A quick post today about a book my friend and her partner wrote – The Propeller Man and Other Stories by Gerard Lewis and Lizzie Shannon-Little, illustrated by Alexandra Ricketts. A bit of a cheat for A Book A Day In May, because it is very short, but I’ve been meaning to read and write about it for ages.
It’s a collection of poems in the time-honoured style of Roald Dahl or Hilaire Belloc – i.e. cautionary tales about misbehaving children and the violent ends their misdeeds will fittingly lead to. Whether an untidy bedroom consuming a child or an octopus retaliating to urine in a pool, it’s all pretty macabre but will delight an older child who has a stomach for that sort of thing. And we know that children are often pretty open to the grisly! Each is fittingly illustrated by Ricketts – you can see her work on the cover too:
I’m a more sensitive soul, but I still enjoyed it – certainly a quick read, but one I suspect some children will love to revisit. And, who knows, it might even help improve their behaviour!
As a taste of the writing style, here’s a poem from the book’s website, inviting you in to read… You can also order on the website, if you’d like to get a copy.
Take heed, dear children — have a care,
For many dangers lurk out there.
Stay sharp of mind, but kind of heart,
And fortune’s hand will play its part.
But those who leap before they look,
May find their fates within this book.
Here the foolish, cruel, and cold —
Their lives are tales that must be told.
Fab! I’m a sensitive soul too but I know children who are made of sterner stuff than me :-D
Almost all of them are better equipped for this sort of thing than I am :D
Sounds brilliant, Simon! Love the illustration on the cover and as someone who likes Edward Gorey, I think it might appeal to me!
Ah yes, can definitely see the Gorey links
What very talented friends you have!
Truly!
It is not just older children who like a bit of gore. When I was teaching six year olds they loved the poems: Godfrey Gordon Gustavus Gore the boy who would not Shut the Door, (no author given in my copy)The story of Little Suck a Thumb,(Heinrich Hoffman) The Sad Story of a Little Boy Who Cried,(Mary Makes Dodge) and Augustus Who Would Not Have Any Soup. (Heinrich Hoffman)
Oh wow, that’s so funny!