Cinnamon

Cinnamon

Neil Gaiman

pictures by Divya Srimivasan

2017

I'm definitely a fan of Neil Gaiman, though I don't love all his books.  (Coraline and Neverwhere are favorites). This book is a great pairing with the illustrator Divya Srimivasan.  I thought this might be based on the Indian Folktale:  The Brahmin Girl that Married a Tiger but it certainly is not!  I think this is what Gaiman does so well- takes common elements of folk and fairy tales, but twists and weaves them into his own original story.  He doesn't simply retell a story, instead, he leaves you with a feeling of something old and familiar but also mysterious and slightly dark and dangerous.   

In this tale, a young Indian princess is blind and does not talk.  Her parents offer "a room in the palace, a field of stunted mango trees, a portrait of the Rani's aunt executed on hardwood in enamels, and a green parrot, to any person who could get Cinnamon to talk".   They are certainly surprised when a fierce tiger shows up for the task!  And he teaches Cinnamon in an unexpected way.  The ending does not wrap up as most princess tales do, but is satisfying none the less.

Anna's Summer Song

Summer is well underway.  The days have been hot and humid and the cicadas are in full chorus.  Lena Anderson's pictures, each featuring a flower or plant are full of Summer feelings.  The poems by Mary Steele are fine, (some better than others) describing such summer things as honeysuckle scent at night, ferns in the rain, and cornflowers by the road.  Some books are just easily appealing, like long summer days...

Anna's Summer Song

Mary Q. Steele

pictures by Lena Anderson 1988

The Provensen Book of Fairy Tales

The Provensen Book of Fairy Tales

compiled and illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen

1971

The Provensen's have illustrated some fine books.  This collection of fairy tales has many full page illustrations showcasing their work.   In the introduction they explain that the stories are literary versions of the fairytales.  All the classics are here.

How beautiful is this contents page?!

If you are a fan of the Provensens, this is a must have!

Tom's Midnight Garden

Tom's Midnight Garden

Philippa Pearce

illustrated by Susan Einzig 1992

I absolutely LOVED this book.  Published in 1958, somehow it was unknown to me until Charlotte picked up a copy at the thrift store.  The cover was cheesy but the title intrigued her and you just never know what delights you might discover (L.M Boston was found this way!).

The writing and plot does, in fact, remind me a bit of Boston's Greene Knowe.  Because of his brother's measles, Tom has to spend weeks with his aunt and uncle in their very boring apartment.  But it turns out that the apartment house used to be a grand country manor and the most extraordinary thing occurs when the old grandfather clock in the lobby strikes thirteen!

     "Thirteen?  Tom's mind gave a jerk:  had it really struck thirteen?  Even mad old clocks never struck that.  He must have imagined it.  Had he not been falling asleep, or already sleeping?  But no, awake or dozing, he had counted up to thirteen.  He was sure of it.

     He was uneasy in the knowledge that this happening made some difference to him:  he could feel that in his bones.  The stillness had become an expectant one; the house seemed to hold its breath; the darkness pressed up to him, pressing him with a question:  Come on, Tom, the clock has struck thirteen- what are you going to do about it?"

What Tom finds blends magic and mystery and all the glorious adventures of childhood.  Philippa Pearce has written a story that conjures up fantasy and ghosts and that peculiar fascination with Time that always draws me in.

     "Tom was thinking about the Past, that Time made so far away.  Time had taken this Present of Hatty's and turned it into his Past.  Yet even so, here and now, for a little while, this was somehow made his Present too- his and Hatty's.  Then he remembered the grandfather clock, that measured out both his time and Hatty's, and he remembered the picture on the face."

Talking to the Sun

Talking to the Sun

Kenneth Koch and Kate Farrell 1985

Wonderful collection of poems paired with artwork from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The poems span centuries, countries, cultures, and forms.  The Preface says it all...

Brother to the Wind

One of the joys of motherhood is watching what my children gravitate towards, watching them develop their own tastes and styles, their own interests.  Of course I expose them to all the things that I love (including specific books).  And I find particular pleasure when they form attachments to the same books that I do.  But they are their own person and it's such a marvel to see that.

In my own family my oldest daughter despises realistic fiction while my youngest daughter loves and is drawn to that genre.  My son was never a fan of the 19th-century fantasy I often read to him, but rather prefers non-fiction, especially books about nature and science.  I have one voracious reader, one who will only read if it particularly catches their fancy, and one who loves books, but is not a strong skilled reader.

I enjoy celebrating all of this!  It's become a mission finding the books that will interest my different kids (and swelling our library in the process!).  I get to learn from what they are reading,  become exposed to new books and authors through them.  And yes, sometimes I even have to let go and realize that there are books that I want them to adore, but they just don't.

Which brings me to this book by Mildred Pitts Walter.  Charlotte recently revealed that this was one of her favorites.  Although I adore anything illustrated by the Dillons, this book didn't grip me the way that it has apparently gripped Charlotte.  She often reads it aloud to me at night.  The story is told like an African folktale about a boy who wants to fly and the mystical advice he gets from Good Snake.  Though I wouldn't choose to read it multiple times, it's fun experiencing how much Charlotte loves it and enjoys it.

Brother to the Wind

Mildred Pitts Walter

pictures by Diane and Leo Dillon 1985

If You Listen

A Father's Day post for those with fathers far away...

If You Listen

Charlotte Zolotow

illustrations by Marc Simont 1980

Charlotte Zolotow's gentle story is about a little girl who misses her father.  We are never told why her father is away or where he is, but we are comforted along with the little girl by the words of her mother.

The little girl's father had been away a long time.

"How do you know if someone far away is loving you?" she asked.

"Do you mean your father?" her mother said, smiling.

"Yes," said the little girl.  "If I can't see him, or hear him, or feel his hugs, how can I know he loves me when he isn't here?"

The little girl's mother tells her that when she is lonely she has to stop and listen...for the church bells that she can hear but not see, for the apple in the orchard that falls onto the ground, for the rustle of birds, for a train far away...

"If you listen hard you'll feel someone far away sending love to you."

(Amazon is selling a newer version with a different illustrator.  In my opinion Marc Simont's soft pictures from our copy enhance the story perfectly.)