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Silence by Alice Munro Short Story Analysis
“Silence” is a short story by Alice Munro, one of three in a triptych about a woman called Juliet. The first are “Chance” and “Soon“. All three are published in the Runaway collection (2004). [“Silence”] brings to the foreground a theme that runs through many stories by Alice Munro—the role of silence within the network […]
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The Weirdness of Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma
The other day someone in a book recommendation group wanted suggestions for a 10 year old who loves Hayao Miyazaki movies. This basically describes my own kid, who’s been a Miyazaki fan since the age of three, before she even knew transmogrification wasn’t a thing. My kid enjoys Yotsuba&! (among other things, so I recommended […]
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The Nightfish by Helen McCosker Analysis
The Nightfish is an Australian picture book written and illustrated by Helen McCosker. Published in 2006, this children’s story makes a good counterpoint to There’s A Sea In My Bedroom (1984).
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Somersault Film Storytelling Techniques
Last month I wrote about the film American Honey, set in America but written and directed by Andrea Arnold, who is English. If there’s an Australian equivalent of American Honey, Somersault is it. Somersault is a 2004 film written and directed by another (all-too-rare) female filmmaker, Cate Shortland. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN AMERICAN HONEY AND SOMERSAULT Both […]
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Runaway by Alice Munro Short Story Short Story Analysis
“Runaway” is the first short story of Alice Munro’s 2004 collection. It was also published in The New Yorker, where you can read it online. “Runaway” makes for a great mentor text for the following reasons: Nuance of human motivations. The desire is at the ‘complex’ end of the spectrum — our main character doesn’t […]
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Cat Skin by Kelly Link Analysis
“Cat Skin” is a short story by Kelly Link, included in the collection My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, published 2010. Link says in her paragraph at the end of the tale that this is a brand new fairytale, based on on none in particular, but owes a debt to “Catskin“, […]
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Middle Grade Novel Study: Coraline
**UPDATE LATE 2024** Neil Gaiman is an abuser. If this is news to you and you’re skeptical, here is a link roundup. Tortoise was the first (semi) mainstream outlet to give voice to one of Gaiman’s victims. Unfortunately, Tortoise is funded and owned by a notorious anti-trans bigot, so even though I listened to the […]
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Strat and Chatto by Jan Mark and David Hughes Analysis
Strat and Chatto is a picture book created by Jan Mark and David Hughes. Jan Mark was a British children’s book author who died about 10 years ago in 2006. She wrote for the picture book and chapter book age range. Her subject matter was mostly ordinary kids in ordinary settings. She also wrote plays […]
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The Wolves In The Walls by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean Analysis
**UPDATE LATE 2024** Neil Gaiman is an abuser. If this is news to you and you’re skeptical, here is a link roundup. Tortoise was the first (semi) mainstream outlet to give voice to one of Gaiman’s victims. Unfortunately, Tortoise is funded and owned by a notorious anti-trans bigot, so even though I listened to the […]