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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…
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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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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
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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…
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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.
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The Garden of Abdul Gasazi by Chris Van Allsburg
The Garden of Abdul Gasazi (1979) was the first picture book by American author/illustrator Chris Van Allsburg, who himself admits astonishment at the book’s immediate success. This was helped by reviews in America-wide publications. Such attention has always been unusual for children’s stories, and perhaps says something about how this story appeals to all ages.
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Taking Mr Ravenswood by William Trevor Short Story Analysis
“Taking Mr Ravenswood” is a short story by Irish-English author William Trevor, included in Last Stories (2018) and previously unpublished. The author had already died by the time this story was released to the rest of us. This is an excellent example of the ambiguity lyrical short stories are known for. To get a sense
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Libraries in Art and Storytelling
Below are illustrations of libraries — public and private — in paintings and in picture books.
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Voices In The Park by Anthony Browne Analysis
Have you ever wanted to go back and redo old work? A Walk In The Park is one of Anthony Browne’s earliest picture books — his second published after Through The Magic Mirror. Twenty years later (in 1998), Browne decided to redo this book in Postmodern style. Now it is called Voices In The Park.
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Women and Cats in Art
There is a strong link between women, girls and cats. In fiction, for instance, women are frequently described as cats (and also as birds).
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The Fairytale Importance of the Literary Salon and Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy
First, what is a salon? 1. A RECEPTION ROOM IN A LARGE HOUSE The common feature of a salon: It is set up for social interaction. As shown in the header illustration, “Grand Salon” Hôtel du Collectioneur, Paris 1925. Arch. Emile Jaques Ruhlmann, a salon is also a feature of a grand hotel. 2. WHERE
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The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden is a novel by British-American Frances Hodgson Burnett, originally published in serialised form in America between 1910-11, the end of the Edwardian era in England. We now consider this a story for children, probably because the main characters are children. Surprising to me: this story was originally aimed at an adult readership.
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The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick Short Story Analysis
The Shawl (1980) is a short story by American writer Cynthia Ozick, born 1928. In 2014, Joyce Carol Oates joined Deborah Treisman at The New Yorker to read and discuss Ozick’s story. This horrific short story reminds me most of a narrative from another side of the same war: Grave of the Fireflies. Both are
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On Rhyming Picturebooks and Children’s Poetry Analysis
Examine the work of rhyming masters like Jane Yolen, Jack Prelutsky, Karma Wilson, Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and Corey Rosen Schwartz. Tara Lazar, How To Write Children’s Picturebooks “If it’s going to rhyme, it’s just terribly important that there’s some repeated phrase, some sort of chorus-y bit.” Julia Donaldson, The Guardian interview In 1991 an editor in
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The Symbolism of Water Wells
In folklore and fairy tale, round, enclosed structures (towers and wells) align with lunar figures which stand in for cyclic time i.e. dragons, serpents, werewolves or other related creatures who abduct maidens. And also, by the way, dishevelled hair and shaggy furs worn as garments are the other symbol set which go hand-in-hand with round,