I am thinking of the Lion Book of Humorous Verse again. I am tempted to include some more Hilaire Belloc, but I feel it only fair to devote a few lines to Edward Lear. Lear’s work received several mentions in the book, and I know it had an impact on me. Some of it, I …
Continue reading “Friday phrases: though his shoes were far too tight”
Over at Lit Kid, I wrote a while ago about the impact of recurring phrases – the ones you know are coming, the ones you are longing to hear. Some authors do far more. They weave a pattern of repeating words and sounds that is inseparable from the story itself. They are the basis of …
Continue reading “Friday phrases: and his ball and his teddy”
Beginnings. Always tricky. Want to make a big entrance, grab your attention. But what of endings? Also important. The time to make the big ‘boom’ at the end of the story, bow, and retreat, performance over. Even though I seem to say more about In the Night Kitchen, I still love Where the Wild Things …
If I’ve written about books I associate with my mother, it’s only fair to look at my father’s influence too. And I have, already, quite a bit. The Hobbit. My Friend Mr Leakey. Riki Tiki Tavi. These are just a few. My dad wasn’t always around at story reading time. There were several years where …
One of my great joys in lit kid life is giving Junior Reader access to books I read as a child. Whether as picture books, or chapter books, we are conveying something of the joy of story, character, illustration – and magic. So what did my parents read? And what did they pass on to …