A reread and return to rule bending

Right, let me begin by asking you all if you've ever read an epic poem. Have you? I know I haven't. According to one online site an epic poem is "...An epic poem is a long, narrative poem that is usually about heroic deeds and events that are significant to the culture of the poet. Many ancient writers used epic poetry to tell tales of intense adventures and heroic feats."*

Epic poetry was orginally performed orally before eventually being written down, famous examples of this being Homer's 'The Illiad' and John Milton's 'Paradise Lost'.

Now, another question. How many of you know of children's versions of epic poems? Before you scramble to give me a list of ones you might know, try thinking of ones that retell these epic poems in modern day verse.

Yeah, I'll bet that one's got most of you stumped.

My challenge when dealing with this particular book was to find an epic poem for children. There was no point in trying to do this one half heartedly. Now Beowulf, for example, has several versions that were written for children. One of which was written by Michael Morpurgo no less. However, the problem with these versions is that they are all written as stories, which for me lessens the impact of the poem itself, making it a simple story rather than an epic piece of children's poetry.

Enter Beowulf the Brave!

I had an absolute nightmare the last time I did this challenge in finding the right book. Then a chance trip to The Norton Priory Museum, famous for it's ruins of the 12th Century Abbey, uncovered a copy of this brilliant book. There was just one problem, it was not a copy for sale, there were no sale copies available and despite the fact that I cleverly noted the title and author; I could not obtain a free, or even reasonably priced version of this book at all.

I first encountered this book in June 2018, but it wasn't until October of the same year that I finally managed to get a a copy for my birthday. It had to come imported all the way from Australia!!!
So I read it for my challenge that year, I won't deny I was a bit heartbroken that my blog post on it achieved the lowest number of views for any of my blog posts. It felt like a total disappointment after my long and thorough struggle (I even wrote that blog post in rhyming couplets - such was my dedication).

Fast forward 2 years and guess what? There still aren't any children's versions of epic poems that are written in the rhyming style, let alone any other kind of verse. So here I am promoting this book once again and rereading it as there simply aren't any other books that come close to completing this particular part of my challenge.

Written by Oakley Graham and first published in 2012 it retells the story of Beowulf, hero turned king who battles two nasty monsters and a dragon. Set in Scandinavia in the 6th century it follows Beowulf's three great battles and his journey to becoming king of the Geats before meeting his eventual demise at the hands of a dragon, who (fortunately for his people) he kills first.

The original epic poem dates back as far as 975 bc (according to wikipedia)** and is over 3100 lines long! Now there's no way a children's retelling is going to be nearly half that length so what the author has done in this version is cleverly retell this story in as few verses as possible without making the language overly simplistic.

There is some wonderful vocabulary in this poem, words such as slain and lair are easily slotted in to passages with more modern phrases such as 'end all the drama'. The rhythm is beautifully smooth, written in rhyming couplets with even beats all the way through. The illustrations are gorgeous in their simplicity, so as not to distract too much from the real power of the story which lies in the pace of the text.

If you're expecting to really dig deep into the characters' backstories then this isn't really the version for you. It dispenses with that in order to keep the poem short and sweet. It has a lovely little note at the end which tells the history of the original for those that want to know.

At 22 pages long it really is quick to get through, but perhaps it's most charming asset is that, in the illustrations Beowulf's character is portrayed by a little boy. At the end the last verses and illustrations show us that this little boy has been told the story of Beowulf by his father, who ruffles his son's hair as his son drifts happily off to sleep. I found that little extra touch very endearing.

So I will continue to push this book in spite of the fact that it's ridiculously hard to obtain. Frankly it's worth it, I'm just gutted there aren't more like it out there. Maybe I should take on a children's version of 'The Illiad' (haha)!

Book 14 of my 52 book list and my epic poem (written smugly two days ahead of my deadline).
Here's my original blog from two years ago:
https://themrsreads.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-poem-of-epic-proportions.html

Book Title: Beowulf the Brave

Author: Graham Oakley

Illustrator: Emi Ordas

First Published 2012

Pages: 22

Suitable for: Children aged 4 and upwards

Interesting words: brawl, hideous, slain, knave

*https://study.com/academy/lesson/epic-poetry-definition-heroes-stories.html

**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf

Rules are meant for bending

So I missed my weekly deadline, which should've been last Tuesday (it's now Sunday). But I'm really not caring, not one little jot, because by this Tuesday I know I will have caught up. I recall what I was like the last time I did this challenge, the focus was solely on ensuring that the blog posts were exactly on time and that one book was read every single week exactly. The pressure was absolutely incredible. Imagine struggling to read 400 pages of text whilst getting a 9-5 job done and coming home to two kids and a house to run. People might think it's just a case of organising time more effectively. But to those people I would say 'step in my shoes for five flamin minutes'.

That being said, I know I can be a bit of a procrastinator, I don't hide from that.

I will beat about the proverbial bush until the bush is completely knackered. Then beat about it some more until I finally take action. So I know there were times when I could've done better. The important thing this time around is not to carry the pressure, which I'm fair in saying is the thing that killed my challenge off last time (pressure and an insane book about philosophy that simply couldn't be read in a single week).

So, I've learned to be a bit more clever with my days this time, that and not to worry: it isn't the end of the world if I miss one deadline. I'll make the next one.
So this is the first of two posts, the next is due, as normal, on Tuesday. For these next two I've turned my attention to younger books.

This is Not My Hat is written and illustrated by Jon Klassen and is a very simplistic story of a little fish who steals a hat from a VERY BIG fish. This story is brilliant with it's sense of humour, which is subtle and transcends the age ranges. I've seen children as young as three stare with wide eyed wonder and yet my son, who is in his teens was commenting the other day on how funny he used to find a particular joke in it.

The book works by telling a story with words and a different story entirely with the illustrations. It leads to a climactic confrontation which has to be interpreted by use of the imagination. The children are left to guess at the fate of the little fish by the end. Guaranteed there is always that one child who, when I try and invite discussion as to his fate, always shouts out at the top of their voice 'he's dead!'
It happens every... ...single... ...time.

The language isn't totally diverse in range, but is expertly placed, one example being the repeated use of the word 'probably' which adds to the casual nature of the textual story, 'he probably won't wake up, he probably won't know where I've gone'. In contrast, the very concrete story told by the pictures has the reader thinking 'definitely', 'he's definitely awake, he definitely knows where you've gone'. There is also a very strong rhythm to the wording, this in spite of the fact that there's no rhyme or other discernible pattern: this contributes to an easy, flowing read through of the text. Something that shows up most in a passage where the little fish talks about where he's going to hide out.

My favourite scene is one where the little fish is convinced that the tiny crab he's passed won't rat him out, which is hotly followed by the crab blatantly pointing out where he's swam off to. With just a simple drawing of the crab (in particular his eyes) you find yourself laughing at how much the crab has given away.

It was once said of the Gromit character (from the popular Wallace and Gromit series) that the genius was in getting his eyes to do all the acting and show expression without doing much. The same can be said of the characters in this book, which is what makes them lovable and amusing.

There is also an interesting discussion starter in Klassen's use of the word 'stole'. The little fish didn't take the hat, to use that word would have been far less harmful and more p.c. But no, the word stole is used, which gets the children talking about whether or not it was right for the little fish to steal, after all, the hat fits him far better than the big fish, so why shouldn't he just steal it for himself?

I laughed out loud the first time I read it, and to this day, it still raises a smile out of all those I know who've come across it.

Book 13 of my 52 and my funny book.

Book Title: This is not my Hat 

Author: Jon Klassen 

Illustrator: Jon Klassen 

First published: 2012 

Number of Pages: 32 

Suitable for: children aged 3 and up 

Interesting words: probably, stole.

There's really no place like home

I've always wanted to use this title for a blog post. I always thought I knew and appreciated what home was. But my life this year and last has seen my view of home undergo a cataclysmic shift. And while it has taught me a lot about that I was previously clueless about, it's also taught me a little humility, which is always a good thing.

The topic of this post - banned books - has been a joy to research. At first I thought I'd really struggle, I kept harking back to the book I'd used in the last challenge two years ago and thinking 'I'm never going to be able to find another banned children's book'... ...I clearly wasn't looking hard enough last time.

It turns out that, particularly in America (sorry to my good friends across the pond) there were a lot of children's books banned or challenged over the past hundred years. 'And Tango Makes Three' was banned for promoting guy fostering, 'Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone' for promoting witch craft and paganism, but my all time favourite, which literally had me choking on my morning cup of coffee, was Where's Wally (or Waldo in the States) being banned and then subsequently reprinted to edit out a particular scene where a woman on a beach poses topless and you can see (yep you guessed it) a boob which would probably be no bigger than the round bit in this letter  'b'. I have to ask who was searching that hard for Wally that he found that? Who ever it was needs to be applauded for having the worlds sharpest eyesight!

Whilst traipsing through the seemingly endless list of harmless children's books that members of the public found offensive at some point or other, I noticed this gem of a novel in there.

If you're anything like me you see the title of this book and you instinctively see a rosy cheeked, fresh faced young Judy Garland clutching little Toto in her arms and sporting those fabulous ruby slippers (which in the book are actually silver). Such has been the enthusiasm with which we've embraced the story, we have seen it spawn a variety of films and even it's own 'spin off' style musical 'Wicked' which flips the original tale on it's head somewhat.

Imagine my complete shock then when I discovered that it was banned for several reasons more than once because it was claimed it had "no value" for children and brought children's minds to a "cowardly level"*. One group of families in a southern American state petitioned (actually sued) for it to be stripped from their children's curriculum because it promoted women as strong role models and witches as good people. Don't witches have feelings too?

I was honestly flabbergasted, how can a book with such saccharine sweetness be at the heart of so much controversy? Well of course I had to read it to find out.

Written by L. Frank Baum and first published in 1900 it starts with a young girl, Dorothy who lives in the middle of Kansas with her aunt and uncle. The life there is grey and routine, until a cyclone whisks her and her dog Toto, house and all off to a magical world bursting with colour! The world of Oz has four regions, north, south, east and west (these regions being under the rule of the four great witches) but at it's heart is the magical emerald city, ruled over by the great and terrible wizard of Oz.

With Dorothy unable to get back home to her aunt and uncle, she is told to see what the wizard can do, thus begins the perilous journey to the emerald city and beyond, where there is bad witch smiting, good witch bonding and a wizard who's really nothing more than a gifted illusionist - or in laymen's terms a con artist.

The chapters are fairly small, I think the longest is only about 20 or so pages, which makes them easy to get through as each chapter always feels like a rounded little mini story in it's own right. The pace is fairly slow, the don't make it to the emerald city till about half way in the story and by that point, you've enjoyed a story all on its own.

The vocab is definitely of it's time, with the more complex formal words being casually dropped in as if they were a part of the every day conversational language, which - if I could describe the entire tone of the text in one word - would be the exact word I'd use: conversational. I felt like I was being told a story rather than reading one and I was easily able to envision myself sat by the fireplace with granddad in a rocking chair regaling us all in this wonderful story of friendship and hope (yep, maybe my mind is working overtime).

Characters are lovable and well rounded without too much distracting backstory or drama added to them. But the real stroke of genius is in how well the story ties up at the end, it's like a neat little Christmas or birthday present wrapped perfectly and topped with the most beautiful bow! And at the very end, when Dorothy finally gets home and sees her aunt for the first time there's no frills, no fuss, just a simple, heart warming exclamation that she's glad to be home.

The whole book is an exercise in youthful innocence, even the more violent bits seem prudishly written. So I am more surprised than ever that people could have found it so offensive to their sensibilities. Its no coincidence in my book that these harsh judgements have come from people decades later, who can't see the book as a product of its time or enjoy it at face value, they're finding subtext that isn't really there, which begs the question: have we as a society become more picky and overly sensitive over the years?

I won't voice my full opinions here, that would take far too long!

Book 12 of my 52 and a book that was once banned.

Book Title: The  Wonderful Wizard of Oz 

Author: L. Frank Baum 

First Published: 1900  Number of Pages: 272 Suitable for: children aged 9 and up (year 4) 

Interesting words: reproachful, trodden, assemblage, yonder, vexation, deprive, earnestly. 

*wikipedia page, quote taken from Detroit Director of libraries who banned it in 1957. 

Sense and Sensibility... ...and Sea Monsters!

At the moment I seem to be surrounded by all things sea monster. Having been recently introduced to the world of HP Lovecraft I've settled down to enjoy 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth' short story, watched a couple of related films and even fallen hook line and sinker for the Arkham Horror Card Game (which I have to say is very addictive)!

My choice of book this week was actually, indirectly down to the Primary School Book Club I'm a member of. Their monthly book is the second in a series. However, rather than diving straight in I decided, why pay through the nose for the second so quickly when I could lend the first from the online library service for free? And that is precisely what I did. How was I to know that fate was taking me towards a tale of Chuthuluesc  (is that even a word) proportions?

Written by the man who once illustrated the front cover of Harry Potter and the Phillosopher's Stone, this book centers on the charmingly named Herbert Lemon from Eerie on Sea. An orphan who was 'adopted' by the town, he is given a post as the Lost and Founder in the Grand Nautilus hotel, which is owned by the mysterious and eccentric Lady Krakken. 

One, not so eventful evening Violet Parma crashes into his world leaving readers with the sudden sense of impending adventure, as well as an overwhelming need to go down to the nearest sweet shop and pick up a bag of mixed sweets (or maybe that was just me 😂😂). She has come to Eerie on Sea to look for her parents, who curiously abandoned her in the town when she was a baby, twelve years before. Herbert, being the Lost and Founder of the hotel and the boy responsible for all the lost property and getting it back to it's owners, is apparently the only one who can help. 

With a mad sea captain (sporting a boat hook for a hand) on her tail, Violet pretty much drags poor Herbert into one dangerous situation after another, but as more light is shed on their investigation they realise that they are but one tiny part of a huge story: the story of the Malamander! 

Now they have to uncover clues, unravel the myth of the Malamander and decide what is real and what is not. Their lives will actually come to depend on what they find. 

I found this story wonderfully moreish, like the bag of sherbert lemons or parma violets that I'm probably going to buy this weekend. The chapters are short and punchy, which gives them a very addictive quality. I will admit, with a red face that last night as I fell asleep reading it on my phone I actually dropped my phone on my face! It was at that point that I realised I would just have to put it down and finish it today. 

The writing at first appears simplistic, it's written in the first person from Hebert's point of view so we are reminded quite often that we're dealing with a 12 year old boy (a very articulate 12 year old boy but a 12 year old boy nonetheless). But peel away the top layer and you get text that is peppered with complex words and nautical nods. There's a ship called the Leviathan, a lady called Krakken, a suspicious man called Eels; even the doctor is called Thalassi, which a little google research leads me to the word Thalassa, the spirit of the sea. 

The chapters are beautifully titled, with one stand out chapter named A study in Violet (I detect a little Sherlock Holmes nod there). One particular chapter right in the middle of the book will be my go to for hooking my pupils. I read it aloud to my teenage son yesterday and guess what, he was hooked! 

It's a must read for anyone from year 4 upwards as it is such an addictive story! One worthy of a reread and definitely one that lead nicely into it's sequel. As for my being surrounded by creature feature stories, I have my wonderful partner to thank for that. But bless him, he wasn't responsible for this, no this one I seem to have discovered all on my own! 

Book number 11 and my book with a one word title. 

Title: Malamander
Author: Thomas Taylor
First Published: 2019
Number of Pages: 304
Suitable for: anyone from year 4 (8 years old) upwards
Interesting words: iridescent, paranoid, acrid translucent, teetering, foetid, saurian (which I had to look up!) 

Moving like lightning

I found this week's book painfully easy to read, which is funny as I'd been shown it over a year ago I could barely make it past the first 50 pages: the plot seemed that generic. Boy not doing well in school suddenly finds out that his teacher is a monster, only to lose his mother on the run from other such monsters, then to wind up in a school which looks after special children just like him. My 'sounds like Potter' alarm bells were ringing so loud the first time I read it that I couldn't stomach any more.

Maybe I wasn't giving it a proper chance.

I picked it up again last week simply because the copy I'd had, I'd borrowed from someone else. A year or so later I figured it was high time I got around to reading it and handing it back.
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly I could get into it, I was flying through the pages before too long.

Percy finds out that the reason he has struggled so much in life isn't because of his absent father, or his horrible stepfather: it's because he is half God, the son of Poseidon, one of the 'big three' Greek Gods. He winds up in a camp for 'half bloods', those who are half human half God where he finally settles into his own identity. On the downside his mother dies in a battle to get him to the camp where she knows he'll be safe. So for all intents and purposes he is an orphan, with daddy not really wanting much to do with him and mum sitting dead in the underworld ruled by Hades.

Whilst at camp he learns that the world of the Gods is descending into chaos, after a special treasure belonging to Zeus (his fabled lightning bolt) has been stolen, allegedly by Poseidon.
Percy must retrieve it and return it to Zeus by the deadline of the summer solstice. Joined on his quest by friends Annabeth and Grover he then journeys on a roller coaster ride that takes him as far as the underworld and the throne of Hades himself.

The writing is really easy to read, there are no difficult or challenging words that stand out. The plot, once past the initial arrival at camp, moves at breakneck speed. The characters are well developed but not too heavy or dull and the story is full of twists and turns that keep the reader hooked. Set mostly in modern day America, the language helps reflect the casual, friendly US charm and also contributes to the fast pace of the book.

It doesn't work out the same way as the first books in preceding book series (namely one about a certain wizard boy). The problem I have is this, you wouldn't know that unless you gave the book enough of a chance. Things for Percy end very differently than for other notable characters such as Harry Potter. For that alone it is worth persevering and making sure you read past the first hundred pages.

This is book 10 of 52 and my book that is part of a series.

Book Title: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief 

Author: Rick Riordan 

First Published: 2005

Suitable for: children aged 9 and upwards

Interesting words: vaporize, sarcastic, scowled, pinochle.