Look how much we loved The Apothecary by Maile Meloy!

OTTIE AND THE BEA BOOK CLUB Meet to talk about THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE 27 April 2013

We had very different opinions about the Book Club read this month.

Scarlett and Alice really enjoyed it. They liked the story, the adventure and the descriptions, which Scarlett said painted a picture with words.

Giacomo liked the adventure parts of the book, but on the whole found it a bit strange.

Rafferty, Maia and Mercedes didn’t really get into it at all: the beginning was slow, and they had other books they were enjoying more.

Books are so personal, aren’t they? That’s what makes talking about them so interesting: you find out a lot about how people think and feel when they tell you about the books they like.

Like FIVE CHILDREN AND IT, THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE is a classic. We talked about what we think that means, and whether it makes us more or less likely to want to read a book. Alice had a nice description of them as books ‘from back in the day’ and Maia explained that it can be a book that lots of people like – it doesn’t necessarily have to be old.

Rafferty pointed out the difference between books set in the past and books actually written in olden times. He’s really enjoying MURDER ON STAGE at the moment (and some of the rest of us had liked it too) – it’s a mystery set in Victorian times, but written now. Other books like this we’ve read and enjoyed are VIKING BOY, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and the Percy Jackson series.

Maia used to read a lot of classics, but is a bit sick of old-style language now and these days is more into writers like Jacqueline Wilson who use the kind of words we use now, and write about more realistic problems. Mercedes agrees that if something’s called a classic it can be off-putting – like classical music is boring. When your dad plays it in the car it sends you to sleep!

So what did we think about this classic in particular?

It all seemed to depend on whether we had read past the beginning, because the story takes a while to get going and when you first meet Bonnie, the heroine, she seems spoilt and annoying. Rafferty liked the wild wolves in the forest, they were awesome, but stopped reading when he got to the nonsense of the maid and the girl.

Read on, though, and you find that Bonnie changes, and Scarlett enjoyed the surprise. You never expect that she would dress up as a boy, and there are really funny bits – like when Bonnie throws water on Miss Slighcarp and it knocks her wig off. That was one of Scarlett’s favourite bits.

In the back of the book there is a quiz to see which of the main characters you are like: Bonnie, Sylvia, or Simon? (I’m glad to say that Miss Slighcarp isn’t on the list!!) It turned out that a lot of us were like Bonnie, and the others are like Simon – so you see, we’re not that different after all, even if we like to read different things!

Our two reviews this month are from Scarlett and Alice.

Scarlett thought:

“Usually I find classics boring but I really liked this. The story was interesting, and the descriptions really painted a picture with words.”

And this is what Alice said:

“I liked it because it was adventurous and a bit scary – I like scary books”

Looking forward to our next meeting, on 5 June, when we voted to talk about THE APOTHECARY by Maile Meloy. Remember Bea’s suggestion that we all bring a note of our favourite page to share with the group!

OTTIE AND THE BEA BOOK CLUB meet to talk about FIVE CHILDREN AND IT 20 March 2013

If you found a fairy who could grant you any wish you wanted, what would you wish for?

Now that we’ve read FIVE CHILDREN AND IT by E. Nesbit, we know that this isn’t necessarily as brilliant as it first sounds.

We loved the suspense and the adventure in this story, which kept us turning the pages as if it was written yesterday, and not 100 years ago.

It was only the clothes that really give it away as being a classic: Maia was very intrigued to know what pantaloons were. (Very long baggy pants that girls used to wear under their very long dresses, since you’re asking!)

There is a lot in this book that is not as we might have expected, before we started to read. For example, when we hear the word ‘sand fairy’ we all have quite particular pictures in our minds: maybe a Disney style fairy, with a sandy dress, or a boy with an elf hat made out of sand, and sandpaper wings. Definitely not the strange bug-eyed creature described in the book, and so brilliantly illustrated on the cover by Quentin Blake. The Sammyad (for that is his name) looks more like a rat than a fairy, we thought.

So the children in the story are quite brave, really. Even though Mercedes’ favourite animal is a rat, she wasn’t sure she’d make friends with one straight away, if she found one in the sand.

The other thing that turns out not quite as we expected are the wishes. We learned that you must be careful what you wish for, because the Sammyad is very literal in the way that he grants them.

We talked a lot about what we would wish for, if we had the chance.

Maia thought wings.

Rafferty would like things to be perfect (but then, thinking more carefully, knew that the Sammyad would give you what you thought was perfect, which might not be perfect for other people …)

Mercedes would like to change people’s minds about destroying the rainforests.

Giacomo would stop wars and guns.

Grace would feed the children in Africa.

Maia wishes she could meet Jessie J, and she and her best friend could go on tour with her.

Bea would wish to raise all the funds for her trip to Africa – oh, and for world peace, too!

Then we had a really interesting discussion about what the Sammyad might make of our wishes. For example, what if the way he granted Grace’s wish, to feed the children in Africa, was by taking all our food to feed them? Food for thought, indeed …

So here is a book, written a hundred years ago, and starring children who wear pantaloons and don’t have telephones, which got us thinking about the world and talking in a most interesting way.

And we realized that not a lot has changed, really, if you don’t count the clothes and the technology: especially when it comes to country life versus the city. We all agreed that our friends and relatives who live in the countryside are much more free to run around and have adventures.

But, you know, they don’t live near Ottie and The Bea …

See you all after the holidays, when we’ll be talking about THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE. It’s another classic: will you love it as much as I did, when I was your age?

© Copyright Nigel Cox and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Photograph: Kelly Redinger / Design Pics Inc/Rex Features

PS Here is a picture of the gravel pit near where I grew up. As you can see, it's been turned into a nature reserve now ... on the right is a working gravel pit: you can see why parents might not want you to play there!

OTTIE AND THE BEA BOOK CLUB Meet to talk about FANTASTIC MR DAHL 27 February 2013

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This month, we learned a lot we didn’t know, about Roald Dahl.

We all agreed that he is indeed Fantastic. We hadn’t known that he was irritable – or so tall – or that he inherited so much money from his dad …

FANTASTIC MR DAHL is a non-fiction book, a biography of one of our favourite children’s authors written by Michael Rosen, who is also a very famous writer for children.

Not all of us had read a biography before, and on the whole we think that we prefer to read autobiographies (and in fact Maya has read BOY, which is Roald Dahl’s own autobiography). We worried about whether we could trust what Michael Rosen said, since he wasn’t there to know exactly what happened – and we weren’t sure that he needed to keep asking what we thought about things.

Grace particularly liked the pull-out pages which have lots of fascinating facts: one of our favourites was the fact that there are giant footprints leading to Roald Dahl’s grave!

We learned that a lot of sad things happened in Roald Dahl’s life, like his house being bombed and losing all his photographs and letters (Scarlett said she knew how that might feel – she couldn’t bear to lose her camera), and lots of exciting things too, like being a spy in the war (that was Grace’s favourite bit).

One thing we didn’t learn was when he learned to drive: because we were all very impressed to discover that he bought himself a motorbike when he was just sixteen, and used to ride it around from his boarding school. Bea explained that back when Roald Dahl was a teenager, you didn’t have to have a driving license in the same way. Perhaps he even taught himself how to ride the motorbike. You wouldn’t be allowed to do that now!

Scarlett really enjoyed this book – particularly finding out the alternate endings from when Roald Dahl first wrote his stories (we learned that Matilda was a baddy, which seems hard to believe now we know her so well).

It was interesting that Roald Dahl tried out so many things before he became an author. We thought it seemed that he was good at a lot of things, but was most comfortable with story writing. Giacomo noticed that it hadn’t been easy for him to become a writer – it was sad that his first book nearly got made into a film in Hollywood but then they decided not in the end. Roald must have been disappointed – but then we realized how many of his books had been made into excellent films, and that must have cheered him up!

We could understand how you might change your mind about what you want to be, though: Maya used to want to be a horserider, or a singer, but now she wants to be an actress. Rafferty liked learning that if Roald Dahl hadn’t been a writer, he wanted to be a doctor: Raf’s going to run a zoo with his friends when he grows up, he’s going to be the zoo vet, which sounds a bit like the beginning of a Roald Dahl story …

We liked that Roald Dahl took any good opportunities to try different things and see the world.

But really we discovered that most of his inspiration came from his horrible school days. Being a toilet seat warmer! Really horrible … Although we suspect he might have made it sound worse than it really was, for dramatic effect. Scarlett pointed out that although he said he hated his matron, there was the story of all the boys giving her a present: and you don’t really give presents to people you don’t like, do you?

We thought what it would be like to go away to boarding school aged seven. Some of us have been away on school trips to Rooters holiday camp, and we thought it might be a bit like that. It’s okay if you like the teachers, but horrible if they’re not.

We imagined boarding school how it would be if we ran it: Grace thought it would be good to have pet rabbits, and jelly beans for breakfast lunch and tea (we weren’t all so sure about the jelly beans – Rafferty would rather have Turkish Delight for pudding, and a balanced diet of bagel with pesto and a poached egg, and carrot and coriander soup). Maya added four poster beds, horses, and indoor swimming pool, a dance studio, a theatre - and a dressing up closet the size of a ballroom. Giacomo thought there would fencing, and prizes; and Scarlett wanted to go swimming in jelly beans. All of which sounds a lot more fun than Roald Dahl’s school!

So, you see, we learned a lot that we didn’t know - and had a lot of fun imagining the rest ...

See you all next month, when we’ll be talking about FIVE CHILDREN AND IT, which was written more than a hundred years ago by a lady who lived very near here, called E.Nesbit. Jacqueline Wilson has written a book inspired by her original story, called FOUR CHILDREN AND IT: I wonder how different they are?

OTTIE AND THE BEA BOOK CLUB Meet to talk about VIKING BOY 23 January 2013

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We were very honoured to be joined this month by Tony Bradman, who came to talk to us about his thrilling novel VIKING BOY.

Rafferty got us off to a great start by declaring it was one of the best books he’s ever read, and then Mr Bradman gave us some great insights into how he came to write VIKING BOY.

He always writes with the same kind of pen (the one he has now was new this Christmas), and like us he did a lot of reading when he was at school. Also like many of us, he absolutely loved THE HOBBIT – the dragon Smaug, the dwarves, the fighting and the chainmail. It was only later on that he found out Tolkien had specialized in ancient languages while he was at university, and particularly in the Vikings: and that so many of those elements he loved in THE HOBBIT were inspired by the old Norse legends of trolls and warriors and flying beasts.

There’s a great list on his website of his favourite Viking tales, and top of the list is Henry Treece, who was quite a famous author when Mr Bradman was our age, with dark moody pictures by Charles Keeping (who lived near to here).

Tony had always loved these stories, and the old Norse legends and sagas, so he knew he wanted to write one of his own. It took a long time – more than a year – and a lot of research.

First, though, he needed a really good notebook. He keeps the notebooks for all his books in a big cupboard in his office, and he’d brought along the one for VIKING BOY to show us. It was big, and square, with an amazing picture of a metal minotaur head on the front. Tony bought it when he was on holiday in Greece, at a place called Mycenae (we enjoyed the local connection!).

Once he had the notebook, then he could start writing. It all begins with an outline of the story: who’s doing what, chapter by chapter (which makes it sound easier than it is – sometimes, something won’t work out and he’ll have to go back and change all the plans again).

And all the time, he was researching: he had a big long list of Viking names, and for about half of the book Gunnar was called Olaf – until it turned out there was already a book called Olaf the Viking …

Some of the research sounded really fun: Tony travelled to Norway and Denmark, and visited museums. There, he could see three old Viking ships that have been dug out of the ground and restored. He even rowed a replica ship himself, with a captain who looked just like a Viking; and dressed up in Viking cloaks and helmets.

We loved hearing about how to use a battleaxe (in a figure of eight, apparently) and how heavy a shield and armour would be: to hold them and fight, you would be exhausted after about ten minutes, which shows just how strong and fit the Vikings were.

Because of this detailed research, all the elements in VIKING BOY are based on the truth, even though the story itself is all from Tony Bradman’s imagination: the farm burning was inspired by NJAL’S SAGA, his all-time favourite Norse tale, and the Vikings really did carry their wealth as silver or gold rings around their arms. Tony told us they would loot and plunder, and when they did pay for things they’d hack bits of silver off the arm rings, instead of money.

After he had told us about writing the book, Tony asked if we had any questions: we had lots!

Maia:   It was really, really gory but I really liked it. Gauk was really mean. He reminded me of someone, but I can’t remember who.

TB:      Yes, my editor was worried about the violence in the book, but if you’re going to tell a story about the Viking age, you have to have it because they were violent.

            The important thing is that you see just how awful it is: people are really upset and frightened.

            And I liked Gauk, too. When I write a story, it’s important to have characters who are mysterious I think. And a surprise which keeps you interested!

Scarlett:           The really liked the bit about Valhalla. I wondered – is that what they believed?

TB:      Yes, they believed when warriors died in battle, Odin sent the Valkyries, all in black, riding winged wolves.

            And I thought: how cool is that?

            The reason Odin collected the warriors was because at the end of time (which they called Ragnorak), they thought there would be a big battle, and Odin would be attacked by the forces of evil, so he wanted all the best warriors on his side.

            Valhalla means Hall of the Fallen

            And Valkyrie means Collectors of the Fallen.

Who is your favourite character?

TB:      Gunnar. I put a lot of myself in him. I have a soft spot for Rurik as well: the funny thing about him is he just appeared. I was writing the scene where Gunnar is brought in front of Orm, and suddenly Rurik appeared as a character. I had to stop and rethink the story up to then, to fit him in, because he was such a good character: a sort of father figure for Gunnar.

            And I really enjoyed writing Thorkel and Viglaf, and their banter.

Grace:  Will you write another book? Will it be a series?

TB:      Well I’ve written lots of other books. I wanted to do another Viking one, but I have to convince my publishers: what do you all think?

We all agreed we’d like there to be a series!

Maia:   Where do you go if you don’t die with a sword in your hand?

TB:      I’d like to know! The Vikings did believe in an underworld run by a woman called Hel (which is where our word for hell comes from). And of course there are the Nornes, who are very similar to the three fates in Greek myths.

Mercedes:        I liked the story but there were some details that were a bit too gory.

TB:      My son likes real horror stories and movies, especially with zombies. I can’t watch them, because I get really scared and they stick in my mind. Some of those passages you didn’t like, I found quite difficult as well. I didn’t want to dwell on the violence.

Victor: I didn’t picture Rurik how he was in the pictures.

TB:      The illustrator is French, and draws graphic novels for a living. He was chosen by the publisher. I know what you mean though, sometimes the picture in your head is different. I think it’s a really striking image on the cover, but in my mind Gunnar has a lot more character than that.

Alice:   I think it should be a series. The shoutline made me think it actually was a series.

Rafferty:          We’re studying the Vikings at school, and my teacher is going to read the book to the class.

TB:      That’s brilliant. I’d be happy to come in and talk to your class, too.

Rafferty:          My friend thought it was too gruesome. But I thought it was epic!

Dylan: I liked the drowning scene.

Scarlett:           I thought the Valkyrie picture was really good. The way they draw the wolves is really detailed.

TB:      Yes, actually Brunhild is another favourite character. There’s a famous German composer called Wagner who wrote operas based on the Norse myths. And Brunhilde appears in those, usually as a large lady opera singer in a horned helmet with long blonde hair in plaits. And when I first started writing the Valkyrie scenes, that was what was in my mind – but it just wasn’t working. So I went back to the original myths and found the descriptions of the giant winged wolves and then it worked much better.

Scarlett:           Vikings didn’t have horned helmets.

TB:      No, that’s right – most were circular, more like a mask or a space helmet, smooth metal with eye holes. And they wore chainmail shirts, called Burnies, which were really heavy. They were tough people.

Maia:   In HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, all the Vikings are big lumps of muscle – are they really like that?

TB:      Well no I think they were just normal people really, although evidence shows that they were bigger and taller than other people in Europe at the time so they did look quite imposing. They were outdoors a lot and trained hard. I tend to think of them as being like a rugby team: big, muscular, and thinking they’re immortal.

Maia:   I thought Skuli was handsome, but in this picture he’s not. I liked him as a character.

Giacomo:         Can names get really long?

TB:      yes. The Vikings used to do what they still do in Iceland today: your surname is the name of your father, with ‘sson’ or ‘dottir’ on the end, so in Iceland they can trace their ancestors back really far, almost all the way back to Viking times.

Maia:   Viking girls are never mentioned, I think you could do a story with Gunnar’s daughter …

TB:      you’re right, they aren’t mentioned so much. But you should read Kevin Crosley-Holland’s BRACELET OF BONES, that’s got a Viking girl as the main character. And Marie-Louise Jensen writes about Viking girls.

Isaac:   Would they have knives, or a sword?

TB:      A lot used spears or battleaxes. Ordinary people would be more likely to have just a rusty axe, like Hogni. Only the richer people had swords.

Then, sadly, the cow in Ottie and The Bea’s cuckoo clock mooed to let us know our time with Tony Bradman had come to an end. There was just time to go round the circle and tell our favourite bits from the book:

Grace:  The Valkyries

Maia:   When Gunnar was given his father’s sword

Alice:   The Valkyries

Jake:    The fight scene

Rafferty:          The eagle feather, and when Skuli gets killed

Giacomo:         When they’re tied to the posts and have to escape

Gareth:            When the wolf men burned the long house

Dylan: When Rurik kills Starkad

Isaac: The same as Gareth

Scarlett:           Gunnar’s time as a slave, and in Valhalla

Mercedes:        When he had to cross the rainbow

Victor: When Gunnar set fire to Orm’s hall

Thank you so much to Tony Bradman for coming to talk to us about VIKING BOY. We hope you do decide to write what happens next for Gunnar and his friends!

See you all next month, when we’ll be talking about FANTASTIC MR DAHL, Michael Rosen’s biography of Roald Dahl. It will be a good chance to discuss our favourite Roald Dahl stories too.