Charlotte's Web: E.B. White

This Simple Tale of Friendship

“But it’s unfair”, cried Fern. “The pig couldn’t help being born small, could it? If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?"
Mr Arable smiled. “Certainly not,” he said, looking down at his daughter with love. “But this different. A little girl is one thing; a little runty pig is another.”

“I see no difference,” replied Fern, still hanging on to the axe. “This is the most terrible case of injustice I ever heard of.”

“Well, I don’t like to spread bad news,” said the sheep, “but they’re fattening you up because they’re going to kill you, that’s why.”
“They’re going to what?” screamed Wilbur.
“Kill you. Turn you into smoked bacon and ham,” continued the old sheep.
“Stop!” screamed Wilbur. “I don’t want to die! Save me, somebody! Save me!”
“Be quiet, Wilbur!” said Charlotte, who had been listening to this awful conversation.“I can’t be quiet,” screamed Wilbur, racing up and down.

“I don’t want to be killed. I don’t want to die. Is it true what the old sheep says, Charlotte? Is it true they are going to kill me when the cold weather comes?”

“You shall not die,” said Charlotte, briskly.
“What? Really?” cried Wilbur. “Who’s going to save me?”

“I am,” said Charlotte.

“…The message I wrote in my web, praising Wilbur, has been received. The Zuckermans have fallen for it, and so has everybody else. Zuckerman thinks Wilbur is an unusual pig, and therefore he won’t kill him and eat him. I dare say my trick will work and Wilbur’s life can be saved.”
“Hurray!” cried everybody [all the animals in the meeting]
“Thank you very much,” said Charlotte. “Now I called this meeting in order to get suggestions. I need new ideas for the web. People are already getting sick of reading the words ‘SOME PIG!’ Any suggestions for a new slogan?”
“How about ‘Pig Supreme’?” asked one of the lambs.

“No good,” said Charlotte. “It sounds like a rich dessert.”

Next morning, Wilbur arose and stood beneath the web. He breathed the morning air into his lungs. Drops of dew, catching the sun, made the web stand out clearly.

Everybody stood at the pigpen and stared at the web and read the word, over and over, while Wilbur, who really felt terrific, stood quietly swelling out his chest and swinging his snout from side to side.“Terrific!” breathed Zuckerman, in joyful admiration. “Edith, you better phone the reporter on the Weekly Chronicle and tell him what has happened. He will want to know about this. He may want to bring a photographer. There isn’t a pig in the whole state that is as terrific as our pig.”

“Why did you do all this for me?” he asked. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.”

“You have been a friend,” replied Charlotte.

One seemingly simple tale about fate and love, all told through an unlikely friendship between a practical spider and one endearing runt - their adventures, made ever more charming by the illustrations (by Garth Williams - PUFFIN BOOKS).

Like the story, to me, love and friendship come with no strings attached and need no reading between the lines.

It is also one of my saddest tale read - twisted my heartstrings. Love and friendship has no forever. They come packaged with transition and loss - what matters most is what had been done.

Say hi and thank you to your bestest friend today.

- Completed 17 July 2006 -

Roald Dahl: Loony! Wacky! Nutty! Dandy!!!

I hope it comes no surprise to you - Roald Dahl is whom I am touching on for this entry. Did you guess correctly??

While searching for inspirations, I thought about the first time I discovered-held my first Dahl's book, got hooked thereafter. The incident was so that I can't help but related that akin to fate. Sometimes, affinity just hits, no? Maybe this kinda sounded so drama-mama but THAT'S the way I felt with certain incidents in my life. Even for discovering a read.

Please allow me to digress and indulge on why discovering Roald Dahl by pure chance is extraordinary for me. Books ain't exactly a fad with us kids during my upper primary school days unless Tin Tin is what you were referring to. The school's library ain't my hangout spot but it was there, I came upon "Danny the Champion of The World" when I tried to hide in the library from my friends because I was secretly crying self-pitifully from some petty friendship matters. I picked a book non-commitantly, trying my darnest to hide my tear-stained face. Somehow, the baby picture in the first page caught my attention and hooked to Roald Dahl thereafter I was, definitely.

Danny The Champion of The World - My First Dahl's Read

Starting with Danny the Champion of The World, I was soon full speed into his other titles. I love most of the children's reads and to name a few favourite standouts will be of course The Witches, BFG, Boy and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Though I love Dahl's short adult twisting stories, they never packed the full oomph for me. I must admit I never like and finish his Going Solo and A Piece of Cake. Though these two touched on Dahl's route to become a full fledged children's author, I felt it was not important for me to know anyhow. Not interesting to me.

I must say Roald Dahl's is really one of the most creative children's author for me. The way he makes plain, good enough virtues in children loud and heroic enough to make a difference with their life or turn of events with his loony thoughts, I thought really quite incredible. Danny the Champion of The World touches the life of a little boy ensconced in life's simple pleasures, living in a small wagon with just his dad for companionship, conjured an incredulous way of poaching partridges with a stroke of ingenuity that earned him respect from his dad and the rest of the villagers who all hated the snobbish landowner.

BFG, The Witches and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory are not to be missed if you want to know the full extent of Dahl's mastery in catapulting you to his world of wackiness, dandiest and his nuttiest.

The Witches - I love this story!

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

I scarcely salvaged my BFG, hehehe...

His children's stories are all written from the viewpoint of a plain good child who is either impoverished or mistreated by an adult AND there is always the presence of a teacher or headmaster who will dealt THAT stroke of that cane. Apparently, tis some true scars from Dahl's childhood himself (Read: Dahl's - "Boy") and I personally thought he was championing the rights to end corporal punishment and the bullying of the weaker children in schools. In other words, you learnt being strong physically does not mean you will get respect or natural authority. The main character's stroke of luck changes with the entrance of an adult / fantasy creature who will eventually makes a big difference in their life and vice versa.

Sophie from BFG saved England from the guzzling, man-eating giants with the help from the reticent Big Friendly Giant whom was brought out of his own shyness with Sophie's friendship. The boy in The Witches saved all of us children, from turning into rats by thwarting the witches' plan with his Norwegian grandmother and do not mind being a rat the rest of his life so he may live as long as her. I find this so touching.

The Witches

As for Charlie, he makes his fortune with Willy Wonka - the candiest man in the world whom found the right heir to his candy kingdom!! Don't you think it's so clever and funny about the square candies that looked round?? Go check it out yourself if you do not know what I am talking about here.

Roald Dahl's story is literally littered with un-dictionary phrasing and poems as his trademark style, much like how Stephen King's does with his trademark f*cks all over his novel. Some fine examples below:

One Dandy, Loony Dahl's Poems From C&TCF

Dahl's Trademark?

May not sit well with some adults who felt were not proper english to begin with but what the hell, it's us children who are tickled and amused by the names of the food the giants eat, the kind of products that makes up the potion in George's Marvelous Medicine, the strange dreams captured by BFG and transported to our dreamland. Who needs to grow up so fast??

The Nightmare - BFG

One of the Dreams' Descriptions - BFG

I do enjoy Dahl's more macabre, adult stories from Henry Sugar and The Unexpected Tales. Twisted and more edged plots though they are mostly short adult stories. I am more a sucker for long serials for short novels like Sherlock Holmes and so Dahl's shorter stories is to me is merely a more disturbing though kinda pleasing read. Like how I will always remember the man who turns into a bee for consuming too much royal jelly? The man who bet his little finger for a Cadillac if his lighter lights up continuously for ten times? The battered housewife who escapes the gallows by roasting the murder weapon and served the shank of lamb to the investigating sheriffs? Or even Henry Sugar, an incorrigible gambler turned good - who had initially tried to gain yoga powers for evil profits? I thought the way it just disturbs you so subtly mentally... his adults stories is a different genre from his children's stories.

Henry Sugar & Other Stories

Dahl's stories, thinly illustrated by Quentin Blake's are so mutually unexclusive - I can't find any other children's authors even close to Dahl's style till today.

Dahl's leap of imagination, his use of creative words and the children's rights he subtly champions for - I can only conclude, truly childhood reminiscences for me.

Quentin Blake's illustration - From The Witches showing the boy turning into a rat

- Completed 15 July 2006 -

Enid Blyton: The Mother Of All Children's Stories

When I was young and naive, I wished...

... Mother would ask me to get out of her way by packing a picnic basket for me, full of sandwiches, a pound of chocolate cake and a meat pie. The pinic basket must be covered by a checked cloth and I would pick ripe blueberries along the way to the forest for the picnic with my doll.

... I was enrolled in a boarding school where I lived, ate, played, rode horses and milked cows with all my friends under one roof. Mother would send me pocket money and sweet goodies from home as treats.

... Mother would send me to bed without dinner as punishment for bad behaviour.

... I would stumble across an old rickety shop full of magical items on my way to the nearby provision shop while running errands for Mother.

... I could invite friends over for tea and the cook would prepare scones, shortcakes, jelly, brownies and tea in quaint little teacups with matching saucers.

... Silky the fairy, Dame Washalot, the Saucepan man, Mr Whatsisname and the Angry Pixie were my secret friends. Moonface would offer me his Toffee Shock and a ride down the slippery slip on the big fat cushion.

... my best friends and I would unwittingly, get caught in situations turned adventures and be famed as a group of young investigators.

... my toys would come alive at night and fairy folks would visit them and sometimes held midnight paties. I would stumble upon them on my way for the night's pee and be invited to the parties!!!

Very, very wishful but nonetheless delightful thoughts. If I had evoked your childhood fanciful wishes much like those above, like me, you must had been a young Enid Blyton's fan as well!

Invitation To A Wizard's Birthday Party

_____________________________

Since young, when it comes to choosing children's authors, I have two I call favourites. Both British authors, both masters of children's make-believe and both enthralled me with their more-than-rich imagination. Their stories opened a whole new world for me and I mean that not just in literal sense.

Other than the above, however, I personally felt both can't be more different as children's literature writers, in terms of the realms of their imaginativeness and fanciful inventiveness. As my subject title indicates, one's none other than Enid Blyton and the other, a male Brit author of which his stories I hope to touch on for my next entry. I 'll let in a little fun and keep the identity secret for now and see if you guess the author correctly. A little clue, this blog is named after one of his famous verbal quotes, it's an easy guess by the way. In my opinion, his stories are forerunner for children's English titles until JK Rowling comes along.

From ages seven to nine, I only wanted to read anything by Enid Blyton. My then best friend was my supplier and ticket to Enid Blyton's world. She had a mini library at home and thank my good fortune, a generous spirit too. *Hey Tracy Gan, if you are reading this, you never knew you played a part in this too yeah?*

If Hans Christian Andersen and the brothers Grimm introduced a land of princesses and magic spells to me, Enid Blyton captivated my childhood with old Western folkore of fairies, brownies, pixies and gnomes. Other than that, I was also much intrigued and in love with the charms of old Great Britain. A foreign but charming culture to me. Being an Asian and had never travel before at that point of time, I always wondered how scones, shortcakes and mudpie looked and tasted like. Was mudpie made of mud? Why can't my mother allow me tea parties? Why golliwogs were never on sale in our toy shops? Why did children eat their supper at 7 o' clock? Why was it that my school had no horse-riding lessons or nature walks as part of our lessons?

Scones, Shortcakes or Mudpie?
(Pic Taken From: The Wishing Chair)

Going To School By Train?
(Pic Taken From: The Naughtiest Girl In School Again)

I Had Always Liked Golliwog
(Pic Taken From: Amelia Jane)

A Toy Party Illustration
(Pic Taken From: Amelia Jane)

However much bewildered I were, somehow, I kept all these thoughts to myself. You can also say, I loved my day dreamings.

I Felt It Was My Secret Too!
(Pic Taken From: The Wishing Chair)

Some of my favourite EB's titles were serials like The Faraway Tree, Malory Towers, The Famous Five, Brer Rabbit and The Wishing Chair. There is this singular book titled The Book of Fairies which I prized above all and deemed as a collector's item. It's a personal choice because this book had me lived in the world of fairies for a while. I even believed the baby fern leaves curl because fairies sleep in them at night to keep warm. Amazes me how naive I could be!

The Wishing Chair Series

Book Cover - The Naughtiest Girl In School Again

Book Cover - Amelia Jane

I like Enid Blyton's stories being fancifully simple and sweet. I also love how Enid Blyton kept my young imagination alive. It comforted me when the naughty children / pixie / toy got their punishment, learned their lesson and the story end on a happy and sometimes subtly moralistic note.

Elizabeth's Redeeming Words
(Taken From: The Naughtiest Girl In School)

A Typical Enid Blyton's Ending
(Taken From: Amelia Jane)

An Illustration From The Wishing Chair - Children and Chinny The Pixie Escaping From The Police In The Land of Goodies

Years passed, still most of EB's stories remained vividly on my mind. I have re-read some of EB's titles and I'm glad they never fail to bring back happy childhood memories.

_______________________________________

Somehow, when I started writing this entry, I got quite curious if little boys do read and liked Enid Blyton. I don't remember my male classmates in my primary classes reading anything by the way. Except for Marvel comics. I was afraid my thoughts may have skewed towards a more feminine perspective. So I roped in Mr. Gecko for a short interview who very gamely provides me an insight and had me concluding testosterone-charged boys can and do fall prey to Enid Blyton's charm too.

Does reading stories by Enid Blyton considered part of your happy childhood memories?

Mr. Gecko: Never thought about Enid Blyton since grown up. *I was frowning*

But you enjoyed reading

Mr. Gecko: Yup

What were some of your favourite Enid Blyton's titles?

Mr. Gecko: The Three Investigator by Alfred Hitchcock *this is irrelevant to my question you know, Mr. Gecko*, The Wishing Chair and The Faraway Tree series.

Can you list some fond memories from reading Enid Blyton?

Mr. Gecko: Most of the stories sound like good fun, like the idea of going for a picnic, describing what the children prepared and brought to the pinic. Had the same desire to do the same as the children too!Liked some of the foreign "cultures" described in her stories like having a glass of warm milk before bedtime.I also liked the illustrations from her book which helped me to imagine some favourite characters better like Moonface and the Saucepan Man, somehow, I also liked Enid Blyton's distinct signature fonts on the front cover of every book. so I could immediately recognised her books from others.

What is most notable about Enid Blyton's stories?

Mr. Gecko: Her stories teach people to be good.

- Completed 08 February 2006 -

Fairy Tales (Various): Ladybird Classics (1980s) / Hans Christian Andersen

Unfolding The Tales Within...

Once upon a time, I used to dream that one day, a handsome prince would come searching for me on a white horse and take me to a faraway castle and henceforth, live happily ever after. The funny thing was, my infantile image of my prince came with the quintessential blonde hair and blue eyes! Did not bother nor occur to me however, there never were any depictions of Asian princesses in fairy tales and I resembled nothing like the classic fairy tale princesses. Well I guess, every little girl, to each their own fairy tale kingdom.

Like any other little girls, I would give up anything to play a princess or a fairy role. And if you did get to be chosen, it was almost a direct admission that you were either the most beautiful or popular little girl in class / school and therefore bestowed with the most important character in the story plot. Acting skills' not a consideration. Those girls whom aspired to act the role of witches or gnomes, if any, are probably well-known thespians by now.

Fairy tales lent an extension of fantasy to my adolescence, a time when I am quite incapable of rich imagination independently. At my time (circa early 1980s), fairy tales mainly came to me in the form of the Ladybird series way before I was swamped with the Disney's versions. What I appreciate later in life, like now, from reading the Ladybird series was the way how the fairytales were retold in a simplified yet staying true to the original / classic version. Most of the fairy tales churned out these days run along the main theme but in a somewhat contorted manner, like a different ending from the classic or with added on characters. Not all adaptations are bad I must concede but not as classic. Disney's an exemplary.

Some Ladybird's Well-Loved Tales

Being of the fairer sex, no doubt some of my favourite reads in the Ladybird series were classics like Pinocchio, Cinderella, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Beauty And The Beast, Goldilocks and The Three Bears, Sleeping Beauty, Thumbelina, Rapunzel........... These well loved tales in the Ladybird series filled one snug niche in my childhood. It's easy to perceive why the series were a hit with me with all the ultimate fantasy coterie of princesses, kings and queens, intelligent talking animals, evil witches with their spells and slayed dragons. They were definitely one of the initial influential factors with my obsession on all things medieval, pompous royalty and aristocracy.

Most of the fairy tales run along the good versus evil theme, more often than not, a hero / saviour to smother the chaos and save the princess or a cast-out main character making it good eventually. More importantly, to me, what stands out in most of the Ladybird series were the very well-detailed illustrations. Colorful and definitely an eye candy to a six year old. I personally relished the colorful pages as much as the story. I also like the way how the story plot developed and followed through in a page to page manner and with each page turned, I am rewarded with both the story's progression and a different detailed, colorful illustration.

The Little Mermaid (Ladybird's Series Cover)

Amongst all tales in the Ladybird series, The Little Mermaid and The Snow Queen remain my favorite reads. Relating to earlier memory recesses of mine, both tales struck me poignantly albeit in different ways. I found out later in life these two tales in the Ladybird series remained true to Hans Christian Andersen's storyboard, and occurred to me as two very un-classic versions of fairytales.

Unlike the Disney's version of The Little Mermaid, there was no happily ever after for the mermaid in the Ladybird classic - true to Andersen's version. Of course, it did not matter to me when I was six whether or not I was reading the classic version but what stayed in my mind were two major revelations. In the Ladybird's, mermaids were illustrated stark naked with rounded firm breasts a galore *Disney's mermaids have sea-shells covering their breasts*. Believe me, funnily, it was the naked mermaids that first captivated my curious attention totally. It was a another major surprise when I realised the mermaid did not get her prince in the story ending. Instead, she chose to love unselfishly and sacrificed all she had done for her pair of legs. Now, that is not a classic fairy tale plot. The princess should always get her prince, no?

The Little Mermaid Illustration - Ladybird's Series

The Snow Queen was also un-classic in that a girl was portrayed as the heroine in search for her "prince" held in captive by a lonely queen. For once, the female was the stronger sex who braved all the dangers to rescue her loved one. The girl eventually saved her boy with a teardrop which warmed his heart the Snow Queen had put a spell on. There were no dragons to slay. But I was attracted to the alternative, more emotive storyboard and it kinda gave me a rush of girl's pride there.

Frankly, it was only when I was much older that I was aware the fairy tales I was exposed to from, mainly, the Ladybird's series were a condense collections from the acknowledged masters of tales, namely Hans Christian Andersen and the brothers Grimm. Personally, I had always favored Andersen's eccentric stories and tales more than those by the brothers Grimm. Probably, his story had a deeper sense of melancholic and an out-of-nowhere, somewhat, irascible style of writing - not all the main characters came out perfect. Like Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes, many tales etched more deeply with tragic flaw.

Stories & Tales - Hans Christian Andersen (Routledge Classics)
*I love the cover*

Readers of the Andersen's versions may find more mayhem and crudity than in the watered-down retellings that are more familiar to most children. In fact, you'd be surprised to realise his tales are not at all fairy-tale like and are often quite disturbing, almost tethering on the edge to a dark side. His writings are extensively lengthened and richly flourished with adjectives in contrast with an underlying story intrigue, you just wish he will get on with his plots faster sometimes, please. Or lessen your distress level with his cruel, almost nonchalant disposement of the characters in the stories. While I enjoyed revisiting some of my childhood reads, frankly, some of his lesser known tales bored the hell outta me.

An example of one sketchy fine illustrations from the book

I finished his book of Stories And Tales with an astonishment akin to uncovering a rich and enchanting but strangely disturbing huge piece of tapestry. Some parts of which your eyes lingered and followed the threads earnestly and some parts you hope you can overlooked if not that you know you have to devour it all to get the whole picture.

There are close to sixty of Andersen's collections in this book (translated from Dutch to English) and each story ranges only from half a page to about fifteen pages. Still, I needed more than two months to plough through the whole book and there are a few times, I don't feel like picking it up and finished from where I stopped. It's really an acquired read. In the end, it was a surprise that I felt good immersing in the kingdom of Hans Christian Andersen. No pun intended but it's truly outta this world. His rich imagination, I mean. In the sense, you can hardly find such writer as Andersen who writes evergreen tales without any sense of inhibition, and his tales survived to being enjoyed by both the young and old throughout generations.

An added value, I love the original vintage ink-sketching illustrations in this book. If like me, you'd like to know how the original fairytales were weaved, I strongly recommend you to pick the book up.

**The End**

- Completed 28 December 2005 -

Lierliar's Stories & Tales: Preface

Lierliar lubs reading.

Reading is one of my life's greatest pleasures. While reading, I travel literally. Stories and tales shaped my imagination and some of my favourites reads have been very influential on my perspective. I have been planning for THIS, in my mind, for a very long time. Hey! My picture says it all. I literally, planned.

It's a ritual habit of mine to keep one small blue notebook just for my titles listing reference's sake on all the books I had read, book titles for my borrow list or to add on to my own library collection. I put a little tick beside the title on my listing after I finished reading the book and just for fun, graded the literature according to my own barometer. The listing info is a real plus for me when I need to check or remember an author or any obscure titles. *Nerd...*

What I am looking forward to with this blog, will be a collective reviews on all my readings and I can't wait to begin my first entry. Bear in mind I will not wish to stick to one stipulated format akin to Amazon.com. I will just like to go along with my flow of thoughts. For a start, I will chronicle all the readings I enjoyed immensely from when I first learned how to appreciate a good story plot. That will be when I was six years old. So, I am looking forward to one long but sweet and nostalgic literal memory trip for my own sake and hopefully, for you too!

I will then go on with my sentiment with my latest book on hand, especially if the book is one which makes me give up my sleeping hours for. Pardon and do forgive me, for I am no wordsmith. I will try my best to express my opinions with simple words. Hope you will enjoy my very amateurish, erm, critical reviews on all kinds of literary works that have etched an impression on me, good or bad.

For once, I am keen and eager to hear your opinions too! Whether you feel the same way as I do really does not matter. I always appreciate good opinions or new insights to the story I may have missed. No personal attacks please. I am not a critic, just a reader.

Do feel free to introduce good books to me; I am always looking out for one anyway.

Nothing beats flipping a good book with expectations.