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Comparative Children’s Literature: Finland
Trends in Finnish children’s literature mirror trends in the English speaking world, but Finland is possibly more keen to keep its unique culture alive via children’s books. The Moomin stories are some of the weirdest and most inventive children’s books out there, and much beloved, especially in the Moomin family’s native Finland, where there is…
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Babysitter’s Club Novel Study
It would be easy to dismiss The Babysitter’s Club as an outdated storyline aimed at channeling girls into careers in childcare, turning them into good little obedient baby-machines and not much else. However, never judge a book by its title, right? (Because a lot of the time authors don’t choose their own titles anyhow.) And…
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TV Study: Stranger Things (2016)
Stranger Things is a Netflix series created by the brilliantly named ‘Duffer Brothers’, out this year but set in 1983. Though I suspect strong ‘recency bias’, season one scores a very high 9.2 on IMDb. **CONTAINS ALL THE SPOILERS** The show feels like a mixture of Twin Peaks (with the missing kids and small community), Freaks…
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Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer Analysis
Olivia and the Fairy Princesses is the third Olivia book I’m taking a close look at; the first was Olivia, which I really liked; the next was Olivia and the Missing Toy which I really didn’t and now for a story which has garnered Olivia a bit of a reputation among reviewers on social media…
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Anton Can Do Magic by Ole Könnecke Analysis
Anton Can Do Magic by Ole Könnecke is a great book for parents who would like to teach their kids The Magic of Reality (as expressed by Richard Dawkins and others). Written and illustrated by a German picturebook maker, this was translated by New Zealand’s Gecko Press. Anton Can Do Magic is part of a…
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Stuck by Oliver Jeffers (2011) Analysis
When Floyd’s kite gets stuck in a tree, he tries to knock it down with increasingly larger and more outrageous things. A perfect picture book by Oliver Jeffers. STORY STRUCTURE OF STUCK There’s a long oral tradition of stories which get cumulatively more and more ridiculous until the most ridiculous idea ends the story. “The…
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The Technique of Ticking Clocks in Storytelling
Once you notice ticking clocks in storytelling you see them in everything, so beware.
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Loveykins by Quentin Blake Picture Book Analysis
The ideology behind Loveykins: Wild creatures, while sometimes requiring some human nurturing if abandoned by their mother as babies, must eventually be returned to the wild. There is also a message against ‘over-mothering’ in this story. Let wild creatures be wild creatures is a close cousin to ‘let kids be kids’. Another picture book with…
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Olivia And The Missing Toy by Ian Falconer (2003) Analysis
Olivia and the Missing Toy by Ian Falconer shows Olivia the Pig at her most bratty, and her parents at their most indulgent. There are several versions of the book cover of Olivia and the Missing Toy, and the dark one is the scarier of the two. The other is mostly white space, in keeping…
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The Soviet Union Children’s Books
Best Loved Books In The Former Soviet Union General Notes The early Soviet period was a miraculously rich time for children’s books and their illustrations. Philip Pullman To generalise about the young Russian/Soviet Union reader Pseudo-conflicts drive the plots Conservative attitudes in the Soviet Union publishing industry But that’s not what the young Russian reader wants…
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Ocean Symbolism In Storytelling
The ocean contains multivalent symbolism — the known and the unknown; surface versus deep. The circle is closed. Nothing ever comes to an end. Wherever one has sunk roots that emanate from one’s best or truest self, one will always find a home. To return is not to revisit something that has failed. I can…
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The Reflection Character In Storytelling
You may have heard of the ‘shadow in the hero’ when creating a character web for a story. Shadow in the hero describes a relationship between opponents. But what if two very different characters bring out the best in each other? What do you call that? What Is A Reflection Character? This is my term…
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Fog Symbolism
In stories and in art, fog and mist symbolises a variety of related things: obfuscation, mystery, dreams, confusion and a blurring between reality and unreality. First, a description of fog from classic literature: Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled…