Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

I started the Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson as part of my #readathon session. I had a lovely 15th anniversary edition of this modern day classic, complete with gorgeous blue butterfly. The following day I woke up with a terrible head cold and struggled to work, before realising that I was going to need a couple of days at home in bed to actually get better.

Journey to the River Sea became the perfect easy, delightful read to see me through my first day of feeling miserable at home.

This book was a pleasure in and of itself, but it also brought back so many lovely memories of other favourite childhood characters. Our orphaned heroine, Maia upon hearing that she was being sent to the Amazon to live with cousins she had never met, channelled her inner Jane Eyre, when she gave herself this stern talking to,

Fear is the cause of all evil, she told herself but she was afraid. Afraid of the future...afraid of the unknown. Afraid in the way of someone who is alone in the world.

Followed up quickly by an Anne Shirley-esque remark, 'And after that I don't know, but it's going to be all right.' Maia is courageous, funny and intelligent - the kind of child, we all wish we had been more like (well, at least, the kind of child, I wish I had been like).

There's the forbidding but ultimately lovable governess who provides Maia with thoughtful care, fun and inspiring life advice just like Mary Poppins or Professor McGonagall. The Little Lord Fauntleroy aspect is explored via Clovis, the very homesick and unwilling theatrical orphan boy. The mean twins are Nellie Olsen, John Reed and Veruca Salt all rolled into one (well, actually two, but you know what I mean!) And the lost boy, living with the Indians, has a touch of the Huck Finn's or Peter Pan about him.

Journey to the River Sea is historical fiction with heart. Set in 1910 England and Manaus on the banks of the Negro River in Brazil, Ibbotson gives us a tale of belonging, bravery and being true to yourself. There's also a treasure trove of gorgeous geography and anthropological treats along the way, with references to Humboldt, sloths and butterflies, just to name a few.

Highly recommended for mature 10+ readers and all lovers of fine children's literature.

My post for One Dog and His Boy from 2011 - when my reviews were short, sweet & simple.

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

Danny the Champion of the World is a homage to good parenting, especially good parenting by a loving father.

It's also about courage, loyalty and a little bit of class politics.

Danny extols the virtues of working class values, but as with all Dahl books, he subverts it a little. Honesty and the concept of being a law-abiding citizen are given a little Dahl-esque tweak.

Danny could be read as a modern day Robin Hood, except the class divide commentary is never really fully resolved here.

The local rich guy is too obviously the baddie and the idea of poaching being an art form is just a tad too convenient.

We all know that the simple, clean, wholesome life that Danny and his dad enjoyed is not the real picture of working class poverty. There may not be any magical elements in this particular Dahl story, but there is a lot of wish-fulfilment and whimsy.

Danny is rightly concerned about the ethics of stealing the pheasants. Having the entire village in on the scheme, doesn't really make it proper. But Dahl doesn't confront or challenge this dilemma at all which I found very curious and the one thing that would stop me recommending this book whole-heartedly.

Perhaps, though, it could become a good discussion about what to do when the adults in your life are doing something illegal? Or about the shades of grey that exist within some laws and some traditions? Or it could even be the opportunity to tackle the big question of class inequality - why some people are poor and don't have enough to eat well while others wilfully waste the abundance that they do have?

Even Dahl's final message to the reader is loaded with ambiguity and class tension.

As a child I would have found this message quite confronting because I knew from a very young age that your didn't always get what you deserved, let alone what you wanted.

A Message 

to Children Who Have Read This Book 

When you grow up 

and have children of your own

do please remember

something important

a stodgy parent is no fun at all

What a child wants

and deserves

is a parent who is 

SPARKY

Danny is part of my 1001 Children's Books to Read Before I Die challenge.

1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up

It's too hot to think about spending much time outside this weekend.
We might work up the energy to fit in a trip to the beach tomorrow afternoon, but even that feels like an unreasonable effort when it's this hot and sticky.

There's a lot to love about summer - pretty summer dresses for one!
I also love after dinner strolls to get an ice cream, swimming and gin & tonics,
The smells of summer can be lovely too - the frangipani trees are simply delightful right now & my roses are onto their third or fourth flush.

So, what to do with this hot, humid day? How can I feel productive yet use the minimum amount of energy possible?

Make a list of course!

After working my way through the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list a few weeks ago, I decided to devote this weekend to the kids version - 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up by Julia Eccleshare.

The goodreads list (faithfully compiled by Angela) that I used to find the books below, seems to have 1008 books on it, so I'm not quite sure how that works.

I've strolled through the pages of books to pull out the ones I've read. Most of these books were childhod favourites of mine.

Most of the picture books were read (multiple times!) during my 18 yrs of preschool teaching.

I also separated out the Australian books. Tempting as it is for most Australians to claim New Zealanders as our own (especially when they do well!), I have left Lynley Dodd and Margaret Mahy in the international list.

At this stage, I haven't added the various fairy tales listed on the goodreads page as I'm not sure if it's that particular version of the tale that is recommended or if it's just the tale as told by anyone you can get your hands on.
I'm also not sure of books like The Magic Wishing Chair and The Magic Faraway Tree - is it all three books or just one of them? Is it just the first Thomas the Tank Engine and Famous Five book or the whole collection? All of the Mr Men books of just Mr Tickle?

Perhaps someone with a copy of the book could let me know :-)

YA/Teen:

To Kill A Mockingbird

Fellowship of the Ring #1

How I Live Now

The Golden Compass #1

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

A Wrinkle in Time

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone #1

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban #3

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire #4

The Hobbit

A Christmas Carol

The Summer Book

Chocky

Lord of the Flies

I Capture the Castle

Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-time

Sally Lockhart #1 The Ruby in the Smoke

Flambards #1

The Edge of the Cloud #2

Across the Barricades #2

The Catcher in the Rye

Junior Readers:

Anne of Green Gables

Winnie-the-Pooh

When We Were Young

Now We Are Six

Little Women

Bridge to Terabithia

Watership Down

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlotte's Web

The Secret Garden

James and the Giant Peach

Wheel on the School

Five on Treasure Island #1

Heidi #1

I am David

My Friend Flicka #1

The Silver Sword

Black Beauty

Carrie's War

The Boy in the Striped Pyjama's

Because of Winn-Dixie

The Hundred Dresses

Stuart Little

Tom's Midnight Garden

Harriet the Spy

What Katy Did? #1

The Railway Children

Goodnight Mister Tom

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

Prince Caspian

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Little House in the Big Woods #1

Little House on the Prairie #2

Farmer Boy #3

Emil and the Detectives

Tintin in the Land of the Soviets

The Bobbsey Twins #1

When the Wind Blows

The Borrowers #1

Milly Molly Mandy

The Enchanted Wood/Magic Faraway Tree

Coles Funny Picture Book #1

Flotsam

The Happy Prince

Oh The Places You Will Go
Danny the Champion of the World

Picture Books:

Miffy

The Cat in the Hat

The Best Nest

Green Eggs and Ham

Go Dog Go

Pat the Bunny

Are You My Mother?

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Dear Zoo

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Owl Babies

Maisy Goes to School

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

The Baby's Catalogue

Where's Spot?

Where's My Teddy?

Hairy Maclary From Donaldson Dairy

Slinky Malinki

Crocodile Beat

Rosie's Walk

Goodnight Moon

Morris' Disappearing Bag

My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

Each Peach Pear Plum

Peace At Last

Mr Gumpy's Outing

Thomas the Tank Engine

Ernest and Celestine

Bedtime For Frances

The Little Engine that Could

The Jolly Postman

The Polar Express

The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch

Come Away From the Water Shirley

The Paper Bag Princess

Where the Wild Things Are

Alfie Gets in First

Make Way For the Ducklings

Blueberries For Sal

The Cow Who Fell in the Canal

Harry the Dirty Dog

The Little House

Elmer

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Madeline

Corduroy

The Story of Ferdinand

The Story About Ping

Story of Babar

Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck

Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher

Tale of Peter Rabbit

Handa's Surprise

Ox-Cart Man

The Duck in the Gun

Dogger

The Snowman

Father Christmas

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

The Trus Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

Clifford the Big Red Dog

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato

Meg and Mog

Mog the Forgetful Cat

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

Eloise

Not Now, Bernard

Flat Stanley

Elephant and the Bad Baby

The Giant Jam Sandwich

The Boy Who Grew Flowers

A Lion in the Meadow

Frederic

You're All My Favourites

Beegu

Wolves

Zen Shorts

The Sea Monster

The Giving Tree

Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers

Mr Rabbit and the Lovely Present

The Snowy Day

Caps For Sale

Millions of Cats

The Night Before Christmas

Lost and Found

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs

Olivia

The Gruffalo

The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew it was None of His Business

Guess How Much I Love You

Can't You Sleep Little Bear?

Winnie the Witch

Love You Forever (this one makes me cry every time!)

Old Bear

Angelina Ballerina

Mr Tickle

Gorilla

A Walk in the Park

The Avocado Baby

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

The Aussies:

Mr Archimedes Bath

One Woolly Wombat

Possum Magic

Max

Window

Ash Road

Are We There Yet?

Fox

Stellaluna

Drac and the Gremlin

My Place

Storm Boy

Picnic at Hanging Rock

The October Child

Dragon Keeper #1

The Arrival

Animalia

The Quinkins

Seven Little Australians

Playing Beatie Bow

Blinky Bill

Looking For Alibrandi

Pastures of the Blue Crane

John Brown Rose and the Midnight Cat

Hitler's Daughter

Tashi #1

That mean I have read 201/1001 so far.

Movies I've seen (but have yet to read the book):

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The Bad Beginning: A Series of Unfortunate Events

101 Dalmations

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Mary Poppins

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

The Story of Doctor Dolittle

The Never Ending Story

Lassie Come Home

Twilight

Books on my TBR pile:

Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Journey to the River Sea

Peter Pan

Pippi Longstocking

The Jungle Book

The Tale of Despereaux

A Little Princess

The Wind in the Willows

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Robinson Crusoe