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Jan. 22nd, 2004
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#8: The Field Guide - Spiderwick Chronicles #1 by Holly Black & Tom DiTerlizzi
#9: The Seeing Stone - Spiderwick Chronicles #2 by Holly Black & Tom DiTerlizzi
My rating: 9/10
Category: Children's fantasy, 9+ years (but see caveat below)
Jasper, his twin Simon, and older sister Mallory have moved with their mother to the dilapidated Spiderwick mansion, after their parents' divorce. Their great-aunt Lucinda, who owns it, is in the funny farm, but a chance discovery shows that her tales of 'little people' aren't as crazy as they sound...
An easy to read, engrossing modern story of brownies, goblins and other things that gomunch, er, bump in the night. Children will love it for the strong plot and sympathetic characters, adults for the writing and subtle depths. The authors have a light touch, hinting at problems in both the 'real' world and the somewhat darker fae world the children have stumbled upon, rather than marking them out with a heavy hand.
Although the books make no apologies about being part of a series, with strong lead-ins to the next 'chapter', this was managed in a smooth fashion, finishing off enough of each piece of the overall story arc so as not to leave the reader irritable. The illustrations, also by Tony DiTerlizzi, are lovely, alternating between Western comics style drawings and illustrations reminiscent of the beautiful and grotesque paintings of Brian Froud in Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book. If you enjoyed that book, this will be a sure-fire hit with you. All in all, a clever and beautifully written/illustrated series so far. The third volume has just come out and I can't wait to read it.
Some people have denigrated the packaging and division of this series as purely a marketing ploy to generate more income. However I think it's a good thing. Holding a beautifully bound and illustrated volume in your hands is a visceral pleasure, one that staring at a computer screen (or even eventually, a plasma sheet), will never replace. Who doesn't take a deep breath when walking into a library? Or run their hands softly over the covers of old gilt and leather bound books? Personally I welcome the upsurge in decorative children's editions such as this, the Series of Unfortunate Events, and the (absolutely scrumptious velvet-bound) Pure Dead sequence. They're a delight to the senses, and teach the next generation to care for books as physical, as well as mental, objects of pleasure. Somewhat hedonistic of me, perhaps, but it would be sad to see modern technology diminish the publishing world in the same way it has the music industry.
Caveat: If I'd read this when I was nine I would have loved it then also. However, I wouldn't have handed it to my twin, who was always somewhat more sensitive than me (she definitely would have been Simon, and I, Jasper - right down to the differences in temper and fondness for animals!), due to ( slight spoiler ).
#10: Labels by Louis de Bernières
My rating: 8.5/10
Category: Adult fiction
A little novella about a man obsessed with collecting catfood labels.
Just like Valrhona, this is darkly, wittily delicious. I'll never look at cans of catfood the same way again.
By the author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Labels is really a short story, but I bought it as a single volume so I'm going to count it towards my 50. The edition I got is the 1993 first printing, limited to 2000 copies (and even signed by de Bernières!) with the illustrations copyrighted to One Horse Press - so I'm unsure if later publications have the charming little cat drawings in them. This edition is well worth tracking down if they don't.
Still Reading: Mr Monday by Garth Nix
*
#9: The Seeing Stone - Spiderwick Chronicles #2 by Holly Black & Tom DiTerlizzi
My rating: 9/10
Category: Children's fantasy, 9+ years (but see caveat below)
Jasper, his twin Simon, and older sister Mallory have moved with their mother to the dilapidated Spiderwick mansion, after their parents' divorce. Their great-aunt Lucinda, who owns it, is in the funny farm, but a chance discovery shows that her tales of 'little people' aren't as crazy as they sound...
An easy to read, engrossing modern story of brownies, goblins and other things that go
Although the books make no apologies about being part of a series, with strong lead-ins to the next 'chapter', this was managed in a smooth fashion, finishing off enough of each piece of the overall story arc so as not to leave the reader irritable. The illustrations, also by Tony DiTerlizzi, are lovely, alternating between Western comics style drawings and illustrations reminiscent of the beautiful and grotesque paintings of Brian Froud in Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book. If you enjoyed that book, this will be a sure-fire hit with you. All in all, a clever and beautifully written/illustrated series so far. The third volume has just come out and I can't wait to read it.
Some people have denigrated the packaging and division of this series as purely a marketing ploy to generate more income. However I think it's a good thing. Holding a beautifully bound and illustrated volume in your hands is a visceral pleasure, one that staring at a computer screen (or even eventually, a plasma sheet), will never replace. Who doesn't take a deep breath when walking into a library? Or run their hands softly over the covers of old gilt and leather bound books? Personally I welcome the upsurge in decorative children's editions such as this, the Series of Unfortunate Events, and the (absolutely scrumptious velvet-bound) Pure Dead sequence. They're a delight to the senses, and teach the next generation to care for books as physical, as well as mental, objects of pleasure. Somewhat hedonistic of me, perhaps, but it would be sad to see modern technology diminish the publishing world in the same way it has the music industry.
Caveat: If I'd read this when I was nine I would have loved it then also. However, I wouldn't have handed it to my twin, who was always somewhat more sensitive than me (she definitely would have been Simon, and I, Jasper - right down to the differences in temper and fondness for animals!), due to ( slight spoiler ).
#10: Labels by Louis de Bernières
My rating: 8.5/10
Category: Adult fiction
A little novella about a man obsessed with collecting catfood labels.
Just like Valrhona, this is darkly, wittily delicious. I'll never look at cans of catfood the same way again.
By the author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Labels is really a short story, but I bought it as a single volume so I'm going to count it towards my 50. The edition I got is the 1993 first printing, limited to 2000 copies (and even signed by de Bernières!) with the illustrations copyrighted to One Horse Press - so I'm unsure if later publications have the charming little cat drawings in them. This edition is well worth tracking down if they don't.
Still Reading: Mr Monday by Garth Nix
*
