Slap Happy Larry

The Ratcatcher by Roald Dahl Short Story Analysis

“The Ratcatcher” is a short story by Roald Dahl, the first of four stories in a series named “Claud’s Dog”. All four stories are included in Someone Like You, first published in 1954. SETTING OF “THE RATCATCHER” If you’ve read Danny The Champion of the World, Dahl has set this story in a similar setting: Working class people living in and around a village, with an aristocratic family living…

I compare the prose of "Ox-Cart Man" to the writing style of Cormac McCarthy.

Ox-Cart Man is an American picture book written by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney in 1979. The following year, in 1980, it won the Caldecott medal. In this post I compare the prose of “Ox-Cart Man” to the writing style of Cormac McCarthy, express my love for cosy stories like these while acknowledging their slightly problematic ideology. PARATEXT Winner of the Caldecott MedalThus…

My favourite tragicomedy. I'd forgotten all the funny bits until I went back, since the overall impression is 'oppressive'.

One of my favourite films of all time. The perfect story. I look at how 'symbolism' and 'foreshadowing' exist on a continuum and sometimes overlap.

I think this #WilliamTrevor short story is a ghost story, with links to the 1944 Hitchcock film, Gaslight.

“Miss Smith” is an early short story by Irish-English writer William Trevor. Find it in The Day We Got Drunk On Cake And Other Stories (1968) and also in Collected Stories. Like “Mrs Silly”, a later William Trevor story, “Miss Smith” is the story of a woman as told (partly) via the point of view of a middle-childhood-aged boy. I would recommend this story for study in the high school classroom,…

I have a love-hate relationship with Ray Bradbury. Boy, do I hate this story (companion narrative to "Homecoming").

“Uncle Einar” is a short story from Ray Bradbury’s well-known short story collection October Country (1955), but was first published in his Dark Carnival collection (1947). We’ve already met Einar as Timothy’s uncle in “Homecoming“. Now we see the man at home, and learn more about the realities of living as a supernatural being in a world made for regular humans. Which of these stories to read…

Homecoming by Ray Bradbury Short Story Analysis

“Homecoming” is a short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in 1946. A family of ghouls hosts a big family reunion for Allhallows Eve. Dead relatives return for the occasion. Unfortunately for Timothy, he seems to be the only member of the family who doesn’t have supernatural powers. Some readers pick this up expecting a chilling thriller. This is not that. It’s got the same…

The Night by Ray Bradbury Short Story Analysis

“The Night” is a second-person point of view short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in 1955. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR “THE NIGHT” This story contains various juxtapositions. Name the juxtapositions can you see in the setting.In the best stories, the setting and character enmesh and intertwine, building on each other. In “The Night”, Bradbury utilises a motif of space and…

What does it mean to be human? Common wisdom tells us "we're all the same inside". But what if we meet someone who is not the same inside?

Let’s take a look at a vampire story by American writer Ray Bradbury. “The Man Upstairs” was first published in the March 1947 issue of Harper’s Magazine. You’ll also find it in Stories Volume One and Bradbury’s 1955 collection called The October Country. (The best bang for your buck: collected stories.) “THE MAN UPSTAIRS” DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Why is Douglas under the care of his grandmother?…

A 1955 short story by Carson McCullers with themes which remain relevant in 2022.

“The Haunted Boy” is a 1955 short story by American writer Carson McCullers, who writes of adolescent boys as adroitly as Alice Munro writes of adolescent boys, focusing on their softness, and the conflict that derives from needing to look manly while not feeling at all strong in the face of adversity. “The Haunted Boy” explores the struggles of Hugh as he deals with issues of adult imitation,…

"A Cup of Tea" is a Modernist short story by Katherine Mansfield, first published in May 1922. I'm reading it 100 years later.

“A Cup of Tea” is a Modernist short story by Katherine Mansfield, first published in May 1922. I’m reading it 100 years later. Commentators commonly describe “A Cup Of Tea” as a story about jealously between women: A rich woman is jealous of a beautiful younger woman with no means — a modern re-visioning of Snow White. Is this really a story about jealousy, though? Below, I argue this is…

I recently watched #Midsommar which reminded me of #Melancholia

Melancholia is a 2011 film by Lars Von Trier. It’s one of those stories which has variable metaphorical resonance depending on who watches it. The Wizard of Oz and The Little Prince are also like this. We might also read it as an allegory for climate change, or for any other variety of aloneness. https://twitter.com/DoctorKarl/status/1392775354222145537?s=20 Ludek Marold for ‘The Star’ by H.G.…

The Canary by Katherine Mansfield Short Story Analysis

“The Canary” is a short story by Katherine Mansfield, and the last she ever finished. It was published in April 1923, after she had already died. “The Canary” was then collected in A Dove’s Nest. When Mansfield wrote this she was very ill with tuberculosis. She started writing it when she and her husband Jack (John Middleton Murry) were staying at a hotel in Paris. A woman living across the road…

How do illustrators deal with pesky crowd scenes?

How long does it take to illustrate a picture book? Well, that depends on many things, including the illustrator’s style. Another important factor: The nature and number of any crowd scenes. An illustration of a crowd scene, with individuated characters, can take as long as the rest of the entire book. Below is a collection of crowd scenes in art and illustration. Some of these feature just…

I look at the structure of Hairy Maclary's Bone by Lynley Dodd (1984), which reminds me a little of Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins (1967).

Hairy Maclary’s Bone is the second picture book in Lynley Dodd’s Hairy Maclary series, published 1984, shortlisted for the 1985 New Zealand Children’s Picture Book of the Year Award. Below I look at the structure, which reminds me of Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins (1967). When Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy came out it took off immediately and her publisher wanted another. That proverbial…

Hairy Maclary From Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd Analysis

Hairy Maclary From Donaldson’s Dairy (1983) is a cumulative rhyming picture book written and illustrated by New Zealand storyteller Lynley Dodd. This is the book which began the Hairy Maclary series. WHAT KIND OF DOG IS HAIRY MACLARY? Honestly, he could be almost anything! I have a dog who looks very much like Hairy Maclary, but he’s a Border Collie, miniature poodle cross. Passersby ask me if…

Eloise, and other bratty rich kids in picture books. (Why do I love some and not others?)

Eloise is a classic 1955 picture book written by Kay Thompson, illustrated by Hilary Knight. Writer Kay Thompson (1909–1998) was also a composer, musician, actress and singer. Illustrator Hilary Knight was born in Hempstead, Long Island, New York, in 1926. Most popular picture books endure because they appeal to a dual audience of children and also to the adults who read it aloud, night after…