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National Friendship Day was originally founded by Hallmark as a promotional campaign to encourage people to send cards, but is now celebrated in countries across the world on the first Sunday in August. This post celebrates the friendship of two of our favorite characters from classic literature, Rat and Mole from The Wind in the Willows.

The post Mole and Rat: A chancing friendship appeared first on OUPblog.

In a recent article for The Huffington Post, journalist Erin Schumaker advises students not to let their brains waste away over the summer: "you might be better off skipping the beach read this summer in favor of something a little more substantive." Yet some of us might find the idea of settling down on a sun lounger with War and Peace less than appealing. To help you out, we asked staff at Oxford University Press for a list of summer classics that will help you relax without letting your brain get lazy!

The post Best beach classics: the books you should be reading this summer appeared first on OUPblog.

The Storytelling Museum, an institution based in the U.K., will host an exhibit called “26 Characters: celebrating childhood story heroes.” This art show features photographs of writers dressed as their favorite childhood literary character.

This exhibition will be on view from April 5th to November 2nd. Photogapher Cambridge Jones captured the pictures of these authors. Some of the authors who took part include Malorie Blackman, Terry Pratchett, and Neil Gaiman.

According to the museum’s official website, Blackman transformed herself into the Wicked Witch of the West and Pratchett sat for his portrait as William Brown from Just William. Gaiman (pictured, via) revealed in a blog post that he drew inspiration from Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind In The Willows and chose to wear a Badger costume. Will you be seeing this installation?

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Describe your latest book. Days That I'll Remember: Spending Time with John Lennon and Yoko Ono is a personal memoir in which I tell the story of how my own life and the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono intersected over a period of 45 years. Ever since I met them in London in [...]

At last I understand Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disneyland:

He increased his pace, and as the car devoured the street and leapt forth on the high road through the open country, he was only conscious that he was Toad once more, Toad at his best and highest, Toad the terror, the traffic-queller, the Lord of the lone trail, before whom all must give way or be smitten into nothingness and everlasting night. He chanted as he flew, and the car responded with sonorous drone; the miles were eaten up under him as he sped he knew not whither, fulfilling his instincts, living his hour, reckless of what might come to him.

I loved that ride. It was the best kid’s ride at Disneyland and was so good that adults could even enjoy it. But I didn’t know who Toad was or why he had a wild ride. Until now.

As I mentioned in passing a couple weeks ago, I did not read Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame when I was a kid. We had a picture book called Frog and Toad are Friends but it turns out that Toad has nothing to do with Mr. Toad.

If I had read Wind in the Willows as a child I am sure I would have loved it. I can see why it is so beloved, but reading it for the first time as an adult meant I noticed too many odd things. The animals change sizes from animal size to human size. The animals speak English and talk to people. Toad has hair. And how could anyone mistake a Toad dressed up as a washerwoman for a real human woman? All the animals are also male which is kind of weird. And I found the book a bit disjointed with Toad’s story being interrupted by other stories featuring Ratty and Mole.

I did quite enjoy Ratty and Mole’s friendship. I also really liked the story of Ratty being tempted to run off to try his paws at sea. He’s perfectly happy with his life on the riverside but temporarily is charmed by a passing Sea Rat into to thinking the migrant life is the one to have. The grass is greener syndrome. Who among us is immune to it?

There was also a laugh out loud moment with Toad crashing a car:

Toad found himself flying through the air with the strong upward rush and delicate curve of a swallow. He liked the motion, and was just beginning to wonder whether it would go on until he developed wings and turned into a Toad-bird, when he landed on his back with a thump, in the soft, rich grass of a meadow.

Heh.

Mole and Ratty and Badger and Toad taking back Toad Hall from the Weasels and Stouts was pretty good too.

Wind in the Willows was a pleasant read and I would definitely consider giving it to a child. Not having nostalgia for it though I can’t say it comes anywhere close to entering my personal pantheon of treasured children’s books. I do, however, want to go to Disneyland now and take a whirl on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics have brought readers closer to the world’s finest writers and their works. Making available popular favourites as well as lesser-known books, the series has grown to 700 titles – from the 4,000 year-old myths of Mesopotamia to the twentieth-century’s greatest novels. Yet many of our readers first acquainted themselves with an Oxford World’s Classic as a child. In the below videos, Peter Hunt, who was responsible for setting up the first course in children’s literature in the UK, reintroduces us to The Secret Garden, The Wind in the Willows, and Treasure Island.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Click here to view the embedded video.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Click here to view the embedded video.

Peter Hunt was the first specialist in Children’s Literature to be appointed full Professor of English in a British university. Peter Hunt has written or edited eighteen books on the subject of children’s literature, including An Introduction to Children’s Literature (OUP, 1994) and has edited Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Wind in the Willows, Treasure Island and The Secret Garden for Oxford World’s Classics.

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Michael Chekhov – nephew of playwright Anton Chekhov - was an esteemed Russian-American actor, director and acting teacher. Among those who studied with him were Gary Cooper, Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Peck, Clint Eastwood, Anthony Quinn, Ingrid Bergman, Jack Palance, Lloyd Bridges, and Yul Brynner. Constantin Stanislavski, with whom Chekhov collaborated at the Moscow Art Theatre, referred to him as his ‘most brilliant student.’

I had the good fortune to listen to Joanna Merlin, president of the Michael Chekhov Association – speak about her mentor last week. (MICHA will be one of the theatre companies in residence at our Writers Conferences next summer.)

I have long been aware of the overlap between the dramatic and writing arts, but something Joanna said struck me as particularly relevant.

One of Chekhov’s valued concepts was that of the ‘four brothers’: ease, beauty, form and wholeness. As I listened to Joanna describe these elements with respect to art, I realized they were directly transferable to children’s literature.

Ease – Who hasn’t marveled at the ease of Dr. Seuss’s verse, or Jules Feiffer’s line? When a book really sings, doesn’t it seem effortless? Like it just rolled off the author’s pen? Doesn’t it make us think: That looks so easy! I could do that!

Beauty – From Kenneth Grahame to Gennady Spirin to Jon J Muth, there’s no denying the beauty in children’s book art. But there’s beauty in text, too… Whether it’s an exquisitely crafted message, mastery of language or authenticity of voice, there are times when the stellar narrative of a children’s book can make one weep.

Form – Thirty two pages, one thousand words or less. There’s no denying that picture books have form. The challenge is how to tell that story with a richness of character and plot that compels the reader to turn the page… within the confines of that form. Martha Grahame said “The aim of technique is to free the spirit.” I would amend that to say, “Within the confines of form, anything is possible.”

Wholeness – Beginning, middle, end. Problem, crisis, resolution.  Picture books travel a great distance in a thousand words or less… and the good ones provide a complete story, and a wholly satisfying journey.

Michael Chekhov wrote and published a few great books on acting, but never any children’s books. I suspect that, had he chosen to, he could have penned one with ease, beauty, form and wholeness.

For the last three years, our six-year-old has regaled us with stories about his Dragon House, a mythical universe where anything and everything does happen. The only consistent factor has been that it is only inhabited by dragons and him. Therefore, as you can imagine, dragons figure large in our reading and it is a great theme for discovering stories from far away. This week we’ve pulled out Monkey and the Water Dragon, as Son Number One’s school topic at the moment is water… This retelling of an excerpt from the epic journey of Monkey, Pigsy and Tripitaka is written and illustrated by Joanna Troughton, and is one of Puffin’s “Folk Tales of the World” series (I think it’s time these were all pulled together and reprinted as an anthology - hint, hint!). The dragon is actually a baddy who turns out to be a “golden fish” with delusions of grandeur - but that doesn’t seem to bother my two. The dragon roars and the pictures leap from the page. That’s what matters!

Then there are stories like The Day the Dragon Danced, which make my children long to join in a Chinese New Year procession; but we still haven’t read Mei Ming and the Dragon’s Daughter or The Dragon’s Pearl, which are both recommended by Andrea Ross in her Personal View for PaperTigers… (more…)