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The Home Girls by Olga Masters Short Story Analysis
“The Home Girls” is a short story by Australian writer Olga Masters (1919 – 1986), and the first story of Masters’ 1982 collection, also called The Home Girls. I’m interested in Olga Masters partly because her fiction wasn’t published until she was in her 50s. Then, when she was published, she won a bunch of awards. The Home Girls won…
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Purple Blooms by Carol Shields Short Story Analysis
“Purple Blooms” is a short story by American-born Canadian writer Carol Shields (1935 – 2003), included in the collection Various Miracles (1985).
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Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg Picture Book Analysis
Jumanji is a 1981 picture book written and illustrated by American storyteller Chris Van Allsburg. You may be familiar with the 1995 film adaptation starring Robin Williams.
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Aurora In Art
Aurora are works of art in their own right. Of course artists have been reproducing aurora in paintings and illustration since it was possible. Below are some examples of aurora in art, including various media. It’s interesting to see how the aurora can even be reproduced using woodcut.
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Variations On Once Upon A Time
When creating a fairytale world, certain language marks the tale as timeless. Why timeless? Stories which begin in a fairytale fashion share the quality of essential truth. Earlier audiences assumed this essential truth to be the essence of God’s own voice: In the beginning was the Word. John 1:1 Fairytales begin with a similar, familar phrase. This phrase sets the…
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The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee
The World of O is a trilogy of fantasy novels by New Zealand author Maurice Gee published 1982-1985. The Halfmen of O (1982) is the first of the series. We might call this series The New Zealand Chronicles of Narnia with a bit of sci-fi thrown in. There are also tropes recognisable from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. SETTING OF…
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The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg Analysis
The Stranger (1986) is the seventh picture book written and illustrated by popular American storyteller Chris Van Allsburg.
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The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tale Analysis
The Princess and the Pea was first published in 1835, one of a handful of satirical, colloquial fairy tales in an unbound collection by Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. The colloquial language didn’t go down well with critics at the time, who also didn’t appreciate that Andersen’s silly little “wonder tales” failed to convey a moral suitable for children.
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My Shadow Is Pink by Scott Stuart Analysis
My Shadow Is Pink is a rhyming picture book by Australian author/illustrator Scott Stuart, perfect for Rainbow Storytime, or at any time in fact. I’d encourage readers to compare and contrast this book with The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers. The Crayons picture book is a mega bestseller, and I am therefore happy to hold…
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Simultaneous Narrative Art
Let’s say there are 7 main categories of Narrative art. Narrative art is art which tells a story. This post is about the subcategory which has been called ‘Simultaneous Narrative’ art. The concept of simultaneous narrative art is interesting when it comes to picture books because if you take, say, an illustration of a country fair, where one person is…
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Tennis And Badminton In Art
Humans worked out how much fun it is whack a thing with a bat like thing many, many years ago. Scenes of the joy of racquet sports such as tennis and badminton has been preserved in art.
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The Axial Cut In Narrative Art
The axial cut is a film editing technique. It is a type of jump cut useful to the horror genres. In any ‘jump cut’, the viewer sees a ‘jump in the visual’. An axial cut is a type of jump cut, where the camera suddenly moves closer to or further away from its subject, along an invisible line drawn straight between the camera…
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A Woggle of Witches by Adrienne Adams Analysis
A Woggle of Witches is a picture book written and illustrated by American storyteller Adrienne (“Dean”) Adams in 1971. In total, Adams wrote six of her own books; mostly they illustrated for other writers. Adrienne Adams was a prolific illustrator through the 1960s and beyond, and a two-time winner of a Caldecott Medal (1960 and 1962). Adams was born in…
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The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy Young Adult Novel Study
The Tricksters is a young adult novel by New Zealand author Margaret Mahy, first published in 1986. Mahy wrote many stories for children, but The Tricksters seems to be one frequently talked about in scholarship circles, alongside The Changeover and The Haunting, which both won The Carnegie Medal. The Tricksters is a rare example of the new female mythic form,…
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Skating in Illustration
Ice-skating is one of the joys of winter. Or so I believe. (I live in Australia.) Below are some examples of ice-skating in art and illustration. I’ve included some pictures of roller-skating as well.