Wild things and Wild birds

There were two Kevin Bacon films on TV this morning. They must be there to remind it is time for #6degrees of separation. So, I pop on over to booksaremybestandfavourite and see our starting book this month is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

1. You gotta love Where the Wild Things Are, right? How can you not? Strange that it got turned into a movie.

2. I also thought it strange that Dr Seuss’ Cat in the Hat got turned into a movie. This was my first child’s first favourite book. I used to know it by heart. I can still hear her saying, ‘again’ ‘again’ ‘again’. Would she never fall asleep?

3. My second born says his favourite bedtime book was The Monster at the End the Book which I have to google to find out is by Jon Stone. It is a Little Golden Book featuring Grover from Sesame Street and as I recall it was also my younger sister’s favourite too.

4. Picture books are not just for children. I adore Shaun Tan’s books and illustrations and particularly The Arrival which is a story about refugees and finding a new home that is told entirely in pictures. It makes me cry every time.

5. Another wordless book I adore is Jeannie Baker’s, Window. The series of beautiful collages shows the view through a window degenerating from an idealic rural setting to suburbia and crowded cityscape. We borrowed it from the library so many times.

6. Fiction about sustainability and dystopian worlds often go together and Margaret Atwood’s Maddaddam trilogy is a favourite of mine. I was lucky enough to hear Margaret Atwood speak at the Sydney Opera House earlier this year. The inspiration for Oryx and Crake (the first of the trilogy) came to her when she was bird watching in North Queensland.

7. I will finish my chain with a book combining the themes or pictures, sustainability and birds. (Monsters not so much). I often thumb through my copy of Simpson & Day’s Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. My window view still includes trees and birds.

10 thoughts on “Wild things and Wild birds

    1. Thanks, my daughter text me this morning to tell me too. I am not the best proof reader!

  1. I can’t remember the last picture book that I read, probably one with my children a few years a go. I enjoy this challenge for all the diverse books that come together.

  2. I am intrigued by The Arrival, It is true, sometimes a picture can say more than a thousand words, but it must be difficult to communicate a full story entirely in pictures.

    1. The Arrival is stunning. If you pick it up in a bookshop you won’t be able to put it down again.

  3. The Where the Wild Things are movie was intense. Not nearly as lighthearted as the book. Honestly, it made me uncomfortable. I included a Dr. Suess book in my chain too!

  4. I haven’t seen Window in a book shop for a while but I did send a copy to my niece about 10 years ago so hopefully it is still a favourite.

  5. I remember thinking it strange that they turned Wild Things into a movie and yet I loved the movie (perhaps because it was one I took my kids to and they loved it).

    I also love Tan and Baker – such beautiful books.

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