Posts Tagged CORALINE

Big Ideas in Middle-Grade Novels

By Dorian Cirrone on May 17, 2021 / Articles

Writers of children’s books are often asked: “When are you going to write a book for adults?” This is a question that almost always causes consternation on the part of the writer, the subtext being that children’s books are somehow lesser creations and offer little in the way of big ideas or insight into the human condition. Readers of children’s books, however, know the folly of such a question. Books for children contain much wisdom, the kind that those who ask the above question would do well to ponder. Here below are just a few such passages. There are so many more, and I’d love to hear your favorites in the comments section.

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” – J.K. Rowling

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

“It’s our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J.K. Rowling

CORALINE

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” Neil Gaiman

LIAR & SPY

“Boredom is what happens to people who have no control over their minds.” – Rebecca Stead

THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT

“It is important that you say what you mean to say. Time is too short. You must speak the words that matter.” – Kate DiCamillo

THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW

“For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are.” – C.S. Lewis

THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH

“You must never feel badly about making mistakes, explained Reason quietly, as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons.” – Norton Juster

THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH

“But remember, boy, that a kind act can sometimes be as powerful as a sword.” – Rick Riordan

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.” – Lucy Maud Montgomery

CHARLOTTE’S WEB

“You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.” – E.B. White

THE TWITS

“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” – Roald Dahl

WHEN MY NAME WAS KEOKO

“A mistake made with good in your heart is still a mistake, but it is one for which you must forgive yourself.” – Linda Sue Park

Summer Scares

By Mike Hays on July 26, 2017 / Book Lists, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents

Don’t we all have at least one fiber in us that loves a good, scary story? As a species, we’ve been telling scary stories almost from the time we stood up and began to walk upright on two legs. Stories that have become integral to our human existence. Our advancement as a species is built on the back of a story. We pass our experiences down from generation to generation through story.

Scary stories play an integral role in shaping our existence. From entertainment to cautionary tale, to moral plays, to simply visceral enjoyment, stories of ghosts, monsters, urban legends, and creatures of the night serve their purpose well. Frankenstein, Dracula, the Brothers Grimm, all use a scare to define our limits and our psychological fears.

When my siblings and I were growing up in the early 1970’s, my dad never failed to send a shiver down our spines with this one thing he did. He would cup his hands around his mouth to get a 1930’s radio special effect and mimic the introduction to The Shadow radio drama.

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!”

Even now, it brings a little smile to my face. The joy of remembering a dark hallway with us boys supposedly going to sleep in our bedroom and Dad, out in the living room, saying the Shadow’s introduction in his deep voice and with an emphasis on the word “evil”. I would smile as my heart raced and Mom would shush Dad about scaring us boys when we should be going to sleep. I would pull the covers tight and have visions of The Shadow with his black cape, hat, and mask. Scary (but not too scary) felt like a warm blanket. That’s one thing a good scary story does. It wraps around you and gives a familiar and slightly uncomfortable spine-tingling feeling.

Which brings me back to the beauty of a good middle-grade scare. These books are important. They do serve a purpose. Claire Quigley wrote a great blog post addressing scary books in June of 2016 at BookRiot.com. In the post, she nailed the explanation of why scary books belong in a prominent space in kidlit.

“These creepy stories have an important place in our literature, and our culture at large. Being a child is a scary, strange and unsettling time, and the stories that articulate these anxieties help children navigate the world, all the way through to adulthood. Life can be challenging, and at times upsetting, but you’ll also be equipped to battle through it, just like the heroes and heroines of those creepy tales. And let’s not forget, at the end of the day – those spine-chilling stories are always such good fun!”

Below is a list of my top 13 scary MG book recommendations. Books that are perfect for late summer nights when the warm, humid air calls for a creepy chill and reading by lantern or flashlight in a quiet, dark woods or on a windy nighttime beach is in peak season.