after many years , created a version that can be seen on Netflix, beginning on December 9, 2022.  Here are comments by del Toro:

In 2008, Guillermo del Toro announced that his next project, a darker adaptation of the Italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio, was in development. He has called Pinocchio his passion project, stating that: "no art form has influenced my life and my work more than animation and no single character in history has had as deep of a personal connection to me as Pinocchio", and "I've wanted to make this movie for as long as I can remember".^[8] 

 

Link to del Toro's trailer of Pinocchio.

 

Disney's Two Pinocchios -- 1940 vs 2021

 

The first Disney Pinocchio became well regarded hit. Disney's remake of Pinocchio missed the mark. Here, courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes, is a brief report: CRITICS CONSENSUS 2021 version -- "Visually dazzling but soulless, the largely inert Pinocchio reaffirms that you should always let your conscience be your guide… stay away from unnecessary remakes." Read critic reviews  "Just watch Disney's original 1940 Pinocchio instead." . . .shying away from the story’s darker elements, while delivering on the themes of redemption and the power of parental love. Created with state-of-the-art stop motion animation, this is an enchanting and a magical experience."

 

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The Last Echoes of Pagan Myths

Seth Lerer points out that the comment, ""We are pioneers in an untrodden forest" made in 1884 to his staff by James A.H. Murray, as presiding editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, also describes how the Grimms felt about their work in publishing their "nursery and household tales".

Lerer goes on to quote Wilhelm Grimm, who, in referring to these tales, wrote, "that these were the 'last echoes of pagan myths...A world of magic is opened 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) have existed among the people for several centuries.' And what we find inside those secret forests, caves and seas. . . fairy tales full of families, full of parents who bequeath a sense of self to children, full of ancestors and heirs whose lives play out, in little, the life of a nation from its childhood to maturity."

From Seth Lerer's book, Children's Literature, A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter.

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The Dark Wood of the Golden Birds: “Goodnight Moon” Author Margaret Wise Brown’s Little-Known Philosophical Children’s Book About Love and Loss

“There had never been such a quiet day before. It was the quietest day in the world.”     

BY MARIA POPOVA  The following article tells the backstory for The Dark Wood of the Golden Birds, an exceptional lost book,

"Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910–November 13, 1952) never did anything half-heartedly. When the love of her life fell mortally ill, she did the hardest thing in life — facing the death of a beloved while remaining a pillar for their passage — the best way she knew how: she wrote her a love letter in the form of a children’s book.

 

On the last day of spring in 1950, three years after Goodnight Moon had enraptured the world with its bright playfulness, The Dark Wood of the Golden Birds (public library) appeared, somber and numinous with its elegiac prose, and its haunting duotone of otherworldly greens and yellows, and its the simple dedication: “For Michael Strange.”

In the decades since, the book has fallen out of print in a culture that has no room and no language for grief, and no tolerance for the darkest dimensions of life, which crack open our vastest capacity for light. It would take an act of countercultural courage and resistance for a modern publisher to bring this work of uncommon beauty and tenderness back into the fold of life.

Illustrated by Brown’s longtime collaborator and friend Leonard Weisgard, and written with her singular poetics, the story begins: The Golden Bird               

     

It happened in the woods
a long time ago.
In the dark woods
where the golden birds
sang all through the night
and the day.   

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Imaginative Independent Animation

 

Worlds Apart

 

"A short animation that travels through a whirlwind of questions surrounding the science and religion debate. The film invites the viewer into the details of the conversations, where there is less conflict than it seems from far off."

Created by Emily Downe

Music by Jan Willem de With

Produced by Theos

 

Link: Worlds Apart Time 2.57

 

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Contact

 

 

A special moment for mankind, done with style and imagination

A graduation film from Kingston University. Directed, designed, animated by Katy Wang

Sound and Music by Ambrose Yu

Written by Gabriel de Bruin ...

 

 

Link: Contact Time 7.16

 

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The Peace of Wild Things

 

A wonderful video experience co-created by Charlotte Agar and Katy Wang.

 

Written and narrated by Wendell Berry. Adapted from his poem.

 

Music and Sound by David Kamp.

 

 

 

Link: The Peace of Wild Things  Time: 1.16

 

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How Ukrainian Children Understand the War

In their own words and drawings, new refugees share what they have been through. . .This article, by Zoeann Murphy and Dan Rosenzweig Ziff of the Washington Post is wonderful. It  first appeared in mid-March and has stayed with me ever since. It includes videos of children explaining their drawings. The videos were made in a train station while they were waiting for another refugee train. Here is a Link to the article: Refugee Children.

Here is a sample of the article (March 15 2022)

PRZEMYSL, Poland — The wave of refugees flooding through Europe is striking not just for its historic scale and speed but also because half of the 3 million people who have fled the war in Ukraine are children. That means one child has become a refugee nearly every second since the start of the war, said James Elder, a spokesperson for UNICEF. Many have had to say goodbye to their fathers before undertaking difficult and disorienting journeys with mothers and siblings, sometimes waiting more than a dozen hours in the cold before being allowed to cross into safer countries. Parents have agonized over how to explain what was happening. Some kids heard they were going on vacation. Others were told directly: Our homes are not safe, and Dad must stay behind to defend our country.

To understand how some of these children are experiencing the war, The Washington Post asked young refugees at the train station in Przemysl, Poland — near the Ukraine border — to draw what stood out about the past weeks.

The photo of the children looking out of the train window is courtesy of Daily Sabah.

The photo of the mother and her two children is courtesy of Credit Belge.

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Elizabeth Montague

"Liz Montague is a cartoonist, writer, and illustrator whose work focuses on the intersection of self and social awareness. She began contributing to The New Yorker in 2019 as a cartoonist. She is the first Black cartoonist to have her work published in The New Yorker.

Liz is the creator of the popular Liz at Large cartoon series, which previously ran in Washington City Paper, and is passionate about documenting Social Change and Protest Movements.

er first book, Maybe an Artist came out this Fall to excellent reviews. She is currently working on a picture book for Penguin Random House as well as a young adult series for Scholastic. Liz fundamentally believes in representation, accessible information and drawing your feelings."

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Haunting and Hilarious Fairy Tales

 

Jack Zipes has vividly retold and edited fairy tales that were retold and illustrated by Rolf Brandt. The book, Haunting and Hilarious Fairy Tales, is published by Little Mole and Honey Bear. Here is a lost treasure, a delightful manifestation of Zipe's Mission Statement. This blog has been delayed. I will post more about the  myriad stories in this book in our December blog.

 

 

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Have we forgotten what a public library is for?

By Deborah E. Mikula and Loren Khogali Washington Post

In August, people in Jamestown, Mich., just outside Grand Rapids, signaled with their votes that they would rather defund — and possibly shutter — their only public library than keep books with LGBTQ themes on the shelves.

The impact of such a vote is deeply concerning. And the place from which it stems — a small but vocal minority trying to dictate what others can and cannot read — is even more troubling. . .

Across the United States, there has been a rising tide of efforts to undermine fundamental tenets of the First Amendment by suppressing intellectual inquiry and the right to read. As of August, the American Library Association (ALA) had documented 681 challenges to books this year, involving 1,651 different titles; in all of 2021, the ALA listed 729 challenges, directed at 1,597 books. Most of those challenges targeted non-White or LGBTQ authors or subjects.

The illustration is by Gotthard Kuehl.

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Why Am I ?

Here is a review from from Jack Zipes a world renowned scholar, authority, and writer about children's literature  of the Yelodoggie Book, Why Am I ?.

"If children want to find out and delight about their identity, I strongly suggest you surprise them with  Why  am I. . . ? a colorful book about a curious tiny dog who  searches for answers about his identity. This existential story will make your heart beat with joy." 
Jack Zipes,  professor emeritus of German, comparative literature, and cultural studies; also publisher of lost stories.

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Snow Valley Heroes

Don Blankenship, Former Teacher, Reviewer at Good Books for Kids, Amazon Reviewer and dog lover wrote

"I love this series of books and this first, Planet of the Dogs, sets the stage for those works that follow…This book can be, and should be, read on several different levels. First, it is completely appropriate for children from about the age of eight and up. While not a beginning reader by any means, the story could be read to children of a younger age and I feel there would be complete understanding with little explanation of the reader's part.

Secondly, this book is quite sneaky about throwing in wonderful facts about dogs, such as their ability and method of communication, life style, temperament and abilities.

Thirdly, this book makes some very insightful observations of the general human condition.

Fourthly, these books are excellent motivators, not only for reading, but for generally living life as it should be led. Finally, the entire work is almost irresistible to dog lovers."

The illustration is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty.

 

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“There is no faith which has never yet been broken, except that of a truly faithful dog”  Konrad Lorenz

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October -- Lost In The Forest, The Moment of Becoming, Identity

 

                                   The Isle of Skye

The Isle of Skye, in Scotland, has been a land of myth, history, and stories. It is a hard land of rugged beauty and was first occupied in the Middle Stone Age. Life has often been very difficult over the centuries since the land was settled by Gaelic speaking Scots from Ireland during the first centuries BCE. 

People In the Forests of Early Northern Europe

“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. . ." ― Sara Maitland, Gossip from the Forest 

Photo is of the Glen Brittle Forest on the Isle of Skye.

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 Times of Becoming -- Life Journeys In the Forest

 

"Family upheaval has another function in (wonder) tales, beyond reflecting real issues encountered in life: it propels young heroes out of their homes, away from all that is safe and familiar; it forces them onto the unknown road to the dark of the forest. It's a road that will lead, after certain tests and trials, to personal and worldly transformation, pushing the hero past childhood and pointing the way to a re-balanced life. . . The forest, with all its wonders and terrors, is not the final destination. It is a place to hide, to be tested, to mature. To grow in strength, wisdom, and/or power. And to gain the tools needed to return to the human world and repair what's been broken...or build anew." Terri Windling, Myth and Moor

 

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Courage

 

The courage to live life, in and from its belly as well as beyond its edges, to see and say what it was to recognize and identify evil, but never fear or stand in awe of it.

Toni Morrison.

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Reality

  

 

This Illustration for the Grimm's Golden Bird by Harry Jurgens has always fascinated me, an echo of days gone by. Mysteries, unexplainable events, magic and wonder, have been woven into the fabric of life for most of the time we've been on this planet. One man's fox was also a prince; one princess' frog was also a prince; and a beast may be transformed into a handsome prince when a tear of love falls on his cheek. Fairy tales are the echoes of days gone by, when everyday reality could have different meanings for people everywhere.

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Fairy Tale is a Country of the Mind 

"Impossible – absurd – enchantments define fairy tale as a form of storytelling, but the magic also gives expression to thought-experiments: the wicked fairy turning out to be capable of love, the Frozen princess thawed into humanity by her heroic sister’s staunchness and love. Fairy tale is a country of the mind made by imagery, by riddles and charms, spells and nonsense; it uses language to create imaginary structures in which language itself is supremely powerful: Rumpelstiltskin is undone when the heroine discovers his name. . ."

An excerpt from How Fairy Tales Grew Up, by author Marina Warner,  in the Guardian.  

The illustration, by Jim Kay, is from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

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The Yearling -- A  Forest Story of the Real World    

When I was young, a favorite book of mine was the Yearling, the story of a boy in the hardscrabble, wild back country of Florida and his adopted, orphaned young deer. I found the book to be a wonderful, compelling story, The author, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was inspired by a real family and their life. They all lived in what is now Ocala National Forest. The Yearling was a big hit, winning the Pulitzer Prize (1939) and translated into 29 languages; it was also adapted into an excellent movie, a successful Broadway musical, and a well-received animated film.

Here are Rawling's thoughts on wilderness forests. 

In The Mysterious Heart of the Forest

"Any grove or any wood is a fine thing to see. But the magic here, strangely, is not apparent from the road. It is necessary to leave the impersonal highway, to step inside the rusty gate and close it behind. By this, an act of faith is committed, through which one accepts blindly, the communion cup of beauty. One is now inside the grove, out of one world and in the mysterious heart of another. This is the essence of an ancient and secret magic. It goes back, perhaps, to the fairy tales of childhood. . . It may go back still farther, to racial Druid memories, to an atavistic sense of safety and delight in an open forest. And after long years of spiritual homelessness, of nostalgia, here is that mystic loveliness of childhood again. Here is home. An old thread, long tangled, comes straight again.”― Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of the Yearling, in her autobiography, Cross Creek

The illustration above of the boy and the deer are by NC Wyeth.
The photo is of Ocala National Foest.

 

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Imaginative Independent Animation

 

 

Fears

 

Stylized, Imaginative, original

 

Created by Nata Metlukh

 

Very accomplished Graduation film, Vancouver Film School 

 

Link: Fears   Time 2.07

 

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The Big Boy

 

A surreal tour de force, many worlds, imagination.

 

Created by Lee Kyutae.

 

Sound design, Kwom Younghwan.

 

Music Shin Hyunmo.

 

 

Link: The Big Boy Time 5.31

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Hematone

 

Identity, surreal metamorphosis, colors

 

Created by Roxane Lumeret and Jocelyn Charles.

 

Additional animation and character design by Chloe Farr.

 

Music video for L'imperatrice.

 

Produced by Remembers Microqlimat, CNC

 

 

Link. Hematone  Time 3.38

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Haunting and Hilarious Fairy Tales

 

Jack Zipes has vividly retold and edited fairy tales that were retold and illustrated by Rolf Brandt. The book, Haunting and Hilarious Fairy Tales, is published by Little Mole and Honey Bear. Here is a lost treasure, a delightful manifestation of Zipe's Mission Statement:

 

"Founded in January 2018 by Jack Zipes, Little Mole & Honey Bear publishes unusual books for children and adults largely published during,
before, and after World War I and World War II. They celebrate the poetic power of fantasy and illustrate how writers and illustrators have used their art to generate hope in their readers. Though conceived, created, and published in the twentieth century, all these works are still highly relevant today."

 

The tales in Haunting and Hilarious Fairy Tales range from classics to little known gems. The retellings are clear, original, and innovative. They are a pleasure to read. Next month, I will post more about the tales, the research, and Rolf Brandt.

 

Mayfly Design, utilizing Brandt's illustrations, designed the book and the cover.

 

The Tellers of the Tales

"The tales came to the tellers from other tellers, or they read tales, digested them, and made them their own. Indeed, we always make tales our own and then send them off to other tellers with the hope that they will continue to disseminate their stories. . ." 

Jack Zipes, The Forgotten Tales of the Brothers Grimm, in The Public Domain Review  

The photo is of Zipes telling tales at Jackson  Elementary School in St Paul, MN. Photo credit: Kelly MacWilliams,UMN News. 

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Pinocchio is Back

 

A new retelling of the classic story of the puppet who wanted to be human and his arduous life journey comes to Netflix in November. It has taken a long and bumpy journey with many delays. It is directed  by Guillermo Del Toro, the master of  fantasy (Pan's labyrinth, The Shape of Water). I am certainly looking forward to seeing it. I will post about its reception in next month's blog.

 

Here is a link to the trailer: Trailer; Pinocchio.

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Putin --  Reality and Darkness

 

Who is this man?

Who does he want to be?

Why is he so brutal?

Why is he obsessed?

What does he see in the mirror?

How does he explain the murders of children to his family?

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of decode39.com.

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"We've Lost An Entire Generation"

An Ukrainian woman, Kira Rudick, a survivor and a member of parliament, speaks out in a powerful video.

Link: Putin's Brutal War

And here is a link to Ukrainian children drawing their impressions of their refugee journey.

Photo of Kira Rudik courtesy 0f theaustalian.com

 

 

 

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TRUMP IS A LIAR. TELL CHILDREN THE TRUTH. (PUBLIC BOOKS)

This is the title of a very informative and important article by Phliip Nell. It includes relevant information, insights, and covers of several Trump books for kids, I wish I had discovered Nel  sooner.

"Philip Nel, is a professorof English at Kansas State University and scholar of children's literature and comics. He is best-known for work on radical and anti-racist children's literature, Crockett Johnson, and Dr. Seuss – especially."

The article, new to me, is still most timely, although originally posted on October, 2019.

Here is a link to the article: Philip Nel-Trump

The book cover illustration is by Ann Twaes.

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Why Am I ?

 

Floyd is an adorable character that steals your heart from the get-go. He's happy, he's spunky and he loves life. He has tons of friends: some are dogs, some are cats, some live in the water, and some live in the sky. He is a very, very popular little pooch!

One day he is asked why he is yellow? Floyd hadn't thought of that aspect of himself before but this gets him wondering and finally searching for an answer to that question. Off he goes on a mission to seek why!

This book is wonderful and concludes that you are perfect just as you are. . . What a great story to share and talk about with kids whether they be your own or in a classroom environment. I love the illustrations and the positive message that will make kids ( and adults ) happy puppies just like Floyd. I highly recommend this book. Review on Amazon by Marilyn Stanton of Story Wraps 

 

The cover and all other illustrations are by Ari Wulff, the author.

 

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Chad and Norman -- The Human Canine Connection

A brief, touching, and extremely well done documentary 

A true story of hope, healing and caring support from a therapy dog.

I was moved by this excellent video of an Afghanistan war veteran, Chad Myrick, and his recovery from serious PTSD with his therapy dog, Norman. 

Here is a link to this CBC documentary: Chad and Norman.

 

 

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Save The Children

"Education sets children up for success, provides hope and opportunities for the future, as well as a sense of stability and normalcy for those who are overcoming traumatic events. It also prepares children with the skills needed to rebuild and help develop their home countries if and when they return."

World-wide 1.2 billion refugee kids are at risk. Here is a Link to their website: Save the Children

 

The photo of a Ukrainian refugee family is courtesy of beusselstimes.co

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Living Life as it Should Be -- The Planet Of The Dogs Series

"Any one of these books would make for a delightful—and one would assume cherished—gift for any child. All three would be an amazing reading adventure." -  Darlene Arden, educator, dog expert, author, and editor of PerPetually Speaking 

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. 

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 [email protected] and we will send you the books.  

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

The illustration from Castle in the Mist is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty.

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"A man may smile and bid you hail

Yet wish you to the devil;

But when a good dog wags his tail,

You know he's on the level."

Author unknown

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September Sandman Returns, Lewis Carrol, Miyazaki Anti War

 

                                  Isle of the Dead by Arnold Bocklin

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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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Mankind's Journey

There was constant and growing turmoil throughout Europe during the lifetime of Finnish artist Hugo Simberg and Swiss artist Arnold Bocklin.  Armies were marching, boundaries were changing, and powerful, and often cruel new leaders emerged. There have been intervals, but brutal war has never stopped. And it goes on today. 

NATO is an alliance of 30 nations (with 2 more currently in the process of being approved) who have come  together to try and stop this madness of pain and suffering that threatens all of them. War today comes from one delusional man, the brutal dictator, Vladimir Putin.

 

The painting of The Wounded Angel is by Hugo Simberg.
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 What Is Important

"Yet, even amidst the hatred and carnage, life is still worth living. It is possible for wonderful encounters and beautiful things to exist."

The quotation above is from the great Japanese creator of extraordinary full length animated films, Hayao Myazaki. He was born in Japan in 1941 and lived through the bloodbath of suffering caused by a cabal of a few fanatic, arrogant men. They were much like Putin. They created the dark power-hungry debacle of World War 2 in the Pacific. Anti-war ideas are expressed throughout Miyazaki's creations as well as a heartfelt appreciation of children, family,  friendship, loyalty, and love.

The illustration is from Miyazaki's anti-war film Howl's Moving Castle.

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The Sandman Has Returned via Net Flix.

Unlike the two women below, Maya Philip and Rebecca Nicholson, I have only read excerpts from the original DC Comics version of the Sandman. However, I have read and admired many of Neil Gaiman's books. I am experiencing the Sandman (with Morpheus played by Tom Sturridge) for the first time. I found the story to be very dark, a labyrinth of fantasy and fear, imaginative and extremely well produced. 

Both Maya Philip, in the New York Times, and Rebecca Nicholson in the Guardian, wrote excellent and informative articles about this new 10 episode series of Sandman. They have been knowledgeable fans since the Sandman first appeared as a comic strip. Here are excepts and Links to their articles:

Sandman By Maya Phillip, NY Times

The Sandman, Neil Gaiman’s best-selling DC Comics series that lasted for 75 issues in its original run, from 1989 to 1996, follows Morpheus, a cosmic being who wields power over dreams. When he is captured and imprisoned in the first issue, the repercussions of the event extend beyond the dreamscape into the waking world, where Morpheus must eventually travel to set things right. . . .

The Sandman belongs to the pantheon of great graphic novels that broke through the boundaries of the often insular world of comics to win mainstream acclaim.

The Sandman is more than just a decades-old best seller; it launched one of the most loyal fandoms you’ll find in the domain of graphic literature. . .

PinkNews photo of Neil Gaiman is by Getty/Netfli

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Sandman by Rebeca Nicholson in the Guardian

This dark, engrossing comic book adaptation is utterly lavish, and features an emotional depth that’s almost unheard of in fantasy epics. It should delight fans and newcomers alike.

It has taken 30 years for an adaptation of The Sandman (Netflix), Neil Gaiman’s celebrated comic-book series, to make it to the screen, and little wonder. It is a big, bold story of gods and demons, so deep and rich that the idea of cramming its wonders into 10 episodes seems borderline ludicrous. Yet this is the era of megabudget fantasy television . . .

For a while, the period setting feels a bit dark Downton Abbey, but it soon becomes clear that this is far too expansive to stick to one era or genre. Throughout the series, time flies, and slows, and we leap through different periods and cities and realms. It all feels like rather a lot, but it works well . . . 

Partly, that is because the pace is meditative, not frantic. Once the scene-setting and world-building has been done, it has the confidence to take its time over the big stuff. I am sure plenty of viewers will love its more fantastical elements, from a battle of imaginations with Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie) to a cute mythical creature called Gregory, but I found its finest moments in the more human, conversational, emotional strands. . .

Yet it is engrossing from the start. It is transportive, playful at times, and certainly grand. But above all, it is dark. Bodies explode, limbs are severed, and demons crawl out of the mouths of professional footballers, fist-first. Nestled in among its more grotesque spectacles, though, is an emotional depth that elevates this far beyond the usual “let’s see what we can blow the CGI budget on” fantasy fodder. Given the source material, that’s no wonder. For fans, it may well turn out to have been worth the long wait, but for newcomers to the Sandman’s world, there is plenty to discover.

The illustrations above are from the Netflix version of Sandman.

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Opening Minds with The Alice Books 

"Like Dickens, Carroll fought tenaciously to keep the child alive in himself and in his fiction as a critic of the absurd rules and regulations of the adult Victorian world...

Carroll's contribution to children's literature and the fairy tale is immense for his Alice books served to liberate the fairy tale from moralism and encourage young readers to think for themselves and question the mores of the adult world."

Jack Zipes, writing in his book, Victorian Fairy Tales: The Revolt of the Fairies and the Elves.

 

Photo by Annie Liebowitz/Vogue.

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And Then,  There Was the Question of Reality 

'Well, it's no use your talking about waking him,' said Tweedledum, 'when you're only one of the things in his dream. You know very well you're not real.'

'I am real!' said Alice and began to cry.

'You won't make yourself a bit realler by crying,' Tweedledee remarked: 'there's nothing to cry about.'

'If I wasn't real,' Alice said—half-laughing through her tears, it all seemed so ridiculous—'I shouldn't be able to cry.'

'I hope you don't suppose those are real tears?' Tweedledum interrupted in a tone of great contempt.

'I know they're talking nonsense,' Alice thought to herself: 'and it's foolish to cry about it.' So she brushed away her tears, and went on as cheerfully as she could.

The illustration is from Tim Burton's  Alice in Wonderland.

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Wonderland, Like Neverland, Is a Great Place to Visit, But...

"It is one of the ironies of our age that a true understanding of what children want in their books emerged from a pathologically shy mathematician who believed in rules, order, and limits for children but who overcame those convictions in order to produce a book that would entertain the seven year old girl with whom he was infatuated. He inadvertently revealed to us that Wonderland, like Neverland, is a great place to visit whether you are a child or an adult, but you really don't ever want to live there."

Maria Tatar, writing about Theaters For The Imagination in her book, Enchanted Hunters.

The illustration of the Mad Tea Party is by John Tenniel.

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Imaginative Independent Animation

 

Mozart by Magnum

 

With his first piece in a Minor key, Amadeus Mozart – only 17 years old in 1773 – broke all musical conventions and the expectations of his contemporaries and patrons who were used to the former child-star's light, gallant, works in a Major key. The Musical Genius now presented himself as a mature composer with a piece that was more assertive, expressive, and passionate than any of his previous works.

Visuals and production by MullenLowe in Madrid 

Link: Mozart by Magnum Time 2.50

 

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A Double Life

Outrageous dark comedy, gender identity

Created by (including music) Job, Joris, Marieke

Produced in association with Fonds 21, Pathe, and Netherlands Fimfonds

Distribution KLIK

Link: A Double Life Time 2.40

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Yearbook

Funky nerd IT story, alien attack is coming in 17 years

Written and directed by Bernardo Britto

Produced by Brett Potter, Lucas Leva, Ben Cohen; Co-producer Dean

Music by Matthew Cooper, art director Alexa Haas

Link: Yearbook  Time 5.35

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Ukrainian Kids Sing from a Bomb Shelter to Brooklyn

MOM ON SKYPE

In a bomb shelter in Lviv, Ukraine, a young soldier on duty, rehearses a play that he has directed about the separation and disconnection of children and parents. His cast is comprised of 9 children between the ages of 10 and 14 including his own daughter. Children who, overnight, have had to deal with the realities of missiles directed at them, bombs falling around them, and the fear that at any moment a family member or they themselves might die.

Irondale will bring this courageous production, Mom on Skype with its Ukrainian cast to Brooklyn this August. . . For 3 weeks the young Ukrainian performers from The School of Open Minded Kids Studio Theatre will rehearse, interact with the Irondale Young Company and sample New York City’s cultural riches. They have also been invited by the organization Sing for Hope, to a youth retreat in Ivoryton Connecticut where they will create theater and music with other American teens. They will also perform in

Link to read more: Irondale Center   And here is a video link to the story by Terry Greiss of Irondale and link to a rehearsal : Ukrainian Girls 

The photo is by Finbarr O'Reilly, New York Times.

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If we know anything, it's that folklore - stories, community, and the fabric of everyday life - is a powerful, often untapped force. It can entertain us, connect us to each other, and even, under the right circumstances, "restore our sense of security, sanity, and sense of justice" (Jack Zipes.)

 

Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman are award-winning folklorists, teachers, and writers. Together, they founded The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, teaching creative souls how to re-enchant their lives through folklore and fairy tales.

Sara and Brittany were joined on their free July 24 Folklore and Resistance panel by the extrordinay Terri Windling. Alas, I missed this date and the panel discussion. However, the event was recorded and I have now signed up for it.  (Link)

Here are the other members of this outstanding Roundtable  Peggy Yocom, Jeana Jorgensen, Daisy Ahlstone, and Maria DeBlassie,  Sara and Brittany. will host the event. "Please note that this event was recorded, so if you can't make it today, do please go ahead and sign up so you'll be emailed a direct link to the recorded version!"

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Refugee children worry us. Families have been rendered asunder. School, books, food and medical support are often missing from their lives.

Save the Children works to benefit the lives of children in need in 120 countries. Save the children brings assistance and hope. Here are excerpts from their website:
 Save The Children . 

"More than half of the world's refugees are under the age of 18. They have had their childhoods interrupted, and half of all refugee children are out of school. Save the Children calls on the international community to ensure that every refugee child has access to education and is learning. No refugee child should be without education for more than one month after being displaced."     
Photo by Hokam Katan
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The Sound of Freedom in the Night and Day

Listen here to a moving performance, live at BBC Proms, on the Orchestra's  2022 word tour.

The Ukrainian National Freedom Orchestra plays the National Anthem. Link: Ukraine Music

 

Photo credit/SNAK Newsweek

 

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Why Am I ?

 

Here is a review from a world renowned scholar, authority, and writer about children's literature of the Yelodoggie Book, Why Am I ?.

"If children want to find out and delight about their identity, I strongly suggest you surprise them with  Why  am I. . . ? a colorful book about a curious tiny dog who  searches for answers about his identity. This existential story will make your heart beat with joy." 
Jack Zipes,  professor emeritus of German, comparative literature, and cultural studies.

 

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Do you think that it is possible for dogs to stop a war?

This was the lead-off sentence in Wayne Walker's review of Castle In The Mist. I was delighted to read it, for not only was it provocative, it went to the core of the story...

Castle in the Mist is an anti-war story. The Planet Of The Dogs series is anti-war. In each book, the dogs help humans to find non-violent solutions to ruthless rulers, invaders, and the abuse of power.

Here is more of what Wayne Walker wrote:

 “Author Robert J. McCarty has created a charming fantasy-allegory that can be read and understood on at least two different levels. Children will enjoy the story about dogs who come from another planet to help people on earth. But under the surface are the important messages of friendship, love, loyalty, and how to overcome evil with good. The same things are true as the story continues in Castle in the Mist. The book is well written and easy to read. It will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next, and, as with Volume I, leads to a satisfying conclusion. You can learn more about the series and read sample chapters at www.planetofthedogs.net."

Wayne Walker's complete review appeared on the Home School Book Review; the Home School Buzz; and Stories for Children Magazine.

The illustration from Castle In The Mist 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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August -- The Great War and Middle Earth, Dragon Pilots, Imagination

 

The War to End All Wars -- That is the way writers and many people talked about WW1. However, despite the good intentions of many, we have not been able to live in peace. A major war, caused by Vladimir Putin, thunders on as I write this- The photo below was taken during the horrendous battle of the Somme in WW1. Second Lieutenant JRR Tolkien was in the battle of the Somme.

                                               

"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." J. R. R. Tolkien

Photo of WW1 trench warfare by alamy.

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An Island Smaller than Kansas

"At the height of the British Empire, just after the First World War, an island smaller than Kansas controlled roughly a quarter of the world’s population and landmass. To the architects of this colossus, the largest empire in history, each conquest was a moral achievement." From a New Yorker article on the UK, Cruel Britannia, by Sunl Khilnani.

 

 

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Carnage and Futility

British Field Marshal Douglas Haig,1st Earl Haig, was in command of British troops during the trench warfare of World War 1.  "Two million British casualties endured under his command. The Canadian War Museum comments, 'His epic but costly offensives at the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele (1917) have become nearly synonymous with the carnage and futility of First World War battles.'"  Wikipedia

Photo: Alamy

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Tolkien and WW 1

I wondered if the ruthlessness and scale of Great Britain's conquests and arrogance influenced the brilliant mind of Tolkien. Certainly, his role as a Second Lieutenant in WW1 in the battles of the Somme, and the loss of many friends in the madness of trench warfare, must have influenced him.

I thought his books, in addition to insights and parallels to old history, were in many ways metaphors for the chaos and pain of WW I, caused by the hubris of failed oligarchies in their quests for more power. 

I went to Wikipedia and found that a great many articles and books have been written on the subject of the influence of the Great War on Tolkien's writing.

"On 2 June 1916, Tolkien received a telegram summoning him to Folkstone for posting to France. The Tolkiens spent the night before his departure in a room at the Plough & Harrow Hotel in Edgebaston, Birmingham. He later wrote,'Junior officers were being killed off, a dozen a minute. Parting from my wife then... it was like a death'.".

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The Hobbit as a Parable of World War One.

^{"The Hobbit (1937) may be read as Tolkien's parable of World War I with the hero being plucked from his rural home and thrown into a far-off war where traditional types of heroism are shown to be futile. The tale as such explores the theme of heroism. As Janet Brennan Croft notes, Tolkien's literary reaction to war at this time differed from most post-war writers by eschewing irony as a method for distancing events and instead using mythology to mediate his experiences. Similarities to the works of other writers who faced the Great War are seen in The Hobbit, including portraying warfare as anti-pastoral: in 'The Desolation of Smaug' both the area under the influence of Smaug before his demise and the setting for the Battle of Five Armies later are described as barren, damaged landscapes. The Hobbit makes a warning against repeating the tragedies of World War One, and Tolkien's attitude as a veteran may well be summed up by Bilbo's comment: "Victory after all, I suppose! Well, it seems a very gloomy business."  -- Wikipedia}

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June, 1915 by Charlotte Mew

"Who thinks of June's first rose today?
Only some child, perhaps, with shining eyes and
rough bright hair will reach it down.
In a green sunny lane, to us almost as far away
As are the fearless stars from these veiled lamps of town.
What's little June to a great broken world with eyes gone dim
From too much looking on the face of grief, the face of dread?
Or what's the broken world to June and him
Of the small eager hand, the shining eyes, the rough bright head?"

 

Photo Credit WW1 centennial news.

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"Not all those who wander are lost." J. R. R. Tolkien

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Michael Swanwick's The Iron Dragon's Mother

I come from another era of science fiction and fantasy, an era of Clarke, Dick, LeGuin, Asimov, Heinlein, Delaney, Herbert, and others who were, by and large, grounded in an imagined future reality. 

This blog provokes me into reading fantasy sci-fi that travels through realms that evoke a stronger leaning towards fantasy. Terry Pratchett does this and he is duly lauded by legions of readers. I have now gone again to Pratchett's fantasy level into the world of Michael Swanwick.

The Iron Dragon's Daughter is the third book in a trilogy. It is multi-faceted, one story comprised of many stories in a flowing narrative loaded with surprises. Power, in multiple forms, is central to the story. Dragons have now become an awesome machine of war driven in a symbiotic relationship by humans. There are a great variety of sentient life forms who interact with and without humans. I found all of the several primary characters rather fascinating, with unexpected behaviors, and skills.

Michael Swanwick's imagination knows no boundaries. There is past, present, and future for four interrelated worlds where change and power struggle is never ending. And one can't forget the dragons.

Jane Yolen described the writing in this book as, “Twisted in the right way, with tart and tricksy language you can swirl around in your mouth like good wine."

The author, Michael Swanwick, is a prominent and influential person in the world of science fiction and fantasy. He is prolific and has won multiple top awards in the field. His blog is filled with a variety of information and ideas.

Swanwick's Blog: www.floggingbabel.blogspot.com. 

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"Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can. Of course, I could be wrong.”
― Terry Pratchett

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Imaginative Independent Animation

Change The Week

Clever, smart, provocative, 

Director, Ion Pons Jewell,

Executive Producers: Emmanuelle Le Chat & Jackson Forsythe 

Script: Damian Le Bas 

Voice, Stephen Fry, plus seven animators

Production Company, ProdCo

Link: Change the Week  Time: 3.42

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Detached

Humor, surreal, stylized, bizarre.

By Emory Allen.

Music by Justin Lawes.

Production by Foreign Fauna.

Link: Detached  Time: 2.10

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Deducked

The circles of life.

Animation by Nolan J. Downs

Sound Design: Chris Kalis and Harry Brenner

Link: Deducked Time: 2.29

 

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Bookstores in the USA are Growing Steadily and Selling to More Diverse Readers

"More than 300 new independent bookstores have sprouted across the United States in the past couple of years, in a surprising and welcome revival after an early pandemic slump. And as the number of stores has grown, the book selling business — traditionally overwhelmingly white — has also become much more diverse."  Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth a. Harris -- New York Times

Photo of Lucy YU, Owner of Yu and Me bookstore/ NYTimes.

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Children Surviving Ukraine’s War Without Their Parents

 

Millions of children across Ukraine have had to flee their homes since the war there began.

For some, it’s an even harder journey, because they don’t have their parents with them.

One children’s home on the eastern front line had to move all of their children hundreds of miles across the country to keep them safe.

Among them is 11-year-old Angelina, who’s now trying to make a new life in the western city of Lviv. 

Link: Angelina  Time: 2.40

Camera/editor/producer: Jewan Abdi: BBC

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The Skies Have Clouded Over

"Children around the world continue to grow up with the magic of fairytales in books, and to relish the multiple ways they are adapted, updated and put on to stage and screen. But the 'realisation of imagined wonder', which JRR Tolkien saw as the aim of the genre, isn’t always bright and shiny any more; its skies have clouded over."

The quote is an excerpt from How Fairy Tales Grew Up, by Marina Warner, author, critic, in the Guardian 

 

Painting by Ivan Marchuk

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PAL People Animals Love

PAL brings comfort and joy to people through the human canine connection and devoted therapy dog owners in the greater Washington DC metro area. They serve people in locations ranging from hospice to hospitals and schools to libraries.  

To learn more visit their website: PAL 

The photo is of Washington school kids who are part of a PAL project

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Why Am I ?

Floyd is a happy dog with many friends. One day, though, someone asks Floyd why he is yellow . . . but Floyd had never thought about it! He doesn’t know the answer. After all, he isn’t a lemon. He isn’t a banana. He is a dog.

“Why am I yellow?” he wonders. Soon Floyd goes on a quest to find the answer, and meets up with many of his friends and other animals along the way. Why Am I? 

"I loved every page of this book. This journey of discovery felt all too familiar and speaks to so many different experiences. The illustrations are extremely well done. Great gift for younger and older. Highest recommendation!" Amazon Customer Review

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Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere... Carl Sagan  

 

 

Photo: NASA Webb Space Telescope

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Castle In The Mist

Castle In The Mist is the second book in the Planet Of The Dogs Series...Here is an excerpt...

"Prince Ukko’s face suddenly became red and he could barely speak.  “What is that?” he demanded.

He pointed to a dense cluster of tall pines on the edge of the forest. Walking slowly out of the mist was Tok, a son of Rex, and the biggest dog to come down to planet Earth. His long winter fur of brown and white made him appear even bigger. His head was raised. He looked directly at Prince Ukko as he slowly walked to the center of the open space in front of the castle. There he stopped, raised his head and howled. And when he did, the voices of all the dogs from Snow Valley, hidden in the misty forest, howled at the same time.

Ukko, watching in horror, turned to Narro, and growled, “Stop them.  They must be stopped.”

To read more, and for sample chapters from the series -- Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes,  A Christmas Tale -- and for more information about all of our  books -- visit our Planet Of The Dogs website.

We have free copies of the Planet of The Dogs book series for therapy dog organizations, individual therapy dog owners, and librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs...simply send us an email at [email protected]. and we will send you the books.

The illustration of Prince Ukko is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty

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“The dog’s agenda is simple, fathomable, overt: I want. “I want to go out, come in, eat something, lie here, play with that, kiss you. There are no ulterior motives with a dog, no mind games, no second-guessing, no complicated negotiations or bargains, and no guilt trips or grudges if a request is denied.” 

― Caroline Knapp

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July-- Struggle, Hope, and Goodnight Moon

 

A Fantastic Story Offers Hope

In the British Isles, over the centuries, through war, famine, and struggle, storytellers retold and enriched a fantastic story of a poor boy whose amazing adventures sometimes brought laughter and ended with hope: Jack and the Beanstalk.

Jack prevailed over poverty and hunger, the wrath of a giant, and the danger of climbing into the clouds. Despite his fears, he never gave up, and his efforts were full of inventive surprises.

The story was told by adults to other adults -- a metaphor of possibilities. After the influence of the Grimm's fairytales ignited British publishers and readers, It became extremely popular with children in England. During this time. many traditional oral tales were softened and changed to make them more acceptable for the expanding marketplace. 

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An Excerpt from a Vintage Version (1810) of Jack and the Beanstalk

This version was originally printed in a British inexpensive chapbook in 1810 by Caldwell. Chapbooks were cheap and at that time were commonplace. I found it in a book printed in1890, English Folklore and Legends. This older version is much longer and more complex than those later printed for children. In this excerpt, Jack climbs the beanstalk and meets a powerful fairy who tells him about his dark family history, her own past history, and the vicious giant. This early version offers courage in the face of power, and hope in dark times. The original story has been traced back 5,000 years.

The Fairy speaks to Jack: “The day on which you met the butcher, as you went to sell your mother’s cow, my power was restored. It was I who secretly prompted you to take the beans in exchange for the cow.

“By my power the beanstalk grew to so great a height and formed a ladder. I need not add I inspired you with a strong desire to ascend the ladder.

“The giant lives in this country, and you are the person appointed to punish him for all his wickedness. You will have dangers and difficulties to encounter, but you must persevere in avenging the death of your father, or you will not prosper in any of your undertakings, 

After the Fairy leaves, Jack keeps walking until, exhausted and very hungry, he arrives at the Giant's manor. . . A plain-looking woman was at the door, and Jack accosted her, begging she would give him a morsel of bread and a night’s lodging.

She expressed the greatest surprise at seeing him, and said it was quite uncommon to see a human being near their house, for it was well known her husband was a large and very powerful giant, and that he would never eat anything but human flesh, if he could possibly get it; that he did not think anything of walking fifty miles to procure it, usually being out the whole day for that purpose.

This account greatly terrified Jack, but still he hoped to elude the giant, and therefore he again entreated the woman to take him in for one night only, and hide him where she thought proper. . ." The rest is oral history.

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"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 

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Imagine

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope some day you'll join me

And the world will be as one.

Excerpted from the lyrics by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Imagine sung by Lady Gaga

 

The illustration is by Kevin  Peterson.

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Late News from Wonderland from the Lewis Carrol society of North America

Dear LCSNA  Members and Friends, please join us for a virtual event next week! Experience a magical marionette matinee with a behind-the-scenes tour by Artistic Director Philippe Brunner of the Salzburg Marionette Theatre on Thursday, July 21. Go behind the scenes of an Alice in Wonderland production at the world-famous Salzburg Marionette Theatre with Artistic Director Philippe Brunner.-- 1:00 PM Eastern/10:00 AM Pacific -- Join the Zoom Webinar on July 21

The legendary Salzburg Marionette Theatre was established in 1913 and is one of the oldest continuing marionette theatres in the world. Recently, the theatre revived its magical production of Alice in Wonderland! We are delighted to welcome Artistic Director Philippe Brunner to give us a behind-the-scenes virtual tour of the theatre. We’ll experience the wonderful Wonderland sets, learn what goes into this intricate artform and meet some very special guests, wooden and otherwise. Please join the LCSNA for a truly enchanted afternoon!

The illustration is by Arthur Rackham

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Putin, Peter the Great, and the Great Wrath

As I write, I think of the effect of the brutal Russian invasion in Ukraine on families: children, mothers and fathers alike. Putin has recently compared himself to a mythical, romantic version of his hero, the brutal Russian ruler referred to as Peter the Great. I am writing this in Finland where Finns in past centuries have had heavy suffering, death, and large territorial losses at the hands of the Russians. In 1939, Stalin invaded Finland in what is known as the Winter War. Peter the Great invaded in 1710.

 

The brutal era of Peter the Great and the carnage of his Russian armies in known in Finnish History as The Great Wrath. 

"The Great Wrath was a period of Finnish history dominated by the Russian invasion and subsequent military occupation of Finland, then part of the Swedish Empire, from 1714 until the  treaty of Nystas  (1721), which ended the Great Northern War. . .

The Great Wrath: Plundering and raping was widespread, especially in Ostrobothnia and in communities near the major roads. Churches were looted and Isokyrö was burned to the ground. A scorched-earth zone several hundred kilometers wide was created by the Russians to hinder Swedish counteroffensives. At least 5,000 Finns were killed and some 10,000 taken away as slaves, of whom only a few thousand would ever return;^[5] according to more recent research, the number of the casualties would have been closer to 20,000.^[6] Recent research also estimates the number of enslaved children and women to have been closer to 30,000.^[7] The worst of these massacres took place on September 29, 1714, when during one night, the Cossacks killed about 800 inhabitants of the Hailuoto Island with axes." -- Source: Wikipedia

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The Birch and the Star -- Here is an excerpt from a fairy tale inspired by the actual Great Wrath. written by Gudron Thorne-Thomsen, a Norwegian writer and editor of children's books, including East of the Sun and West of the Moon. After the opening paragraphs, the story becomes sugar coated.

"About two hundred years ago Finland had suffered greatly. There had been war; cities were burned, the harvest destroyed and thousands of people had died; some had perished by the sword, others from hunger, many from dreadful diseases. There was nothing left but tears and want, ashes and ruins.

Then it happened that many families became separated; some were captured and carried away by the enemy, others fled to the forests and desert places or far away to Sweden. A wife knew nothing about her husband, a brother nothing about his sister, and a father and mother did not know whether their children were living[10] or dead. Some fugitives came back and when they found their dear ones, there was such joy that it seemed as if there had been no war, no sorrow. Then the huts were raised from the ashes, the fields again turned yellow with golden harvest. A new life began for the country.

During the time of the war a brother and sister were carried far away to a foreign land. . ."

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St Petersburg -- The Imperial City Built by Peter the Great on Marshland and Suffering

"It is unsurprising that in order to build his showcase European-style city, Peter was happy to let tens of thousands of slave workers die of weakness, disease and cold when building St Petersburg. Many of the workers were conscripted peasants, and others were criminals serving out their sentences through hard labour. It’s hard to decide who was least fortunate: the criminals sent to mine gold and silver in deepest darkest Siberia, or those assigned to building a city in a marshy area which froze in winter and was mosquito-ridden and malarial in summer. Jonathan Miles, author of St Petersburg: Three Centuries of Murderous Desire, estimates that 30,000 people died in the city’s initial construction alone."  Excerpted from an article by Caecilia Dance, A Historical Miscellany

    I am struck by the supreme indifference to the suffering of others by both Putin and Peter the Great.

The bottom painting is by Ilja Repin. The photo of Ukrainians struggling up the hill is by Emilio Morenatti, AP.

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Original Independent Animation

 

The Body of Christ

Nolan Downs, creator of this unique and respectful video, explains below how it came into being.

"24 hour film made for DePaul University's May Day 2017. Students, alum, and faculty make films based on a predetermined theme. This years theme was "Weird Bodies".

Link: The Body of Christ  Time: 50 seconds

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Man2020

Surprises, all out, whoa.

A sequel to the extraordinary animated video Man. 

All by Steve Cuts. Music: Hall of the Mountain King by Grieg.

Link: Man2020 Time 1.01

 

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Accident

Outrageous, stylized, Bizarre.

Off the wall.

Created by Noah Malone

Link: Accident Time 1.40

 

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Layered and Complex -- Japanese Studio Animation -- Feminism

"At a time of widespread debate over the depiction of women in film, the top Japanese animators have long been creating heroines who are more layered and complex than many of their American counterparts. They have faults and weaknesses and tempers as well as strengths and talents. They’re not properties or franchises; they’re characters the filmmakers believe in." -- Charles Solomon in the NY Times

Directed by Mamaro Hosada, Studio Chizo/G Kids

 

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Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Over 16 million copies of Goodnight Moon have been published.

" " 'Goodnight noises everywhere' is the last sentence of a book that has lulled millions of children to sleep since it was published in 1947. . . . Margaret Wise Brown's text, illustrated by Clement Hurd, moves us from a brightly lit room to a darkened room lit by the moon, the stars, and a fire on the hearth. As sunlight fades from the room, the objects remain anchored in place, coaxed into solidity by the process of naming and repetition that is the hallmark of the book. . . With near perfect pitch, the words and images send reassuring messages to the child reader." -- Maria Tatar, Enchanted Hunters, the power of stories in childhood.

Anna Holmes wrote a fascinating, insightful article in the New Yorker, about Margaret Wise Brown   entitled, "The Radical Woman Behind 'Goodnignt Moon,  a woman who constantly pushed boundaries in her life and in her art. "Here are telling excerpts:                                                                      

" In fact, Brown was a seductive iconoclast with a Katharine Hepburn mane and a compulsion for ignoring th e rules. Anointed by Life in 1946 as the “World’s Most Prolific Picture-Book Writer,” she burned through her money as quickly as she earned it, travelling to Europe on ocean liners and spending entire advances on Chrysler convertibles. Her friends called her “mercurial” and “mystical.”

Her romances were volatile: she was engaged to two men but never married, and she had a decade-long affair with a woman. At the age of forty-two, she died suddenly, in the South of France, after a clot cut off the blood supply to her brain. . .

She and her sister, Roberta, engaged in a bedtime ritual of greeting the objects and the sounds around them and then bidding them good night. Brown had few friends her age, counting among her closest companions a cat, a collie, two squirrels, and dozens of rabbits. . . "

Brown’s career began in New York in 1935, when she entered a teacher-training program at Bank Street, an experimental school of education then situated in Greenwich Village. She had been casting about since graduating from Hollins. Bank Street was run by the formidable scholar Lucy Sprague Mitchell, who hoped to redefine early education by incorporating insights from the social sciences and from research into the lives of children.

Brown was most taken by the idea of writing for five-year-olds. “At five we reach a point not to be achieved again,” she once wrote in a notebook. In a paper on the topic, she argued that a child of that age enjoys a “keenness and awareness” that will likely be subdued out of him later in life. She went on, “Here, perhaps, is the stage of rhyme and reason. . . . ‘Big as the whole world. . . .

In 1947, Brown published what is now her most famous book, “Goodnight Moon.” The action in this spare, poetic story about a bunny at bedtime is slow-moving, and the scene never really changes. As the young rabbit tosses and turns in a green-walled bedroom, saying good night to various things in the room—a mouse, a comb, a red balloon—Clement Hurd’s illustrations, in deep jewel tones, slowly dim, panel by panel, and a soft scrim of stars outside the window begins to brighten.

The photo is by Consuelo Kanaga. The illustrations  are by Clement Hurd from the original book.

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Julius Lester .. "You can't let somebody own your soul."

Julius Lester (1939-2018) was a prolific American writer of four dozen books for children and adults. He was deeply involved in the Civil Rights movement, including an early career as a folk singer. He was recognized as a fine photographer and a pioneering scholar and teacher of Black Studies. Lester taught for 32 years (1971–2003) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was courageous. The following comments are excerpted from his NYTImes Obituary

Reviewers often praised his work for its vibrant immediacy, political urgency and deep rootedness in both black oral tradition and historical documents, including the narratives of former slaves.

Mr. Lester’s best-known writing for adults includes the book “Look Out, Whitey! Black Power’s Gon’ Get Your Mama” (1968) and two volumes of memoir, “All Is Well” (1976) and “Lovesong: Becoming a Jew” (1988), about his conversion in 1982.

His children’s books include “To Be a Slave” (1968), a nonfiction chronicle that was a Newbery Honor Book, as the finalists for the Newbery Medal, considered the Pulitzer Prize of children’s literature, are known.

Mr. Lester also collaborated on a series of children’s picture books with the distinguished African-American illustrator Jerry Pinkney. Among the most highly praised is “Sam and the Tigers” (1996), a retelling of the Victorian children’s book “The Story of Little Black Sambo” purged of its myriad racist elements. School Library Journal wrote "Lester and Pinkney reclaim "Little Black Sambo," the tale of a black child who outwits a pack of bullying tigers, from its negative, racist connotations."FIXX

Here is  a link to an excellent video excerpt of Julius Lester talking about his life and singing. It was produced by the PBS series, The American experience: PBS

The photo is courtesy of the Daily Hampshire Gazette. The illustration is by Jerry Pinkney.

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Why Am I ? by Ariel Wulff . . . Amazon Review excerpt by Storywraps

 

"This book is wonderful and concludes that you are perfect just as you are. No matter your size, shape, colour or unique qualities... you are mighty fine. What a great story to share and talk about with kids whether they be your own or in a classroom environment. Everyone needs to be validated, accepted and loved for who they were created to be. Everyone has value and worth just by being themselves. I love the illustrations and the positive message that will make kids ( and adults ) happy puppies just like Floyd. I highly recommend this book." 

 Ariel Wulff has sent a message to all. . .

"This is about Floyd, the yelodoggie. In 2003, he stepped out of a dream and into my life. . .I began to paint little pictures of him in various situations as a way to spread the joy that only dogs are capable of creating.

 

I have now created a limited edition of ACEO's with Floyd. This series reproduces famous classic art pieces merged with a yelodoggie character. 

 

ACEOs are highly collectible. Each one is 2.5″ x 3.5″ and is a signed and numbered one-of-kind  piece of art. This series reproduces famous classic art pieces merged with a yelodoggie character. 

To see more samples, ranging from Grant Wood to Gaugin, as well as more information, please visit my Up On theWoof blog: https://thewoof.wordpress.com/

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Violence at Home

Access to guns and the abuse of firearms go hand in hand inthe USA. 

Retired General Stanley McCrystal wrote a terrific Opinion Piece for the NY Times. Here is an excerpt from Home Should Not Be a War Zone.

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Castle In The Mist

"" Do you think that it is possible for dogs to stop a war?

Author Robert J. McCarty has created a charming fantasy-allegory that can be read and understood on at least two different levels. Children will enjoy the story about dogs who come from another planet to help people on earth. But under the surface are the important messages of friendship, love, loyalty, and how to overcome evil with good.The same things are true as the story continues in Castle in the Mist.The book is well written and easy to read. It will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next..." 

From a review by Wayne Walker -- Stories for Children Magazine, Home School Book Review, and Home School Buzz

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

 

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" You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us." -- Robert Louis Stevenson

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June -- Loss and Abundance, War and Hope

The illustration is of the boy, Ivasyk Telesyk  , a Ukrainian fairy-tale character, escaping from a dragon on swan's wings. His origins were magical. His adventures include the classic motifs of Ukrainian folklore and fairy tales: magic, morality, courage, danger, animal characters, and nature with all its mysteries. 

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Dear Mili -- A Fairy Tale of War and Survival 

A Grimm Fairy Tale of War, Dear Mili, was Discovered in 1983. It was then Illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

Maurice Sendak was deeply moved by this story and saw parallels with the fate of many of his Jewish Polish relatives during World War Two. He knew of these events through the stories he heard as a child from his immigrant parents.

"Preserved in a letter written to a young girl, Mili, in 1816 (by Wilheim Grimm) and not discovered until 1983, the Grimm story is prefaced by a tender address in which he underscores the story's message: although there are many obstacles that can prevent people from being together, *one human heart can go out to another, undeterred by what lies between.' The story that follows implies that love transcends even death. Like many fairy tales, this one deals with extraordinary events. A widow sends her child into the forest to protect her from an approaching war. The story may have more appeal for adults than for children, but nonetheless it contains unforgettable artwork of resonant power."

Excerpted from a PW (Publishers Weekly) Review

The illustration from Dear Mili is by Maurice Sendak.

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Children

"I have always had a deep respect for children and how they solve complex problems by themselves...through shrewdness, fantasy, and just plain strength -- they want to survive, they want to survive." -

Maurice Sendak

 

Photo nytimes.com

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The Fairy Tale

"The fairy tale emanates from specific struggles to humanize bestial and barbaric forces, which have terrorized our minds and communities in concrete ways, threatening to destroy free will and human compassion. The fairy tale sets out to conquer this concrete terror through metaphors." Jack Zipes, Spells of Enchantment: The Wondrous Fairy Tales of Western Culture

The illustration is by the Ukrainian artist Ivan Marchuk.

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Ukrainian Fairy Tales --  Underdog Heroes 

"Folklore is important for understanding people’s cultural narratives – story lines that describe something unique to the culture’s history and its people. They help to define a cultural identity and, in subtle ways, shape future choices. The master narratives that Ukrainian children grow up with – which serve as the dominant cultural script – are radically different from the ones Russian children absorb.

Traditional Ukrainian bedtime stories, such as 'Kotygoroshko', 'Kyrylo Kozhumyaka'and 'Ivasyk Telesyk', all portray unassuming characters persevering against insurmountable odds. The character arc takes them through challenges, testing their will and transforming them from vulnerable to triumphant. . . .In Ukrainian children’s bedtime stories, the main characters often start out as unlikely heroes, but their courage, cleverness and grit help them succeed against the odds.

Russian Fairy Stories -- A different way of life

 

In Russian fairy tales such as 'By the Pike's Wish', 'Princess Frog', and 'Sivka Burka', the main character eventually prevails. He doesn’t win through his own virtues, though, but through the intervention of a magical being – a fish, a frog, a horse – that does all the hard work while the main character claims credit.

These Russian folk tales seem to suggest that the recipe for success is not to be too smart or work too hard, like the two older brothers, but to sit tight in hope that magic will take care of everything.

The cover illustration for The Frog Princess is by Ivan Billiban. 

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All of the above information, about Ukrainian and Russian fairy tales, was excerpted from an article on Ukrainian Fairy Tales written by scholars Mia Bloom and Sophia Moskalenko in theconversation.com.

The top illustration is by an artist unknown. The illustration of the man with the mace fighting a golden dragon is for the Ukrainian classic fairy tale, Kotygorohsko. The artist is unknown.

 

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The central struggle of civilization

Throughout history, the central struggle of civilization has been against brutality by the powerful. The state of nature is a continuous war in which only the fittest survive – where lives are “nasty, brutish, and short.” --  English philosopher Thomas Hobbes.

 

The illustration is by Ukrainian artist Ivan Marchuk.

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Motivated by Events in Ukraine

Motivated by events in Ukraine, Sara Cleto and Brittany Warren, creators of the remarkable Carterhaugh School, have blogged about Ukrainian Folk and Fairy Tales. Here is an excerpt:

"There are no words for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As we posted on social media last week, our hearts go out to all Ukrainians and everyone impacted by recent events. We are amazed by the resistance and want to show our support.

So, we have done what we always do – turn to folklore, to story.

If you’d like to read a whole collection of Ukrainian fairy tales online for free, we’d like to recommend Cossack Fairy Tales translated by R. Nisbet Bain (1916)Bain was a historian and linguist who became interested in folklore following his extensive language study. He could reasonably use over 20 languages, a skill that earned him a job at the British Museum and allowed him to translate books of folklore from all over the world. . . You can read the whole book online by clicking here."

^{Their blog and their website, like their on-line school, is fascinating. Here is a link: Carterhaugh-}

Photo: Brittany is on the left, Sara on the right; photo is from Carterhaugh blog; the Illustration artist is unknown.
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Original Independent Animation

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I Dreamt of Iridescence

Dark journey, slag, Inhuman, abstract, rather mesmerizing

Fractals: By Julius Horsthuis

Music: Energy52 Cafe del Mar

Link I Dreamt of Iridescence Time: 3.39

 

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Metronome

A man finds his own rhythm, stylized, imaginative.

Created by Anna Leterq.

Music Remi Subjobert

Link: Metronome  Time 1:42

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The ABC of Travel

Merry making, imagination, color.

From the mind and studio of Signe Bauman.

Commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission for the San Francisco International Airport.

Link The ABC of Travel  Time 2:01

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Why Am I ? 

My 6 year old daughter and 4 year old son absolutely adored this book! It was a cute story with a precious message- that we are all unique, and we should love ourselves as we are. Who better to teach the lesson than a handsome little yellow pup?! The illustrations were beautiful and fun. As a parent, it was interesting to read as well, unlike many children’s books. I loved the mention of the fortune cookie; it made me giggle. Overall, this is a wonderful story and I recommend it for everyone!  
Amazon 5 Star review by The Hills

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“Children … are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth,”  -- by E.B. White in his counsel on how to write for children.

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Fantasy Stories - An Expansion of each Reader's Horizons

"In fantasy stories we learn to understand the differences of others, we learn compassion for those things we cannot fathom, we learn the importance of keeping our sense of wonder. The strange worlds that exist in the pages of fantastic literature teach us a tolerance of other people and places and engender an openness toward new experience. Fantasy puts the world into perspective in a way that 'realistic' literature rarely does. It is not so much an escape from the here-and-now as an expansion of each reader's horizons." -- Jane Yolen, award winning author and editor, quoted by Terri Windling in Myth and Moor

Jane Yolen has written over 400 children and YA books, often relating to moral and behavioral issues. Her timeless YA crossover book, Briar Rose, actually deals with the Holocaust. Briar Rose was awarded the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature in 1993, and nominated for the Nebula Award.

Illustration by Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell.

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The Power of the NRA is Stronger Than the Power of the People

“As a nation we have to ask: When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” Biden said in an address to the nation. “ … How many scores of little children, who witnessed what happened, see their friends die as if they’re in a battlefield, for God’s sake?” - Joe Biden

"Schools," Jean-Pierre said, “should be sanctuaries of learning, not battlefields.” "The children", she said, “should be losing their first teeth, not losing their lives.

 

“They should be at Little League softball and soccer practices this weekend,” she said. “These parents should be planning their kid’s summer, not their child’s funeral.”

White House Press Secratary Karine Jean-Pierre

At least 19 children and two teachers were killed after the shooting at Robb Elementary School, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson said.

 

Top photo of mourning parents after Rob Elementary School massacre by Marco Bello. Reuters.

Bottom photo by nbcnews.com-

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Helping to Open Minds through Story of Underserved Children

"General Motors, Candlewick Press, and the American Booksellers Association have announced a new partnership to encourage young readers to develop an interest in STEM subjects through engagement with science fiction and fantasy novels. Funded by General Motors, the #STEMReads initiative will give away 20,000 copies of Christina Soontornvat’s The Last Mapmaker (Candlewick, Apr. 12).

A free box of paperback editions of The Last Mapmaker will be made available to independent booksellers to give away in underserved communities, particularly for readers between the ages of 8 and 12. Stores that participate in the giveaway will also receive a marketing stipend and will be invited to enter to win an in-person or virtual visit from Soontornvat, giving young readers the opportunity to speak to the author herself."

 

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Iris Murdoch on Where Delights are Lurking

“Education doesn’t make you happy. Nor does freedom. We don’t become happy just because we’re free – if we are. Or because we’ve been educated – if we have. But because education may be the means by which we realize we are happy. It opens our eyes, our ears, tells us where delights are lurking, convinces us that there is only one freedom of any importance whatsoever, that of the mind, and gives us the assurance – the confidence – to walk the path our mind, our educated mind, offers.”

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us."

 

The painting is by Sydney Neuwirth.

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The Planet of the Dogs

"I love this series of books and this first, Planet of the Dogs, sets the stage for those works that follow.  . .

This story borders between reality, a dream world, fantasy, fiction, reality and wonderful imagination. People here on Earth are in trouble with many of the evils they create for themselves, and as in real life, dogs are much brighter about such things than we are. The author has done a wonderful job of weaving this tale, making it a first rate fantasy read, while at the same time addressing quite real problems and indeed, how to fix those problems.

This book can be, and should be, read on several different levels. First, it is completely appropriate for children from about the age of eight and up. While not a beginning reader by any means, the story could be read to children of a younger age and I feel there would be complete understanding with little explanation of the reader's part. . . 

Young readers, who love fantasy, dogs, history and simply a good, fast moving story, will love this one. This is a book that belongs on their shelves." -- Don Blankenship, former teacher, reviewer for Good Books for Kids, Amazon top Reviewer

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"And the woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog any more, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always." -- Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories (1902)

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May -- Spring Returns, Awakenings, Green Hills and War . . .

 

  The association of trees with Life, both in the worldly plane and that of the gods, is a universal concept that spans both space and time. Evidence that humans accorded trees with a special status and equated them with the spiritual world can be found in virtually every religion and every ancient culture . . . Crann Bethadh was depicted as a tree with a stout trunk, its many branches swirling up to meet the sky above while its equally numerous roots expanded into the earth below . . . they (the Celts) recognized that trees were the center of all that occurred. Their ability to create life from the sunlight and water abundant in the air and the soil fed the herbivorous and omnivorous species, including man. Celts realized that the absence of greenery would be the absence of life itself --  The Mythologian 
The illustration is by Marc Simonetti

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"In the happy country of fairies, one leaves it only to find one’s way back. One suffers only to become happy, whereas pain is for us an enigma and life a struggle without end where the better people are the first to fall."  Edouard Laboulaye

The illustration of the book elf is by Jean Batiste Monge.

 

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And we still have war.

What Fairy Tales will be read to these children as they leave their home in Ukraine to start a new life in another world?

Fairy tales came about as people created fantasies to capture the imagination, relieve the difficult moments. and offer hope. 

After all these centuries, the stories have evolved, been written down, and even illustrated. 

But we still have war, and children on trains who are leaving home and the life they knew.

Photo taken in Kyiv train station. Credit Daily Sabah.
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Fantasy, Hope, and Tales That Were Told

"By entering the world of fantasy and imagination, children and adults secure for themselves a safe space where fears can be confronted, mastered, and banished. Beyond that the real magic of the fairy tale lies in its ability to extract pleasure from pain. In bringing to life the dark figures of our imagination as ogres, witches, cannibals, and giants, fairy tails may stir up dread, but in the end they always supply the pleasure of seeing it vanquished."  -- Maria Tatar in her Introduction to The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. 

The illustration is by Rima Staines.
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Snow White -- The Original Brutal Ending of the Tale for Adults

The Grimm's stories, taken from the timeless adult oral tales that reflected the hard, uncertain and often brutal lives of ordinary people were modified for children in the nineteenth century as written versions evolved.

The tale of Snow White, with brutal abuses of power -- including witchcraft -- by an evil Queen, is an example of a fairy tale that called for change. This included a new ending to the story. Here is the Grimm's 1812 version ending to Snow White, translated by D.L. Ashman.

"Their wedding (Snow White and the Prince) was set for the next day, and Snow White's godless mother was invited as well. That morning she stepped before the mirror and said:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?
The mirror answered:
You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But the young queen
Is a thousand times fairer than thee.

She was horrified to hear this, and so overtaken with fear that she could not say anything. Still, her jealousy drove her to go to the wedding and see the young queen. When she arrived she saw that it was Snow White. Then they put a pair of iron shoes into the fire until they glowed, and she had to put them on and dance in them. Her feet were terribly burned, and she could not stop until she had danced herself to death." 

 

The illustration from Snow White of the queen and the mirror is by Trian Schart Hyman.

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Putin Brings Still More War Upon Us 

"War came, and the soldiers came with it -- hungry, angry, bored, scared men who, as they pushed through, stole the cabbages and the chickens and the ducks. The woodcutter's family was never certain who was fighting whom, nor why they were fighting, nor what they were fighting about. But beyond the forest, fields of crops were burned and barley fields became battlefields, and the farmers were killed, or made into soldiers in their turn and marched away. And soon enough the miller had no grain to mill into flour, the butcher had no animals to kill and hang in the window, and they said you could name your own price for a rabbit." Neil Gaiman -- Hansel and Gretel retold.

 Pause in the Battle of Passchendaele,1917; Photo credit: James Francis Hurley.

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"There is no happy ever after. There is happy on occasion and happy every once in a while.

There is happy  when the memories do not overcome the now."— Jane Yolen, author Briar Rose

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Elegant and Deep 

"If I am a scholar, I am also a parent. To read to a child is to experience not just the pleasures of instruction or the warmth of entertainment, but the immense importance of quite simply reading...Even the most ordinary prose becomes magical when read aloud at bedtime. And even the simplest seeming of our children's books teaches something elegant and deep." Seth Lerer --  Children's Literature: A Readers History from Aesop to Harry Potter   

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Little Mole and Honey Bear

Jack Zipes' new publishing company, Little Mole and Honeybear is bringing us exceptional children's books that have been lost because of time, fashion, or the vicissitudes of the publishing business. The range is extensive since Zipes is able to translate books which may have originally appeared in non-English speaking countries. The results are a cascade of fascinating, eye-opening children's books. I have previously written about some of them: Laboulaye's myriad tales; Fearless Ivan and His Faithful Horse, Double Hump; The Giant Ohl and Tiny Tim; The Original Bambi, and more.

With the madness of Putin's war affecting a multitude of children and their families, I turn to lost books from the WW2 era that Zipes rediscovered: Yussuf (Emery Kelen), the heroic anti-fascist ostrich; Keedle, the Great (Deidre and William Counselman, Jr), the satire about a boy who was a would-be-Fascist; and Teddy, the Little Refugee Mouse (Dorothy Burroughes), who, during the Naizi bombing, was forced to leave a his home and start a new life.

Today, Keedle is published by Little Mole And Honey Bear. Their Mission Statement: "History is doomed to repeat itself. We must preserve the things that make us human, and stand up to forces that would tear our society apart."

Here is a link to Zipes' informative new website.

The illustration from Keedle is by Fred L. Fox.  

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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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Fairy Tales and War

Donald Haase, a scholar of fairy tales and Professor at Wayne State University, wrote a very informed and scholarly article, Children, War, and the Imaginative Space of Fairy Tales. I was particularly taken by his observations relating to WW 2 memoirs by British artist and illustrator, Corinna Sargood, and Hungarian psychoanalyst, Magda Denes. Fairy tales and their importance to each of these women, both as children and as adults, are moving to read. Both women had different types of fearful traumatic experiences. They  both found solace in fairy tales.  Here is a link to Donald Haase's article: Academia

 

The photo is of British children after a bombing raid during the  London Blitz.

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Independent Original Animation

Latitude Du Printemps

Exceptional, for adults and kids, engaging, fun

Created by an imaginative student team at Rubika School of Art and Design.

Chloé Bourdic, Théophile Coursimault, Sylvain Cuvillier
Noémie Halberstam, Maÿlis Mosny, Zijing Ye, Music by : Romain Camiolo,

Latitude Du Printemps Time 7.24

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My Favorite War

Poignant, Meaningful, Imaginative trailer for the full length version.

Taken from real life under fascism.

“My Favorite War teaches the global value of freedom and demonstrates how a very personal story can be of universal interest."  A quote from the Annecy Festival where the film won the award for best feature. This is a personal, animated documentary that tells the story of the director growing up in Latvia, part of the Soviet Union, from 1970 to 1990."
Here is a link from the program of the Norwegian Film Festival

Created by Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen, Ego Studios,Latvia

Here is the link: My Favorite War 2 minutes

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O Matka (Mother)

Brilliant innovative, excerpt, mother and son change places, become each other

Created by Paulina Ziolkowska

Music Giorgio Giampa, Montaz Karol Stadik 

Here is the link: O Matka  57 seconds

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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore  

The latest Fantastic Beasts movie has opened to mixed reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Reading the reviews, however, elicits my respect as I find that the story relates to matters relevant to what is going on in the world today: an election, a powerful messianic villain who is unfeeling about humanity, and empathy with Dumbledore's homosexuality. Here is an excerpt from the review by Amy Nicholson NYT

"Like so much children’s entertainment these days, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is a political primer sprinkled in magic dust. . .  A chunk of the story is set in 1930s Berlin. The deadly stakes are crystal-ball clear. An alternate subtitle could be “Totalitarianism for Tykes". . . . It’s a pointed movie from tip to barbed tail. Instead of building the plot around a tedious pursuit peppered with cutesy digital monsters — a misstep in the first two “Fantastic Beasts” films — the returning director David Yates and the screenwriters, J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves, center “Secrets of Dumbledore” on an election. "

Trailer: Dumbledore

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Navalny documentary rated 100% by audiences and critics alike..

"Shot as the story unfolded, NAVALNY is a fly-on-the-wall documentary thriller about anti-authoritarian Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Recovering in Berlin after nearly being poisoned to death with the nerve agent Novichok, he makes shocking discoveries about his assassination attempt and bravely decides to return home--whatever the consequences." -- Rotten Tomatoes

 

Photo of Navalny courtesy of: english.alaribiya.net

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Baseball, Kids, and Bullets.

There has been no reaction from the National Rifle Association to this event:

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A parent’s video shows children ducking for cover Monday night as gunfire erupted during a youth baseball game in North Charleston. . . . North Charleston Police say they are actively investigating the shooting. Police spokesman Harve Jacobs said police responded to Pepperhill Park in the 7600 block of Brandywine Road where gunshots had been reported.

A police report released Tuesday states witnesses told responding officers that a “large group” of teenagers pulled into the parking lot and began fistfighting. Witnesses then told officers the teenagers began shooting at each other before they fled in their vehicles where it appeared shots were fired from one vehicle towards another, the report states.  Story by Patrick Phillips Channel 5,Charleston, SC

Link to the video of gunshots at a baseball game and kids running: Run to safety

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The Ukranium Anthem In Finland

The Ukranian Anthem was played by an orchestra and sung by a chorus and shoppers in a cavernous Finnish shopping center. I found this to be very moving. 

Here is the link: Ukranian Anthem Flashmob Finland

Finland was invaded by the Russian army on December, 1939. Finns do not forget.

Photo credit of Ukranian refugees: Belge

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Harvey the dog. Link

Humor for Dog lovers.

Harvey and his Rabbit Friend

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Why Am I ?

"My 6 year old daughter and 4 year old son absolutely adored this book! It was a cute story with a precious message- that we are all unique, and we should love ourselves as we are. Who better to teach the lesson than a handsome little yellow pup?! The illustrations were beautiful and fun. As a parent, it was interesting to read as well, unlike many children’s books. I loved the mention of the fortune cookie; it made me giggle. Overall, this is a wonderful story and I recommend it for everyone!"
Amazon Review by The Hills

 

Written and illustrated by Ari Wulff

 

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Castle In The Mist

Prince Ukko, the ruthless leader of the Blackhawk tribe, has kidnapped the two children of his rival, Bik, the Warrior Chief of Stone City. There will be war unless the dogs can free the children from The Castle In The Mist.

" I feel Castle in the Mist is also a beautifully-crafted tale. This particular book has a slightly darker tone, but is still completely readable by children. As a matter-of-fact my 10-year-old son, Michael, says the book is 'great' and thinks: 'it is cool that the dogs come from their own planet.' As well, the illustrations really give depth and visual characterization to the manuscript."  

Charyl Miller Pingleton -- The Uncommon Review

 

Illustration by Stella Mustanoja McCarty

 

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"The more one gets to know of men, the more one values dogs. .." Alphonse Toussenel

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