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The Castaways of Disappointment Island
In the 1970s and 80s, Ōtautahi Christchurch was home to a small publishing company called Capper Press. They reprinted significant cultural New Zealand works, and The Castaways of Disappointment Island was one of them. My pop, himself a Southlander born in the 1920s, had grown up with this story, and was very pleased to get […]
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Pigeons In Art and Storytelling
I couldn’t tell you the name of most birds in the world. In fact, I know just a tiny proportion of them. But everyone knows the pigeon. Pigeons proliferate in our cities. Why? Long story short because humans brought them there, just like they brought rabbits to Australia and so on. Pigeons in cities thrive. […]
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Grandparents in Art and Children’s Literature
Grandparents and children appear frequently together in children’s literature. How has the granny archetype changed over the years, and what does science say about the role grandparents play in the lives of children?
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What makes a children’s picture book old-fashioned?
Room On The Broom is now over twenty years old and is no longer contemporary, but because of the similarities in plot, I’ll use Julia Donaldson (and Axel Scheffler’s) book to illuminate how — exactly — Mary Calhoun (and Roger Duvoisin’s) popular American picture book from the mid 20th century feels like a book from an earlier era.
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Eloise by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight
Eloise is a classic 1955 picture book written by Kay Thompson, illustrated by Hilary Knight. Writer Kay Thompson (1909–1998) was also a composer, musician, actress and singer. Illustrator Hilary Knight was born in Hempstead, Long Island, New York, in 1926.
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Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey Novel Study
Bad Guys is a bestselling Australian early reader by Australian author and illustrator Aaron Blabey. The Bad Guys series is frequently recommended for kids who enjoy Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Treehouse series, stories by David Walliams, Ahn Do Weirdo, the Real Pigeons series, Minecraft Zombie books and other children’s books parents can find at Kmart and Target.
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Fairies in Art and Illustration
Much can be said about fairies but a few nuggets of info have stuck with me as I read about them. Also: Some of my favourite fairy art.
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Books About Boys Who Dance
Some of the books below are specifically about boys and men who dance. Others are more generally about celebrating boys who break free of expected masculine roles. Unfortunately there’s still a way to go before book publishing breaks away from the strict gender binary. That’s why we’re still getting books which say, “Boys can do […]
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Children’s Books About Atoms, Elements and the Periodic Table
The elements : a visual exploration of every known atom in the universe by Theodore Gray and Nick Mann (2009) This book has garnered a cult following with adults as much as with kids. This may partly be to do with the fact that they released an impressive app for iPad back when the iPad […]
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Movements In Children’s Literature
When looking at the development of children’s literature over the past two and a half centuries (which is about all you get, because children’s literature is a distinct and recent entity) two major movements have been influential: When we give serious attention to children’s literature, we find children’s literature (especially young adult literature) often anticipates […]
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The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden is a novel by British-American Frances Hodgson Burnett, originally published in serialised form in America between 1910-11, the end of the Edwardian era in England. We now consider this a story for children, probably because the main characters are children. Surprising to me: this story was originally aimed at an adult readership.
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The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame Analysis
A man in the shape of a Mole’s body feels a yearning which can only be fulfilled by entering the most transgressive parts of his own psychology, externally represented by the Wild Wood. On his journey, he meets other men, each driven by their own secret (and not so secret) passions.
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Foxes In Children’s Literature
A fox is a wolf who sends flowers. Ruth Weston FOXES IN FOLKTALES These summaries are from Baughman’s Type and Motif Index of the Folktales of England and North America by Ernest Warren Baughman, 1966. Read through these story summaries and you’ll get a good idea of how coats have been used throughout history. Can you see patterns? Arthur […]
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Tree Houses, Forts and Huts in Children’s Illustration
One major task for the children’s storyteller: Getting parents out of the story. Children need to be the drivers of their own narratives. Storytellers have come up with many ways of getting adult helpers and caregivers out of the way. Here’s another: Give the child a home of their own. Within the world of the […]
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Ideology In Children’s Literature: Against The Cult Of Busyness
In general, laziness in child heroes is a big no-no. But there is definitely a happy medium so far as children’s book creators are concerned. Once you become so busy that you neglect your loved ones, you’re working too hard. Many children’s books are about grandparents and grandchildren. In many stories, only the grandparent has time […]