Saturday, January 31, 2009

Fmoo

My chums at the Herald asked me and some other sage persons to write 100 words on a favourite children's book. I've chosen "The Hermit and the Bear" by John Yeoman, illustrated by Quentin Blake (Andre Deutsch, London 1984).

Death to the Daleks, cover by Roy Knipe(I thought better of best-cover-ever Death to the Daleks, or of best-opening-line ever Dalek Invasion of Earth ("Through the ruin of a city stalked the ruin of a man"). And I could also have gone for Roald Dahl's The Magic Finger or The Twits, or Mr Silly, but they should be set texts for kids, so I chose one you might not have heard of.)

Apparently no-less-august a person than Brian Cant read "The Hermit and the Bear" for Jackanory in March 1988. Like Tom Baker reading "The Iron Man", Rik Mayall reading "George's Marvellous Medicine" and the million-and-one books read by Bernard Cribbens, these things should be made available for download - perhaps just as MP3 sound files.
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5 comments:

  1. Matthew Cochrane31 January, 2009 14:09

    "Through the ruin of a city stalked the ruin of a man"

    Ahhha, that's where the line came from.

    Bernice Summerfield, the gift that keeps on giving.

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  2. 0tralala31 January, 2009 14:39

    You mean you didn't know?!? Noise monkey, you are sacked!

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  3. Matthew Cochrane01 February, 2009 00:48

    I don't get enough free time to read all the books too; there are lots!

    My girlfriend loved the book about badger-faced pirates, by the way

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  4. 0tralala01 February, 2009 11:42

    Hooray! She obviously has strange tastes.

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  5. Stuart Ian Burns07 February, 2009 22:48

    My favourite children's novel begins on Barnes Common. I always imagined an adaptation would look like early Hitchcock.

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