Childhood Inspirations - Part One

We recently rearranged some furniture and moved books around – including our collection of children’s books. Lots of gems in there. And it got me thinking about how if childhood is our most formative period – which it must be if you think about it – the books I most loved then must have played a role in who I am today, particularly in terms of my literary interests and practices. So what were they?

Early on I suspect the big names were Where the Wild Things Are, as discussed in a previous blog, and the Mr Men books. Particularly, Mr Nonsense, Mr Impossible and Mr Muddle … read into that what you will. And of course books like The Balloon Tree and There’s a Monster in my Bathtub – more the former – began to instil in me that sense of wonder beyond the ordinary world.

But when I think about this, which I actually do far too often, it always comes back to Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Dolittle. My mum had three old hardbacks: Dr Dolittle’s Post Office; Dr Dolittle’s Zoo and – my absolute favourite – Dr Dolittle on the Moon. I was absolutely captivated. They’re charming stories and the whole concept of the way the animals work together and communicate really captured my imagination. And any tale that includes a pushmi-pullyu has to be good doesn’t it?

I remember excitedly finding three more of his books in a second-hand bookstore. They were possibly my first exciting finds. And besides the wonderful animal characters and fun whimsical plot ideas, there’s the Doctor himself. A quiet man who loves animals and learning things and working things out who has wonderful adventures – without needing anyone else; I think that spoke to me too. It’s okay to be quiet and studious, and here in books wondrous things can happen and I could have the adventure too.

The other most important book in my childhood would have to be a collection of Greek and Roman Myths. They were written in an engaging way without too much of the overemotional complications and they stuck to heroes or warning tales like Arachne – no divine sexual exploits or matricides. I read that book multiple times and I very rarely read something more than once. Gods, heroes, evil kings, monsters … everything my imagination continues to play with today.

Of course, then came The Hobbit and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe which are discussed enough. Besides, while I loved both it was The Fellowship of the Ring a year later that really got me going. But, funnily enough, I didn’t read any of these till I was a teenager. Actually, I didn’t sit down and read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe till I was 21.

Which reminds me of the third and final book from childhood I’ll mention for now – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I can’t remember if it was the first or second Narnia book I read, the other being The Silver Chair, but it was the one that truly got me. A voyage on the high seas encountering amazing creatures and battling evils, internally and externally (looking at you Edmund). And the magic … well, here was possibilities. Here was the land of faery.

I took that voyage, like I took the trip to the moon with a quaint vet who could talk to animals, and I’ve been voyaging off ever since.

Keep dreaming.

Brief recount of last nigh

I have some posts planned for here so expect a bit more activity in coming weeks. But for now I just want to quickly mention last night. I went with my lovely wife to see Neil Gaiman at the City Recital Hall. It was a fun and inspirational event as he read from two forthcoming books and generally said entertaining things. Fourplay was also in attendance and played a couple of tunes - including the Doctor Who theme - and also accompanied Neil as he read one of the books. They also accompanied him as he sang the FireballX5 theme song which was fun.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is the main novel he read from and we luckily got a sample to keep. It's an adult novel but the narrator is remembering events from his childhood so there's a mix and young feel. There's no mistaking the sense of dread floating over the black humour and jokes about burnt toast. The first three chapters have definitely got me hooked, bring on June and the full release. In the meantime ...

Keep dreaming.

New Start and Thanks

So it's back to work tomorrow and hopefully that will also mean getting back into the swing of things in general. After the success of November, December was ... well it was mostly a write-off. But, new year, new start.

The only other thing I really have to say at the moment is thank you. Yes, you reading this. Thanks for reading this. Thank you everyone who showed support for me last year and is continuing to do so now. This year I aim to give you all something more to show for it. Watch this space.

Till then - Keep dreaming!