I did a little whoop of delight when I came into work after a day off and discovered that the new Claude book was on the shelf. To say I was excited was an understatement. I danced a small jig and ran around the shop showing my colleagues who were no doubt fatigued by my giddiness, but they managed to humour me despite their probable overwhelming desire to sit on me just to keep me still.
Anyhow onto the book and it doesn't disappoint. I did things properly and sat down with a pot of tea (leaf assam of course) and a red velvet cupcake and tucked into Claude. The by now familiar opening settles you for another fun and exiting adventure. Claude On The Slopes starts the day before the actual adventure when Claude and Sir Bobblysock visit the library. Claude turns up to the library wearing his One Man Band outfit... But the very kind librarian, Miss Hush, explains to Claude how to behave in a library. So after being quiet, Claude needs a LOUD day and so uses his OUTDOOR VOICE a lot. It has snowed overnight and so Claude and Sir Bobblysock don their snow outfits and head off to the local winter sports centre. There's lots of fun with a snowman competition, meet Sidney Snood, a mountain rescuer with a quite splendid moustache, and Claude learns an important lesson about when to use his indoor and outdoor voice.
It's a lovely book, full of those original touches that make something really special. Adults will delight at some of the book titles in the library and the look on the face of the poor chappie who is rescued during the mountain recscue operation is priceless. Add to this the superb asides of Sir Bobblysock (bunions!) and, oh it's just wonderful. Buy it for any four, five or six year olds you know and enjoy it.
Just a small note. I discovered yesterday that Claude is going to be made into a television series. Part of me is elated, and part of me is worried. I hope that they do Claude justice, he deserves it and it will be wonderful to see him reach as wide an audience as possible. However I worry that the charm of the books will be lost in translation, that the inevitable spin off stories will be inferior to the originals and that overfamiliarity will breed if not contempt, then a little indifference. A television series initially did wonders for both Charlie and Lola and the Octonauts. A year later and they languish, rarely asked for on my shelves. I have no Wibbly Pig books in regular stock despite him being a regular on CBeebies and I have very few Kipper titles. I would hate for this to be Claude's fate, the books are too good for this to be allowed to happen.
One final point. I do hope that when the television series does come out some very clever marketing people make a soft toy of Claude, preferably with a removable beret, and one of Sir Bobblysock with his Larry Grayson glasses. That prospect truly excites me!
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
The One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Nostalgia is a dangerous thing. Some things are never quite as you remember them, and when they are revisited you are left feeling disappointed and almost short changed that something you remember so fondly isn't actually at all as you remember it.
I'm rather pleased to say that The Hundred and One Dalmatians doesn't fall into this category. I first read it just shy of about 30 years ago when I was 7 or 8 and I was instantly entranced by it's language and it's wonderful inventiveness of the dogs world.
Very briefly the plot starts with two dalmatian dogs. Pongo and Missis who are recently married, and their pets, Mr and Mrs Dearly, who are also recently married. Shortly after this marriage Missis is due to have puppies. She has 15; a huge amount. Then we come to one of the greatest villains of children's literature. Cruella de Vil is a truly nasty piece of work and positively scary. Reading this again only last night, she still made me shiver slightly. Cruella loves furs. All sorts of furs, and she'd rather like a spotted dalmatian coat. As nasty a thought then as it is today.
In a distressing scene, the puppies are abducted. This leaves the adult dogs the task of launching one of, in my opinion, the greatest rescue missions ever written. Pongo and Missis guided by the twilight barking are able to discover the whereabouts of their puppies and make an epic journey to the place they are hidden. But are they able to get not only them, but 82 other puppies back to London in time for Christmas and avoid the horrible Cruella? Well it's a children's book. What do you think?
If you've only ever seen the Disney films, then I feel a little sorry for you. The book is umpteens times better, with more characters and a far scarier villainess, but it is the little touches that make this book so good. We only ever find the names of three of the puppies, but when the Cadpig is being revived by Mr Dearly, you really are rooting for the tiny pup.
It's a lovely book, full of period charm and yet even though it was written over 50 years ago, it's fresh and exciting. Egmont have also released a lovely hardback edition of the book which is rather splendid. The only disappointment is the illustrations. The current edition has a cartoony style which I dislike. I had a copy as a child with original editions and the images were far lovelier. Anyway that's a small complaint. Buy it, read it, love it. It really doesn't matter how old you are there's something in there for everyone.
I'm rather pleased to say that The Hundred and One Dalmatians doesn't fall into this category. I first read it just shy of about 30 years ago when I was 7 or 8 and I was instantly entranced by it's language and it's wonderful inventiveness of the dogs world.
Very briefly the plot starts with two dalmatian dogs. Pongo and Missis who are recently married, and their pets, Mr and Mrs Dearly, who are also recently married. Shortly after this marriage Missis is due to have puppies. She has 15; a huge amount. Then we come to one of the greatest villains of children's literature. Cruella de Vil is a truly nasty piece of work and positively scary. Reading this again only last night, she still made me shiver slightly. Cruella loves furs. All sorts of furs, and she'd rather like a spotted dalmatian coat. As nasty a thought then as it is today.
In a distressing scene, the puppies are abducted. This leaves the adult dogs the task of launching one of, in my opinion, the greatest rescue missions ever written. Pongo and Missis guided by the twilight barking are able to discover the whereabouts of their puppies and make an epic journey to the place they are hidden. But are they able to get not only them, but 82 other puppies back to London in time for Christmas and avoid the horrible Cruella? Well it's a children's book. What do you think?
If you've only ever seen the Disney films, then I feel a little sorry for you. The book is umpteens times better, with more characters and a far scarier villainess, but it is the little touches that make this book so good. We only ever find the names of three of the puppies, but when the Cadpig is being revived by Mr Dearly, you really are rooting for the tiny pup.
It's a lovely book, full of period charm and yet even though it was written over 50 years ago, it's fresh and exciting. Egmont have also released a lovely hardback edition of the book which is rather splendid. The only disappointment is the illustrations. The current edition has a cartoony style which I dislike. I had a copy as a child with original editions and the images were far lovelier. Anyway that's a small complaint. Buy it, read it, love it. It really doesn't matter how old you are there's something in there for everyone.
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