September 2011: Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" and our next book

We're enjoying getting together on the first Wednesday morning of each month in the Children's Activity Room at Bath Library to talk about our books - old favourites and new discoveries.  Today was our fourth meeting, and we discussed Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1908).

Once again, this has been an interesting experience for us all.  Experienced readers, we thought we knew the book well through various audio, TV and theatre productions, but quickly discovered that the unabridged text holds many surprises.  Lyrical and highly descriptive, with its anthropomorphic animal characters reminiscent of something of a "boys' club",  the book has two distinct threads - the jolly and rumbunctious stories of Mole, Rat, Badger and Toad underlining the value and nature of true friendship, sitting alongside the mystical and nostalgic commemoration of Nature; an allegory perhaps for the passing of a more rustic age.

We talked about Grahame's own life - his disrupted childhood, his unfulfilled academic ambitions and the early death of his only child - and how these aspects may have influenced his writing.  We also discussed the "A A Milne effect" and how Milne's dramatisation of Toad of Toad Hall has probably helped succeeding generations to become familiar with the inhabitants of the Wild Wood without needing to deal with the more lyrical and challenging aspects of the text.

Next month we are reading The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (1954), the first - and probably the best known - in her series of seven novels loosely tracing a family of the Roman Empire and then of Britain.  The book was filmed as a movie (The Eagle) which opened earlier this year to mixed reviews.   Directed by Kevin MacDonald it is now available on DVD.

Our next meeting, What Katy Did and goldfish in Gamages

I was pleased to find a Ward Lock & Co edition of Susan Coolidge's What Katy Did on Bath Market yesterday.  Beautifully inscribed "Christmas 1923, from Dada to Muriel", its original purchase sticker is still inside the back cover, showing that it was bought from the famous department store A W Gamage Ltd of Holborn, London for two shillings and sixpence.  Gamages first opened in 1878 and became famous particularly for its stock of wonderful toys.  It finally closed in 1972.  In a letter dated 19 July 1922 to Elsie Kipling, his eldest surviving daughter, Rudyard Kipling wrote "I to Gamages in Holborn where, with everything else, they sell gold-fish."

Looking forward to our next meeting at Bath Library this coming Wednesday 7 September at 1030, when we will be discussing The Wind in the Willows.  The summer holidays mean that we'll still be missing a couple of regular members, but we look forward to seeing everyone again in October after we will have read The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Jan Needle's Wild Wood (1981)

Anyone interested in reading a companion piece to The Wind in the Willows might like to try Jan Needle's Wild Wood, published in 1981.  Here's Jan's explanation for how he came to rework the story from the perspective of the stoats, ferrets and Grahame's other anti-heroes:

"Much as I had always loved Toad, it occurred to me that if you looked at him through jaundiced left-wing eyes he might turn out somewhat less lovable. A fat and jolly plutocrat, more money than sense, with friends who lived lives of idleness and eternal pleasure. From there, it was a small step to redreaming the villains of the Wild Wood as sturdy, starving heroes of the rural proletariat.

"Here is the moment, in Chapter Seven, when my hero, Baxter Ferret, meets his nemesis. He is in a steam traction engine, with his fellow farmhand Tetley, going to pick up the wreck of their boss's motor lorry, a Throgmorton Squeezer.

We had rounded the bend. Determined to try and hear the end of the tale I had clenched my fists and kept my eyes on Tetley's clattering dentures rather than look up. Now I did. Alongside the dismal wreck, peering into the cab, was a figure.
"Thieves!" shrieked old Tetley. "Robbers! Villains come to lay hands on gaffer's stuff."
He banged open Old Betsy's throttle another fraction with a handy wrench, although she was already giving her very best speed. His free hand waved above his head till it contacted the whistle wire, on which he dangled frantically, one booted foot hovering in the air. A hoarse blast of sound and steam rent the clear and frosty morning.
The figure looked up, apparently not in the least alarmed. He moved to the front of the Squeezer in fact, and lounged on the sagging bonnet, about where the mudguard should have been. He was waiting for us.
As we lumbered forward, it appeared that there was another vehicle parked beside the lorry, which we had not been able to see at first. It slowly came into view, took shape and colour. I felt my stomach begin to flutter, my fingers to tremble. It was a motor car. A battered motor car. A very severely battered motor car.
Old Tetley drove the last few yards in the grim silence of concentration. He eased the steam back, judging his distance to a tee. The huge engine ground and grunted to a halt only inches from where the Throgmorton's radiator used to be. There was a moment of absolutely uncanny quiet after the din, until the engine settled down to a contented and familiar hissing as she built up pressure.
The black-coated figure pushed himself upright with a leather-gauntleted paw and walked towards us.
"Hello, you chaps," he said at last. "What a splendid day."
It was Mr Toad.

"My story follows the lines of the original with remarkable closeness ... all the things we know and love about Mr Toad's life and adventures are seen through different eyes, at different angles. Toad Hall is renamed Brotherhood Hall, and all the River Bankers' triumphs - including the final great assault which clears the denizens of the Wild Wood out of Toad's home lock, stock and barrel - are revealed to be a dreadful sham."

Jan Needle's website

August 2011: Anthony Horowitz's "Stormbreaker" and our next book

Yesterday was our third meeting, and - holidays excepted - most of us were able to come along to discuss Stormbreaker (our July book), eat chocolate chip cookies and have quite a few laughs!  We welcomed another new member - with a welcome view from an older generation - and it was nice to see two members' children to remind us how much we enjoy sharing the pleasure of reading.

Well, Stormbreaker certainly caused a lot of comment!  While we agreed the story was fast-paced and exciting, the negative - or just plain disappointed - generally outweighed the positive.  "One-dimensional characters", "highly formulaic", "commercialised", "cold", "written with an eye to the film rights" - I'm afraid Mr Horowitz's ears were positively on fire!  It was particularly interesting to hear from the school librarians amongst us who have been cheerfully recommending the series without having first read any ...   That said, everyone agreed that Stormbreaker would still appeal strongly to young readers - girls and boys - but perhaps more particularly to boys (10-12) who may not need so much emotional characterisation and would be satisfied with a book which consists largely of descriptions of action with little meaningful dialogue.  We all agreed that if Stormbreaker provides a positive route to encouraging young readers, then it is a perfectly acceptable book - even if it is rather like the proverbial Chinese meal which leaves you hungry again shortly after it's been consumed!

SilverFin by Charlie Higson - the first of his "Young Bond" books - was recommended over Stormbreaker as having a similar structure and formula but better written with more literary content.  Robert Muchamore's The Recruit (Red House Book Award Winner 2005) also received positive support, although perhaps for teenage readers rather than for pre-teens.

Our book for August is The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908), which was probably inspired by his Thames-side childhood in Cookham Dean, Berkshire.  The edition provided for us by Bath Library includes the 1931 illustrations by E H Shepard.

Mrs Molesworth (1939-1921) and Sir James Percy Fitzpatrick (1862-1931)

One author's name seems to have cropped up a lot in our three meetings so far: that of Mrs Molesworth (1839-1921).  I'd never come across her - surprisingly, considering my diet of Victorian children's books -  but once you've heard a name it's incredible how often it comes up!  Just clearing old books from my father-in-law's house near Ludlow when I came across an original copy of Four Winds Farm (1908).  Some nameless child has coloured-in all the plates with felt pen ... I thumbed through the book but must admit I don't know if I could face investing several hours into actually reading it! 

In the same pile of books I also found an original copy of Jock of the Bushveldt (1907) by Sir James Percy Fitzpatrick (1862-1931) - a story about a faithful dog - which looks like it could be more interesting.  Apparently it's a South African classic, and has recently been made into a 3D movie.  Oh, the joy of second-hand books!

UK Literacy Association Children’s Book Awards Winners 2011

12-16 Award: Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace, published by Andersen Press

A powerful, devastating read for older teens: “It captures the moment perfectly, the characterisation is brilliant”. One judge’s comment summed up many opinions: “Whoever reads it will be transformed in some way. One inevitably knows more about the world and about yourself as a result of reading it.”

3-11 Award: Birdsong by Ellie Sandall, published by Egmont

The panel felt it is a book young readers will return to again and again.  They particularly loved the tongue twisting bird noises and the way the picture book strikes a perfect balance between words and pictures.

The Borrowers: Bath preview of new Japanese animated children's movie

There will be a special children's preview of the new Japanese animation adventure, ARRIETTY at the Little Cinema in Bath on Saturday afternoon, 23 July - the first day of its UK release. 

Little Cinema, Bath

Set in present-day suburban Tokyo, the blurb says: "The scurry of tiny footsteps echoes underneath the floorboards of a sprawling mansion.  Fourteen-year-old Arrietty has lived in the recesses of this grand manor all her life, totally unbeknown to the two old ladies who occupy it.  Arrietty and her diminutive family survive by 'borrowing' everyday items from their inadvertent landlords.  When 12-year-old Sho moves into the mansion while awaiting medical treatment at a clinic in the city, Arrietty starts to see humans in a different light.  Disregarding her parents' advice, she announces herself to Sho and a friendship sparks into life."

Described as "a magical riff on British writer Mary Norton's cherished novel The Borrowers" this could be worth finding a child to take to!