tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post1154897629584568271..comments2024-03-10T16:42:34.106-04:00Comments on Collecting Children's Books: Sunday Brunching with E.B. White's "Sad Disaster"Peter D. Sierutahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09301507180150710089noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-79148387135000531132011-09-13T20:16:51.180-04:002011-09-13T20:16:51.180-04:00My friend thinks Giant John by Loebel might be the...My friend thinks Giant John by Loebel might be the one. Thanks for all the suggestions!Kim Lairdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105543167469966673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-15758352190996679242011-09-09T05:15:27.485-04:002011-09-09T05:15:27.485-04:00When I was a kid, my mom used to read Trumpet Whit...When I was a kid, my mom used to read Trumpet White books to me but I couldn't remember something special or something unique about it not like Stuart Little. Anyways, I couldn't really imagine what to buy in Strand if I am given a money that much but maybe I would choose to buy the books I've really wanted that I couldn't afford.Fawn (Skat the Cat)https://www.facebook.com/pages/Skat-the-Cat/163246253743482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-78736221553658289992011-09-06T14:53:32.117-04:002011-09-06T14:53:32.117-04:00I remember Ed Sullivan! Guest who spun plates; tha...I remember Ed Sullivan! Guest who spun plates; that creepy mouse puppet. I didn't like it as well as the Carol Burnett show, which came on after. <br /><br />I remember several of Russ' recommended books: Strange Disappearance of Arthur cluck; Look There's a Turtle Flying; Tomten; and One Small Blue Bead (always liked Shimon's work)<br /><br />No comment on 'Trumpet'. I was so squigged out by Mrs. White giving birth to a mouse that I could never read "Stuart Little," and then never bothered to read "Trumpet"<br /><br />I, too, thought of "Big Susan" for the giant book. Can you believe it's still in print? http://www.amazon.com/Big-Susan-Elizabeth-Orton-Jones/dp/1930900066<br /><br />Hope the manuscript got in on time and you can do some relaxing after your laboring Labor Day.linnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-42308382693053885812011-08-31T19:19:37.771-04:002011-08-31T19:19:37.771-04:00I grew up reading Astrid Lindgren's The Tomten...I grew up reading Astrid Lindgren's The Tomten and I adore it (although my sister always thought it was creepy). I was reading it in the 80s, and I notice that 4 libraries in my county still own copies.Jesshttp://jessmonster.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-36949008147206687612011-08-29T19:36:27.878-04:002011-08-29T19:36:27.878-04:00I wonder if one of The Borrowers series is the rem...I wonder if one of The Borrowers series is the remembered book? Thinking of the boy picking up the register cover and seeing Arietty and family....Debnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-26316997055434266152011-08-29T13:25:00.906-04:002011-08-29T13:25:00.906-04:00Peter, The Strand sounds very much like The Arcade...Peter, The Strand sounds very much like The Arcade in Sheridan Hay's "The Secret of Lost Things". My sister recommended the book to me because she said she could see me moving into the store & living the rest of my days there :) As a west coaster I'm unfamiliar with the Strand, but will add it to my list of things to do if I ever visit NYC, bumping "taste authentic coal oven pizza" to #2.<br /><br />As for Mr. White's third masterpiece, I vaguely remember my 3rd grade teacher reading it us & have no memory of any of the details from the book, tho Charlotte is indelibly inked in my heart & Stuart is a fond favorite. But you've made me want to revisit it. Thank you :)Alisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05316799279886354749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-47002506353828871372011-08-29T12:58:08.122-04:002011-08-29T12:58:08.122-04:00I never noticed any difference in the three White ...I never noticed any difference in the three White books but when I read Trumpet to my son, he had kind of a "meh" reaction. He may have been too young to identify with Sam. The one thing I remember about Trumpet is the word "crepuscular."Laura Canonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16574566234310522696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-28124079938341603192011-08-29T12:32:36.753-04:002011-08-29T12:32:36.753-04:00ooohhh- what a great rainy day activity planning w...ooohhh- what a great rainy day activity planning what I would spend the $ at the Strand. While I have gone there a number of times, I must admit I get overwhelmed and "forget" what I want/need to look for when I walk through the doors. (Also much of what I like is scarce because most folks were not interested when the books were published so unlikely to appear on the shelves now.)ChrisinNYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16876571838417116075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-85657361983490949782011-08-29T09:34:32.381-04:002011-08-29T09:34:32.381-04:00I was not entranced by Trumpet of the Swan as a ch...I was not entranced by Trumpet of the Swan as a child; I remember wishing it were as wonderful as Charlotte's Web and feeling very disappointed that it was not.KateCoombshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05584944601221466789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-88746411636423543372011-08-29T00:29:35.582-04:002011-08-29T00:29:35.582-04:00I also adored The Trumpet of the Swan as a child w...I also adored <i>The Trumpet of the Swan</i> as a child when I read it in the mid 1980s; it's thanks to that book that for years I considered watercress sandwiches at the Ritz to be the ne plus ultra of culinary sophistication.<br /><br />As for the picture books you listed: I recognized two. <i>The Legend of the Willow Plate</i> is a folklorish faux-Asian story explaining the pictures seen on blue willoware china (something about star-crossed lovers meeting on a pagoda, I think).<br /><br />And I still often find Astrid Lindgren's <i>The Tomten</i> in library folklore collections -- Tomtens are a kind of friendly house-elf found in Scandinavian folktales. I think Jan Brett has even created her own story based on Tomtens.Brookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06949700159593843060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-69842016682130796532011-08-28T23:49:50.777-04:002011-08-28T23:49:50.777-04:00I haven't gotten around to Trumpet of the Swan...I haven't gotten around to Trumpet of the Swan, but now I want to. I shyed off of it for so many years because I love Charlotte's Web so fiercely and have warm feelings about Stuart Little.Bybeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10061186489010154661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-6304838897659758952011-08-28T23:03:51.811-04:002011-08-28T23:03:51.811-04:00I loved Trumpet of the Swan, perhaps as much as Ch...I loved Trumpet of the Swan, perhaps as much as Charlotte's Web and more than Stuart Little (though that one also has a place in my heart all my life, particularly the bits with the class deciding what would be done with a boy if he had stolen the "for you I pine for you I balsam" pillow, and Stuart plugging holes in his birchbark canoe with chewing gum).<br /><br />It's funny, but the details I have always carried in my heart include the same ones as grrlpup: the watercress sandwiches and sleeping in the hotel bathtub, and the cutting the foot-webs. But also Louis copying the words "CAT" and then "CATASTROPHE from the blackboard, and untying Sam's shoelace, and the father flying through the music shop window with all the people making silly remarks.<br /><br />Jason Robert Brown wrote music for it recently, and it was recorded, with John Lithgow singing Louis, and other excellent actors. I saw it performed at the Kennedy Center and liked it very much -- the music was in the perfect style, and they kept all the humor and characterization -- I thought the only flaw was that it was a bit too long to keep all the kids' attention.<br /><br />Ed Sullivan! Musical theater lovers automatically sing the eponymous song from "Bye Bye Birdie" when they hear his name.Genevievenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-62470994311571245392011-08-28T22:18:54.821-04:002011-08-28T22:18:54.821-04:00Thanks for emerging from the revision cave to writ...Thanks for emerging from the revision cave to write this post, Peter!<br /><br />"Sad disaster"-- so harsh! My 2nd grade teacher read <em>Trumpet</em> to my class, and we really enjoyed it. I reread it as an adult and found it to be a very strange little book (how much junk did Louis have hanging around his neck, anyway?!), but then I think <em>Stuart Little</em> is a very strange little book, too. I think I prefer <em>Trumpet</em> to <em>Stuart</em>, actually, but that may be less about <em>Trumpet</em>'s merits and more because I'm squicked out at the idea of a human mother giving birth to a son that is, by all appearances, a mouse.Lisa Jenn Bigelowhttp://lisajennbigelow.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-84028283659715470032011-08-28T22:17:59.615-04:002011-08-28T22:17:59.615-04:00Peter,
The giant book could be Giant John by Arnol...Peter,<br />The giant book could be Giant John by Arnold Lobel. I have a copy in my classroom and have read it to my class for years when Arnold Lobel is featured as our author of the month.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-72727633060675146802011-08-28T20:53:32.356-04:002011-08-28T20:53:32.356-04:00Giants? Giant people and dollhouses = Big Susan b...Giants? Giant people and dollhouses = Big Susan by Elizabeth Orton Jones. Giant John by Arnold Lobel? Or, one of my favorite TV shows from across the Candian Border, The Friendly Giant?Calliopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07208284452879312774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-51493741846934314362011-08-28T18:47:14.767-04:002011-08-28T18:47:14.767-04:00Of course I know what it is, even if I was born ex...Of course I know what it is, even if I was born exactly 11 months after the final episode. (I just figured that out from its Wikipedia link. Neat.)<br /><br />But I WASN'T looking it up 'cause I didn't know what it was. :) That's the show where New Kids on the Block had their breakthrough performance. <br /><br />(Kidding.)Jules at 7-Imphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14439756778611468303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-79669187975839673142011-08-28T18:33:44.185-04:002011-08-28T18:33:44.185-04:00When I think of the three books now, Swan doesn...When I think of the three books now, Swan doesn't have its own unique and unmistakable flavor like Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web do. But as a kid I didn't have a concept of classic vs. non-classic, only of liking a book or not. And sometimes a book that was farther from perfect seemed to have more room for me. I read Trumpet of the Swan at least as often as the other two, mostly for the particular little things I liked:<br />- Sam writing a question in his notebook every night to think about while he fell asleep<br />- Louis getting his foot-webs cut so he could play more notes on the trumpet. Hardcore!<br />- His attempt to make the hotel room comfortable, i.e. sleeping on water in the tub and ordering a large number of watercress sandwiches from room service.<br /><br />Oh, and I still call ducklings, goslings, cygnets, etc. "beeps" because of that book. :)grrlpuphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09755649595417118072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-11656471014015727652011-08-28T15:55:25.356-04:002011-08-28T15:55:25.356-04:00Actually, I was referring to the Kirkus columns --...Actually, I was referring to the Kirkus columns -- but wasn't as clear as I should have been. Sorry. <br /><br />But the real point...<br /><br />The REAL point...<br /><br />...is that you have no idea what the Ed Sullvian show was, do you?<br /><br />I thought not!<br /><br />Peter : )Peter D. Sierutahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09301507180150710089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046320545497573335.post-66361978660562362862011-08-28T15:34:14.271-04:002011-08-28T15:34:14.271-04:00Oh but I *wish* I got paid for blogging. Kirkus co...Oh but I *wish* I got paid for blogging. Kirkus columns, yes, but 7-Imp'ing is a labor of love, as they say.<br /><br />Hang in there, though now I sound like a bad mid-'70s inspirational elementary classroom kitty cat poster.Jules at 7-Imphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14439756778611468303noreply@blogger.com