Suzanne Bhargava > Recent Status Updates

Beautiful images and such skilful text adaptation. At the book launch, the editor Eloise described the artwork as “At times Turner-esque”, and I thought she must be exaggerating but she really wasn’t. There are just a couple double page spreads whose colour wash landscapes of London are breathtakingly beautiful, and yes, really Turner-esque. One in particular looks like it actually belongs at the Tate.

Properly creepy ghosts. Very nice.

“If ants have anything to recommend them I do not know what it is. Disgusting little fascists.”

I did not expect this book to make me laugh so much.

Watching a million stars shine, feeling the waves break on a volcanic beach, being moved by reading the next line, being shocked by painting that colour... discovering that living adventurously can free the spirit. We all need to experience education, not just receive it.
Graham Ralph, Faith and Practice at a Quaker School.

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.
John Donne (1572–1631)

Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children.
K i k u y u P r o v e r b

Extract:
A grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt about a tragedy. He said, “I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one.” The grandson asked him, “Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?” The grandfather answered, “The one I feed.”
A Cherokee legend

I read this to a grade 2 class (ages 7-8) and they absolutely loved Pippi. Personally, while I liked the story, and value the book for its appeal to children (she’s outrageous! She’s strong! She’s naughty! She had no parents!), I didn’t enjoy it as a read-aloud. The language doesn’t flow well enough, and there’s a racist bit that took me by surprise mid-sentence. That was a big deal-breaker for me.

And Sophie says things like: "It's like a rainstorm," she whispered to Charles. "That's the music a rainstorm would play,"

So far so good. I like this author's style. Some great lines so far, via the character Charles Maxim: "I know these sorts of people. They're not men. They're moustaches with idiots attached." "Books crow-bar the world open for you."