Saturday, December 14, 2013

REPOST: A field guide to the eccentric creatures of classic children's literature

Children's book author Paul Weston blogs in The Huffington Post about the most peculiar literary creatures who live in classic children's books.
Legions of creatures skulk and caper across the pages of classic children's literature. Vampires and werewolves, dragons and sea serpents, trolls and behemoths. I am partial to them all but, as with most things, I prefer the oddities. The outcasts. The eccentrics. When my publisher asked if I would like to contribute a list of my favorite literary creatures, I said, "I'd love to, but with a caveat. You have to let me plump for the weirdos."

Now. Before we get to the list: a warning. The creatures in the books I have selected are not your average, run-of-the-mill manticores and jackalopes. These are the mavericks. I am certain they will go some way in satisfying any eccentric creature hunter. (By this, of course, I mean hunters of eccentric creatures and not creature-hunters with mismatched socks or an errant facial twitch. Can you imagine? Mismatched socks!)

Of course, if you want truly eccentric creatures, if you are really after the very strangest of the strange, there is only one place to go. That would be...ahem...to my book, of course: The Creature Department. That's right, people. A whole department. Full of them. Where else will you find Parisian fairy-bats, imperious bombastadons, dopey knucklecrumplers, and wisecracking bog nymphs? Nowhere but through the secret doors to The Creature Department.

However, I understand some of you may not yet be prepared for such monumental, all-consuming weirdness. If that's the case, try one of these instead:

Image source: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via The Huffington Post

1. The Doubtful Guest by Edward Gorey
Who--or what--is the Doubtful Guest? A malign spirit? A sinister penguin? A waddling Edwardian mobster? No one knows.

2. The Mulefa in The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman
Talk about eccentric. The mulefa are elephantine creatures who live in mud huts and roll around on gigantic seed-pods. They are particularly adept at tying knots. With their trunks.

3. The Vug in There's a Wocket in my Pocket by Dr. Seuss
Classic Seuss books have too many eccentric creatures to name, so what makes the Vug stand out? He was censored for being too frightening--in 1996, 22 years after the book was first published. What was wrong with people in 1996?

4. The Jabberwocky in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
What could be more eccentric than when your borogoves go all mimsy?

5. The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
If confronted by the Beast, toss a towel over your head. Trust me.


Image source: Puffin via TheHuffington Post
6. Tock, the watchdog, in The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
True to the book's anthropomorphic punning, Tock is a friendly guardian who lives up to his name (he has a whopping great watch face embedded in his flanks).

7. The Black Rabbit of Inlé in Watership Down by Richard Adams
Who would have imagined the Grim Reaper...as a bunny rabbit? Shiver.


Image source: Harper Collins via TheHuffington Post
8. The Wild Things in Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Is there any better manifestation of childhood capriciousness than the Wild Things? Is there anybody better at wildly rumpussing? No, and no. Also, rumpus is not a verb, but I don't care. RAWR!

9. The Groke in Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansen
The Groke is shaped like a big purple hill, with angry eyes and shining teeth. She is extremely fearsome and--perhaps as a result--rather lonely.

10. Skellig by David Almond
Is Skellig the logical evolution of a pterodactyl? Is he an angel? Is he a homeless man with a grievous spinal deformity? Also, which tastes better: Chinese food and beer...or insects?
11. The Whangdoodle in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and The Minpins by Roald Dahl
You need a keen eye to spot a Whangdoodle. Willy Wonka only mentions the creature briefly (he once rescued a Oompa Loompa from a Whangdoodle), while in The Minpins, the children are warned that the creatures haunt the nearby woods. 
Hi, I'm Jamie Squillare, an elementary school literature teacher based in Boston. One of the most rewarding things about my work is seeing my students enjoy the same stories I used to love as a kid. Follow my Facebook page to learn more about my interests and work.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

REPOST: Plenty of z's but far from dull: Why you should get to know Polish literature

Poland is a beautiful and fascinating nation with a colorful history and literary tradition.  CNN's Michael Kandel explores Polish literature and the reasons why we ought to be paying more attention to this country's unsung literary treasures.

(CNN) -- Last month, the Polish city of Krakow joined the likes of Dublin and Edinburgh to become the latest UNESCO City of Literature. Most people could probably name a Scottish or Irish author, but how about a Polish one?

This October Krakow became the seventh UNESCO City of Literature. Image source: CNN.com

Readers who are not Polish or of Polish descent face a few obstacles to opening the rich and different world of Polish literature.

Firstly, Poland is not a world player, and we tend to become interested in a country's culture only when it is a global power or a real or possible threat to us.

Secondly there is the spelling and pronouncing of names.

We can handle the Russian transliteration of Gregory as Grigory. But the Polish for Gregory, alas, is Grzegorz. All those z's. (I played Scrabble with a friend in Warsaw: a player gets one point for a Z.)

Obstacle three is that the jewel in the crown of Polish literature is its poetry, and unfortunately poetry is what usually gets lost in translation (though the translations have been improving).

George Clooney starred in "Solaris" a 2002 film version of Lem's novel. Image source: CNN.com

However it's worth facing and overcoming these obstacles, because the Polish way of looking at the world has plenty to teach us.

If Polish literature began in the Renaissance it blossomed in mid-19th century Romanticism. The Shakespeare of Polish Romanticism was the poet Adam Mickiewicz. His "Pan Tadeusz," a novel in verse, restores a lost world through the magic of art. There is dalliance, swordplay, music, a hunt -- but even a humble vegetable patch delights.

Fast forward to the 20th century and Polish poetry and drama took a turn towards the avant-garde. The poetry had been remarkable from the beginning, but Cyprian Norwid, a contemporary of Emily Dickinson (his verse is strikingly similar to her quiet, difficult lyricism), showed the way to modern understatement. Check out Zbigniew Herbert and Poland's Nobel laureate Wysława Szymborska.

Stanislaw Lem (right) received an honorary degree from Biefeld University. Image source: CNN.com


Absurdism and dark humor are Polish specialties and appear in the playful stories and novels of Witold Gombrowicz.

Lovers of science fiction should know Stanisław Lem. A Kraków native, Lem became internationally known for "Solaris," (which gave rise to two films, one by Andrei Tarkovsky and a Hollywood version by Steven Soderbergh), satirical fantasy "The Cyberiad," and essays on humanity and future technology. His work is marked by fun, pain, and a probing intelligence.

All these poets, playwrights, novelists, and essayists write about the human condition, but there has always been a political element to most Polish literature; a consequence of growing up in a country with a history of partition and repeated defeat.

Poland was a major European power during the 17th and 18th centuries. However weak kings and lack of organization led to a political vacuum and the country ceased to exist without a fight in 1795 when Prussia, Austria, and Russia divided it up among themselves. Poland did not exist again as a state until after World War I.

During that long period of nationlessness, poets and novelists strove to preserve Polish identity at home and abroad.

Soldiers fought in other lands, hoping to make a future Poland possible; and young men periodically sacrificed themselves in uprisings that were crushed (1830, 1848, 1863).

Poles became known for their idealism, their valor in the face of overwhelming odds, their splendid if suicidal recklessness, their patriotism, and -- understandably, given that over and over again this patriotism proved futile -- for their cynicism.

The 20th century added another shadow to the Polish mind: the Holocaust; before World War II, Poland had the largest Jewish community in Europe. Poland fought with the Allies but "in reward" (a Polish smile of irony here) had to spend the next fifty years behind the Iron Curtain.

Irony is not unique to Polish writers but they are masters of it.

It's telling that an American writer much loved in Poland today is Philip K. Dick, who felt that the world was against him.

I offer an emblematic moment in Polish literature. A much loved author to Poles is Henryk Sienkiewicz. In "With Fire and Sword," a historical novel set in the mid-17th century, the soldier Longinus Podbipięta reminds us of Don Quixote.

He has taken a vow of chastity and he may not pursue the object of his affections until he has cut off three enemy heads with a single blow of his enormous Crusader's sword. He manages that but then, without hesitation, offers himself up to martyrdom.

The mix of humor, bitterness, and religious faith: very Polish.

I'm Jamie Squillare, a Boston-based literature teacher who finds herself once more a learner as I try my hand at learning basic Polish. Visit my Twitter for more on my activities.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

REPOST: Wallflower’s Emma Watson & Stephen Chbosky reuniting for While We’re Young

After successfully working together in the movie ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’, actress Emma Watson and director Stephen Chbosky will reunite this time for the film adaptation of ‘While We’re Young’. More details in this article from Broadway World.com

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER's Stephen Chbosky and Emma Watson will soon be reuniting.

According to Deadline, Chbosky has tapped Watson to star in his upcoming film adaptation of WHILE WE'RE YOUNG, based on Adena Halpern's novel. 
Image Source: www.broadwayworld.com
Per the report, the film's officially described as: a 75-year old woman, still feeling frisky and that she has far more in common with her 29-year old granddaughter than with her stuffy 55 year old daughter, is granted a birthday wish. She gets to be 29 again, for a day. She uses the time to go on an adventure with her now same-aged granddaughter. The film tells the story of three generations of women.

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER's Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter will pen the script.

Watson last appeared on the big screen in The Bling Ring, with a cameo in This is The End. She will next be seen in Noah. Her past credits include The Perks of Being a Wallflower, My Week with Marilyn, the Harry Potter franchise, and the TV movie Ballet Shoes.
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER's Stephen Chbosky and Emma Watson will soon be reuniting.
According to Deadline, Chbosky has tapped Watson to star in his upcoming film adaptation of WHILE WE'RE YOUNG, based on Adena Halpern's novel.
Per the report, the film's officially described as: a 75-year old woman, still feeling frisky and that she has far more in common with her 29-year old granddaughter than with her stuffy 55 year old daughter, is granted a birthday wish. She gets to be 29 again, for a day. She uses the time to go on an adventure with her now same-aged granddaughter. The film tells the story of three generations of women.
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER's Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter will pen the script.
Watson last appeared on the big screen in The Bling Ring, with a cameo in This is The End. She will next be seen in Noah. Her past credits include The Perks of Being a Wallflower, My Week with Marilyn, the Harry Potter franchise, and the TV movie Ballet Shoes.
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER's Stephen Chbosky and Emma Watson will soon be reuniting.
According to Deadline, Chbosky has tapped Watson to star in his upcoming film adaptation of WHILE WE'RE YOUNG, based on Adena Halpern's novel.
Per the report, the film's officially described as: a 75-year old woman, still feeling frisky and that she has far more in common with her 29-year old granddaughter than with her stuffy 55 year old daughter, is granted a birthday wish. She gets to be 29 again, for a day. She uses the time to go on an adventure with her now same-aged granddaughter. The film tells the story of three generations of women.
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER's Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter will pen the script.
Watson last appeared on the big screen in The Bling Ring, with a cameo in This is The End. She will next be seen in Noah. Her past credits include The Perks of Being a Wallflower, My Week with Marilyn, the Harry Potter franchise, and the TV movie Ballet Shoes.
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER's Stephen Chbosky and Emma Watson will soon be reuniting.
According to Deadline, Chbosky has tapped Watson to star in his upcoming film adaptation of WHILE WE'RE YOUNG, based on Adena Halpern's novel.
Per the report, the film's officially described as: a 75-year old woman, still feeling frisky and that she has far more in common with her 29-year old granddaughter than with her stuffy 55 year old daughter, is granted a birthday wish. She gets to be 29 again, for a day. She uses the time to go on an adventure with her now same-aged granddaughter. The film tells the story of three generations of women.
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER's Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter will pen the script.
Watson last appeared on the big screen in The Bling Ring, with a cameo in This is The End. She will next be seen in Noah. Her past credits include The Perks of Being a Wallflower, My Week with Marilyn, the Harry Potter franchise, and the TV movie Ballet Shoes.
Hi, I’m Jamie Squillare, a literature teacher in Boston. One of my favorite novels is ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower,’ and I’m confident that this next film adaptation by Stephen Chbosky would be as great as ‘Perks’. Follow me on Twitter to learn more about other literary works that I love.