In an effort to fight my mid afternoon drowiness and complete my "soon to be overdue if I don't buck up" task, I mindlessly googled The Trumpet of the Swan. Well, I'm quite sure there was a reason why I did, but I can't for the life of me remember now.
The Trumpet of the Swan by EB White was one of my best loved books as a kid, sent to me all the way from California by my eldest sister (together with many model car kits which I enjoyed spending hours gluing together...Mustangs, Mustangs, Mustangs. Always Mustangs, she sent me). We were also introduced to his other books, Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, which were such a joy to read, compared to watching the pathetic excuses of movies which totally ripped away the images I conjured up as I read the books. DVDs and movies spoil the pleasure of imagination we once had as kids. Now my own kids, are just too lazy too read the originals. My fault I guess. My lapses as a mum.
Oh. Yes. I googled Trumpet of the Swan, and I came across this piece, which coincidentally was written fro the July/August 2009 issue of the Orion.
What a beautiful review of the book and its background. As a commenter put it, its an intricate weave of the literary, of personal memories and feelings conjured by the book, of environmental awareness, of science and might I add, the arts.
You can read it here.
The Trumpet of the Swan
Storybook creatures and the revival of a species
by Kim Todd
July/August 2009 Orion magazine
I don't know where my copy went to. But I'm going to get another one and read it to my kids.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
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1 comment:
I've only ever read 'Charlotte's Web' but yes, you are right. Books are awesome and movies are but a poor substitute for the written word. Being a prankster, my favourite books as a child were the "William" series by Richmal Crompton. Oh, they were hilarious and quite sophisticated in language and Socratic irony!
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