Retro Reads discussion

I also voted for 'Wolves' because it is the only one I'm almost sure I've never read. My local library seems to have a bunch of copies, so I'm good to go.

Alexandra wrote: ".Has anyone here heard of the Judy Bolton series? Older than Nancy Drew, I only know of them because my mother had some. I really enjoyed them, better than Nancy Drew, IMO."

I have several old Judy Bolton books and also recall liking those ( and The Dana Girls series) more than Nancy. Although I reread a Bolton recently and was less enchanted this time.

We have a winner for our Children's Retro Read--Anne of Green Gables! It was close, though, with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase only two votes behind.

We'll be starting our group read of Anne on October 5.

We should also think about when to hold our next Children's Retro Read. Perhaps mid-March? Since the vote was so close I'd suggest that we do The Wolves of Willoughby Chase then.

Sounds good! Plenty of time for me to find a copy - besides, I don't think the grandkids have read this one, and I want to give them the willies!

Haha! The Wolves of Willoughby Chase will def give them the willies, and introduce them to the style of language, making Dickens and Austen seem more comfortable reading, (if they have not already met those authors).

I like that idea, Hana!

It's a great read-aloud book, as I remember. I haven't read it since their mom was a kidlet!

I'm getting excited to see the remake of Mary Poppins! I LOVED the whole series of books, although Mary was much sterner than the one in the movie. Julie Andrews made a lovely Mary, but I am a big fan of Emily Blunt so I expect she will do a great job. Maybe we should consider reading Mary Poppins!

I hope the remake is closer to the book! For me, the original movie is a travesty.

How interesting, Abigail! I never read the book but loved the original movie. Can you expand on that?

The book is a totally different experience: it is dark and mysterious and full of gently scary magic. Mary Poppins is crusty and demanding and fierce and does inexplicable things. The story is well rooted in traditional English folkways and magical traditions. The Disney-fied movie is all sweetness and light and musical entertainment!

The book sounds wonderful! We really must add it to our list.

Sounds good to me too! I adore the Mary Poppins film on its own merits and probably always will, but I've never read the book. Abigail's description sounds highly intriguing and right up my alley.

I was thinking you would probably like it Tadiana!

Meanwhile, I just downloaded my free Kindle copy of Anne of Green Gables. It only took me an hour to fix the download problem....grrrr....

Wasn't there a movie about P.J. Travers and her problem with the Disneyification of Mary Poppins? Something is ringing a bell somewhere...

Saving Mr. Banks! I would have, by the way, sworn by the hair of my chinny chin chin that it was P.J. , but I would have been completely wrong. It's P.L. Travers.

Saving Mr. Banks was a delightful movie but also Disneyfied and fictionalized. I'm sure P.L. Travers was very grumpily rolling in her grave.

Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "Saving Mr. Banks was a delightful movie but also Disneyfied and fictionalized. I'm sure P.L. Travers was very grumpily rolling in her grave."

I hope so!

There's an interesting book about her, Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of P.L. Travers. I'm looking forward to the new MP movie too, and I'd love to reread the original book(s) with the group.

Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "Saving Mr. Banks was a delightful movie but also Disneyfied and fictionalized. I'm sure P.L. Travers was very grumpily rolling in her grave."

Thanks for that link, Peggy. Tadiana, Carol and I were just chatting about starting a thread for Retro Author biographies and autobiographies. This would fit right in. I'm noticing that all the negative reviews are from people who seem to have "watched the movie and this wasn't like that!!!! :("

Well, you're harshing their mellow by writing something true when they only want to feed their fantasies. . . .

"harshing their mellow" - I love it!

Valley Girl is a surprisingly rich and vivid dialect!

Hahaha! Abigail you just made my morning :D I'll have to remember "harshing their mellow"--rich and vivid indeed!

Abigail wrote: "Valley Girl is a surprisingly rich and vivid dialect!"

Oh my gosh, I vaguely remember, Nicholas Cage’s first big movie role was in something about Valley Girls - I was in high school and college in the 80s and remember, the dialogue caused quite a stir there for awhile! Gag me with a spoon! Ok, that’s all I remember...

I just finished a reread of A Secret Garden (A Little Princess was one of my favorites as a kid), and then I read Frances Hodgson Burnett's Wiki biography. Authors are weird cattle.

Critterbee❇ wrote: "Haha! The Wolves of Willoughby Chase will def give them the willies, and introduce them to the style of language, making Dickens and Austen seem more comfortable reading, (if they have not already ..."

My beefs with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase:

(1) The events unfold breathlessly fast, like Austen or Dickens, yes, but on speed.

(2) Related: The villainy of the key villain is not teased out and gradually developed, but is transparent from the start, which makes certain adult characters seem horribly stupid.

I loved Greyfriars Bobby and most of the others mentioned in this discussion. I reread Wolves of Willoughby Chase a while back, and Blackhearts in Battersea more recently, and Dido and Pa is on deck. I read all the “Anne” books and reread them. I really loved them, and I my first born child is a red-headed daughter, smart as they come and good at getting into trouble and then digging herself in deeper. She outgrew that, and is now a responsible adult, but she found great comfort in the “Anne” books and series. A favorite of mine was Lark by Sally Watson, and some of the others by her. I loved Elizabeth Goudge’s as well, and so many others.

Kim wrote: "I loved Greyfriars Bobby and most of the others mentioned in this discussion. I reread Wolves of Willoughby Chase a while back, and Blackhearts in Battersea more recently, and Dido and Pa is on dec..."

And Kim reminds me: do we have a date set up for Wolves of Willoughby Chase?

P.S. Hi, Kim!

Perhaps, but I think the point with which I always identified as a child was that children see bad adult
behavior and try and get adults to see what they see but
are rarely believed.

Kim wrote: "Perhaps, but I think the point with which I always identified as a child was that children see bad adult
behavior and try and get adults to see what they see but
are rarely believed."

I just watched the Chronicles of Spiderwick with the grandkidlets a bit ago, and there's a whole part where the mom won't listen, let alone believe the kids. And when I said, "Yeah, well, I would!" I was quite proud that the kids felt secure enough in my weirdness to believe that I would take them seriously.

Mine, too, but it is because I so vividly remember my own childhood & the frustration of not being taken as a reliable witness until my observations hit home a few times. By the time I was ten, my mom knew I knew things, and by thirteen I was her confidant, which was a little difficult. But I was a bookish, quiet kid and observed a lot. Also, some family stuff made me grow up pretty quickly.

Hi, Karlynne!

We'll be starting The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken on Sunday, March 24 in our Chidren's Retro Read section. I'll be moderating. It sounds like great Gothic fun.

Looking forward to it!

Hi I've added Wolves to the upcoming reads on our front page - this caused the Kaye autobiography to disappear - & Wolves isn't visible either! But if you click on more upcoming reads they are there. :)

Thanks, Carol.

I splurged (like $6!) on my last book order and bought Rumer Godden's The Doll's House, illustrated by Tasha Tudor, because I couldn't resist two such beautiful artists. I'm so glad I did - brilliant little book, fabulous little illustrations, worth all of the 600 pennies. I am still not sure how in the world I had not run across those two in my childhood, though!

Karlyne wrote: "I splurged (like $6!) on my last book order and bought Rumer Godden's The Doll's House, illustrated by Tasha Tudor, because I couldn't resist two such beautiful artists. I'm so glad I did - brillia..."

While on my travels Ive been looking for more Rumer Godden, but no luck!

Enjoy Karlyne!

anyone else have fond memories of the Ginnie and Geneva series by Catherine Wooley?

there are a couple I haven't read (or read but don't remember) but the prices are sky high!

Doesn't ring any bells with me, Jackie!

Abebooks.com is where I've found Rumer Godden's children's (and rarer) books. . .have you ever read Gene Stratton Porter's many books including Girl of the Limberlost, Freckles, and Laddie?

Moonkiszt wrote: "Abebooks.com is where I've found Rumer Godden's children's (and rarer) books. . .have you ever read Gene Stratton Porter's many books including Girl of the Limberlost, Freckles, and Laddie?"

That's where I got mine! And, yes, I adore the Gene Stratton Porter books, especially The Keeper of the Bees, which my library has (the copy has to be from the '20s, maybe '30s). Laddie is my second favorite, I think. Her care and love for nature are just unsurpassed.

💖GSP is one of my very favorite authors. . .my grandmother sat me down when I was 12 and gave me a copy of Girl of the Limberlost. It broke my heart when I wanted to go there to find out it doesn't exist anymore. . . . .

I love A Girl of the Limberlost, especially the scrumptious descriptions of Elnora’s lunchbox. 😊

Moonkiszt wrote: "Abebooks.com is where I've found Rumer Godden's children's (and rarer) books. . .have you ever read Gene Stratton Porter's many books including Girl of the Limberlost, Freckles, and Laddie?"

I think most of GSP’s books (even the hard-to-find nature books) are now available as free or reasonably-priced ebooks.

Karlyne wrote: "Moonkiszt wrote: "Abebooks.com is where I've found Rumer Godden's children's (and rarer) books. . .have you ever read Gene Stratton Porter's many books including Girl of the Limberlost, Freckles, a..."

Yes, there are 15 different Gene Stratton Porter books free on Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...

That reminds me, I need to go see if Project Gutenberg has the 1923 books up yet. :) They've been slower than I expected.

ETA: Yep, Agatha Christie's The Murder on the Links is now up on PG, and that's a 1923 book. Cheers!

I'm in the middle of Little Britches, by Ralph Moody, and all I can say is that I'm mad at myself for not finding it years ago! It's wonderful.