Ella's Books of the Year 2002
Once again, here are Ella's favourite books of the year, in no particular order.
There are four Frog and Toad books, each with five stories. Ella inherited the first book from Daddy, and we ended up buying the other three, such was Ella's enthusiasm for stupid, curmudgeonly Toad and his clever and sensible friend Frog. Ella learned of the virtues of putting things off until "tomorrow", and adopted the mischievous phrase "Maybe I am, and maybe I'm not", which she always says with a gleam in her eye.
This is one of about a dozen books recounting the adventures of Slinky Malinki, a black cat, and Hairy McClary (or "Hair-mee Ca-rair-ree", as we say round here), a dog, and their friends. Some books feature mainly the cats, and others feature mainly the dogs; the best ones also feature Scarface Claw, the villainous neighbourhood cat whose name is properly pronounced with great relish.
One of three books featuring Stella, a little girl who knows the answer to every question posed by her younger brother, Sam -- or thinks she does, at least. This book is set in the snow; the others are set by the seaside and in the forest.
Ella began to appreciate longer, more complicated stories this year, starting with the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Initially they were rather too long, with the result that she would often fall asleep before the end. But she soon came to appreciate all the characters, and has even visited the Poohsticks bridge. Ella has also enjoyed Pooh in his video and audiobook incarnations.
A particularly popular book during Ella's obsession with foxes (during which she believed that she was actually a fox herself). On a number of occasions Ella (as the fox) even persuaded Daddy (as Knox) to act the book out, with the aid of a box, some socks, etc.
This book is very, very silly and great fun. It presents twisted versions of various fairy tales, culminating in the adventures of the Stinky Cheese Man himself. The question is: why do children find send-ups of fairy tales so funny even when they are not familiar with the originals?
Four short stories about a Little Bear, the last of which is a recap of the previous three, in which Mummy Bear tells Little Bear about things he used to do when he was little. This prompts similar recollections from Ella, about how she used to say "El-gloo" and couldn't talk, and other things she used to do "when I used to be a baby".
One of several excellent books by Helen Cooper, who combines witty stories with a very distinctive style of illustration. Other favourites include Tatty Ratty and The Bear Under the Stairs.
This book is, without question, one of the most soothing, relaxing and soporific books ever written. It is held in reserve in the evenings to be read as the last book, since it is almost guaranteed to put Ella to sleep.
Well, do they? This and other questions about knights -- how do you get to be a knight? Do they eat sweeties? -- are answered in this hilarious book, which absolutely must be read in a silly Monty Python voice.
Madlenka and its companion volume Madlenka's Dog involve a little girl who walks around her block in New York and meets various characters from different countries along the way -- the city block as microcosm, in short.
This book has everything: a cunning fox, his nemesis Slow Dog, hapless chickens, and a very good idea for an evening menu. Chicken? Yes. Chips? Yes. Peas? Yes. Right, time to eat.
Video of the year by a million miles. Ella identifies very strongly with Boo, the little girl with bunches in her hair who accidentally finds herself in the monster world. Ella loves acting out scenes from the movie; Daddy has to be "blue monster" and Mummy has to be "green monster". Millie, our evil-looking cat, is Randall, the villain.
Game of the year. Yes, we know he's really a bandicoot, but to Ella he will always be a fox. During the month when Ella was obsessed with this game, she would greet Daddy on his return from work with the words "Please Daddy can I play fox?". Daddy would then man the controls while Ella acted out the jumping, running etc depicted on-screen. Traditionally, playing fox is done while eating Wotsits. And when the fox falls down a hole, or into the water, you have to shout "duh!".