Category Archives: Bedtime Stories
Bedtime Stories: Birthday Boy’s Favorites
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Today is the big day my boy turns four so in honor of the self-proclaimed “boss of the day” I will review a couple of his (but not necessarily my) favorite bedtime stories.
Hee-Haw-Dini and the Great Zambini by Kim Kennedy.
So the story is fine and somewhat predictable: the donkey Hee-Haw and his mouse friend Chester love magic but the other farm animals don’t believe a simple donkey and mouse could possibly be magicians. Guess who gets shown up in the end? Yup, that cynical pig, the condescending rabbit and the grumpy goose. I simply do not like the name Hee-Haw and it hurts me to read that name aloud over and over. And I am required to read it over and over. And over.
Trouble With Trolls by Jan Brett.
I actually like this one. Jan Brett is a great illustrator. There is always a little side story going on in the margins of her illustrations. This one tells the story of a girl who encounters a bunch of pesky trolls who are trying to steal her dog. Capitalizing on their stupidity and greed, she convinces them to take all her belongings but saving her dog. The little picture story in the margin shows the underground world of the trolls and the daily routine of one sleepy hedgehog. It’s one cute little ‘hog.
Bedtime Stories: Weird Oregon
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Weird Oregon by Al Eufrasio and Jefferson Davis.
I came across this at a local coffee shop and thumbed through it, expecting it to be full of all the usual wacky and weird things that every Oregonian knows, like the Vortex and the Shanghai Tunnels which supposedly were used to send unwitting and drunken sailors to slavery. But to my surprise, this book is well-researched and offers fascinating tidbits that I’ve never even heard of. We’ve all heard of Sasquatch but I never knew that Colossal Claude, Wallowa Wally and Marvin the Monster troll the Oregon waters! Not to mention the Melrose Creep, and all the myriad haunted haunts in this mostly Wild West state.
And let’s not forget all the fun the Rajneeshis brought to Antelope, Oregon in the 80s! And if you have never heard of the Enchanted Forest, it’s high time you did.
Everyone seems to talk about Portland these days and if you are taking a trip out here you would be remiss if you didn’t reference this off-beat historic, cultural, and tour guide to Oregon. And if Oregon’s not your thing, not to worry; there seems to be a “Weird” book for every state in the union. Happy travels!
Bedtime Stories: A Little Magic for Grown-Ups
Post by Mark T. Locker.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
Ever since J.K. Rowling introduced the world to Harry Potter, adults have been regularly usurping children’s and young adult literature for their own enjoyment, especially the bottomless pit of fantasy and sci-fi fiction series. Well, once in a while a book comes along for adults which will satisfy the puerile thirst for magic and escape from the realm of the ordinary, and you get to do so under the guise of proper grown-up literature and look all fancy on the bus. (The spine label even reads “Fiction” not “Horror” or “Romance”!)
The most recent of these that I have come across is Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel, The Night Circus. It is, as you may guess, about a nocturnal circus, but it is also about so much more. It’s about rival magicians raising children to compete against each other in the showdown to end all showdowns. It’s about really cool clocks. And contortionists and twins with strange powers.
Set in the late nineteenth century, it is reminiscent of Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, which is about Victorian gentlemanly English magicians. But it is also very much its own novel. It revolves around the worlds of a strange circus, and those within it and those outside it. It’s lovely to read, and gives you great stuff for dreams.
Bedtime Stories: Hansel and Gretel
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Hansel and Gretel by Cynthia Rylant. Illustrated by Jen Corace.
I reckon that everyone in the Western world is at least somewhat acquainted with the classic Grimms’ fairy tales. Among their hundreds of stories, Hansel and Gretel is among the best-known, and among the best-known, surely the cruelest. So why should this be a bedtime story? Well, maybe your children will learn some valuable lessons (though it seems to me that the moral of Hansel and Gretel is, at best, vague) or maybe because—you know—happy endings! Personally, I love the story of Hansel and Gretel. I have always been fascinated by the image of being led by milky-white stones illuminated by the blue glow of the moon. I even had a pet gecko named Gretel!
This particular rendition is especially lovely. Written in a simple straightforward manner by acclaimed author Cynthia Rylant and richly illustrated by the NW’s own Jen Corace, this version is scores better than other tellings I have read. Naturally, you should use your best judgment to determine whether reading to your child about witchcraft, cannibalism and kids being abandoned in the woods is the right way to leave your child for dreamtime. And frankly, much as I love Jen Corace’s stylized illustrations, the children’s gray eyes seem a little dead and creepy. But hey, that’s me!
Bedtime Stories: Duckies at Sea!
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Perhaps you heard about this: in 1992, over 28,000 rubber ducks, beavers, and other bath toys were washed off a freighter at sea. For years to follow, these toys were washing up on beaches around the world. I am a huge fan of flotsam and jetsam; whenever I take a beach trip I spend half the time (at the very least!) with my head down hunting for treasures. These two books discuss, in very different ways, the lives of these little rubber toys which washed to sea.
Ten Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
You know Eric Carle. Even if you think you don’t, you do. His distinctive style has brought such classics at the Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Grumpy Ladybug. Ten Little Rubber Ducks is, according to the book jacket, inspired by the news of the wayward duckies, lost at sea. Eric Carle’s assessment of their fate is that they wandered far, and at least one is adopted by a family of real flesh-and-feather ducks. I find this highly implausible. Hands down, all kids’ favorite feature is the squeaky button on the back which sounds like—you guessed it—a rubber ducky.
Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them by Donovan Hohn
Well, the title pretty much tells it all, doesn’t it? I first read this as an article in Harper’s magazine a number of years ago. Now journalist Donovan Hohn has fleshed out his fascinating story into a full-length book. If you have never thought about the secret lives of beachcombers, or the role of the ocean’s currents, or little rubber toys, it’s time you did. Donovan will tell you why.
