Three Children's Books from Other Countries

Whispers in the Graveyard by Theresa Breslin

Solomon, the book's main character, has never had an easy time in school because of his dyslexia. He has created a secret hiding place in a desolate part of an old graveyard where he retreats to when his father is drinking or when his teachers tease him. Solomon soon finds himslef in the middle of the evil effects of an ancient curse put on the land by a witch who was burned and buried there many years ago. With the help of a professor, his teacher, and a young girl, they unravel the mystery and break the curse forever.
I luckily found this book at my local public library. I was a little skeptical that I would be able to find children's books from other countries, but this one was available! I really enjoyed reading this book, and I can see why this book would be popular for children. It contains elements of suspense, mystery, and is a little scary at times! When I was little, I remember reading any scary book I could find, and this book fits that description. The title is catchy and the plot is interesting--it has all the main ingrediants for a successful children's book.

Skellig by David Almond

"I thought he was dead. He was sitting with his legs stretched out and his head tipped back against the wall. He was covered with dust and webs like everything else and his face was thin and pale. Dead bluebottles were scattered on his hair and shoulders. I shined the flashlight on his white face and his black suit."

This is Michael's (the main character) introduction to the book and "being" Skellig, the man/owl/angel who lies motionless behind a mound of junk in the back of the garage in Michale's dilapidated new house. However, this is the least of Michael's worries. The new house is a mess, his parents are distracted, and his brand-new baby sister is seriously ill. Still, as scared as he is, Michael can't get this mysterious creature out of his mind--even as he wonders if he has really seen him at all. The rest of the story unfolds in a dreamlike fantasy. Skellig helps to examine many themes of life as they unfold in through the experiences of a young boy: death, life, friendship, love, and the connection between all things.
When I first started reading this book, I was a little turned-off. I thought it was going to be difficult to get through. A book about a man/owl/angel? I didn't think it would be very interesting. However, as the book unfolded, I began to get a little more interested. As an adult reading this book, I was able to focus more on the underlying themes and ignore the fantasy element of the book, which helped make it a little less unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy stories, but for some reason the storyline of this book was hard for me to get interested in. I did enjoy the themes of death, friendship, and love that the book emphasized. It was well told and flowed very easily.

Jonathan Swift's Gulliver by Martin Jenkins

This is an adaptation of the classic book Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. It is written to make the story more accessible for contemporary and younger readers. All of the major events of Gulliver's travels are included in the book, but they have been updated using more simplified language. Additionally, the book doesn't contain all of the political implications and themes of darkness that the original tale did. It is more suitable for a younger audience. Illustrations accompany many of Gulliver's experiences, and it is a book designed to encourage the reading of classical literature by children. Truthfully, I enjoyed reading this version much more than I did the original simply because of the change in the laguage. It was much much much easier to understand. Although I realize one must read the original Gulliver's Travels to get the entire experience, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver is a good start.

Two Awards Given for Children's Books in Other Countries

Kate Greenaway Medal: presented for the most distinguished work in the illustration of children's books published in the United Kingdom.

The Carnegie Medal: presented annually to an outstanding children's book published in the United Kingdom.

International Literature for Children

Mildred L. Batchelder Award: most outstanding children's book originally published in a foreign language and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States

This is the award given by the American Library Association for children's books that are written in another country and translated into English.

Coretta Scott King Award: Elijah of Buxton

Elijah of Buxton was written by Christopher Paul Curtis and was published in 2007. It received the Coretta Scott King Book Award. This being said, how did this book address diversity? Elijah, the book's main character, was the first free-born member of his family. Escaping the oppression of the pre-Emancipation Proclamation and pre-Civil War torn United States, Elijah's family escaped to an established free-black community in Buxton, Ontario, Canada. Early on, the book focused on normal events in Elijah's life--attending school, doing chores around the house, fishing, and playing with his friends. The book tells about Elijah's experiences growing up free in Buxton. Because he was born free, Elijah seems to take his freedom for granted and never really wants to understand how lucky he was. He is just beginning to understand what that means when a local and trusted preacher steals money that is being saved to purchase the freedom of others trapped in the U.S. While becoming a part of the mission to catch the preacher and return the funds to their rightful owners, Elijah crosses into the prejudice-ridden United States and learns first hand what he has to be thanful for.
Overall, this book addresses the idea of cultural diversity. It fictionally describes what it was like for an African American person to be living free in Canada after escaping from slavery in America--a point of view that isn't chronicled in many works of fiction. It also serves as a coming of age experience for the main character. Elijah's eyes are being opened to the horrors of American slavery. Through his experiences, readers learn firsthand what it would have been like to have been a freed slave returning to areas where slavery still existed during the dark ages of American history.

Little Women Book vs. Movie

I am examining the wonderful and classic novel Little Women and the most recent film version of the story, released in 1994. After reading the book and rewatching one of my favorite movies, there are several minor storylines from the novel that were cut from the movie, which is both disappointing and understandable. Many of the scenes that were left out from the novel helped to establish character depth and develop each individual further than the film version was capable of doing in its allotted time frame. For example, in the movie there is really no mention of Beth's shyness (it is simply suggested through her actions), or of her overcoming that shyness to become friends with Mr. Lawrence. The wonderful scene in the novel where she fights with herself before gathering her courage to walk over to Mr. Lawrence's house and thank him for giving her his piano is one of the most defining moments for Beth, but in the movie the thank-you is very understated. This being said, I found both Beth and Mr. Lawrence to be slightly underdeveloped in the movie. Mr. Lawrence appears in only three scenes, while many of Beth's key moments also vanished. Jo's wonderful tomboyish nature is also severely tone-down for this version; however, the movie still does a good job of emphasizing her boyish ways. She does not say "Christopher Columbus" nor any of her other slang words. We never see the scene where she longs to go be a soldier fighting in the war and wishes she were a man. Moving on to the oldest sister, Meg, the movie transformed the her character from someone who longs for finer things and tends to be snobbish into the wise, motherly, older sister who does not care about such things. Lacking is the wonderful moment when she realizes that she does not care about Mr. Brook's poverty as she defends her love of him against Aunt March. With Amy, her humorous quest for a perfect nose is mentioned twice in the movie, but there is never a scene showing some of her efforts such as her wearing the clothespin on it at night to make is straight, nor do we get enjoy watching her artistic endeavors such as her attempts to make a plaster cast of her foot. Furthermore, movie viewers only see a few of the many lessons portrayed in the book that transform the four sisters from young girls into little women, the book's namesake.
While there are many obvious differences between the Little Women novel and most recent movie version, I still found the film to be enjoyable even with its many cuts. The movie did an excellent job of portraying the characters as they were in the novel. There was excellent dialogue and an interesting storyline; the characters simply weren't as developed as they were in the novel itself. However, with both time and budget constraints, I think it would be difficult to take on a novel of this magnitude without having to cut out some of its more minor details. Overall, I give the movie an "A."

Tuck Everlasting Book vs. Movie

Tuck Everlasting is a book written in 1975 by Natalie Babbitt. It is about a family that has found a fountain of youth in a spring on the family farm. The main character, Winnie, discovers the family and their secret, and she is faced with a dilemma about her own future. The most recent film version of Tuck Everlasting was released in 2002, and it is the movie I will compare with the book. There are many differences between the two. First of all, in the book Winnie was only about ten years old, while in the movie she is about 16. In the movie, this age seems more convenient because she falls in love with Jessee, a member of the Tuck family. In the book, however, she adores Jessee, and he returns the admiration, while planning on marrying her when Winnie turns seventeen. In the movie, Winnie's grandmother dies, while in the book she doesn't. Winnie lives to be 100 years old in the movie, while in the book she only lives to be 78. In the book, Winnie runs away from home because she's tired of being cooped up, but in the movie she runs away because she is being sent to boarding school. Overall, there are many small differences between the Tuck Everlasting book and movie, but the main idea of the story is the same. I actually enjoyed reading the book better because it seemed more descriptive and less of a love story, but the movie was very entertaining--a real chick flick though!

Coraline Book vs. Movie

I’m going to discuss a few of the differences between Coraline the book (written by Neil Gaiman) and the movie. For starters, the story introduced a whole new character named Whybie. In the movie he was an important character and helped carry out the storylines, but he wasn't at all in the book. However, I thought that he was woven into the movie very effectively and actually made the story better. A lot of times it seems that when major changes are made from book to movie like that, something gets messed up along the way--but not in this case. I thought it was an excellent addition by the screen writers! Whybie's full name was Whyborn, which I thought was extremely sad but added to his character. Coraline meets Whybie early in the story and he, of course, can’t listen to her lecture that her name is CORAline and not Caroline… and he says his grandmother lost her sister to the house that Coraline now lives in. So there is now an interesting tie in to the ghosts that she will meet in her "other" house and eventually rescue.
Overall, the story is a little different but effectively stays with the book with only a few new props (the spyingdoll: an example of what wasn't in the book), but the story is told accurately and beautifully, with a little weirdness thrown in, which makes it such a fun movie! My favorite parts were the beginning when Coraline is bored and trying to get her parents to pay attention to her. I thought her actions and words were exactly to character--both the book and the movie captured this brilliantly.
One thing I was a little disappointed in was the voice for the cat. For some reason, he just didn’t seem as cool as the cat in the book. However, I thought the appearance and voice of the Other Mother was very good! She was all sweet and nice at the beginning and quickly became scary, menacing, and downright EVIL. Overall, though, it was a very fine movie--fun, entertaining, and thrilling, and a very good adaptation of the book.