—Lloyd Alexander*
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| Cannon with bird's nest bookplate by Belgian-Canadian artist André Linglet Courtesy Frederikshavn Art Museum |
*Via Kidsreads
Showing posts with label Lloyd Alexander. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lloyd Alexander. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
The Writing Apprenticeship
"I never have found out all I want to know about writing and realize I never will."
—Lloyd Alexander*
*Via Kidsreads
—Lloyd Alexander*
*Via Kidsreads
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Willing To Work?
"Creation, whatever its form, is not an act of will, but an act of faith."
—Lloyd Alexander*
*Via The Story Within, by Laura Oliver
—Lloyd Alexander*
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| Man and mammoth bookplate by Kurt Leyde |
*Via The Story Within, by Laura Oliver
Monday, October 2, 2017
MMGM: The Wizard's Test
Today's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday pick:
The Wizard's Test
Written by Hilari Bell
Cover illustrated by Cliff Nielsen
HarperCollins, 2005
Ages 10+, Lexile 720L
176 pp, 32000 words
Themes:
Fantasy, Destiny, Colonialism
Opening:
"Wizard born!"
Dayven reached for his sword hilt as he spun in search of the speaker. Early in the morning the courtyard was crowded—not only with Watcherlads like Dayven, who'd come for a little extra sword practice, but also with adult Guardians, who were there to increase their skills with sword and lance. Someone had put a lot of effort into that hissing whisper, to make it audible over the clang of metal on metal...but who?
Thoughts:
The Wizard's Test is a stand-alone fantasy novel about an apprentice in a feudal system who must embrace his sordid wizard heritage to spy on his lord's enemies in order to attain his goal of Guardian in the army. Bell's books are self-described as "morally ambiguous." In each that I've read, she poses ethical questions to both the characters and the reader, usually dealing with consequences, violence, or cultural enmity. This book fits that mold. It rather reminds me of Lloyd Alexander's books rather than Avi's. Avi consistently makes you care about the rogue, the thief, the liar, and then ridicules the opposition so the reader is compelled to agree with the main character's decisions. Both Bell and Alexander make you care about characters from both sides of an issue, and challenge you to decide what you might do in a similar situation. They want you to think before you act. This book is one of Bell's earlier works, and doesn't show the mature writing style of her later books. It does however include interesting world-building, deft plotting, subtle humor, and charming characters. Thought-provoking and age-appropriate with some battle scenes.
Bonus:
1. If you are interested in learning more about Hilari Bell, you can find an early interview on Writers Write, her publishing ventures on Publisher's Weekly, and a personal perspective from the author at the start of her career on the Enchanted Inkpot.
2. I love Hilari's Shield, Sword, and Crown trilogy about a young man's quest for the enchanted objects which will save his world. She has written loads of other books which you can find on her Goodreads page.
3. Looking for books with a similar vibe?
The Ascendance trilogy or Mark of the Thief series by Jennifer Nielsen and covers by Ken Choi and Larry Rostant, respectively.
The InkHeart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke with covers by Carol Lawson.
The Westmark books or The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha by Lloyd Alexander.
Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger, covers by Jason Chan.
Check out all the recommended titles for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday for October 2, 2017 available on Shannon Messenger's Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.
Feel free to leave your MG recommendations in the comments. Thanks!
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| The Wizard's Test, by Hilari Bell |
Written by Hilari Bell
Cover illustrated by Cliff Nielsen
HarperCollins, 2005
Ages 10+, Lexile 720L
176 pp, 32000 words
Themes:
Fantasy, Destiny, Colonialism
Opening:
"Wizard born!"
Dayven reached for his sword hilt as he spun in search of the speaker. Early in the morning the courtyard was crowded—not only with Watcherlads like Dayven, who'd come for a little extra sword practice, but also with adult Guardians, who were there to increase their skills with sword and lance. Someone had put a lot of effort into that hissing whisper, to make it audible over the clang of metal on metal...but who?
The Wizard's Test is a stand-alone fantasy novel about an apprentice in a feudal system who must embrace his sordid wizard heritage to spy on his lord's enemies in order to attain his goal of Guardian in the army. Bell's books are self-described as "morally ambiguous." In each that I've read, she poses ethical questions to both the characters and the reader, usually dealing with consequences, violence, or cultural enmity. This book fits that mold. It rather reminds me of Lloyd Alexander's books rather than Avi's. Avi consistently makes you care about the rogue, the thief, the liar, and then ridicules the opposition so the reader is compelled to agree with the main character's decisions. Both Bell and Alexander make you care about characters from both sides of an issue, and challenge you to decide what you might do in a similar situation. They want you to think before you act. This book is one of Bell's earlier works, and doesn't show the mature writing style of her later books. It does however include interesting world-building, deft plotting, subtle humor, and charming characters. Thought-provoking and age-appropriate with some battle scenes.
Bonus:
1. If you are interested in learning more about Hilari Bell, you can find an early interview on Writers Write, her publishing ventures on Publisher's Weekly, and a personal perspective from the author at the start of her career on the Enchanted Inkpot.
2. I love Hilari's Shield, Sword, and Crown trilogy about a young man's quest for the enchanted objects which will save his world. She has written loads of other books which you can find on her Goodreads page.
3. Looking for books with a similar vibe?
The Ascendance trilogy or Mark of the Thief series by Jennifer Nielsen and covers by Ken Choi and Larry Rostant, respectively.
The InkHeart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke with covers by Carol Lawson.
The Westmark books or The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha by Lloyd Alexander.
Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger, covers by Jason Chan.
 |
| Reviewed by Literary Rambles |
 |
| Mark of the Thief #1 reviewed by Karen Yingling |
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| Queen's Thief #5 reviewed by GeoLibrarian and Ms. Yingling |
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| Reviewed by Middle Grade Mafia |
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| The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha, by Lloyd Alexander, Illustrated by Laszlo Kubinyi |
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| Keeper of the Lost Cities series reviewed by Cindy and Michelle |
Check out all the recommended titles for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday for October 2, 2017 available on Shannon Messenger's Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.
Feel free to leave your MG recommendations in the comments. Thanks!
Monday, August 7, 2017
MMGM: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Today's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday pick:
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Written by C. S. Lewis
Illustrated by Pauline Baynes
HarperCollins, 1952
Ages 8-12, Lexile 720L256 pages, 54000 words
Opening:
There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. His parents called him Eustace Clarence and masters called him Scrubb. I can't tell you how his friends spoke to him, because he had none. He didn't call his Father and Mother "Father" and "Mother," but Harold and Alberta. They were very up-to-date and advanced people. They were vegetarians, non-smokers and teetotalers and wore a special kind of underclothes. In their house there was very little furniture and very little clothes on beds and the windows were always open.
Eustace Clarence liked animals, especially beetles, if they were dead and pinned on a card. He liked books if they were books of information and had pictures of grain elevators or had pictures of fat foreign children doing exercises in model schools.
Eustace Clarence disliked his cousins the four Pevensies, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. But he was quite glad when he heard that Edmund and Lucy were coming to stay. For deep down inside him he liked bossing and bullying; and, though he was a puny little person who couldn't have stood up even to Lucy, let alone Edmund, in a fight, he knew that there are dozens of ways to give people a bad time if you are in your own home and they are only visitors.
Thoughts:
How amazing is that opening? Reminds one of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, doesn't it, with its tongue-in-cheek way of showing us Eustace's personality and the author's opinion of "advanced people?"
Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia to help Caspian regain the lost parts of his island kingdom and to find his missing subjects. I like the questing format of this particular book and the series of short adventures the characters face. That and the old-fashioned writing may not appeal to every child. For more reluctant readers, try reading aloud or audio versions. We thoroughly enjoyed reading them together around the fireplace when the kids were little, I think we started when the youngest was 3 and the oldest foster child was 12. Now we revisit them periodically with the audiobooks. Lynn Redgrave does an amazing job, as does Derek Jacobi, narrator of The Dawn Treader. Every child and adult should read the series, or at least the core books about the Pevensies, at least once in their lives.
If nothing else, the introduction to Narnia may open the door to a life-long love of fantasy.
A Note on the Christian Aspects:
I probably should address the spiritual nature of the books. The author started the series with the question, "What if the Son of God chose to come to Earth as a lion instead of a man?" and then he wrote a story. So yes, everything C. S. Lewis believed about God and his salvation was a basis for these books. He purposely portrayed different aspects of his beliefs into the story. Many of the characters react as Lewis would himself, because of his religious convictions. The world-building rests on similar principles to actual Christianity. That offends some people. I still think you should read them.
Not that you asked for it, but here's more of my opinion. Every single book you read reflects the moral beliefs of the author, sometimes overtly, sometimes unintentionally. Sometimes the author is wondering what would happen if. Sometimes the author wants to present multiple sides of an issue. Many times books purposely question the validity of religious or moral views. In every case, the author has an opinion. In every case, the author has to decide his agenda: Throw uncertainty on an issue? Dissuade the reader from a previous belief? Present multiple options as valid? Highlight an area of ambiguity in the author's mind and leave it open to the reader to decide?
Let's stop pretending books are somehow morally ambiguous. And please let's drop the pretense of separation of church and state. If you want everyone's views to be represented, then you shouldn't reject a book because it presents a religious point of view.
OK. Got a lot to say on these issues but let's move on to...
Bonus:
1. A timeline of the creation of the Chronicles of Narnia.
2. I reviewed the movie version last Friday on the Summer Drive-In.
3. More gorgeous covers
4. For more C. S. Lewis:
Check out the Hopeful Heroine's review of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,
G. S. Prendergast's review of The Silver Chair,
AshyGirl15's review of The Magician's Nephew,
an overview of The Chronicles of Narnia as a series on Carstairs Considers,
and reviews of The Magician's Nephew, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Horse and His Boy, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle by Michelle Isenhoff
5. Other MMGM bloggers recommend The Books of Elsewhere, by Jaqueline West, Illustrated by Poly Bernatene, and the Harry Potter series, by J. K. Rowling, illustrated by Mary GrandPre. The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper. The High King and The Foundling and Other Tales, by Lloyd Alexander. I would wholeheartedly add the entire Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander.
Check out all the recommended titles for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday for August 7, 2017 available on Shannon Messenger's Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.
Feel free to leave your MG recommendations in the comments. Thanks!
 |
| First edition The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis and Pauline Baynes |
Written by C. S. Lewis
Illustrated by Pauline Baynes
HarperCollins, 1952
Ages 8-12, Lexile 720L256 pages, 54000 words
Opening:
There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. His parents called him Eustace Clarence and masters called him Scrubb. I can't tell you how his friends spoke to him, because he had none. He didn't call his Father and Mother "Father" and "Mother," but Harold and Alberta. They were very up-to-date and advanced people. They were vegetarians, non-smokers and teetotalers and wore a special kind of underclothes. In their house there was very little furniture and very little clothes on beds and the windows were always open.
Eustace Clarence liked animals, especially beetles, if they were dead and pinned on a card. He liked books if they were books of information and had pictures of grain elevators or had pictures of fat foreign children doing exercises in model schools.
Eustace Clarence disliked his cousins the four Pevensies, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. But he was quite glad when he heard that Edmund and Lucy were coming to stay. For deep down inside him he liked bossing and bullying; and, though he was a puny little person who couldn't have stood up even to Lucy, let alone Edmund, in a fight, he knew that there are dozens of ways to give people a bad time if you are in your own home and they are only visitors.
Thoughts:
How amazing is that opening? Reminds one of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, doesn't it, with its tongue-in-cheek way of showing us Eustace's personality and the author's opinion of "advanced people?"
Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia to help Caspian regain the lost parts of his island kingdom and to find his missing subjects. I like the questing format of this particular book and the series of short adventures the characters face. That and the old-fashioned writing may not appeal to every child. For more reluctant readers, try reading aloud or audio versions. We thoroughly enjoyed reading them together around the fireplace when the kids were little, I think we started when the youngest was 3 and the oldest foster child was 12. Now we revisit them periodically with the audiobooks. Lynn Redgrave does an amazing job, as does Derek Jacobi, narrator of The Dawn Treader. Every child and adult should read the series, or at least the core books about the Pevensies, at least once in their lives.
If nothing else, the introduction to Narnia may open the door to a life-long love of fantasy.
A Note on the Christian Aspects:
I probably should address the spiritual nature of the books. The author started the series with the question, "What if the Son of God chose to come to Earth as a lion instead of a man?" and then he wrote a story. So yes, everything C. S. Lewis believed about God and his salvation was a basis for these books. He purposely portrayed different aspects of his beliefs into the story. Many of the characters react as Lewis would himself, because of his religious convictions. The world-building rests on similar principles to actual Christianity. That offends some people. I still think you should read them.
Not that you asked for it, but here's more of my opinion. Every single book you read reflects the moral beliefs of the author, sometimes overtly, sometimes unintentionally. Sometimes the author is wondering what would happen if. Sometimes the author wants to present multiple sides of an issue. Many times books purposely question the validity of religious or moral views. In every case, the author has an opinion. In every case, the author has to decide his agenda: Throw uncertainty on an issue? Dissuade the reader from a previous belief? Present multiple options as valid? Highlight an area of ambiguity in the author's mind and leave it open to the reader to decide?
Let's stop pretending books are somehow morally ambiguous. And please let's drop the pretense of separation of church and state. If you want everyone's views to be represented, then you shouldn't reject a book because it presents a religious point of view.
OK. Got a lot to say on these issues but let's move on to...
Bonus:
1. A timeline of the creation of the Chronicles of Narnia.
2. I reviewed the movie version last Friday on the Summer Drive-In.
3. More gorgeous covers
 |
| Art by Steve Lavis |
 |
| Art by Chris Van Allsburg |
 |
| Art by Leo and Diane Dillon |
 |
| Anyone know the cover artist? |
 |
| Art by Pauline Baynes |
Check out the Hopeful Heroine's review of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,
G. S. Prendergast's review of The Silver Chair,
AshyGirl15's review of The Magician's Nephew,
an overview of The Chronicles of Narnia as a series on Carstairs Considers,
and reviews of The Magician's Nephew, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Horse and His Boy, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle by Michelle Isenhoff
 |
| Reviewed by the Hopeful Heroine |
 |
| Reviewed by Laurisa White Reyes |
 |
| Reviewed by Kim at Dead Houseplants |
 |
| Prydain, Book 1 Overview here |
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| Prydain short stories Reviewed by Michelle |
Check out all the recommended titles for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday for August 7, 2017 available on Shannon Messenger's Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.
Feel free to leave your MG recommendations in the comments. Thanks!
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Marvelous Adventures
“Keep reading. It’s one of the most marvelous adventures that anyone can have.”
~Lloyd Alexander*
* Via Beth Cato
~Lloyd Alexander*
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| Ship bookplate by Franklin Booth Courtesy Pratt Institute Libraries |
* Via Beth Cato
Monday, January 18, 2016
What We Might Be
"If fantasy speaks to us as we are, it also speaks to us as we might be.”
~Lloyd Alexander*
*Via Beth Cato
~Lloyd Alexander*
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| Bookplate of a musician by Louis John Rhead |
*Via Beth Cato
Monday, October 5, 2015
The Purpose of Fantasy
“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.”
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| Bales bookplate |
*Via Beth Cato
Friday, February 21, 2014
PPBF: The Market Bowl
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| Jim Averbeck's The Market Bowl |
Written and illustrated by Jim Averbeck
Charlesbridge, 2013
Fiction, grades 3-5,
Lexile 600L, word count 1034
Themes:
Folk Tale, Bravery, Magic, Cooking
Opening:
Mama Cecile sang to Yoyo, teaching her to make bitterleaf stew.
"Slice the bitterleaf thin as a whisper. Wash it in water, cleaning it well. Grind the egusi. Add a knuckle of njanga. Simmer some time for a fine stew to sell."
"Mama, please," Yoyo said. "I can make my own stew. I am not a baby."
Synopsis:
Yoyo is not patient enough to learn Mama Cecile's song or to cook the bitterleaf stew just so. She is in a hurry to get the stew to market. When her overestimation of her talents lead to a loss of income, Yoyo must find Brother Coin and convince him to return the blessing to her family's market bowl. It will take all Yoyo's cunning, charm, and cooking know-how to outwit Brother Coin in this Cameroonian folk tale.
What I Love:
I love a story with food in it. Jim Averbeck weaves plenty of cultural details into this clever trickster tale. His quirky collage paintings add a homemade charm, just like his main character's homemade stew. And what foodie can resist the included recipe for Americanized bitterleaf stew?
Bonus:
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| Collage pet portraits from Trudy K. Taylor's blog. |
2. Cameroon is famous for its beautiful handicrafts. ChildrenInspireDesign offers some masks that can be adapted for a more traditional look.
3. Try this tutorial if the illustrations in this book have inspired you to create a collage of your own.
4. While you're at the library, why not pick up another Cameroonian tale, The Fortune-Tellers, by Lloyd Alexander and Trina Schart Hyman.
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| The Fortune-Tellers |
Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday
for February 21, 2014, available on Susanna Leonard Hill's excellent blog.
Monday, February 10, 2014
The Transformative Power of Words
"Books can truly change our lives: the lives of those who read them, the lives of those who write them."
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Cricket, The Magazine for Children
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| Cricket's Choice Cover Illustration by Trina Schart Hyman |
collection marked the magazine's one-year anniversary. It was filled with stories, poems, plays, riddles, and pictures . . . lots of pictures. It was a year before I thought to look for Cricket at the library, but there it was on the magazine rack. The subscription card went home with me that day, and in April 1979, I received my very first issue.
Cricket Magazine was begun in September of 1973. For the full story, I highly recommend the 30th anniversary book Celebrate Cricket.
So thank-you to Marianne, Cliff, Lloyd, Trina, and the many others who shaped the destiny of Cricket. Thank-you for an enduring legacy of "the rarest kind of best."
Monday, March 26, 2012
Lloyd Alexander's Legacy
"Books can truly change our lives: The lives of those who read them, the lives of those who write them. Readers and writers alike discover things they never knew about the world and about themselves."
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| Courtesy ExLibris Studio |
Sunday, March 25, 2012
The Chronicles of Prydain
The Chronicles of Prydain consists of five major books written by Lloyd Alexander and published by Henry Holt in the 1960s. These award winning fantasy novels are among the finest in children's literature and have enjoyed a loyal following throughout the world since they were first published. They are a melding of Welsh mythology and Alexander's own fertile imagination.
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| Map copyright Michal Wojcik |
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| The Chronicles of Prydain, Book 1, Cover art by David Wyatt |
the adventures of Taran, an assistant pig-keeper who
wishes to become a warrior.
The other books in the series are The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, and The High King.
The other books in the series are The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, and The High King.
I also highly recommend The Foundling and Other
Tales of Prydain, a compilation of short stories.
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| The Prydain Companion, An excellent reference, by Michael O. Tunnell |
For insights into the the creation of the books, cast of characters, geneologies, place descriptions, and guides to pronunciation, check out Michael O. Tunnel's excellent book, The Prydain Companion.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
The Fortune-Tellers
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| The Fortune-Tellers, by Lloyd Alexander, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman |
Trina Schart Hyman asked him to tweak the theme so she could incorporate Cameroon, a piece of her grandsons' heritage.
Check future posts for Alexander's other picture books: The Four Donkeys, Dream-of-Jade, How the Cat Swallowed Thunder, and The House Gobbaleen.
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| Illustration from The Fortune-Tellers |
Friday, March 23, 2012
Lloyd Alexander, Prince of Authors
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| portrait by Trina Hyman |
Mr. Alexander is best known for his creation of the fantasy series, The Chronicles of Prydain. He wrote over 40 books and stories and was a master of characterization and dialogue. He used fiction to explore real emotional themes. He loved reading, writing, cats, the violin, and his wife Janine. He was witty and soft-spoken. A bard of the highest caliber.I highly recommend this video link with a tour narrated by the man himself.
For more information, check out Foundation Stones of Prydain, The Prydain Companion, and The Gawgon and the Boy.
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