Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

October 1, 2015October 1, 2015 / Bag Full of Books / 1 Comment

Title: Owl Moon

Author: Jane Yolen

Illustrator: John Schoenherr

Published: 1987

Main Characters: a little girl, her father

Short Synopsis of the Story: One moonlit winter night, long past the little girl’s usual bedtime, a girl and her father embark on a special expedition into the deep woods. They trudge through the white snow. The only sounds are that of the winter night: a train whistle, a dog answering the train with a howl. You have to be as quiet as you can when you go owling. The owling expedition has been a long time in coming and the little girl is excited to at last have the chance to go on this adventure with her father. Pa reaches a spot in the woods and mimics the call of a Great Horned Owl. Pa calls many times and is not rewarded with an answer. The little girl’s brothers have forewarned her of the possibility of not spotting an owl so she is not unduly disappointed. The girl’s face becomes icy with cold but she doesn’t complain. They move deeper and deeper into the forest, into the depths of the dark trees until they come to a clearing. Pa mimics the owl’s call once again and this time there is a response through the trees. Pa and the little girl smile with anticipation and the owl moves closer until Pa shines his torchlight on the owl’s face just as it is about to land on a branch. For what seems like an eternity the owl, Pa and the little girl hold each other in a long stare. Then the owl lifts its great wings and disappears into the night. The girl and her Pa, walk home with lifted spirits and the knowledge that you don’t need warmth or words to go owling. All you need is a night with an Owl Moon and a heart full of hope.

Favorite Part of the Story: Author of the story Jane Yolen, had three small children who frequently went owling with their father, David Stemple in the wintry woods surrounding their rural Massachusetts home. The illustrator, John Schoenherr fills the pages with vivid, evocative images that pair with the simple, beautiful writing perfectly. Some of the scenes and landmarks in the book are taken from Schoenherr’s personal experiences walking with his children around the Schoenherr farm. Owl Moon is an unforgettable book to read with your children, particularly on a cold, wintry night. It is filled with a great spirit of adventure that both adults and children will find heartwarming.

September 2015 Favourites : Books, Audiobooks, Bookish Blogposts, Movies, Library Hauls and Much More.

September 25, 2015 / Bag Full of Books / 1 Comment

September 2015 was a slow but good month for new books, audiobooks and movies. It took a little time getting into our normal routine after our month long trip to India. Here is a round up of my September (and a little bit of August) favourites …

In the month of August the only two books I had read from my Holiday Reading List were coincidentally Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim (a fantastic read) and Tempestuous April by Betty Neels. Both of them contained April in the title but here the similarity end. I will leave you to arrive at your own conclusions…

Enchanted April is the perfect read for a summer vacation and found it into my September blogpost that lists Eight Books that Remind Me of Summer. Set in Portofino, Italy, Enchanted April tells of a sort of ‘re-birth’ of four different women who travel to Italy to spend time in a rented medieval castle, to find solace in the beautiful surroundings.

In September we frequently visited our library.

Little M and I are continuing to read from the Time Magazine’s list of Top 100 Children’s Books. Two books on this list are Tuesday by David Wiesner and Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.

Tuesday is more of a picture book with terrific illustrations. It tells the tale of a series of animal invasions that strike at a particular time and place, namely Tuesday evening at around eight o’clock in a small suburb. Frogs invade the skies in hundreds of thousands, flying along on lilypad aircraft. They invade backyards, dark sitting rooms where people are dozing off in front of the television. Neither the press nor the police know what to make of it the day after, when the town is strewn with abandoned lilypads. All is well until next Tuesday at the same time… when a shadow of a flying pig is seen eerily set against a barn door…

Owl Moon is another wonderfully atmospheric book. It tells the story of a young child setting out on her very first owling expedition with her father. The night sky glows with the golden glow of a full moon- the best time to view an owl in the deep, snow laden woods. It is a tale of patience and forbearance, excitement and anticipation.

We are really enjoying all the books on the Time Magazine’s list of Top 100 Children’s Books. I cannot recommend them enough. Not on the list but of great entertainment value to Little M, is another installment of the Sofia the First entertainment series (she missed her a great deal whilst in India).

My reading in September was slow. I’ve started The Land Where Lemons Grow by Helena Attlee which is a history of the introduction of citrus fruit in Italy. In great detail it researches how this fruit has invaded the Italian imagination, from Calabria’s Diamante citrons, the blood oranges of Sicily, to the bergamot thriving on narrow strips of coastline. There is a bit of everything in this part history, part horticulture, sociopolitical culinary book offering.

I finished the latest installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s Edinburgh series featuring philosopher Isabel Dalhousie called ‘The Novel Habits of Happiness’. As usual the book has a little bit of everything that I love, scenes from a Scottish city, romance, a light mystery, memorable characters and very large doses of reflection. It is the first book I reach for when I come back from our holiday.

Another book that I have started is a ‘cozy’ post-WW1 mystery set in Leeds called ‘Dying in the Wool‘ by Frances Brody. Speaking of mysteries, September marked the 125th Birth Anniversary of Dame Agatha Christie which I celebrated with my blogpost ‘An Ode to Agatha Christie: Celebrating Her 125th Birth Anniversary with Eight Memorable Books’.

I bought an audiobook from Audible in September called ‘In and Out of the Kitchen’ by Miles Jupp and cannot recommend it enough. It is a BBC 4 radio drama about a ‘cookery writer’ Damien Trench and his writing and domestic struggles.The writing is so very funny in a wry sort of way… really enjoying it.

As the mother of a 3 year old I find it impossible to visit the cinema nowadays and watch ‘non-princess themed’ movies. One of the bonuses of the Emirates flights to and from India was the excellent selection of current movies . On the way to India I watched ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’ which I loved and has inspired me to give this favourite Hardy a re-read. On the way back to the US, I was lucky enough to watch the dramatized version of Vera Brittain’s poignant WW1 memoir ‘Testament of Youth’ which was epic. I cannot recommend these two movies enough.

Lastly, the whole family watched not one but two dramatized versions of C.S. Lewis’s classic -The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe… and Aslan made it into my art journal.

Hope you had a wonderful September. See you in October xxx.

Martha’s Vineyard in 30 Memorable Moments

July 24, 2015July 25, 2015 / Bag Full of Books / Leave a comment

Last month we spent 3 glorious days on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. Surrounded by sandy beaches on all sides, we had fun, we frolicked and we explored every nook and cranny of the island. We cooked comforting meals in a huge hostel kitchen, ate lobster rolls and lobster bisque, drank too much blueberry beer at the pub and went on ‘wild’ carousel rides in the pursuit of elusive brass rings. I visited most of the bookshops on the island, wanted to browse through the public libraries, but was able to visit only one. Here are some of the more ‘bookish’ moments of the trip, accompanied by many ‘non-bookish’ moments…

The night before the trip we discovered that it was necessary to book a ferry crossing if traveling with a car in advance. Hence, the only crossing times from Woods Hole in Cape Cod to Vineyard Haven available were at 7 am in the morning! Luckily the previous night we were staying at my Aunt’s house, only an hour’s drive away. Although the ferry crossing was painfully early, we did manage to see the sun rising in the eastern sky on a beautiful, balmy day in June.

The first call of duty upon arrival was breakfast at the Black Dog Bakery in Vineyard Haven. I opted for their delicious breakfast sandwich along with a cup of coffee…

We strolled along quiet Main Street of Vineyard Haven before the shops had opened and the locals and tourists had started milling the streets. We took delight in noticing little inconsequential details in the houses and shops and taking numerous pictures. A few early-bird locals looked on with a mixture of amusement and scorn. We waited outside the doors of ‘The Bunch of Grapes Bookstore’ like guards outside Buckingham Palace, waiting for it to open. We whooshed in when the clock struck nine and perused all the books. The air was still hot and humid from the lack of air-conditioning…it had only been switched on a few minutes before… The store was packed with books about the sea, summer, the Vineyard, it’s history and it’s stories…

When we left, we noticed the tall, quaint clock with ‘Bunch of Grapes’ inscribed on it’s graceful face.

Here is the signpost of the Black Dog Tavern in Vineyard Haven. So beautiful… now that is memorable branding!

The highlight of the morning and in fact the trip was the Flying Horses Carousels in Oaks Bluff. There is something very liberating about riding make-believe horses even if you are an adult. The green fuzzy man depicted in the photo was very energetically plucking metal rings out of the holders as the horses periodically whizzed past the ring dispensing station. The person who picks a brass ring as opposed to the silver ones gets a free ride!

Top tip: the carousel rides are double the fun after a pint of blueberry beer at the Offshore Ale Company in Oaks Bluff 😉

In the afternoon we came back to the hostel (HI Martha’s Vineyard) and made cheese and cucumber sandwiches and ate them with hard-boiled eggs. We took a short nap in our hostel room… In the evening, we packed a few snacks, a blanket and a few beach chairs and took them to Menemshah Beach to watch a memorable sunset. Menemshah Village is famous for being the location of the fishing village depicted in the movie Jaws. The beach was humming with families, enjoying their evening with friends…

Next morning, Little M wanted to ride the ‘horses again’. We visited the gingerbread cottages in Oaks Bluff. They were all so uniquely themed…

We visited the Museum Cottage which was a peek into what the cottages look like on the inside. They are surprisingly small and claustrophobic.

In the afternoon we visited Edgartown and of course ‘Edgartown Books’. It has a nice set of stairs leading upstairs and a small but good selection of books…

We walked to Edgartown Lighthouse. Little M and her Uncle went all the way to the top of the lighthouse and waved down to us from the top.

The lighthouse keeper (pictured on the left) very kindly lent Little M’s Uncle some special props which made for great photos! … Memories are made of these…

The spiral staircase of the lighthouse as photographed looking upwards.

The following morning we visited the very picturesque ruddy Aquinnah Cliffs. The lighthouse has recently been lifted and moved (by a friendly giant) further inward to avoid the perils of coastal erosion. I really love how all New England’s lighthouses look so unique.

In the afternoon the car rode on what must be the smallest ferry in the world- the little Chappy Ferry. It took us to the island of Chappaquiddick. We visited the Japanese Mytoi Gardens. We also combed the beach of East Beach for variegated rocks and pebbles. We spent nearly one hour scouring the beach and amassed what may be several kilos of stones which are now to this day (a month after the trip!) lying unceremoniously in a plastic bag in the boot of our car (go figure!).

The trip is coming to an end and so must the blogpost. I will leave you with some random moments…

A tube of Jane Austen toothpaste seen at Alley’s General Store in West Tisbury where President Obama visited on his trip to the Vineyard.

A strange creature reading a book in the ‘Field Gallery and Sculpture Garden’, West Tisbury.

A final hurrah on the ‘horsies’…

…and lastly a small memento to remember an unforgettable trip.

A Visit to Brattle Book Shop

July 17, 2015July 17, 2015 / Bag Full of Books / 2 Comments

One of my most favorite things to do is to visit independent bookstores. Sadly, they are a rare species nowadays. Whenever I visit a new city I try to pinpoint interesting bookstores and public libraries to possibly visit. I like to browse the shelves of these small bookstores. I like to guess the personality of the bookstore owners through the books they choose to display. One such memorable book shop I visited just recently, is the famous Brattle Book Shop in Downtown Boston.

Boston and Cambridge are cities renowned for their educational institutions. The city as a result is inundated with a rich student population. It is not uncommon to see a slightly unkempt backpacked student, reading Dostoevsky with furrowed brow on the subway. Literally everyone is reading something on the public transportation system, be it a newspaper, a library book or an e-reader.

This is a city closely associated with literary stalwarts like Transcendalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott, poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes, writers like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.

Henry James talked in a satirical tone about the city and the etiquette of its intellectual class in the book ‘The Bostonians’. In more recent times the romance of the city has been captured in Erich Segal’s books ‘Doctors’ and ‘The Class’.

To bring this long-winded discussion to a conclusion- literary Boston is most-deserving of a bookstore of the acumen of the Brattle Book Shop.

It may be a little easy to overlook the location of the bookshop. Whilst walking past the crowd of tourists and Freedom Trail enthusiasts conglomerating on Boston Commons, you might never know that such a delightful book haven awaits you on a quiet side-street to the right. There is nothing very striking about the bookstore facade until you come upon what seems like an unused parking lot adjacent to the shop, crammed with cart upon cart of used books. They are sorted according to topic and price. Here is a shot of several dilligent book browsers. I could easily have spent the whole day looking through the various treasures. What struck me the most was that these used books were not just your run of the mill cast-off books that are often seen at library sales. Most of the books were older, vintage books which had interesting titles. Here is a closer look at some of the book carts.

I also found some quaint painted doors which resembled book covers. When you actually enter the Bookstore interior you find yourself in the good company of shelf upon shelf of fiction books, mystery, sci-fi and the upper story also has a dedicated travel book section among others.

I also found an excellent nook crammed with children’s books. Here is what it looked like and some of the shelved books.

Lastly I will leave you with the spoils of my treasure hunt.

I picked up two books by one of my favorite authors, H.E. Bates and a Jeeves short story collection. You can never have enough of PG Wodehouse in your life. I found a vintage children’s book called ‘Singing Games’ for Little M. I thought it might be fun to research some of the songs mentioned within and try to learn them together as a fun activity. Lastly I found an interesting volume named ‘Literary Landmarks of London’, that looks very serious inside but might have some interesting information.

Lastly, there is a gorgeous illustrated map of Germany. The small illustrations next to the towns and villages are just too cute.

I would love to learn about any favorite book stores you have visited on your travels. Till next time.

Vincent and Camille and a Little Dip into van Gogh’s Past

July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 / Bag Full of Books / Leave a comment

Title: Vincent and Camille

Author: Réne van Blerk

Illustrator: Wouter Tulp

Published: 2013

Main Characters: Vincent (of van Gogh fame!), Camille, Camille’s Mother and Father.

Short Synopsis of the Story: Camille has been asked by Mister Vincent a painter to help him with a little job. Camille’s parents ask Camille what the job is but Camille doesn’t know. Camille sets off from home and walks to Mister Vincent’s yellow house. On the way he sees a very loud train that clatters and causes a loud noise on the rail tracks above a bridge. As the train disappears the noise of the train becomes fainter and fainter. In a small pond opposite Mister Vincent’s yellow house Camille looks for frogs but is disappointed to see none there. He does notice his own reflection in the surface of the pond. Mister Vincent spies Camille from the upper window of his yellow house and beckons him. Camille is led into Mister Vincent’s house which is filled with beautifully coloured paintings. Camille is asked to sit down and Mister Vincent gives him a large glass of lemonade to drink. In the meantime, Mister Vincent starts painting on a canvas but Camille can’t see what he is painting because the back of the canvas faces him. Camille asks Mister Vincent why his house is painted yellow. Vincent replies

Yellow’s such a beautiful colour. Yellow’s the colour of the sun, of cornfields and of fresh butter.And yellow’s the colour of sunflowers too and buttercups and leaves in the autumn.

Vincent, in turn, asks Camille what color he would paint the house if given the choice. Camille thinks deeply and replies with the answer-green. Green reminds Camille of the grass, leaves and spring… and frogs. Then he changes his mind and replies with the answer-blue. Blue reminds Camille of the sky, the colour of his own eyes, the colour of his father’s big coat and his own cap. Then Camille changes his mind yet again and replies saying he would paint the house red. Red is the color of strawberries and roses. As Camille changes his mind a picture of the house in three different colors can be seen.

Mister Vincent laughs aloud when he hears about Camille’s problem with picking a colour. He remarks that Camille loves colour as much as he does. At this point Camille’s mother and father arrive at Mister Vincent’s house. Mister Vincent comments that Camille has been a great help to him. Camille protests and says that he hasn’t helped Mister Vincent yet, he’s only been talking and drinking lemonade.

The job that Mister Vincent had in mind for Camille is revealed, however, when Mister Vincent shows the whole family the canvas he has been painting. It is a portrait of Camille. Camille stares in wonder at his own image and feels like he is looking into a mirror, only with many different colours. The reds, greens, blues and yellows that they had talked about are all captured in the painting.

Favorite Part of the Story: In accordance with the theme of painting the book is a very visual one. The images of the train scooting across the train tracks and Camille looking into the pond and catching his own reflection are very striking. The images of Vincent’s yellow house are beautiful and it is nice to see it metamorphose into a green house, blue house and red house in quick succession. What is most delightful are the illustrations of Vincent, Camille and Camille’s father which are instantly recognizable from van Gogh’s paintings. Also not to be missed is the sneak peek into Vincent’s yellow house drawing room, which is filled with canvases of van Gogh’s most memorable creations.

Portrait of Camille Roulin, 1888, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

This is simply a lovely book to get your child excited about painting and coloring. A lovely introduction to van Gogh. The story is insightful and the illustrations stellar. Don’t miss the opportunity of opening up this delightful book.

Portrait of the Postman, Joseph Roulin (1841-1903), MFA,Boston

Incidentally, the Camille from the book ‘Vincent and Camille’ is Camille Roulin, a small boy of the Roulin family, van Gogh was friendly with during his time in Arles. Camille’s father is Joseph Roulin, postmaster, depicted in several of van Gogh’s memorable paintings, one of which is displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Van Gogh painted multiple portraits of each of the members of the Roulin family. The portrait of Camille, aged 11, described in this book hangs in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and is entitled ‘Portrait of Camille Roulin’, 1888.

Many thanks to BudgetTraveller and frommadeiratomars for picking up this book for Little M from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Leaving you with some beautiful postcard images of van Gogh’s works.

‘We’re of to see the Lizard, the wonderful Lizard of Oz’ and a Library Haul from Week 23 of 2015

June 12, 2015June 12, 2015 / Bag Full of Books / Leave a comment

I never grew up watching the Wizard of Oz although I did read the book or its abridged version at least. Neither do I recall watching many of the popular Disney movies. This just may be my poor memory. I was always more interested in reading books….deriving a first-hand experience of a story…figuring out the dramatization in my imagination rather than have it delivered to me by an on-screen production.

The first decade or so of my life was spent in England during the 1980s. I recall watching cartoons on television. The old fashioned ones with a mouse and a cat. Inspector Gadget… Scooby Doo…Fraggle Rock… Postman Pat…the Muppet Show. Basically we watched whatever was shown on television. Somehow, Dorothy, the Emerald City and the sparkling red shoes escaped my attention.

Still despite this fact, it is hard not to be aware of the story… The Wizard of Oz, the book and the movie have forever sparked the popular imagination.

When you have children you are allowed to live a second childhood of sorts. You are permitted to watch all the movies you missed as a child… to indulge your adult curiosity with childlike fancies. To pretend that you have ordered the Wizard of Oz to ‘educate’ your child when you want to watch it yourself with undiluted attention and evaluate it as an adult.

The Wizard of Oz unfailingly delivers. There is something very captivating about the story. Despite not being as visually stunning as the modern productions, the songs, the story, the unique characters created by L. Frank Baum make this a movie worthy of re-watching.

We will definitely not forget this movie especially as my three year old has created a memorable spin-off of the title tune , quite unintentionally…

We’re off to see the lizard, the wonderful lizard of Oz

She will thank me later for posting this on the Internet I think!

Also pictured in the library haul:

1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die: this is a lovely coffee table book to leaf through. Mostly filled with beautiful snapshots of enviable gardens.

Watercolor Landscapes: this book is an excellent primer, teaching you how to convert a very ordinary natural landscape to a beautiful watercolor. The trick mostly lies in visually editing out unnecessary elements that do not add to the romantic appeal of a scene. Like signposts, electric cables, rundown cars by the wayside etcetera.

50 Shades of Grey: the less said about this the better. I wish I had spent those two hours doing something else…

The Theory of Everything: haven’t watched this one yet but can’t wait to see it.

Goodnight Moon: This may be the second or third time we have borrowed this from the library. I love the visual effects in this story. How the depicted bedroom and its interiors transition from light… to dark…to sleep and inaction.

Have a happy week dear readers. Can’t wait to do some reading this weekend.

Why I document what I read and Corduroy – the book about the ‘Bear who lost it’s button’

June 5, 2015June 24, 2015 / Bag Full of Books / Leave a comment

The other day, while I was in the midst of my daily activities I was struck by a sudden thought. This is not an unusual occurrence for me. I really like to think about things. Some would say overthink things. I prefer to say I like to mull over things. I’m afraid they are not always deep thoughts. I would like to say that I ponder over the theories of existentialism, being and nothingness and Newtonian principles, but more often than not I wonder what’s for dinner, whether I can go another day without washing my hair or what to paint in my journal that night.

There is one thing I will say about myself. I do like to think about what I’m reading or my overflowing to be read list. I also like to mull over books from the past. How they made me feel? Where I was when I was reading them? How old I was? Did I discuss the book with friends? What my personal non-bookish life was like when I was reading it? So on and so forth…

Then I got to thinking about my new blog escapade and why I like to document what I read. Even when I was a child I used to keep a book diary of sorts. Each page would have the title of the book. The author’s name. A hand drawn illustration about the book- a necessity to make the page look pretty and a short summary about the book.

I keep this blog especially the children’s book section as a useful resource for other parents who might, like I, be bewildered at the book store or the library, searching for something memorable to read with their child. There is another rather selfish reason. I document what I read to store precious memories of what I read with my three year old… what the books were about… but most importantly what our reactions to the book were. I like to imagine her in the years to come scrolling through these blogposts (and not totally obsessed about painting her nails and other ‘teenager-like’ things) and reading about our book adventures. I hope she will grow up to love reading as much as I do. Books are the best companions… well next to people.

Here is a memory from the book ‘Corduroy’ by Don Freeman.

A little bear called Corduroy lived in the toy department of a big shop but was sad because no one ever wanted to buy him. One day a little girl called Lisa fell in love with him and wanted to take him home. Her mother said that the bear had lost its button and therefore it was not a good idea. That night Corduroy searched high and low in the shop to find a button. The next morning, Lisa returned and spent all her saved up money on purchasing Corduroy and taking him home. Corduroy for the first time in his life felt what it was like to be loved and to have a home. Lisa even sewed on his missing button.

Little M had read this book before. Her reaction to the book? “It’s the book about the bear who lost his button”. Her Father who is not up to speed with ‘all things bear-related’ – asked her if this was the same bear we had gone to see at the cinema recently.

‘No Daddy, that was ‘Paddy Bear’ (Paddington Bear), this is Corduroy!”

And that dear readers is what I will carry away with me…

Week Nineteen 2015- A Library Haul and Other Musings

May 15, 2015May 15, 2015 / Bag Full of Books / Leave a comment

Week Nineteen was packed full of events and books. We celebrated multiple birthdays in our small family and there was lots of cake and good food. I made a pasta drenched in lemons, olive oil, thyme, parsley, garlic and with Italian sausage and red peppers. It was based on a recipe from Laura Vitale who is a great favorite in our household. Our chocolate birthday cake had pastel colored tiny sugary confetti on it that Little M called ‘little M and M’s’.

On Mother’s Day we visited Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, which is an outdoor historical museum showcasing some authentic period houses that have been moved from their original locations to OSV. Actors dress up in period costume and tell stories of their past. We badgered them with numerous questions, especially in the village store selling merchandise of all kinds. Being particularly interested in the stationery and art supplies of the day I was fascinated to find an old watercolor set which would have been popular- perhaps with young ladies painting botanical illustration. Here it is. Isn’t it beautiful?

Back to the Library Haul. Little M enjoyed Fraggle Rock recently. I decided to pick up the Complete Season 1 of Fraggle Rock along with a book. The book is more like a comic strip and a little too advanced for Little M. Nevertheless she is having a good time looking at the pictures.

Recently I enjoyed re-reading the Darling Buds of May by HE Bates. I decided to pick up the dramatization of the various books. It features stellar performances from the inimitable David Jason as Pop Larkin, Pam Ferris as Ma Larkin and a very young Catherine Zeta-Jones as Mariette.

I had requested a vintage crime novel from the library by John Dickson Carr called the Mad Hatter Mystery. It came in this ancient omnibus edition. Looking forward to my first book by this acclaimed master of the locked room mystery.

Lastly, Emma: A Modern Retelling was lying on the new book shelves at the library. I have too many books to finish at the moment but I could not resist picking this up. McCall Smith is one of my favorite modern day writers. I wonder what he will do with Austen’s masterpiece?

I leave you with some pictures of Old Sturbridge Village and an entry in my art journal. See you next week!

Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats

April 28, 2015April 28, 2015 / Bag Full of Books / Leave a comment

Title: Whistle for Willie

Author and Illustrator: Ezra Jack Keats

Published: 1964

Main Characters: Peter, his Mother and Father, Willie the dog.

Short Synopsis of the Story: Peter wishes he could whistle. He wants to learn how to whistle so that he can call his beloved dog named Willie. He tries and tries different ways to whistle but no sound comes out from his lips. He goes home and tries on his Father’s hat and then tries to whistle again but even that fails. Peter hides in a cardboard carton that he finds in the street and tries to whistle yet again and this time a whistle is heard! Peter’s dog Willie rushes towards him and responds to the whistle.Later on, Peter’s mother asks Peter to run an errand for her. Peter whistles all the way there and back followed by faithful Willie.

Favorite Part of the Story: The story is such a simple one. The images are very striking and are drawn with sweeping, colorful brushstrokes that immediately conjure a lively image of city life. We are immediately drawn by the pictures to a young boy’s visualization of his place in a busy city. The story teaches us of the importance of persistence and determination but this is done in such a subtle way that we do not feel that the story is overly moralistic. The way Peter puts his Father’s hat on and feels that this would magically conjure up his whistling powers made me smile. Lastly, the love between a small boy and his dog are endearing.

Library Haul Week Sixteen-2015

April 22, 2015May 5, 2015 / Bag Full of Books / 2 Comments

We’ve had glorious weather this past week. The snow has melted, birds are chirping, the first of the gentle buds are forming on the tips of branches. Nature is poised to leap into Spring. We went on a glorious picnic on the weekend. I read a Betty Neels book- ‘Sister Peters in Amsterdam’ on the picnic. I had never read Betty Neels before and was recommended this book by a friend on Instagram. When I received the book from the library I laughed at the funny cover design!

Since then I’ve read a couple of her books and have come to the conclusion that her stories are a nice, very light read but are a tad formulaic. There is usually a young British nurse, a Dutch doctor and the romances are very genteel… at least the ones I’ve read. What I liked most were descriptions of food, nature, clothing and how charming the books are, if a little repetitive. They are set in interesting locations. Madeira, Amsterdam, Delft and rural England featured in the ones I read. The books are not always very complimentary to women, however. The women always forsake their careers for marriage- which seems to be the be all and end all purpose of life. So if you are willing to overlook the ‘datedness’ of these book you may enjoy them.

‘Whose Body’ by Dorothy L Sayers was my first book by this author who I have been meaning to read forever. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story and am eager to read more about Lord Peter Wimsey. Find the full review of the book here.

‘I Want my Hat Back’ by Jon Klassen was an interesting book for Little M. It was funny and quirky and just a tad cruel. Little M did not fully comprehend the ending and I didn’t force the truth upon her.

Lastly we have been hooked on the dramatization of the Outlander. Last year I read the book and had mixed feelings about it. I loved the premise of the book- a woman slipping back into time several hundred years into medieval Scotland with a chance to change history. I found the book rather long and some of the descriptions gruesome but overall I enjoyed it. When I saw the DVD at the library I leapt at the chance to see it. The picturization of rural Scotland is just captivating and the dramatization very well done. Cannot wait to catch up with the second half of the series which is airing now on television.

A good week. I will leave you with my journal entry for the cover of Sayer’s ‘Whose Body’

Bag Full Of Books

Armchair traveling around the world, one book at a time…

Chiildrens Books