Enid

Enid

2 August 2010 by · 12 Comments

Last week on Meet Me at Mikes Pip posted this trailer…

Wonderful isn’t it! Helena Bonham Carter plays nasty so well.

Although Enid is said to have been a dragon and pretty shocking to her own children she still created one of the first ever publishing franchises with her many different series. Of course the most popular are/were the Wishing Chair, Faraway Tree, Secret Seven and Famous Five. I adored them all but the Faraway Tree series and the Famous Five were my favourites and stay with me vividly in adulthood.

Recently Hodder Children’s Books, who publish the Famous Five, announced that they are giving the Five a facelift. Changing some of the language in the books to make them more “timeless”. Read an article about the move here.

Not as harsh as the changes to Noddy but I think still probably unnecessary. What do you think?

Of course the books are all pretty twee and Enid was the first Barbara Cartland of children’s publishing – following formulaic storylines to publish title after title but I do really remember enjoying them.

I also remember all the words to the Famous Five TV show theme song…

One of my all-time favourites. How I wished to be Anne riding my pony across the Moors!

So what do you think of the Enid Blyton books in 2010? Do you think they still have a place? Do you think the language should be updated?

Leave a comment sharing your view and we’ll have a little competition to (randomly) win a copy of a wonderful intermediate reader novel called Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve.

This whimsical fantasy about a rhubarb farm where it always rains on Monday at 1pm is a gorgeous hardcover from the US.

Filed Under: Classics, Intermediate readers

My Heart Is Like a Zoo

11 January 2010 by · 1 Comment

It’s really, really hot here today and we are trapped inside. Ned and I have enjoyed this little book trailer immensely and we will probably watch it a couple more times before the day is out. It looks gorgeous animated so it will be really interesting to see the book.

The author/illustrator, award winning designer, Michael Hall includes 300 hearts in his stunning illustrations and readers are encouraged to try and count all of the hearts at the end of the book. It is due to be published in Australia next month and you can see inside the book more on the Harper Collins website.

Also have a look at some deleted scenes from the book on the newly created blog Under the Greenwillow devoted to celebrating the publishers 35th birthday – this will be a blog to watch.

Thanks to Fuse #8 for pointing me in the direction of this great book trailer. Also check out their review of Cosmic, an intermediate novel by Frank Cottrell Boyce – one of my all time favorite authors.

Also discovered today is this awesome new blog, this is definitely going to be one that I am going to be addicted to. A whole blog devoted meticulously to ‘recommended inappropriate books for kids’. The research, the writing and the images are just incredible and will give you a giggle as well as providing some incredible info.

Filed Under: Age 1+, Animals, Intermediate readers, Picture books, Rhymes/songs

Ivy and Bean

15 October 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Chronicle Books posted this lovely clip this week…

The Ivy and Bean series of books are about two spunky and smart seven year old girls. They have very different personalities…

 ’Ivy was always reading a big book. Bean never read big books. Reading made her jumpy’.

The author of the Ivy and Bean series is Annie Barrows who wrote the bestselling adult novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. What I love about her writing for children with Ivy and Bean is how natural the characters and  story lines are. There are no big challenging issues in these stories, they are fun and playful. She makes the stories funny and children really relate to them, the dialogue is just fantastic to read aloud.

Ivy and Bean are often and rightly compared to the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary.  

The illustrations are by Australian Sophie Blackall who lends a beautiful spirit to Ivy and Bean. She really makes the characters come alive.

I love how the boys in the clip enjoy the books too.

We have the first two Ivy and Bean books available in our store and will be receiveing the rest of the series soon, including the new book Ivy and Bean: Doomed to Dance.

Filed Under: Age 6+, Australian, Illustrators, Intermediate readers, Uncategorized, We Heart Books Store