Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles (Top Ten Childrens Books)

Member Name: litefoot

Product:	Top Ten Childrens Books
Date:	03/08/05 (679 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fond memories of great books

Disadvantages: Scary books = nightmares

After doing Malu's Literary Challenge in my last review, I thought I'd have a go at my Top 10 Children's Books. It certainly sounded easy enough in practice.

However after having a good think I realised I could only recall three or four titles from my youth, and the rest were Doctor Who books (which probably doesn't say much about me!).

Now obviously I'm not going to fill this list with Doctor Who stories (just one, I promise), so I had to have a good root around in the attic to see what I did actually read.

I'm afraid I haven't read many of the classics. The Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, Swallows and Amazons, The Famous Five, Lord of the Rings - you name it, I haven't read it (give or take the odd Roald Dahl) so forgive me if this list isn't exactly what you'd expect.


TINTIN: EXPLORERS ON THE MOON by Herge (1954)

This was a series of comic albums about young journalist Tintin and his dog Snowy who get caught up in all kinds of adventures across the globe. EXPLORERS ON THE MOON is the best, and interesting too because it's about the first moon landing (15 years before the real one took place). Tintin and his friends Professor Calculus, Captain Haddock and technician Wolff are the crew of the 'Moon-Rocket' (a young boy and his pet dog, a doolally elderly professor and a washed out old sailor the first men on the moon? Not very likely is it?). Some great thrills and twists
in a gripping tale. There were about 20 Tintin comic albums in total.


THE GIANT JAM SANDWICH by J. Vernon Lord and J. Burroway (1972)

'One hot summer in Itching Down,
Four million wasps flew into town...'

So what do the villagers do to combat this invasion of buzzing menaces? They make some dough, bake it into a giant loaf, cut off two slices (goodness knows what they did with the rest), spread one slice with butter and jam, and when the wasps were busy consuming it, use five helicopters (and a floating tractor, no less) to drop the other slice on top. There must be easier ways to kill wasp swarms. Odd indeed, but it all seemed perfectly reasonable at age six! This was a picture book.


MR MISCHIEF by R. Hargreaves (1978)

Why this Mr Man was my favourite, I have no idea. I wasn't particularly naughty at the time (although I'm sure Mum would disagree), but he really was my hero. Cutting off Mr Happy's chair legs, filling Mr Funny's hat with treacle, he'd always run away giggling, and I'd love every word of it. Unfortunately for him he tried to trick a wizard and got his comeuppance. Shame.

"Oh mischief, glorious mischief, I do so love it!"


DOCTOR WHO: INFERNO by T. Dicks (1984)

Yes, I'm afraid it was inevitable, a Who book has to go in. This novel was based on a TV story from 1970 when Jon Pertwee was the Doctor. The story is about a drilling project to penetrate the Earth's crust and tap into a new energy source. Except that they don't know what horrors they are about to unleash. And the Doctor can't help because he's been transported to a parallel world where the Nazis won World War II. This is by far my favourite of the Doctor Who novels and a real page turner - you just have to know what happens.


SUPERTED AND THE GOLD MINE by M. Young (1984)

Before I got my Doctor Who kick, this was a series of books I loved to read. The title character is a teddy bear who was given magical powers and can change into SuperTed whenever he whispers a secret word. Along with sidekick Spotty (a yellow alien covered in green spots) he usually has to defeat the schemes of villain Texas Pete and his dumb henchmen Bulk and Skeleton. In this story, Texas Pete endangers a miner's life when trying to steal a truck of gold.

The Superted stories were actually based on the cartoon series of the 1980s from scripts by Robin Lyons. Jon Pertwee voiced the character of Spotty.


ASTERIX THE LEGIONARY by Goscinny and Uderzo (1965)

'The year is 50 BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely... One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrision the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium...'

What can i say, these comic albums were fantastic stuff. Asterix is the cleverest of the village folk and is always the one who special missions were entrusted to, along with his *whisper it in case he hears* fat friend Obelix, who fell into a cauldron of magic potion when he was a baby and has the strength of an elephant. These books appeal to children and adults alike and every time I read them I always spot some joke I didn't notice before. Writer/artist Goscinny and Uderzo excelled at their work. The names they gave to each character were very amusing (for example, a British druid called Valuaddetax, and a terrible singer called Cacofonix). After Goscinny died, Uderzo wrote as well as drew the books but they were never really the same. "Well come on, do something! I surrender! I can't hang about all day!"

I'd have to say ASTERIX THE LEGIONARY was the best. In this one Asterix and Obelix enlist in the Roman Army for reasons to complex to go into, and there are some funny sequences during training as their Roman superior can't handle his new troops. There have been about 35 stories published so far.


PADDINGTON DOES IT HIMSELF by M. Bond (1976)

Tales of the famous Peruvian born, marmalade scoffing bear were essential in this house. In this tale, Paddington's attempts to build a magazine rack do not go according to plan. Another picture book (look, these are the stories I remember, so tough!). "Don't be impertinent, bear!"


GUMDROP GETS HIS WINGS by V. Biro (1979)

The eponymous old fashioned car and his owner Mr Oldcastle go in search of a set of silver wings but get involved in a series of mishaps along the way. This successful series of picture books is another example of why we love stories with smart cars!


FOX IN SOCKS by Dr. Seuss (1965)

An inevitable Seuss tongue twister has to get on to this list, and my choice is FOX IN SOCKS. Hero Mr Knox is somewhat bamboozled by Mr Fox and his verbal challenges ("Sue sews socks of fox in socks") but Mr Knox shows he is more than a match ("the tweetle beetle battles with their paddles in a puddle on a noodle-eating poodle..."). I dare you to read the entire book out loud and still have a fully functioning tongue.


CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: DEADWOOD CITY by E. Packard (1978)

I know I had many of these at some point but they have all mysteriously disappeared! *looks suspiciously at parents*. Ah well. What you had here were stories aimed at young adults in which the reader could decide what happened next. Essentially you were the main character and after a short introduction you would be given choices throughout the book about what to do next. For example: 'If you want to open the door, go to page 64. If you want to continue down the corridor, go to page 40' and so on. Making the wrong choice usually led to a sticky end for your character and you had to navigate the book to successfully reach the end. I remember finding these books very creepy, particularly the pencil illustrations of what happens when you make a fatal mistake. Nightmares were the result for me. The most memorable stories were Vampire Express and Deadwood City, the latter having a scary cover.

Summary: Ten books that I loved to read