Showing posts with label children's classics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children's classics. Show all posts

Monday, December 1, 2008

December Book Club: "Matilda"

The December 4th meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club will feature the book, “Matilda” by Roald Dahl. This wonderful book is about an extraordinarily gifted young girl named Matilda. Matilda’s parents are neglectful and self-centered and do not recognize or appreciate Matilda’s brilliance. Fortunately, there are other adults—a librarian and Matilda’s beloved teacher, Miss Honey—who take an interest in Matilda and nurture her amazing intelligence. But Matilda is more than just super-smart. She also possesses the power of telekinesis, or the ability to make objects move just by using her mental energy. This power is put to good use on her evil school headmistress who has tormented children for years and also cheated Miss Honey, her niece, out of her rightful inheritance.

The author, Roald Dahl, is considered one of the most beloved writers of children’s literature. Although he died in 1990, his books continue to be widely read by children. Some of his most famous books are: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, The Witches, and The Twits.

In 1997, a movie version of Matilda was released. We will be watching this movie for our book club event on December 4. It will be fun to compare the movie to the book and see which one we like best. Since the movie is 98 minutes long, we will start it promptly at 7 pm and will be finished around 8:30 pm. Feel free to bring your pillows and blankets to spread out on the floor. Families are also invited to join us for this fun event.

Monday, January 7, 2008

The Enormous Egg

Oliver Butterworth was much more of an educator than a children's author--he taught English at the Hartford (Connecticut) College of Women for 43 years.
He was 40 years old when he wrote his first children’s book, The Enormous Egg. At that time, the tradition in children’s literature was to use much repetition of words to teach children to read (like “Dick and Jane” books). Butterworth thought this was boring for kids. He said, “I thought if I could write a book that sounded like a 12-year-old talking, then children would like it.” He was right! But even he was surprised by the enormous popularity of the book.
His book, "The Enormous Egg," was a huge success and has become a classic in children’s literature. It was first published in 1956 and remains a popular children's book today.