Here are some kids' books that I've ended up reading at times when I didn't feel like doing anything.
In retrospect, I think each of these choices was actually a GREAT idea and such a good use of the time.
Finn Family Moomintroll
A Double Story (George MacDonald)
The Wind in the Willows
The Giraffe, the Pelly, and Me (Roald Dahl!)
Anyone else (willing to admit to) read(ing) Childrens' books at a time like that?
Last edited by Linna Heartbooger on Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:18 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor
"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.
It's opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And then things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
You'll be on y our way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.
I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.
You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.
And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That's not for you!
Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be as famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don't
Because, sometimes they won't.
I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.
And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike,
And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never foget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
You're off the Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!
The loudest truth I ever heard was the softest sound.
Look like some good ones!
I wanna read "Harriet the Spy" sometime - read an excerpt from it in a kids' book.
Lorin- whoa, I didn't remember "Oh, the places you'll go!" (or that could be one I haven't covered)
WOW. Interesting it has all that in it.
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor
"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
Man Lorin, I never really understood that poem till now. Very nice. It makes me appreciate this world because of how well protected I was till a recent point in my life, and makes me think that children, too, are worthy of protection.
Sgt, I also really love the Chronicles of Prydain.
I'm adding "James and the Giant Peach" (Roald Dahl) to that list, also!
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor
"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
Oh, The Places You'll Go! was my first thought when I read the thread title. And everyone should go back and read Green Eggs and Ham as an adult, at least once.
L'Engle's Wrinkle In Time and other books in the series. I reread them every 10 years or so, along with the Chronicles of Narnia.
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. -Philo of Alexandria
ahhhh... if only all our creativity in wickedness could be fixed by "Corrupt a Wish." - Linna Heartlistener
Hey...if I'm having a bad day, isn't it sometimes reassuring to see others have a worse one?
Thanks to Jenn, I can just look at my lunchbox. Desmond has adopted it though, and constantly loads up toys into it and says that he is going to work. Cracks me up.
Life is a waste of time
Time is a waste of life
So get wasted all of the time
And you'll have the time of your life
"The Wind in the Willows" is altogether one of my favorite books full stop. The Chapter entitled 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' in which the otter cub is lost and then found by the Mole and the Rat sleeping between the cloven hooves of the God Pan is one of the most beautiful peices of literature ever composed. And how the awestruck searchers must have the memory erased lest comparison of the mundane with the glorious they have seen should blight the remainder of thier lives........this could not but melt the stoniest of hearts!
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
Did anyone mention Winnie the Pooh? Those books really are children's literature for a reason. Of course, the pictures are good too.
I love books by Rosemary Wells (Hazel's Amazing Mother, Max's Chocolate Chicken, Bunny Cakes, etc) for her exquisite, slow-burn humor. My kindergarten kids loved them but there is a level that is way over their heads. Same for the Francis books by Russel Hoban and Mercer Mayer's Little Critter books (I Was So Mad, Just Shopping With Mom, I Just Forgot).
Then there are the Chris Van Allsburg books, Tuesday, The Wreck of the Zephyr (my personal favorite of his) and of course Jumanji and Zathura, which inspired the movies.
Pay a visit to the kids' book section, look past Dora and Barney and the latest celebrity-written children's book, and there are wonderful diversions to be found.
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. -Philo of Alexandria
ahhhh... if only all our creativity in wickedness could be fixed by "Corrupt a Wish." - Linna Heartlistener
peter wrote:"The Wind in the Willows" is altogether one of my favorite books full stop. The Chapter entitled 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' in which the otter cub is lost and then found by the Mole and the Rat sleeping between the cloven hooves of the God Pan is one of the most beautiful peices of literature ever composed. And how the awestruck searchers must have the memory erased lest comparison of the mundane with the glorious they have seen should blight the remainder of thier lives........this could not but melt the stoniest of hearts!
There's a lot of memorable moments in The Wind in the Willows, most of which don't even involve Mr. Toad! Mole's feeling that he betrayed his home, Water Rat's encounter with the Sea Rat, just the Badger in general... a true classic in all sense of the word, and the first novel I ever read.
Because of this, I believe there is no hell hot enough for the likes of William Horwood. True classics should be left alone, not be the subject of hack fan fiction.
'Tis dream to think that Reason can
Govern the reasoning creature, man.
- Herman Melville
I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all!
"All creation is a huge, ornate, imaginary, and unintended fiction; if it could be deciphered it would yield a single shocking word."
-John Crowley
And I won't really blame or wish ill for trying to write something even in the hack fan fiction style - it may be just out of wishing to get closer to the admired work, and failing to reach so high is hardly a crime.
Well, dunno about not doing too great, but that made me think of Andre Norton's "magic" books, Octagon Magic, Fur Magic, Steel Magic, there were a bunch of them.
Hi Tefazipio. Welcome to the Watch. Thats a beautiful valley of trees - is it a Japanese location or elsewhere? Whenever I see a picture like that I get a yearning for a time long past when a person's life (nasty, brutish and short as it may have been) could be spent ranging around in places like that! Haven't heard of the book you mention but now it is 'in situ' if I ever spot it in a shop I will give it a whirl. Such is the influence of a 'Watcher' .
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
