Is It Ever Too Early for Feminism? || Blogmas Day 7

We are 7 days in to this month and on the posting of this I have succeeded in one full week of blogmas! Today is another discussion type post and it is on picking books for children and what a minefield it can be. Also I’ve included a few kids books for children in your life (and also yourself if you want something fun to read!). This one is going to be lengthy, but I think it’s an important topic and I want to hear your opinions on it!

Recently, I had the experience of buying books for a friends daughter and it was a lot tougher than I was expecting. I had no idea that in this day and age, where we live in a (supposedly) equal society that children’s fiction is still so overrun with the age old idea of boys being heroes and girls sitting at home with no ambition waiting for a prince/hero/male to come and rescue them.

I’m not a parent, I have no intention of becoming a parent, and while I only have a small part to play in the childhood of my friends children, I absolutely do not want to reinforce gender stereotypes. I always tell her how smart she is, when we play she can be whoever or whatever she wants to be. I’m not her parent, but I adore her and I don’t want her to grow up with a skewed idea of what women are in society. I see this kid once a month and she is growing in to an amazing little girl – she’s a little firecracker, and bright as a button, and I will always encourage her to be that – but sometimes I worry that society, even in this modern day, will squash her down and shoehorn her in to a box of what she is expected to be by antiquated standards.

I was adamant I wanted to buy my friends daughter books for her 4th birthday as she loves reading. Now she’s starting to sound out words and read herself, I wanted to get her some picture books aimed at the 4-5 age group and it’s a minefield – so many of them are just not something that would build her confidence as a person. Books with female main characters often focus so much on things like beauty and innocence that is it any wonder that, subliminally, children get warped ideas about what they look like from such a young age?

The view of females in children’s books is something that is so dated and antiquated that I found myself getting frustrated – not only did I not want to impart that oh-so-gentle misogyny on to my friends 4 year old, I didn’t want it to then become okay for my friends 1 year old son when he inevitably read the same books in a couple of years. I wanted him to have positive representations of females too. If there is one thing I’m certain of it’s that the books you read when you’re first starting out stick with you – the stories, the underlying messages they have a profound impact.

So, on my mission to find Good Representation of Women In Children’s Fiction I found these two gems (below) and when I read them I could have cried. I was elated, because not only are they kickass girls, there’s representation of race, gender, and they’re not just ‘girls books’ – I know my friends son will get just as much out of them as her daughter. I certainly enjoyed them when I proof read them and I’d highly recommend them for any child in your life because they’re fantastic!

I recently read an article which said something along the lines of 50-something % of children’s books have male protagonists, only 20-something % have female protagonists. The reason being a girl will read a ‘boys’ book, whereas a boy is unlikely to read a ‘girly’ book – there shouldn’t be genders in literature at any age in my opinion, but kids books are reinforcing stereotypes of men having all the action and girls having quiet, homey stories. Even books with animals as protagonists have primarily males at the core of them. Boys need feminism as much as girls do – male characters who cook, clean, are sole parents, are scared or cry – from my memory those things rarely happen in children’s books and that needs to change.

On to the topic of the day which is “is it ever too early to introduce a child to feminism?” – my answer is no. It doesn’t have to be shoved down a child’s throat, it can be subtle, but just simple things like books with female protagonists who don’t sit around and wait for a prince can have a huge impact on a child – male or female – and the same for male characters who aren’t always the hero.

My friends children are lucky – they have incredible parents who encourage them to be whoever and whatever they want to be, even at the ages of 4 and 1. They’re going to grow up to be wonderful human beings because their parents treat them equally and will teach both of them to respect themselves and other people, regardless of gender. I’m not trying to condition my friends daughter in to a “militant” feminist, she is only 4 after all, but I want her to see that she can be the superhero in her own story if she wants to be.

Review: Fantastic Mr Fox – Roald Dahl

Rating – 4*

I’ve been having a few really rough days with my illness lately. I’ve been in chronic, constant pain, struggling to sleep, struggling to do anything if I’m honest – especially reading. When I’m feeling under the weather I love nothing more than picking up an old favourite, and now I enjoy audiobooks I’ve discovered a new found love for them that I didn’t have before. So, when I was unable to sleep one night last week, rather than lay there with the light on (keeping me awake) or stare at my ceiling counting down the hours until it was once again acceptable to get out of bed, I decided to use up one of the credits I have on audible and listen to one of my childhood favourites – I wasn’t disappointed.

Most people know the story of Fantastic Mr Fox – let’s face it – I don’t feel I need to tell you the plot here, or even how it pans out, or how much I love the characters (long suffering Mrs Fox I found a new appreciation for after this reread!). What I will tell you is that these audiobooks are incredible. I’ve previously listened to Matilda (narrated by Kate Winslet) and loved it, this narration by Chris O’Dowd – an hilarious Irishman if you don’t know who he is – brought a whole new life to a book that I already loved, and still love even at the age of 23. Highly, highly recommend this audiobook – and this book in general if I’m honest. It’s by no means a perfect book, but it’s an enjoyable one (with nostalgia attached to it), and one that I can’t find much to fault with even after all these years.

I will also say that after this reread (or listen. Or whatever) I finally watched the 2009 movie adaptation with George Clooney as Mr Fox and Meryl Streep as Mrs Fox. One the cast was incredible, two it brought a more modern twist to an old favourite, and three, I really enjoyed it. So while it looks a bit off-putting, and has been a wee bit Americanised – it’s totally worth a watch for a cozy afternoon, duvet snuggling kind of movie when you feel like being childish (or you’re ill).

Review: Black Beauty – Anna Sewell

Rating – 3*

Most people know the story of Black Beauty, or at least an overview of it. It’s the story of a horses life as told through his eyes. Interestingly, I always assumed this was a children’s classic, however it wasn’t intended as one. The primary purpose of this book was to induce kindness, sympathy, and understanding – particularly in the treatment of horses but I think it just applies to anything who doesn’t necessarily have a voice of its own. Not having a voice does not mean an animal does not have feeling, which I think is the take home message of this book.

It’s a very simple book, which is probably why it has ended up becoming a children’s classic. I think I would have enjoyed it much more had I actually got around to reading it when I was a child myself. The fact it’s narrated by a horse is quite a fun one and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I love a story told from an unconventional point of view, but whereas – for example – Flush by Virginia Woolf had an animal with a very mature voice, Black Beauty is told with a simple and more childlike quality. I feel that it could have had more expanding to make it a more ‘adult’ book. Instead, I found it was more a collection of moments in the life of the horse, which is perfectly fine, however it did become a little repetitive.

There were a vast array of characters, which was something which surprised me! The animals were much more well rounded than the humans, that’s for sure. Out of all the characters, the one who was most fleshed out for me was Ginger. The back story to Ginger really tugged at my heart strings!

It was a very enjoyable read though, and a nice one to read one evening as it’s quite short and easy to follow along with. I really wish I had read this when I was younger because I think I would have got so much more enjoyment out of it. I would recommend this if you haven’t read it, and maybe if you haven’t read many classics – or children’s classics at least – this would be a good one to pick up as it is quite easy to read.

Review: Harry Potter Bulk Review 2 || Blogmas Day 18

As promised from my previous review, this is the bulk review of The Order of the Phoenix to The Deathly Hallows.

The Order of the Phoenix (3*)
This is my least favourite in the series. I know for a lot of people, this is the best but there are just so many things about this book that anger me. This book is really when it became a much more adult story and in some respects I struggle with that even now! The politics in this book frustrates me. Umbridge is one of the most deplorable characters in literature and really, really pisses me off. I find this book very challenging to read, it’s the longest filler book in a series you could imagine.

However, some of the good parts of this book are some of the best parts of the series. There is a lot of humour through this book that I do absolutely love and do mean that I keep reading but on the whole I don’t enjoy this book. The shining moments for me are the 40 lines of eye contact/sexual tension between Remus/Sirius (in addition to joint presents for Harry and general Wolfstar subtext), there is also McGonagall being her fabulous self and saying beautiful things like “have a biscuit Potter”.

This book is an important book in the series, a lot happens and a lot of it is good but for me it’s just too political and the teenage angst pisses me off!

The Half-Blood Prince (5*)
The reason I love this book is that while there is the sinister undertone of what is going on in the world there is also the overwhelming normality of school, or as normal as Hogwarts can be! I loved the Ron/Lavender relationship, I loved Hermione realising that she had feelings for Ron even though I’m still not sold on them being endgame.

My opinion of Dumbledore was sealed in this book the first time around. I hate him. I know that it was thought he had good intentions but that man made so many really bad mistakes, omitted so many facts, that man was dangerous and most people see him as this hero of the series. I don’t. Albus Dumbledore was a manipulative bastard, to be quite honest.

I loved Riddle’s backstory this time around a lot more than I have appreciated in the past. I also love the first chapter of this book, it’s often overlooked but I love The Other Minister, even if Rufus Scrimgeour is a bumbling idiot!

The Deathly Hallows (5*)
This book always has me feeling a lot of things. I don’t think it’s the best in the series but it was exactly what the series was building to and was completely satisfying. I’ve always sobbed, quite a lot, while reading this book and even on my umpteenth reread it wasn’t any different. Dobby. Snape. Fred. Remus. Tonks. Every one gets me!

There are so many things I could say about this book. Every part of this book is incredible and Jo’s mind is wonderful, how she tied everything together like she did is awe inspiring.

When I finished this book I sobbed like a baby. I always do. As a wise woman once said, “Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home” and I couldn’t agree more. Every time I read this series I feel like I’m home, even if I have some big issues with the epilogue, I forgive Jo, she’s the queen and she knew what she was doing.

Review: Harry Potter Bulk Review 1 || Blogmas Day 7

Something slightly different now, a bulk review. Most people have read Harry Potter or at least seen the movies and as these aren’t special as the illustrated edition of Philosopher’s Stone I thought a bulk review of three books would be a good idea.

I got the beautiful new box set for my birthday and, in combination with the audiobooks being available on audible I have got through these three very quickly.

Chamber of Secrets
While this book is possibly one of the weakest in the series for me, I still enjoy it. There are a number of things I found really frustrating in rereading this. I think that the fondness of this book is purely sentimental because every time I get around to rereading this I like it less.

My favourite character in this book has always been Ron. My feelings for him later on in the series diminish somewhat but in this book Ron is the shining character. His fear of spiders, his broken wand, he was just much needed comic relief in an otherwise quite dull book.

Some of the most key moments of the series happen in this book but aren’t really touched upon until later which is quite interesting to look at. It was quite fun actually to notice these key moments and how they develop in to bigger things later on. Also, we have some great moments at The Burrow and with the Ford Anglia.

Also, we can’t forget Dobby. Dobby somewhat annoyed me in this on the whole, but I still love that little elf.

On the whole, this book leaves me somewhat empty but it also leaves me very excited for what is to come. I gave it a 3* review this time around.

Prisoner of Azkaban
This book always fills my heart with joy. This has always been my favourite in the series. I primarily listened to this one as an audiobook and Stephen Fry really just adds such a wonderful tone to it and brings the characters alive.

I love this book because Remus and Sirius are possibly two of my favourite characters from the series and, I won’t lie, I’m a Wolfstar shipper too. I love these two and I really do love the idea of them together.

One thing about this book that I loved the most is the LACK of Voldemort. This book is very much more character driven. There’s the feud between Hermione and Ron, which while annoying me also amused me because it was pretty clear that Ron was trying to come to terms with the fact she’s a girl and becoming more important to him. In this book I actually loathe Ron for the majority, mainly because I love Crookshanks. Also, it’s worth noting that Dumbledore doesn’t annoy me half as much as he used to, he’s still a moron and if he were a real person I would detest him but as a character I’ve grown to like him.

Shining moment was Christmas with McGonagall “Tripe, Sybill?” will forever be a beautiful moment. In fact, all of McGonagall was fabulous in this book.

I think I will always love this book so it will always be 5* for this.

Goblet of Fire
As I said, Prisoner of Azkaban has always been my favourite. Until this reread of Goblet of Fire. I don’t know why I always disliked this book because this reread I absolutely devoured it. I read it in ONE DAY and I simply couldn’t put it down.

I love that this book started differently to the previous three, no Mr and Mrs Dursley (thank goodness). There is a distinct dark undertone to the start of this book and I feel it really does mark a turning point in the series, it’s where the books became a lot more mature and I really appreciated that this time around.

The pace of this book is much more suited to me. There was so much going on and I enjoyed all of it. I loved the start, as I said, I loved the build up to the Quidditch World Cup and meeting the other Weasley’s, I loved the events there, I loved the preamble to going back to school, the announcement of the Tri Wizard Tournament, the tournament itself, the final task, what happened in the graveyard, aftermath… It’s all just incredible and happens so quickly that this didn’t feel like a 600 page novel.

Once again, Ron annoyed me but in away I sort of understand that from him as it’s pretty clear he’s infatuated with Hermione, coming to terms with these feelings and is easily jealous. But when him and Harry make up I did feel myself getting a little sentimental. The kids going through puberty and discovering their sexuality in quite a discrete way was something I found quite hilarious to read about because they were all pretty clueless!

I love the story on the backburner about the house elves and S.P.E.W; Hermione’s quest for justice is something that I didn’t really appreciate fully until this reread. Also, I love how Emma has become Hermione in that aspect! Also, while on the subject of house elves – DOBBY AND WINKY! I love that little side story.

One thing I have barely touched upon so far is my love of the teachers and other supporting characters. I love the teachers in this book. Hagrid’s growth as a character is something I’d forgotten about and then McGonagall is just her fabulous self as always. Also, in this book while Snape was a bastard (no other way to put it) come the end I had the respect for him that I had always had. There’s no excuse for his behaviours but honestly, it takes a brave man to do what Severus Snape did.

Overall The Goblet of Fire has gone up to a 5* read for me and I’m so excited to start on The Order of the Phoenix!

I will probably do this again for the final three books in a week or so! Until tomorrow!

Review: The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus – L. Frank Baum || Blogmas Day 5

When I saw this book on the table dedicate to Christmas in my local Waterstones, I knew I had to buy it. I had never heard of it before but just the premise – Santa grew up in Oz. This was made to be my dream Christmas book and was an absolutely glorious start to the festive season for me.

I absolutely loved this. The premise is wonderful, a young baby is found by a nymph and she wished to raise him. As he grows he makes it his aim to make the poor children happy, then it spreads to all children. Each chapter in the middle towards the end follows the start of a new Chistmas tradition, firstly presents, the adoption of the name Santa Claus, chimneys, stockings, trees and ultimately, it addresses why Santa is old and grey.

This is a completely different approach to the story of Santa Claus and it was wonderful. The main message is that Claus loves children and wants to make all of them feel happiness. Even more than a century after it was published I think the core desires of children are the same and Baum himself said once “all children need love and deserve kindness”.  I have to say I would have loved this book where I between 8 and 10, when my belief in Santa wavered because it does explain why parents help Santa – it’s so he can deliver presents to more people!

I adored this and will be rereading it every Christmas. I will probably also read it to my cousins, or at least paraphrase it for them as they’re only 6 and 3! This book is a solid 5* for me, it had it’s flaws but ultimately I adored it; it definitely has me wanting to read more in the Penguin Christmas series!

Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Illustrated) – JK Rowling & Jim Kay

Everyone knows the story of Harry Potter, so this isn’t really going to be a review of that. This is going to be more of a review of what an incredible experience rereading it with illustration was because I’m in love with it, I really am.

This has been a long time in the making, but the wait was really not a disappointment. Jim Kay has added a new dimension to the story and I really cannot wait to see what he does with the rest of the series. The illustrations he’s created are definitely more what I imagined when I first read the books, but there is a bit of influence from the movies (how could there not be?!).

The story hasn’t changed any, but the illustrations boosted this book significantly in the enjoyment levels. I would even go as far as to say it’s now my favourite in the series, simply because of the illustrations. The first movie was weak, the kids were poor actors and significant portions were cut and this just gave the insight in to some of the better scenes that were cut with beautiful illustrations. I really want the panorama of Diagon Alley on my wall, I loved the sorting hat, I loved the little inserts of dragon eggs and trolls… I just loved everything about this.

My only peeve is that it’s in columns of text rather than blocks, but after a few pages I got used to that. It was just jarring at first. But otherwise this is just perfect and I just want the entire series now. I cannot wait for The Chamber of Secrets to be released, hopefully sooner rather than later. Needless to say this is easily a 5* book now, before it was a 3/4.

One final note, this would make a beautiful Christmas present for any Harry Potter lover or even a child who is ready to be introduced to the wizarding world. Or just a present for yourself!

Review: Heidi – Johanna Spyri

This book has been on my radar for a long while and, this edition is one that I just couldn’t resist! As it is a beautiful shade of green it was a perfect pick for the ‘green’ section of the rainbow read-a-thon which is happening this week!

So, Heidi if you didn’t know is a children’s classic and is one of the most loved children’s books in Switzerland! This is just the most wonderfully optimistic children’s books I’ve read. I absolutely devoured this in only a couple of hours because it was just so lovely.

The story follows Heidi, who at the start of this novel is 5 and is sent up a mountain to live with her grandfather – a hermit who noone really likes. In the fashion of books of this era, our little protagonist brings out the best in the old man, and he brings out the best in her. Her life up the mountain, with her grandfather, the goats and the goatherd – Peter – is idyllic. The first half is her exploring this life and falling in to it and some of it is just beautiful; descriptions of sunsets and mountaintops that are so rich I felt I was there.

The second half is following Heidi after she’s taken from the mountain to live in Frankfurt to be a companion to a young disabled girl. She deals with homesickness but she also finds friendship and faith. I don’t often like books with a religious overtone, however this book the Christianity was done with such grace and understanding it didn’t feel preachy (unlike Little Women!)

The ending of this book is just one that gave me the warm fuzzies, it’s the only way I can describe it. This book was just a delightful read and one I can see myself rereading in the future! I’d happily give this a 4/5 – it’s not my favourite children’s novel but it’s definitely up there!

Review: Matilda – Roald Dahl

This was one of my favourite books as a child and today I was feeling nostalgic so revisited it. A cold, stormy afternoon is the perfect excuse to revisit a beloved childhood book.

In the end, though I own the 25th Anniversary Edition (which is beautiful and unread), I listened to the audiobook and it just made it so much better for me! Kate Winslet read this beautifully, it has to be said. She breathed a new life in to it that I haven’t felt from the book since I was a child myself, however much I have revisited it over the years.

I still love this book. I will always love this book I think. Matilda is precocious; she reminds me of me when I was little! Maybe not to the extent I read Dickens at the age of 3 or 4, but I’ve always identified with her in some way. She is absoluely unbelievable, that much is given and it’s only more obvious now I’m older, but she is still charming. Her positivity, and all round optimism, is infectious. The Trunchbull is still one of my all time favourite ‘villains’ – up there next to Delores Umbridge!

If anyone doesn’t know the story of Matilda, it follows the story of an unusually bright girl who has very unsupportive parents. She learns to read, write and do mathematics herself at a very young age with the help of a lovely librarian. The first half of the book follows her home life, the second half is her story when she starts school and we follow her as her life changes upon the introduction of (a not so formal) education. Oh, with a little bit of magic…

This was the first “chapter” book I read as a child; I still love it as much now. Though, as I said, the audiobook in which Kate Winslet reads it, has injected fresh life in to it for me and reignited the love I had for it as a 7 or 8 year old when I first read it. So this time, 5/5

Review: Peter Pan – J. M. Barrie

Quite shamefully, this is another children’s classic I’ve never read. As I’ve got in to my 20s, and friends are having babies, I’m realising how woefully deprived of children’s classics I was when I was little. It wasn’t that I didn’t read, or wasn’t read to, but that I seem to have jumped from The Gruffalo to Harry Potter with nothing much in between. So I set out to remedy this and added Peter Pan to my Christmas list. I was lucky enough that Santa brought me the beautiful Puffin Chalk edition (along with Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz from the same series) and I settled down Christmas Day to make a start on this.

I do, once again, have to just gush momentarily for the beauty of Penguin/Puffin publishing. I adore their reissues of classics. The Puffin Chalk series are all absolutely beautiful and have decaled edges and just feel so beautiful in your hands. I’m in no way sponsored by Penguin (if only!) but I just love their publishing.

On to the book. It’s not a story I’m actually particularly familiar with. Truthfully, I’ve never even seen the Disney movie! So I went in to this story pretty much blind. I thought it was going to be a sweet tale as from what little I do know it appeared to be a lovely story. Don’t get me wrong, it’s enchanting and whimsical and perfectly lovely but in the same breath it’s really quite sinister. There is a lot of violence; I’m not sure how many parents would appreciate the unapologetic violence that is present in this book truthfully. Then there’s the misogyny – which though woefully period accurate – seems to be quite a bit heavier in places than in other books from this time frame. It made me a cringe in places. When there is such blatant sexism, I do find it hard to put it aside and enjoy the story that I’m reading.

But, it absolutely has to be said, it is a beautiful story. A story of flying and mermaids and all the innocence that childhood entails. All the things I was expecting in this book were present, just not quite in the way I expected them to be! Neverland is one of the most wonderful places in fiction (save for the Pirates). It’s written with such whimsy and delicacy the writing itself is a pleasure. There are some wonderful metaphors and explanations to things; it’s just magical.

My main issue was the characters. Peter was a manipulative, cocky brat. Tinker Bell was a jealous, spiteful little madam. Wendy was a wet blanket. The Lost Boys were just blah. It just really didn’t inspire me, or make me want to know more about them. Yeah, the characters were not all that great.

I think a lot of people assume that the Disney adaptation is an accurate retelling of the book, but from what I have seen of the movie since I began reading this (snippets here and there) it’s really not all that similar. The adaptation seems far more sugar coated.

Overall, the writing style won out for me in this one. The story itself was good, in spite of sexism and poor characters, this was mainly because the writing itself was just charming. I’m glad I read it, but it isn’t a children’s classic I’ll be in a hurry to reread any time soon! 3/5