Descent to Rivendale by Enrico Forsatti
Recent criticism has made clear that children’s literature exists as literature: that it has forms and genres, an imaginative scope, a mastery of figurative language, an enduring cast of characters, a self-conscious sense of authorship, a poetics, a politics, a prose style.” Seth Lerer, author of Children's Literature from Aesop to Harry Potter
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Tolkien -- The Way of a Real Tale
“I don’t like anything here at all.” said Frodo, “step or stone, breath or bone. Earth, air and water all seem accursed. But so our path is laid.”
“Yes, that’s so,” said Sam, “And we shouldn’t be here at all, if we’d known more about it before we started. But I suppose it’s often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo, adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life
was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that’s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t. And if they had, we shouldn’t know, because they’d have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on, and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end. You know, coming home, and finding things all right, though not quite the same; like old Mr Bilbo. But those aren’t always the best tales to hear, though they may be the best tales to get landed in! I wonder what sort of a tale we’ve fallen into?”
“I wonder,” said Frodo, “But I don’t know. And that’s the way of a real tale. Take any one that you’re fond of. You may know, or guess, what kind of a tale it is, happy-ending or sad-ending, but the people in it don’t know. And you don’t want them to.”
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Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel, The Lord of the RingsThe Unifying concept for American Gods came to Neil Gaiman in Reykjavik in 1998, 6 years after he had moved to the USA.
The turning point came in Iceland, when he saw, in a Reykjavik visitors (tourist) center, a diorama of Vikings in their boats crossing the ocean to America. It was then that the idea came to him. He wondered if they took their Gods with them to this rather strange world of the USA. And, presuming that they did, what has happened to them?
The Letter. . . the soul of America
Following this experience in Reykjavik, he sent a letter to his publishers about the book he wanted to write about America. Here are Gaiman's own words, excerpted from the letter:
"American Gods will be a big book, I hope. A sort of weird, sprawling picaresque epic, which starts out relatively small and gets larger. Not horror, although I plan a few moments that are up there with anything I did in Sandman, and not strictly fantasy either.
It's about the soul of America, really. What people brought to America; what found them when they came; and the things that lie sleeping beneath it all.
That was the goal. That was the destination." Source: The Guardian
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Lost or abandoned or subsumed into the American Dream...
Neil Gaiman had already emerged as a successful writer when the first edition of American Gods was published in 2001. However, the book's impact could not have been anticipated. This was a turning point book, a game changer. It sold over a million copies and swept major book awards (Nebula, Locus, Hugo and more).It has been translated into 22 languages. Gaiman had touched a nerve with readers and continues to do so today.
Not long after the publication of American Gods, Gaiman had an outstanding, candid, interview with Rudi Dornemann and Kelly Everding on Rain Taxi I have watched or read a multitude of Gaiman's American Gods interviews; this is the most informative.
"For my part it was very much a way of trying to use the tools of fantasy and some of the tools and engines of horror to try and describe the world. . . . I was trying to describe the experience of coming to America as an immigrant, the experience of watching the way that America tends to eat other cultures. ...everything homogenizes, it blands. I think I was trying to talk about both the blanding of other cultures, the way the rough edges get knocked off very quickly and the way the things that make them special and unique get forgotten or lost or abandoned or subsumed into the 'American Dream.'
In addition to that I wanted to talk about future shock: the way that we are currently slamming into the future incredibly fast and what that means, and what it means that the future that we were heading for in 1984 now feels incredibly dated. For that matter, 2001 feels incredibly dated. Where does that come from? So trying to take all of that and 
put it into a framework that would also let me write about the House on the Rock, and do these little historical short stories as well, which were such a joy to write...The point being that you had a world in which the gods were written about and treated as simply part of the world. And I thought wouldn’t it be a really cool thing to try and put that into the here and now. If people did come over with their gods, what are their gods doing, how are their gods doing? That’s really where the whole thing sprang from.."
The middle photo is of Cairo Illinois.
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Cairo (Kay-ro), Illinois
In the revised version of American Gods, Shadow, the central protagonist, is deep in the Wisconsin woods, on the run and lost, when he encounters a large black bird, a raven. This awesome bird is "rending and tearing goblets of red meat from the corpse" of a fawn. The bird is a messenger and guide on behalf of Shadow's employer and mentor, an ancient God named Mr. Wednesday. The raven tells Shadow that Mr. Wednesday, " Will see you in Kay-ro."
"Kay-ro?", Shadow asked?
"In Egypt."
"How am I going to get to Egypt?"
"Follow Mississippi. Go south. Find Jackal."
Shadow continues his journey and finds Cairo, Illinois, in Egypt County. The real Cairo, located in southern Illinois at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, is a dying city. Once home to over 15,000 people, the current population is under 3,000. The decline was precipitated by bridges over the rivers, a reduction in river shipping, and racial tensions. The abandonment was in full swing when Gaiman visited in the early 1990's; Gaiman found this city in decline an ideal setting for many important events in American Gods: these included a refuge for Shadow provided by two ancient Egyption gods who were running a successful funeral home.
The illustration of the raven is by Nicholas DeLort. The postcard photo is of Cairo in 1922, before the decline.
There are numerous grim Youtube videos of the ghost town of Cairo. The exception is Zachary Sigelko's 5 minute video, Why You Should Visit Cairo .
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Soon the Going Really Gets Strange
In 2001, before Coraline and the book of Neverwhere, Kera Bolomik wrote this NY Times review of American Gods.
"Neil Gaiman's new book is a noirish sci-fi road trip novel in which the melting pot of the United States extends not merely to mortals but to a motley assortment of disgruntled gods and deities. Early in 'American Gods'- we are introduced to Shadow, a man who has been released from prison only to learn that his wife has died in a car crash. With nothing to return home to, Shadow accepts a job protecting Mr. Wednesday, an omniscient one-eyed grifter. Then the going really gets strange.
Soon the ex-convict finds himself in an alternate universe, where he is haunted by prophetic nightmares and visited by his dead wife. As he cruises the country with Mr. Wednesday, Shadow begins to realize that he is not dealing with ordinary oddballs: Mr. Wednesday reveals himself to be Odin, the chief Scandinavian god, for example. . .
This might all sound like a bit much. But Gaiman -- who is best known as the creator of the respected DC Comics 'Sandman' series -- has a deft hand with the mythologies he tinkers with here; even better, he's a fine, droll storyteller."
The illustration is of Shadow and his dead wife, Laura Moon, who has rescued him from two Men in Black (Mr. Wood and Mr. Stone), both of whon lie dead under the chair. Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.
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Fantasy
"Fantasy is a different approach to reality, an alternative technique for apprehending and coping with existence. It is not antirational, but pararational; not realistic but surrealistic, a heightening of reality. In Freud's terminology, it employs primary, not secondary process thinking. It employs archetypes, which, as Jung warned us, are dangerous things. Fantasy is nearer to poetry, to mysticism, and to insanity than naturalistic fiction is. It is a wilderness, and those who go there should not feel too safe."
Ursula K. Le Guin
The illustration above, depicting the migration, in ancient times, of the Siberian worshipers of Nunyunni -- the mammoth God -- to North America, is from the TV production of American Gods.
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Walk That Road to the End
"All we have to believe with is our senses, the tools we use to perceive the world: our sight, our touch, our memory. If they lie to us, then nothing can be trusted. And even if we do not believe, then still we cannot travel in any other way than the road our senses show us; and we must walk that road to the end.”
― Neil Gaiman, American Gods
The photo is of La Crosse, Wisconsin.
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The World Was Dangerous
"I spoke over the phone with Neil Gaiman about Wisconsin. In 1992, when he moved to the western edge of the state, not far from the Twin Cities, Gaiman says: “I thought I understood America. The Midwest, and by inference America, was weirder than I could have imagined.” It’s not just the roadside attractions like the House on the Rock or a preserved version of America’s biggest block of cheese from the 1960s, he says. “The world was weird. The world was dangerous. Winters could kill you. You’d turn on the radio and hear about a woman who had gone out to fill her bird feeder in her carpet slippers and they’d frozen to the sidewalk.” As he was coming to know this strange new place, Gaiman was also reading books on folklore and American history. “I was driving around America,” he told me, “and finally it all congealed into this book called American Gods.”
Excerpted from a Gaiman interview with David M Perry in the Pacific Standard
The photo is by Tyler Lariviere, Chicago Sun-Times/Associated Press
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The Second Coming
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
William Butler Yeats (1919)
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A Sense of Wonder
"There's something raw about American Gods, too. It's a polished piece of writing, no doubt about that, but it has that simultaneous urgency and sprawl of a writer finding their feet. Gaiman's latest novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, is a perfectly-formed parcel of tight writing and economic plotting; American Gods spills over the edges of the page as Gaiman gives himself an almost runaway-truck freedom to pile anything and everything that tickles or interests him into the novel.". . but there's also a lot of hope, a lot of fun and a sense of wonder which makes this a joyful, satisfying and enriching experience."
David Barnett in his insightful comments above, presents an excellent overview of American Gods -- excerpted from his 2014 Guardian review.
The photo of the House On The Rock carousel is courtesy of FanGirlQuest.
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Movies
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part’: Everything Is Not Awesome. Everything Is an Ad.
"The new animated Lego movie is pretty much like the last one. Or maybe I’m thinking of another one, not that it much matters. There are differences between editions, most fairly negligible. The unifying factor, to note the obvious about the state of big-screen children’s entertainment, is that they are all feature-length commercials. The 'Transformers' series helped pave the way for Legos by flipping the old idea that movies (like 'Star Wars') were the creative source for the licensed merch, the lunchboxes and action figures. Now, toys, board games and so on are sometimes the originating point.
This isn’t news; I know it, you know it. But it seems worth repeating again and ad infinitum, especially given that ' 
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part' isn’t as distractingly fun, shiny and bright as the more satisfying franchise installments. It drags and sometimes bores, which makes it easier for your mind to drift elsewhere, to thoughts of family, deadlines, chores, the creative impoverishment of the big studios and the casual, fundamentally corrupt commercial exploitation of the child audience. Put differently, what distinguishes this from the
Lego movies is that they’re good commercials."
By Manohla Dargis in her NYTimes review. Here is the trailer for LEGO 2.
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How To Train Your Dragon -- Part 3
"Dazzling animation, light-on-its-feet humor and a ton of heart bring the ‘Dragon’ trilogy to a thrilling end. . . DeBlois (the director) traces the growing maturity of Hiccup and Toothless in two different worlds, the emotional bond between human and dragon leading to an ending as heartbreaking as it is hilarious. There’ll be no spoilers in this review. The subtleties of How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World sneak up on you and hold you captive. Just go with the film’s irresistible flow. There’s magic in it."
By Peter Travers in Rolling Stone. Here is the DreamWorks trailer for How To Train Your Dragon.
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What They Took With Them
“As soon as I read Jenifer Toksvig’s poem, What They Took With Them, and even more so after I took part in an early performance of it, I was struck by its immense power,” said Cate Blanchett in an interview.
“The rhythm and words of the poem echo the frenzy and chaos and terror of suddenly being forced to leave your home, grabbing what little you can carry with you, and fleeing for safety,” she added.
Blanchett performs the poem alongside fellow actors Keira Knightley, Juliet Stevenson, Peter Capaldi, Stanley Tucci, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kit Harington, Douglas Booth, Jesse Eisenberg and Neil Gaiman.
Here is a link to the very moving What They Took With Them 5:15 minutes
Sponsored by the UNHCR.
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KidLitosphere
"The 'KidLitosphere' is a community of reviewers, librarians, teachers, authors, illustrators, publishers, parents, and other book enthusiasts who blog about children’s and young adult literature. In writing about books for children and teens, we’ve connected with others who share our love of books. With this website, we hope to spread the wealth of our reading and writing experience more broadly.
KidLitosphere Central strives to provide an avenue to good books and useful literary resources; to support authors and publishers by connecting them with readers and book reviewers; and to continue the growth of the society of bloggers in children’s and young adult literature."
The illustration is by Morgan Weistling.
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NRA
The One Year Anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas High School Massacre Was February 14, 2018
The power of the NRA is huge. They have stopped the Federal government from enacting legislation.
People with criminal records or mental illness can still buy assault weapons legally.
What wonder tales will be told about this nightmare?
Photo of young girl and her father courtesy HuffPost.
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PGI -- Paws Giving Independence
PGI. . . Paws Giving Independence has been helping people in need since 2008, over ten years!
Congratulations to this wonderful non-profit, volunteer therapy service dog organization that began at Bradley College (Peoria,Illinois) with two nursing students.
PGI places its dogs free of charge. PGI’s service dogs benefit individuals with spinal cord injury, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, balance problems, and more. PGI is run exclusively on public donations and endowments.
Most of PGI's dogs are rescued dogs. They are trained specifically for an individual's needs. The training process for each individual takes more than a year. The bonus is unconditional love. Here is a website link: PGI
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Dog News
New York City Now Has An AKC Dog Museum.
It's filled with dog photos, paintings and memorabilia.
Here is a link that will take you there, via an ABC video
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Born Without a Tail. . . It's A Keeper
"I can't say too much about this book, it's more than a 'dog book' it's a people, animals, life book. I was hooked from the first page . . .. You will love getting to know the author, her animals and the people in her life. The writer has a great way of drawing you in, making you at home in her world. Anyone who's ever had a heart dog, a misfit cat, ever been touched by the love of an animal should enjoy this book. It's a keeper." Amazon Reviewer
The author, C. A. Wulff, is an active, passionate, animal (especially dogs) advocate.
The photo is of Ms Wulff with the rescued dog, Waldo, now departed. Here is a link to the book: Born Without a Tail Soon available in large print.
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Why Am I ?
We believe that Why Am I ?, C.A. Wulff's wonderful new Yelodoggie book should have a big marketing push and wide distribution. Kids 4-8 love it and we are hoping it will be the beginning of a series. Accordingly, we have renewed our search for a publisher who will also love the book, embrace its potential, and launch it into the world.
Why Am I ? is a joyous Yelodoggie book that helps children recognize and appreciate differences and to embrace that which is unique in each of us.
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The Planet Of The Dogs Series
"The Planet Of The Dogs series...is an impressive read that not only offers great story, accompanied by lovingly realistic illustrations by Stella Mustanoja McCarty, but conveys a refreshingly sincere, unaffected message about the necessity, nobility, loving natures, and even healing abilities, of dogs. Unlike most “dog books”, a single dog is not the hero here; the heroes are the whole race. And they save the world by following their noses with unconditional love". . .Jamie McQueen, The Magic Bookshelf
You can read sample chapters of Planet Of The Dogs, Castle in the Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, at www.planetofthedogs.net. The books are available free to therapy dogs and their owners (via [email protected])
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To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring, it was peace." - Milan Kundera
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