The illustration is by Michael Sowa.
Fantasy and the Real Magic of Fairy Tales
"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 of the Black Friars from Gaiman's Neverwhere is by Chris Riddell.
"When angels go bad they are worse than anyone else. Remember Lucifer used to be an angel.”
― Neil Gaiman Neverwhere
The photo is by Stefan Keller.
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"I believe in all human societies there is a desire to love and be loved, to experience the full fierceness of human emotion, and to make a measure of the sacred part of one's life. Wherever I've traveled--Kenya, Chile, Australia, Japan--I've found the most dependable way to preserve these possibilities is to be reminded of them in stories. Stories do not give instruction, they do not explain how to love a companion or how to find God. They offer, instead, patterns of sound and association, of event and image. Suspended as listeners and readers in these patterns, we might reimagine our lives. It is through story that we embrace the great breadth of memory, that we can distinguish what is true, and that we may glimpse, at least occasionally, how to live without despair in the midst of the horror that dogs and unhinges us.” ― Barry López
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Alice Crosses the Borderline
"Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.
In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.
The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.
Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next." -- Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
The illustration is one of 92 created for the original Alice in Wonderland by John Tenniel.
Here is a link to Grace Slick singing White Rabbit (Woodstock 1969): White Rabbit
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The Alice Books Liberated the Fairy Tale
"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.
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Crossing the Borderline
“Imagination is a form of seeing” -- Phillip Pullman
"I'm thinking rather about those images, or words, or ideas that drop like trapdoors beneath us, throwing us out of our safe, sane world into a place much more dark and less welcoming."
--Neil Gaiman
"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
The illustration is by Michael Sowa.
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A Christmas Fantasy
Two of Santa's Reindeer have been kidnapped and there can be no Christmas. . . unless they can be rescued by visitors from the Planet of The Dogs. . .
"Loved it… This conclusion to the Planet of the Dogs series just caps off a wonderful tradition. The story is well suited to be read aloud to younger children and as chapter book for the older ones. All of your favorite dogs help rescue two of Santa's reindeer from the Evil King of the North. The story also imparts important lessons of cooperation and responsibility." -- Mary Jacobs, Editor/reviewer Bookhounds
The cover design is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty
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Movies - Wonderstruck, Miyazaki, Human Flow
New Worlds and Alternate Realities
Brian Selznick is a gifted story teller and illustrator (artist) who found a huge audience of all ages for his remarkable book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Stephen Spielberg made a wonderful movie based on the book. And now, Todd Haynes, also a very talented director, has made an "ode to the imagination" from Selznick's stunning illustrated book, Wonderstruck.
Both books and movies travel the borderline of fantasy with great originality and visual delight. Here is an excerpt from the review of the book, Wonderstruck (2011), by Adam Gopnik in the NY Times: "Selznick’s gift is for the uncanny and the haunting, and his subject is not only the strange poetry of ordinary things but the poetry of things from another time: train stations, frozen museum dioramas and old bookstores . . ."
Here is an excerpt from the review of the movie (2017) by Manhola Dargis in the New York Times: "Stars glitter and worlds collide in Todd Haynes’s “Wonderstruck,” a lovely ode to imagination and to the stories that make us who we are. A cleverly bifurcated tale of two children. . . Storytelling lies at the heart of “Wonderstruck” — its two children are effectively writing their way out of one reality and into another — and the film is chockablock with those boxed worlds, with imitations of life like dioramas, doll-size figurines, stuffed animals, illustrations and an ingenious paper city. Much like the cabinet of curiosities that Rose and Ben each discover, these representations point to new worlds and alternative realities."
The illustration is by Brian Selznick from his book, Wonderstruck. The photo of Millicent Simmons is from the movie Wonderstruck.
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Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki, is the movie master of the wonder tale who moves over, under, and beyond the borderline of fantasy. His films deal with many themes in myriad ways, from appreciating simple beauty to abuse of power and conflicts. His inspiration is stimulated by sources ranging from books and world events to children's behavior.
To visit his world, and be reminded of the magic he creates, I recommend a 7.5 minute video entitled the Making of Spirited Away, Part 1. Or, treat yourself to this 17 minute visual delight: a montage of film wonders from Miyazaki in a video entitled The Essence of Humanity, written and narrated by Lewis Criswell
“I do believe in the power of story. I believe that stories have an important role to play in the formation of human beings, that they can stimulate, amaze and inspire their listeners.” ― Hayao Miyazaki
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Human Flow
Human Flow, portrays the refugee world. I haven't yet seen it. But I will see it. Manohla Dargas has seen Human Flow and this is an excerpt from her review in the NY Times: Manohla Dargas
"There are moments in “Human Flow,” a bracing, often strangely beautiful movie by the artist Ai Weiwei, when it can be hard to see the individuals who make up the roiling, surging rivers onscreen. This difficulty in isolating specific people — really seeing them as sovereign beings rather than as an undifferentiated mass — is crucial to the meaning of the documentary, which charts the global refugee and migrant crisis. Shot over the course of one year in 23 countries, the movie tracks the here and there of people whose relentless ebbing and flowing make startlingly visible what news headlines repeatedly suggest: that ours is an age of ceaseless churn with no calm in sight. . . .
What Mr. Ai seeks is to go far beyond the nightly news; he wants to give you a sense of the scale of the crisis, its terrifying, world-swallowing immensity. And so he jumps from one heartbreak to the next . . ."
The photo is from the film. Here is a link to the trailer to Human Flow .
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UNHCR Bringing Hope to Refugees
The work of the United Nations Refugee Organization reduces pain, fear, chaos for what has become an endless stream of refugees.
"For over half a century, UNHCR has helped millions of people to restart their lives. They include refugees, returnees, stateless people, the internally displaced and asylum-seekers. Our protection, shelter, health and education has been crucial, healing broken pasts and building brighter futures."
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La Belle Sauvage - Book One of Phillip Pullman's The Book of Dust Trilogy
Some time ago, I read Pullman's version of the Grimm's Fairy Tales. I was very taken by his versions of the tales and by his very articulate Introduction. And, I admired the bravado of such an undertaking.
Later, I read the trilogy, His Dark Materials. I was pulled in and intrigued by the vast scope of his stories: Paradise Lost, tyrannical religion, and particle theory, to name a few. And the imaginative adventures of Lyra ranged from fun to challenging.
And now, the Pullman journey continues; I am reading La Belle Sauvage and have crossed the borderline of fantasy. In preparation, I read a most insightful review/article in the Guardian by Marina Warner, author, critic, and cultural historian. I highly recommend it. Here is a link to Marina Warner's Guardian review.
Here is a brief excerpt from La Belle Sauvage: "As Malcolm followed her gaze (his daemon's), he saw the man reach the middle of the footbridge and hesitate, because another man had stepped up from the other side, a stocky man dressed in black with a light-stepping vixen dæmon, and Malcolm and Asta could see that the second man was going to stop the raincoat man, and the raincoat man was afraid."
The top image is an alethioemeter. In Greek, alethes is the word for truth.
The bottom illustration from La Belle Sauvage is by Chris Wormell.
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Here is a link How to Change the World in 30 Seconds by C.A. Wulff
Cover design by C.A. Wulff.
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Chad and Norman
A true story of hope, healing and caring support from a therapy dog.
I was very moved by this excellent video profile of a veteran, Chad Myrick, and his recovery from PTSD with his therapy dog, Norman. I highly recommend it.
Here is a link to this CBC documentary: Chad and Norman
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Guns are not a fantasy. Guns are real.
The following is an excerpt from an incisive NY Times Article on the aftermath of the Las Vegas massacre.
"This is the road after Las Vegas, after a high-stakes gambler named Stephen Paddock hauled powerful weapons into a gilded casino and opened fire on a country music festival below. The journey — as the survivors of so many other American mass shootings will say — is one full of chronic pain, fights with insurance, ruined marriages, lost jobs, anguished parents and children, and the injustice of being forced into a new identity: victim."- Julie Turkewitz
The NRA seems to be reacting by keeping a low profile and silence.
A link to the Guardian documentary, Gun Nation, a journey
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Girls Who Sit Crying
"This bowdlerization of fairy tales continued in the 20th century, epitomized by the simple cartoon versions created by Walt Disney. Alas, these simple versions of the tales are the only ones most readers know today -- versions in which the complexity, sensuality, and horror have been carefully toned down, or stripped out altogether. Where once we had stories of active heroines making their own way through the dark of the woods, now we have girls who sit crying in the ashes, awaiting rescue by a rich Prince Charming. Where once Sleeping Beauty was impregnated by her prince, waking all alone at the birth of twins, now she's awakened by a chaste kiss and the tale ends promptly with a wedding." -- Terry Windling
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The invisible is only another unexplored country, a brave new world.”
― Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
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Why Am I ?...A Yelodoggie Illustrated Story Book
The Why Am I ? Book Search for a Wonderful Publisher Continues.
We are actively searching for a publisher who will love Why Am I ?, recognize its potential, and launch it into the world.
Why Am I ? is a joyous book that helps children to understand and appreciate differences and to embrace that which is unique in each of us.
Why Am I ? teaches tolerance. We believe that Why Am I ?, C.A. Wulff's wonderful new book, should have wide distribution. Kids 4-8 love it and we see it as the beginning of a series.
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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.
To read sample chapters of any book in the series, visit PlanetOfTheDogs
"When a man's dog turns against him it is time for a wife to pack her trunk and go home to mama." - Mark Twain
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