New Location for the Beastiary!
I’ve moved to a new platform. I’ll keep this one active for a little while, but please go to https://beastiaryofbooks.com/ for future posts.
The Little White Horse (1946)
J.K. Rowling single-handedly rescued this book from obscurity by mentioning that it was a childhood favorite that influenced her writing. (It is somewhat hilarious that the only book Rowling really remembers as an influence is one of the few that appears to have had little direct influence. Tallying Rowling’s sources has become something of… Read more The Little White Horse (1946)
Bonfires and Broomsticks (1945)
Two years after the events in The Magic Bedknob, Carey and Charles and Paul return to the little village of Much Fresham for the summer, only to discover that Miss Price really has given up magic. Her workshop has been given over to her wholesome new hobby of canning fruits and vegetables. Even the bed… Read more Bonfires and Broomsticks (1945)
The Magic Bedknob (1943)
Modern readers may know Bedknob and Broomstick, a combined volume by English author Mary Norton (who also wrote the Borrowers books). Publishers continue to market this as a timeless classic, with the most recent cover by the amazing illustrator Marla Frazee (who illustrated the Clementine books as well as numerous picture books). … Read more The Magic Bedknob (1943)
The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904)
In this sequel to Five Children and It by E. Nesbit, the children, back in London now, burn a hole in the nursery carpet by “testing” a few of their Guy Fawkes fireworks indoors. Their mother buys a second-hand carpet to replace it, which turns out to have, rolled up in it, a phoenix egg.… Read more The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904)
No post today
I’m taking the day off because Reasons. Instead, please enjoy this illustration by one of my favorite illustrators, Robin Jacques:
The Alley (1964)
Though it does involve a mystery of sorts, with a burglary and the children organizing a hunt for clues, The Alley is written in Estes’ characterisicaly slow and contemplative style. (She also wrote the Moffats series, based on her childhood in small-town Connecticut, and The Hundred Dresses.) Aside from a couple of chance encounters with… Read more The Alley (1964)
The Charles Wallace Moment
I’ve already posted about Wrinkle in Time, but I’ve been thinking about this passage lately. She felt only anger toward this boy who was not Charles Wallace at all. No, it was not anger, it was loathing; it was hatred, sheer and unadulterated, and as she became lost in hatred she also began to be… Read more The Charles Wallace Moment
Freaky Friday is freaky (1972)
This book was really popular when I was a kid. We loved the premise: thirteen year old Annabel wakes up to find she has switched bodies with her mother, and has to make it through her mother’s day. The mother, in Annabel’s body, plays hookey from school and makes over her daughter’s life. Various complications… Read more Freaky Friday is freaky (1972)
Before Nancy Drew
I’ve been taking a deep dive into the history of children’s detective novels. Childrens (or really, teens) authors got into the act not long after adult detective novels became a rage, in the early 20th century. Writers and publishers knew they were on to a good thing: they took out the murders, threw in some… Read more Before Nancy Drew