Bargain Books: Peter Morwood's Tales of Old Russia

    

I didn't know about Peter Morwood's Tales of Old Russia series until I was exploring his bookstore in conjunction with my purchase of Diane Duane's Young Wizards book sale at Ebooks Direct. Looking back at the older covers, I vaguely remember them on the shelves, but they were originally released when I was in college and at that point Russian folklore wasn't high on my radar. In 1990, my focus was still on a physics major! Anyway, I bought them while they are half price because the titles are intriguing, the online reviews were positive, and hey, RUSSIAN FOLKLORE inspiration. Prince Ivan, Marya Morevna, Firebird, Baba Yaga--I'm so there. Of course, they are jumping into my TBR pile, but they will be there. They remind me of Orson Scott Card's Enchantment in description, one of my favorite Sleeping Beauty novels, although they are very different, of course.

So, yes, these are $3.00 each with the 50% sale this weekend only--the sale ends Monday. And again, I am sharing because of the sale--there are no affiliations with SurLaLune. But either way, these are very pertinent to SurLaLune's themes and don't appear to be available through other etailers either.

And now for the book descriptions with current covers:

Once upon a time, there was a prince...

In the tiny ancient Russian tsardom of Khorlov, strange doings are afoot. When Tsarevitch Ivan Khorlov's three sisters marry into magic, he sets out across the wide white world to see what fate has in store for him... and meets the mysterious Mar'ya Morevna, the most beautiful princess in all the Russias, whose castle holds a terrible secret that will change both their lives beyond recall.

For the sorcerous Mar'ya is the jailer of the awful being known only as Koshchey the Undying. When Koshchey breaks his bonds and spirits Ivan's true love away to the ends of the Earth, naturally Ivan has no choice but to follow... though he knows his enemy cannot be stopped by any merely mortal force. Prince Ivan must find his way to his beloved, and save her, with nothing to help him but his wits, his kind heart, and a little bit of magic.

But between them lies a wilderness full of unknown dangers. And his way to Mar'ya Morevna is barred by one of the worst horrors of legend -- one that waits hungrily just for him in a hut that stands on chicken legs...

In the dark winter of 1235 the Teutonic Knights are plotting a crusade against Russia. Their secret weapon is the foul witch Baba Yaga, out for revenge against her old enemy, Ivan, Prince of Khorlov.

In his second spectacular fantasy adventure in the lands of Old Russia, Prince Ivan finds himself battling against civil war at home, foreign invaders, the dreadful powers of the Inquisition, and the soured magic of an evil old woman.

But Ivan is not without allies. And the forces arrayed against him soon discover that they may have miscalculated when they find themselves up against not only Ivan and the forces of Khorlov, but a cranky sorceress-wife who may or may not be pregnant, a fabulous and deadly bird with its own agenda... and Volk Volkhovitch, the opposite of a werewolf.

Witty, thrilling, played out agianst the backcloth of a brilliantly realized medieval world, Peter Morwood's Firebird seamlessly weaves together Russian myth with real history to conjure up an unputdownable tale.

In the middle of the thirteenth century, the private quarrels of Russia's brawling little kingdoms are savagely interrupted by the ruthless advance of the Tatars. One by one the city-states fall to the irresistible force of the Golden Horde. Those tsardoms that resist are stamped out of existence and their inhabitants slaughtered. Only those that submit are spared, but each conquered Prince must travel to the great tent-city of Sarai and surrender his crown to the Khan. At last the choice comes to the little tsardom of Khorlov: bow down, or be destroyed!

Ivan Khorlovskiy, once Prince, now Tsar, needs all his cunning -- and all his patience -- to restrain his proud, hotheaded warriors from defying the mightiest army the world has ever seen, and bringing destruction on all his people. When the Khan commands him to Sarai with Khorlov's Great Crown, that command includes three treasures as priceless -- and as dangerous: Ivan's wife Mar'ya Morevna the sorceress, and their two small children. But once within the walls they find themselves facing a peril more terrible than even their captors: the dark pagan gods of Russia, starved of worship -- and of sacrifice -- for half a thousand years...

Bargain Books: Diane Duane's Young Wizard Series and More

Have I mentioned that I love ebooks? And I love authors who are embracing them? Authors Diane Duane and Peter Morwood (yes, they're married) have an ebook store with their titles and most of the books are 50% off for the Thanksgiving weekend--until until one minute before midnight (23:59) Hawaiian Standard Time on Monday, November 28th. You can read the details and how to order here.

I said most of the books are 50% off but if you want the entire Young Wizards nine book series, you can get it for 66% off. The bundle is usually $39.99 but with the code YWBLACKFRIDAY one can get the entire set for $13.60. I did. Follow the instructions on redeeming codes here. I chose to get the epub/mobi bundle and the system allows you to download each book in both formats, not an unwieldly bundle of one file of nine titles like some ebook bundles. Lovely!

I was considering the first part of the series for my niece for Christmas since she has devoured just about everything else so I have to resort to brand new or classic titles. Now I can read along with the later titles I didn't own yet myself if I so choose, so I guess Leighton is getting some Diane Duane for the holidays.

Other Duane titles are also available, such as Stealing the Elf-King's Roses, which is much more expensive through other retailers. I never read it but remember flirting with it in the bookstores when it was first released since the original cover (see below) was attractive and stood out on the fantasy shelves. Funny how covers have less impact on my reading choices now that I can read reader reviews. I still like a pretty cover, of course, but it won't convince me to spend my money by itself.

I will be following this post with one about Morwood's titles since they are more pertinent to this blog and deserve their own post.

And I don't receive any compensation or acknowledgment for this. Duane and Morwood don't know who I am, but this is a great deal especially if you have never read or would like to have a digital edition.

The original cover for Elf-King's Roses with Amazon link because that's where I found it.

Indie Saturday: The Wealding Word by A. C. Gogolski

I learned about The Wealding Word by A. C. Gogolski from a SurLaLune reader who highly recommended it. I hadn't heard of it yet, but thought it sounded like a great post for Indie Saturday. Which I keep forgetting to do, but I am making up a schedule to remind myself in the new year. The book draws inspiration from Rapunzel which always is of interest to me. From the reviews, it also appears to pull in some Arthurian legend so for fans of both, this may be a treat.

Book description:

Rapunzel escaped the witch and went on to marry her prince – everyone knows that story. But that's not the end of it. 100 years have passed since the days of long hair and secret trysts. During that time, Rapunzel has become a queen and a sorceress, learning magic words from the witch who held her captive. Now the girl once called Rapunzel is known as Lady Zel: Witch of the Weald, and mistress of the doorless tower. But her power is fading, and an evil presence threatens the kingdom she once ruled. With little hope, Lady Zel searches for someone to whom she can pass on her Words of Power before they die with her. And so it is that she discovers Nell Shoemaker, a 13-year old urchin girl who has an uncanny connection with the natural world. To Nell the sorceress gives the gift of the Wealding Word; but there is no time to explain how to use it. Left to discover the wonders of the Word on her own, Nell quickly finds her world transformed into a fairy tale where she can speak with animals and bewitch plants. But a shadow lurks in every fairy tale… Nell's uncontrolled use of the Wealding Word soon attracts the attention of a demonic creature known as a Malady. It isn’t long before the demon’s dark influence begins to ruin Nell's life. Beset by accidents and deadly creatures from which not even Lady Zel can save her, Nell flees into the ‘weald’. But in a world where evil witches siphon the life from children, runaway urchins make for easy prey. Caught in a power struggle between sorceresses, kings, and sinister forces, Nell's only hope for survival is to master the secrets of the Wealding Word.

Advertising: Romtelecom Dolce & Grandma's Eyes

 

Get the full story. Dolce HD.

For: Romtelecom Dolce
Advertising Agency: Graffiti BBDO, Bucharest, Romania
Creative Director: Mihai Gongu
Group Creative Director: Radu Olteanu
Art Director: Balint Hajagos
Copywriter: Laur Raboj
Published: August 2010


This one you really have to see big, so go here at Ads of the World to do so. I am sharing this one because I think it is one of the most ineffective ads I have seen in a while, misunderstanding the power of simplicity and actually selling standard definition over high definition instead of the opposite as intended. The concept had potential but the execution and method didn't work here at all, in my opinion. The silly high def text about Grandma's eyes put me to sleep and I actually prefer to read over watch tv so I should be thrilled with this ad.

Grimm Guide for NBC Series

It's Grimm Friday!

Well, not really, because there is no new episode tonight due to the holiday weekend. So I thought I would play catch up for anyone out there who hasn't discovered the Grimm Guide on the NBC site. The Grimm Guide is an episode guide as well as key to learning about the original tales and creatures that inspired each episode. With 4 episodes so far, I thought I would share them all for now and try to update for each upcoming episode in the new season. (Also it's a backup in case the NBC area is redesigned or the show is canceled anyway. I don't trust networks.) I will include links to the source tales in the quoted text which may be particularly helpful for more obscure tales like The Queen Bee.

Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot
Posted by NBC Community Team
Posted October 26, 2011 at 16:58

"The wolf thought to himself, what tender young creature. What a nice plump mouthful..." -Little Red Riding Hood

The original Grimm tale follows Little Red Riding Hood, who walks through the woods to deliver food to her sick grandmother. On her journey, a friendly wolf approaches Little Red Riding Hood and suggests the girl pick some flowers for her grandmother.

In the meantime, the wolf goes to the grandmother's house and gains entry by pretending to be the girl. He swallows the grandmother whole, and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandmother.When the girl arrives, she notices that her grandmother looks different. This eventually culminates with Little Red Riding Hood saying, "My, what big teeth you have!" to which the wolf replies, "The better to eat you with" and swallows her whole as well.

A hunter, however, comes to the rescue and cuts the wolf open. Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother emerge unharmed. They then fill the wolf's body with heavy stones. When the wolf wakes, he attempts to run away, but the stones are so heavy that he collapses at once and falls dead.

The Grimm tale also features a second part, in which the girl and her grandmother trap and kill another wolf, this time anticipating his moves based on their experience with the previous one. The girl does not leave the path when the wolf speaks to her; her grandmother locks the door to keep the wolf out; and when the wolf lurks, the grandmother has Little Red Riding Hood put a trough under the chimney and fill it with water that sausages have been cooked in. The smell lures the wolf down, and he drowns.

While the premiere episode of "Grimm" does not follow the tale of Little Red Riding Hood directly, it does introduce Blutbaden, wolf-like creatures that are attracted to the color red. We notice a pattern of girls wearing red hoodies being snatched from the forest and learn that the creature responsible for this is a Blutbad. While the Blutbad does intend to eat the young girl, he first seeks to fatten her up and hold her hostage, which deviates from the original tale of Little Red Riding Hood.

Season 1, Episode 2: Bears Will Be Bears
Posted by Joe Tolerico
Posted November 5, 2011 at 02:30

"She looked in the window and then peeped through the keyhole; seeing nobody in the house, she lifted the latch." -Goldilocks and the Three Bears

In the original tale, three bachelor bears live together in a house in the woods. The bears are described as very good-natured, trusting, harmless, tidy and hospitable. Each bear has his own porridge bowl, chair and bed. One day, an old woman discovers the bears' dwelling. The old woman eats the Wee Bear's porridge, then settles into his chair and breaks it. Prowling about, she finds the bear's beds and falls asleep in Wee Bear's bed. The climax of the tale is reached when the bears return. Wee Bear finds the old woman in his bed and cries, "Somebody has been lying in my bed - and here she is!" The old woman starts up, jumps from the window and runs away never to be seen again.

The antagonist was later changed from an ugly old woman to a pretty little girl named Goldilocks. In addition, the bears changed from bachelors to a family of a mother and father bear and a bear cub. Goldilocks' fate varies in the many retellings: in some versions, she runs into the forest; in some' she is almost eaten by the bears but her mother rescues her; in some, she vows to be a good child; and in some, she returns home.

Episode 2, "Bears Will Be Bears," pulls clear themes from the original tale of Goldilocks. The young woman does escape from the home by jumping out the window after breaking in and indulging (although she's joined in "testing out the bed" by a young man, who gets kidnapped by the young male bear). However, the Jagerbar creature and the ceremony of Roh-Hatz is a concept original to the show.

Season 1, Episode 3: Beeware
Posted by Joe Tolerico
Posted November 12, 2011 at 02:30

"She'll sting you one day. Oh, ever so gently, so you hardly even feel it. Til' you fall dead." -Besty Palmer as Carol Lee Philips in the film "Queen Bee" (1955)

Episode 3, "Beeware," focuses on the role of bees in various fairy tales, particularly the reappearing Queen Bee character. The film "Queen Bee" tells the story about a family dominated by a ruthless woman, referencing our bee theme in a more figurative sense.

The episode can be connected to the Grimm world through the classic Grimm tale "The Queen Bee," in which the youngest of three princes, Simpleton, goes out to find his brothers in the forest. Simpleton finds the brothers attempting to wreak havoc on the nature they come across and stops them in their tracks, chastising their behavior. On one occasion, they come to a bee's nest, in which there is so much honey that it runs down the trunk of the tree where it is. The two brothers want to make a fire beneath the tree and suffocate the bees in order to take away the honey, but Simpleton again stops them saying, "Leave the creatures in peace; I will not allow you to burn them."

They then come across a castle inhabited by an old man, who offers them a place to stay. The old man gives the boys three tasks; if they fail to complete them, they will be turned to stone. While the older brothers fail immediately and suffer their fate, the youngest brother outsmarts the old man by using the creatures from the forest he saved earlier to complete the tasks for him.

Of particular interest is the third task, in which Simpleton must pick out the youngest princess from three sleeping princesses who look exactly alike. The only difference is that the oldest has eaten a bit of sugar, the second a little syrup and the youngest some honey. The Queen of the bees, who Simpleton had protected from the fire, comes to Simpleton's aid; she tastes the lips of all three and remains sitting on the mouth that had eaten honey. At Simpleton's success, the enchantment is broken and the brothers who had been turned to stone are brought back to life. The youngest son marries the youngest princess, and his two brothers, the other princesses.

"The Queen Bee" clearly carries a cautionary message present in the episode: don't create disruption where it isn't your place to do so.

Season 1, Episode 4: Lonelyhearts
Posted by Joe Tolerico
Posted November 19, 2011 at 01:53

"There she paused for a while thinking...but the temptation was so great that she could not conquer it." - "Bluebeard" by Charles Perrault

"Lonelyhearts" draws inspiration from the tale "Bluebeard," originally a French folktale written by Charles Perrault in 1697.

Bluebeard is an immensely wealthy aristocrat, who is feared because of his ugly blue beard. He has been married several times, but his wives continue to die off, the reason for their untimely fates unknown. Bluebeard announces to his current wife that he must leave the country for a while and gives all the keys of his castle to her. He says she may explore the rooms freely, except for one small room beneath the castle. Of course, immediately after he leaves, the young woman is overcome with the desire to see what the forbidden room holds. Despite warnings from her visiting sister, she looks inside.

The wife discovers that the room holds the murdered bodies of her husband's former wives hang from hooks on the walls. Horrified, she drops the key into a pool of blood and flees the room, but the blood staining the key will not wash off. She reveals her murderous husband's secret to her sister, and both plan to flee the castle the next day.

Bluebeard returns home unexpectedly the next morning and, noticing the blood on the key, immediately knows his wife has broken her vow. As Bluebeard is about to kill his wife for disobeying him, her brothers break into the castle and kill Bluebeard at the last minute.

There are clear parallels between the story of Bluebeard and "Lonelyhearts." Bluebeard in the tale has the ability to woo women repeatedly despite his ugly features (much like the Bluebeard in the episode, though it's the result of pheromones rather than riches). Also, both hide their victims in the basement, though the creature chooses to keep his victims alive for breeding, while Bluebeard kills his wives for reasons unknown.

Top 10 Fastest and most Powerful Motorcycles in the World

Ten fastest and most powerful motorcycles in the world. Average cruising speed of jet aircraft is about 950 kilometers per hour, which is only a thirty percent larger than reported in the data sheet of the most powerful motorcycle in Tomahawk. Just the thing, planes fly, and the bikes - no. Producers are after record-breaking results, because there are people who want all the same-thing. For the extreme limits of permitted lie on the edge of the possible, otherwise how to explain the dispersal of two-wheeled iron horse to a point five hundred miles an hour.

01. Dodge Tomahawk

Four-wheel bike accelerates to 97 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds. If you forget about the counter-resistance, then, according to the developers, the bike will be able to develop 640 kilometers per hour. True, this is only theoretical value, which is taken from the real parameters of the power plant: 8.3-liter ten-cylinder and 500 hp

09 more bikes after the break...

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Red Beach is located in Panjin — China

Red Beach is located in Panjin, Liaoning Province, in northeastern China. It is the largest and best protected wetland in the world with rare and precious red reed marshes. The ebb and flow of the sea forms the beach, while the infiltration of salts and alkali contributes to its red appearance. The 100 square kilometers of reed marshes turn color during September, becoming spectacular vistas. The well-preserved wetlands are also home to large numbers of wild birds, including red-crowned cranes and Saunders' gulls.  The beach is a popular tourist site for those who live inside and outside Liaoning Province. 10 more images after the break...

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Top 10 Intelligent Animals

01. Grey parrot is considered to be a very intelligent bird. This kind of parrot is striking in its intelligence and loyalty. Thus, the parrot, Alex, who is engaged to an American scientist Irene Papperberg the University of Arizona, distinguishes 50 different objects. And fluent and able to logically explain the distinction between different objects.  09 more after the break...

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Guess the name of Bollywood Movie?

Guess the name of Bollywood Movie?

Finger and Palm Print Paintings — Zhang Baohua

 In 1989 Chinese artist Zhang Baohua invented a new style of painting which requires the artist to use his finger and palm prints to create unique works of art. It’s hard to believe such masterpieces can be created without any tools, but Zhang Baohuang manages to do it by using just his fingers and palm prints. His unique painting style is characterized by a concise, lively style and a sense of reality, and is considered a combination of traditional Chinese painting and the structural features of Western painting. Most of his works depict animals, especially dogs. Zhang’s works have been featured in art galleries all around the world, and he is known as “China’s world famous palm painting artist”.09 more images after the break...

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Scariest path in China

There are some world's roads on which travel is not something that is terrible - terrible even to watch. If anyone ever made a hit parade on such roads, the Chinese "Road to Heaven" in the Tien Shan mountains of Maine, Hunan Province, would be at the top of the list. The lowest section of 200 m below sea level, while the highest - above 1,300 meters., 07 more images after the break...

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Malaysia Islamic Fashion Festival

A model showcases a creation by Malaysian designer Nainikifli during the Islamic Fashion Festival in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 15, 2011,  11 more after the break...

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Advertising: Hero Baby and Fairy Tales

With Hero Baby Good Night, the end of the tale never comes.

Advertising Agency: Ignition K, Madrid, Spain
Creative Director: David Moure
Art Director: Manuel Martínez Soler
Copywriter: Victoria León García
Illustrator: Manuel Martínez Soler

Via Ads of the World.

Would you lose all respect for me if I admitted this one confused me? Old fairy tale characters selling baby food? Huh? So I did a search and was even more startled to see many articles accusing Hero Baby of poor sanitation and food standards. Ick. But then I found this blog about the campaign:

Good Night cereal with a print advertising campaign featuring fairy tales gone wrong. “With Hero Baby Good Night, the end of the tale never comes.” The Frog Prince sits waiting for his princess to come and kiss him, while Red Riding Hood grows up inside the wolf doing her knitting, while her grandmother dies waiting for the dashing woodsman to rescue them. Children dining on Good Night cereal don’t stay awake long enough to hear the happy endings of their bedside stories. The Good Night product is an easy-to-digest combination of 8 Cereals & Vegetables With Milk, designed for 6 month babies with follow on formula including Omega 3 and 6, prebiotics, 13 vitamins and 5 minerals.

Makes a little more sense, but doesn't sell baby food to me. Not at all. But I will give them credit for another interesting concept for LRRH. The Frog Prince no so much...

Happy Thanksiving with an Appropriate Bargain Book

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all of those celebrating in the US. The holiday season is officially upon us and I expect it to zoom by very quickly.

I ordered The Gift of Thanks: The Roots and Rituals of Gratitude by Margaret Visser earlier this week and it is down to an even lower price today at $1.58 for the ebook. For that matter, the hardcover it $1.76. Apparently not enough people like to read about the history of expressing gratitude! Or this was warranted as a great doorbuster.

The book discusses the rituals of gratitude and is rather interesting although I've only had the chance to browse through it so far and peruse the introduction which emphasizes the author's premise that gifts and gratitude are freely given. I was reminded of the great Big Bang Theory Christmas episode, "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis," in which Sheldon exclaims, "Oh, Penny. I know you think you are being generous, but the foundation of gift giving is reciprocity. You haven't given me a gift. You've given me an obligation." With the holidays in process now, this theory certainly will be considered more than once as gifts are given and received. (And, yes, that episode is one of my favorite Christmas episodes of a tv series ever. Look, no rehashing of It's a Wonderful Life or Christmas Carol, either!)

So anyway, the book is definitely worth the price and as I looked through it, I realized it may be of interest to readers here, too.

Book description from the publisher:

An inquiry into what we mean when we say "thank you." Visser examines all aspects of gratitude ranging from cultural histories to modern customs including mythology, folklore and fiction.

A review from Publishers Weekly:

Starred Review. Like a modern Ruth Benedict immersed in classical literature, Visser (Much Depends on Dinner) examines what it really means, in the course of human interaction, to be thankful. Her kindly book turns on itself in an exhaustive but continually engrossing fashion. Beginning with the assumption that [g]ratitude must be freely given; otherwise, it might be a polite show, but it is not gratitude, Visser asks many questions of cultures East and West and provides a plethora of answers. The obscured and deeper meaning of giving thanks is probed through such divergent cultural markers as the work of Georg Simmel and Dickens; the Bible and Proust; Japanese sumimasen, which is both a thanking and an apologizing, and C.C. Baxter in Bill Wilder's The Apartment; Plato's Laws and Seneca's massive treatise on gift giving and the slipperiness of saying you're welcome in today's U.K. What is tipping all about? What is the etymological relationship between votive, vow, favors, grace and gratitude? What might the gestures of courtesy—the curtsy for example—be? Overall, this is a delightful and graceful gift of a book, for which any fortunate recipient will be thankful.

Flashback: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Laura Ljungkvist

I was recently reminding of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Laura Ljungkvist when she was featured on the Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog. This was published in 2003 and was an unusual interpretation of the fairy tale with its illustrations. Ljungkvist's schtick, you might say, it is to connect her illustrations with a line running through them which is fun for many child readers. She's only done the one fairy tale and this one is always instantly recognizable to me.

The reviews were mixed on this one and its audience may be narrow, but it is interesting all the same.

From Booklist:

PreS-Gr. 2. Swedish-born artist Ljungkvist (Toni's Topsy-Turvy Telephone Day, 2001) holds up her own magic mirror to this age-old story, offering a thoroughly modern, crisply geometric reflection of the fairy tale. Here, a round-headed, triangle-nosed Snow White is the fairest in the land, so fair that the evil queen wants to feed her to wild animals. Of course, justice prevails in this stripped-down, but well-told, version of the favorite tale. The ultraclean artwork cleverly emphasizes the archetypal nature of this story of good versus evil, allowing Ljungkvist to use color and form to communicate mood and meaning. In one spread, the faces of the seven dwarfs are drawn with one continuous black line that children may enjoy tracing with a finger. The appealing, highly stylized illustrations--evocative of the work of Joan Miro and Vladimir Radunsky--appear to be computer generated, but in a note the artist says she uses gouache on watercolor paper to keep the imperfections that "give it life." A surprisingly fresh, visually exciting rendition. Karin Snelson

Advertising: C'est So Paris

For Paris and Ile-de-France regional tourism committee: Disney Exhibition in 2007. (So, yes, this is old, but I haven't shared it here before!)

Credits:

Agency: BDDP & Fils
Creative Director: Manoëlle Van der Vaeren
Art director: Marielle Postec
Copywriter: Thomas Olivri
Photographer: Dimitri Daniloff
Alteration: Janvier

Found via Ads of the World.

New Book: I Don't Want to Be a Pea! by Ann Bonwill and illustrated by Simon Rickerty

I Don't Want to Be a Pea! by Ann Bonwill and illustrated by Simon Rickerty will be released on January 3, 2012 in the US. It has been available in the UK for a while now under the same title but with a different cover (second one above) and I was curious to see how the fairy tale inspiration worked.

Book description from the publisher for UK edition:

Hugo is in no doubt as to what he and Bella should go as to the Hippo-Bird Fancy Dress Party. They will go as the princess and the pea and he will be the princess (of course!) leaving poor Bella to be the pea. Indignant, Bella refuses. She has a better suggestion - they will go as a mermaid on a rock and she will be the mermaid (of course!) leaving a huffy Hugo to be the rock. Hugo is not happy. But neither is Bella. They just can't decide on a costume and things reach a crisis when they both flounce off saying they don't want to go to the party at all. After time to consider, both Hugo and Bella calm down and (privately) both choose to dress as a pea as a gesture of making it all up to each other. So when they both arrive at the party as peas, Hugo and Bella announce proudly that they are 'two peas in a pod, just as it should be' underlining the message of the book that friendship is all about give and take. With wonderfully absurd illustrations from new talent Simon Rickerty and a great read-aloud text, this is a made-for-sharing picture book.

US edition:

Hugo Hippo has a best bird. Bella Bird has a best hippo. They make a perfect pair, and they are going to the Fairy Tale Dress-Up party together, of course: Hugo will be the princess, and Bella will be the pea.

No, wait: Bella will be the princess, and Hugo will be the pea….No, the first way. No, the second way. Wait, now, which way? If these two pals can't agree on who will be the pea, their party plan will fall to pieces. But when a couple of surprise compromises lead to a new costume solution, Hugo and Bella learn that sometimes it feels better to make someone else happy than to get your own way—and that when it comes to friendship, they're two peas in a pod.

Hugo and Bella mirror real-life give-and-take: Hippos and birds have symbiotic relationships in nature!

I received a review copy through Amazon and wrote a review for it this week. If you read it, you'll see I liked the book, but didn't love it. It has a spoiler, so be warned.

Hippo and Bird are going to the Bird-Hippo Fairy Tale Fancy Dress Party, but they can't decide on their costumes. Each wants to be a pair in which he/she is the starring role while the other is the supporting cast. For example: Bird is the mermaid and Hippo is the mermaid's rock. The dialogue is cute. The illustrations are cute. But somehow it is still lacking. I don't know if there is enough there for most children to understand the ending. And some of the spreads don't convey the message as well as one would hope--one spread doesn't even illustrate, just has paint splattered pages that don't hold interest at all.

*SPOILER*

They go as the Happy Ending. (They both end up being peas.)

I love the concept and the idea of the ending, but I am not so sure it is easily understood by the preschool set other than that both agree being friends is the most important part of the party. I don't think I am underestimating kids either since I know adults who won't quite "get it." I liked the book. I am keeping it. But I am not in love with it. In the end, it's really a 3 1/2 star book for me. It was released last year in the UK and I was eager to see it and happy to get a review copy, but perhaps I just expected too much from it.

And, as another reviewer noted, for reading aloud, using distinctive voices for the characters really helps. Most of the children in my life will enjoy it if I deliver it well and discuss it afterwards, but I don't think it will be their new favorite either.

Advertising: Jeep Wrangler and The Frog Prince

Fortunately, some legends are true

For: Jeep Wrangler
Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett, Paris, France
Creative Director: Guillaume-Ulrich Chifflot
Art Director: Romain Toffoli
Copywriter: Elise Baudour
Illustrator: Olivier Colas Parros
Photographer: Khuong N'Guyen
Published: September 2011

Via Ads of the World. Certainly not original, but I liked this one more than many of the others we've seen this month.

In Memoriam: Anne McCaffrey (1926-2011)

Anne McCaffrey passed away on Monday. From MSNBC:

Prolific science fiction and fantasy author Anne McCaffrey died Monday at her home in Ireland shortly after suffering a stroke. She was 85.

McCaffrey published nearly 100 books in her lifetime and was best known for her popular “Dragonriders of Pern” novels. In her bio on her website, McCaffrey shared the following insights about her approach to writing and her first novel, which was published in 1967:

“Her first novel, ‘Restoree,’ was written as a protest against the absurd and unrealistic portrayals of women in s-f novels in the ‘50s and early ‘60s. It is, however, in the handling of broader themes and the worlds of her imagination, particularly the two series ‘The Ship Who Sang’ and the fourteen novels about the ‘Dragonriders of Pern,’ that Ms. McCaffrey’s talents as a story-teller are best displayed.”

McCaffrey played with folklore in many of her novels--I first learned about selkies through her actually--but all the same, foklore or not, I would have to express my gratitude for her life here on the blog this evening. When I was a young adult hungry for science fiction and fantasy titles in which the women weren't stupid, McCaffrey was one of the few options on my mall bookstore shelves. I gobbled her books up, endured ridicule from the boys in my classes for reading such "silly" fantasy (I guess because a "girl" wrote it) and spread my wings to other authors as they appeared and willingly put more than first initials on their covers, not hiding their genders from us. I cut my teeth on Madeleine L'Engle and grew my permanent molars on McCaffrey.

And countless other readers did the same. She pioneered and so many of us followed as readers, authors and more. Without McCaffrey, we'd have no Stephenie Meyer who obviously glommed McCaffrey herself--that was my first thought upon reading The Host and Breaking Dawn. It was obvious to me that Meyer had inhaled the Pegasus and Rowan series especially in her youth. So today's trends and fandom are direct inheritors of McCaffrey's work, sparkling vampires not included.

Thank you for your life and your talent and your perseverance, Anne McCaffrey. You didn't give up and you succeeded despite the naysayers. We'll be forever indebted.