Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

Of course, as every chicken-owner knows, where there is poultry - there are predators. However, it seems that the wild dogs of the literary landscape are rather more appealing to humans than to domestic fowl.

Herewith, the beginnings of an arbitrary list...

Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

Wolves in the Walls - Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean

Woolvs in the sitee - Maragret Wild & Anne Spudvilas

Lonesome Howl by Steven Herrick

White Fang by Jack London

The Big Bad Wolf

Fox - Margaret Wild & Ron Brooks*

Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl

Fox in Socks by Dr Seuss

Wombat & Fox Thrillseekers by Terry Denton

Foxy Loxy

Jacob Black (obvs) and his ever so alluring predecessor, Oz**

The weasels and stoats***

And how could we have a list of wild dogs without mentioning this:

* Oh Fox. How we love you, despite your betrayal - and we are shivering with the excitements about your handsome new hardcover edition (with cloth binding!) to celebrate the tenth anniversary of your original publication.

** As you may have noticed, rules, we relax em.

***The passage where Mole is hunted through the Wild Wood is so frightening and gives one such a good impression of what it might be like to be prey, that we thought we'd just remind you of it. ROWR (weasel roar).

From 'Chapter III - The Wild Wood', The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham

It was over his shoulder, and indistinctly, that he first thought he saw a face; a little evil wedge-shaped face, looking out at him from a hole. When he turned and confronted it, the thing had vanished.

He quickened his pace, telling himself cheerfully not to begin imagining things, or there would be simply no end to it. He passed another hole, and another, and another; and then--yes!-- no!--yes! certainly a little narrow face, with hard eyes, had flashed up for an instant from a hole, and was gone. He hesitated--braced himself up for an effort and strode on. Then suddenly, and as if it had been so all the time, every hole, far and near, and there were hundreds of them, seemed to possess its face, coming and going rapidly, all fixing on him glances of malice and hatred: all hard-eyed and evil and sharp.

If he could only get away from the holes in the banks, he thought, there would be no more faces. He swung off the path and plunged into the untrodden places of the wood.

Then the whistling began.

Very faint and shrill it was, and far behind him, when first he heard it; but somehow it made him hurry forward. Then, still very faint and shrill, it sounded far ahead of him, and made him hesitate and want to go back. As he halted in indecision it broke out on either side, and seemed to be caught up and passed on throughout the whole length of the wood to its farthest limit. They were up and alert and ready, evidently, whoever they were! And he--he was alone, and unarmed, and far from any help; and the night was closing in.

Then the pattering began.

Duck duck goose

Some time ago we observed that pigs were popular.

And recently we attended the CBCA Victorian judges talk by Suzanne Thwaites who gave a terrific insight into the judging process and warmly enthused about all the books on the CBCA short-list. She also noted that in the course of the judging process (which involves reading a tremendous quantity of books - we are in awe, truly) that 2009 was the year of poultry publishing, with ducks, roosters and chooks regularly featuring in their reading pile. And who doesn't love a duck?

The books that tickled the judges fancy are Bear & Chook by the Sea by Lisa Shanahan & Emma Quay and Kip by Christina Booth (both short-listed, Early Childhood), A Chook called Harry by Phillip Gwyn & Terry Denton (Notable, Younger Readers), Wendy by Gus Gordon (Notable, Picture book) and, of course the magnifiique Mr Chicken Goes to Paris by Leigh Hobbs (short-listed, Picture Book).

So, embracing the spirit, herewith we present the beginnings of a list of a fine tradition of books or characters that suggest that poultry is indeed perennially popular:

It's Useful to Have a Duck by Isol

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

Bear & Chook by Lisa Shanahan & Emma Quay

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack & Kurt Wiese

Brian Banana Duck Sunshine Yellow by Chris Mckimmie

The Seven Diving Ducks by Margaret Friskey

Uhu* by Annette Rosemary Macarthur-Onslow

The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck by Beatrix Potter

Henny Penny (and friends)

The Little Red Hen

Mother Goose

Donald Duck, Foghorn Leghorn & Camilla the Chicken**

Belle, Rosie & Daffodil***

And we are rather enamoured of Doug Savage's editor-chicken tackling Hamlet on Savage Chickens. A chicken engaged in a task that is relevant to our interests. Why is it relevant to our interests, you ask. Hasn't Hamlet already been edited, you suggest.

And we would refer you to the genius of one Nicki Greenberg who, for some time, has been working on a stunning graphic novel edition of Hamlet - coming soon to a bookshelf near you. When we say soon, here, we mean... October. Trust us, October will be here before you know it. But just to whet your appetite...

* We're not certain that an owl qualifies as domestic fowl... but we are willing to relax the rules a little. We promise we would never consider serving him up for dinner...

** Mr Duck, Mr Leghorn and Ms The Chicken are clearly film stars rather than book stars. We refer you to rule-relaxation note above.

*** Definitely literary chickens.

In praise of teachers...

To Mrs A - For her red hair, red lips and fierce pronouncements: 'Next to her Bible, a dictionary is a girl's best friend.'

To Miss L - For being human enough to come into the classroom, in a few words tell us that we were on our own for this period, and put her head down in her private grief. I never found out what was paining her.

To Miss S - For reading aloud, with emphases and suspenseful pauses in all the right places, about creeping Hobyahs and mysterious girls with yellow ribbons around their necks; and for introducing a Prep to the delights of the spine-tingle; and for the Mercurochrome smiley on a scraped knee.

To Mr McL - For sudden-death maths, and for handsome.

To Miss S - For her inspired reading of the 'Professor Branestawm' series and her divinely manicured pearlie-pink polished fingers that mesmerisingly turned the pages.

To Mrs A - For being the first to show me that writing could open up wonders of imagination that I had no idea I possessed.

To Miss C - For making me the library monitor, allowing me to take out SEVEN books at once, teaching me how to use the microfiche, and for putting me off smoking forever with her very-long yellow-stained fingernails and ashtray odour. I almost forgive her for the lectures on the danger of reading books she deemed 'too old' for me.

To Mr S - For telling me that 83% was not good enough.

To Ms C - For the breath of a world beyond the suburbs and the southern hemisphere.

To Mr S - For the Paradox of the Stone and other philosophical conundrums to stretch the Year Seven brain.

To Mrs C - For giving up on trying to teach the rambunctious Year 10 English class and sitting with me to discuss Careful, He Might Hear You.

To Mr W - For teaching me how to make a wooden pencil box with the sliding lid that I treasured, carved, plastered with stickers, and had stolen from my locker within weeks; for the sporty car and surfer's locks; for the first teacher-crush.

To Mrs W - For showing me that playing the piano was as much about love as it was about technique.

To Ms M (student teacher) - For reading Storm Boy to my Grade Three class and then orchestrating for us to be bussed to the big smoke to see the film. And for sweeping her arms warmly around the weeping of us as we re-gathered on the bus.

To Dr B - For making me believe I could study physics. (He was wrong.)

To Miss L - For teaching me NOT to end the story with 'then I woke up and it was all a dream'; terrifying every student in our year level except me; appreciating my leather-bound Ancient Egyptian assignment despite the fact that it was 900 times the word limit, and being outraged enough to personally buy me a book prize when I didn't win the history prize that year.

To Mrs C - For teaching us the meaning of 'sycophant'; loving language with such an out-loud passion; terrifying every student in our class, including me - with her wit; allowing me to perform puppet shows rather than public speak; pulling strings to keep me in all her classes; and for eventually informing me, to my horror, that I knew as much as she did now and I was on my own.

To Mr B - For not telling my mum when I wagged.

To Miss C - For making us memorise the rivers of Europe. It still helps with crosswords.

To Mrs R - For being scarily strict, a little bit crazy and infinitely inspiring. And for running down the hall in high heels to arrive breathless at our door just in time to join in with Sing, Sing, Sing.

To Miss M - For taking us camping and abseiling, and forcing me to find courage in the face of an unyielding granite cliff that dropped away sickeningly into the bush below.

To Mrs C - For making my lunch every day.

To Miss G, the librarian - For her joyful and inclusive game of alliteration during a hot summer's day excursion, demonstrating with gusto how to bellow your name and an alliterative adjective ('Lovely Liz!') while leaping off the wharf into Manly bay.

To Mr S - For Heart of Darkness, for stories within stories, for the Gospel of Luke as literature, and for tick spasms in the margins of essays.

To Mrs R - for being an immigrant who knew far more about our country than we did, for stretching our suburban brains, and for teaching us anticlines, synclines and rigour.

To Mrs S - For rescuing me after I swallowed the cap of my pen.

To Mrs R - For her quiet, earnest enthusiasms and for her oft-insisted instruction: 'Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.'

To Mrs J - For the joys of slip-stitching, for celebrating the button stem, and for warning against iron-on interfacing and unnatural fibres.

To Miss C, the headmistress - For having a bold vision for what girls could do, and for knowing how to make us cry in assembly.

And especially to AG who inspired this post - For making her class laugh by pretending the Interactive Whiteboard wand was a Harry Potter wand. 'Accio answer! Accio book!'



Yours with gratitude and in admiration,

Onions

Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never saw before

There are people in the world who like to be shown how to do something, and there are people who like to work things out for themselves. And there are people who like to have the instructions at hand, but manfully steadfastly ignore them.

And then there are people who helpfully devise and illustrate reassuring Instructions for any of us who find ourselves stranded in a fairytale.*

You may recall we have noted before that we are fans of these Instructions - and of Neil Gaiman reading them.



And now (well, in June) we offer them to you in a very user-friendly format indeed. A book! Yes! A book. Of illustrated Instructions. Clever? Yes, we thought so.



So remember:

The deep well you walk past leads to Winter's realm;
there is another land at the bottom of it.
If you turn around here,
you can walk back, safely;
you will lose no face.
I will think no less of you.

Excellent! There's even a get-out clause for those moments when your courage fails. And for other moments:

Do not lose hope - what you seek will be found.

No thanks required. As ever, we are here to help.



*And let's face it, sometimes life can feel stranger than a fairytale, so in those moments it may be useful to have Mr Gaiman's Instructions to hand - even if you choose to ignore them. We will think no less of you.

Friday Stuff and Items

The Bumper Book Trailer Edition

1) It seems that HarperCollins UK have made the World's Longest Domino Rally with Children's Books. This is a noble and worthy endeavour.*



It also seems that HarperCollins UK is staffed entirely by cute and funny boys. Maybe The House of Onion and HarperCollins could, you know, like, hang out sometime.

2) While we're flirting with talking about HarperCollins, here is the book trailer they produced for Lord Sunday. It's kind of hard-edged and steampunky. Cool.



3) In order to stop ourselves from making eyes at HarperCollins, we shall turn our gaze to the Mothership. Look at this atmospheric trailer for Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey**





4) What's that you say? You want another view of the mountains. Ok, very well then...






* Perhaps we could attempt the World's Longest Domino Rally with Cake. Might get messy. Biscuits? Biscuits shaped and decorated to look like dominoes? Biscuits shaped and decorated to look like books? Now we're cooking.
**That's the Miles Franklin Short-listed Jasper Jones, you know. *modest cough*

Holiday reading

Everyone loves a holiday (don't they?). And this year it seems that several Onions have decided 2010 is the year for adventures abroad, which means plenty of time for holiday reading on planes, trains, automobiles and mountainsides. And, depending on the size of the suitcase, it means decisions, decisions, decisions about which books to pick off the pile.

Of course, a user-friendly e-reading device* would considerably ease the decision-making process as it could be loaded up with all manner of holiday reading material. However, some places in the world are incompatible with even the most user-friendly of e-reading devices, due to their reliance on, you know, a power source. For example, if one were to choose the Himalayas as the destination a (lightweight) printed book is still the most practical option.

So, in the spirit of helping others to select satisfying reading materials to accompany them on their adventures, here is a list of books that accompanied this Onion almost to the top of the world.**

1. Breath by Tim Winton

A surfing book about much more than surfing, set in a coastal Australian logging town. The allure of the spirit of surfing, and the ocean as a powerful all-consuming force of nature, the fragility the human condition and (the fraying) of personal limits. The Australian ocean setting might seem an unlikely companion for the reality of tackling Himalayan peaks, but it was unexpectedly complementary. And so beautifully written. Effortless (much unlike the actual mountain-climbing).

2. The Keeper by Mal Peet

A football book, about much more than football, set in a South American jungle logging town. The allure of the spirit of football, and the jungle as a powerful all-consuming force of nature, the agility of the spirit and the nature of personal triumph and the fates. And compelling. Recommended to be read by head-lamp in the dark nights in the Nepalese jungle with a thunderstorm closing in.

3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows***

Oh! A book of letters! Set in the post-war period as the Channel Islanders recover themselves and their sense of the world after the lows (and unlikely highs) of the German occupation during World War II. Charming, with a hopeful and courageous spirit despite the undertow of atrocity and despair. A lovely change of pace for a mountain-weary trekker.

4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Survival-of-the-fittest as a truly life-or-death reality show contested by 12-18 year olds who are selected through a lottery system. Oh my goodness this book is good. A page-turner that leaves you breathless (so not ideal to be read at altitude) and desperate for book two (not ideal when book two hasn't hit the shelves of Kathmandu yet). Get your hands on it. Read it.

5. In lieu of being unable to acquire Catching Fire (book two of The Hunger Games), it seems likely that another book may have been purchased instead. However, I am sadly unable to reveal what it was because of literary lies I may have prepared earlier.

What books on your pile would you take on your trip?

*And May isn't far off now so perhaps help is almost at hand.

** This was the view from my Yak herder's hut.

*** This one had been on the pile for a goodly while and I am grateful to my fellow trekker for bringing it along (and, of course, to our porter for, you know, lugging it up those steep, steep mountain trails) so it was at hand to read when the need arose.

Drawing Out, Drawing In

Didn't get to Supanova last weekend?

Never fear! Why don't you head down to the Wheeler Centre for Drawing Out Drawing in: Spotlight on Graphic Novels?

It's going to be wonderful. Look, The Age even says so!

The panels are chock full of terrific, interesting, talented, thoughtful people who are passionate about comics and graphic novels, including Fearless Leader Onion Erica Wagner and our very own Bernard Caleo, Nicki Greenberg, Bruce Mutard, Shaun Tan, Andrew Weldon and Zoe Sadokierski. (We claim Zoe as our own because she makes us look so good.)

At least one other Onion is about to bust with excitement. You will recognise her by her lovely long hair... and because she'll be the one jumping up and down, waving her arms and squealing with joy for the whole weekend.

And did we mention that it's free? Free!

Friday afternoon question time

• Do you own a stormtrooper helmet?
• Or a superhero outfit?
• Do you think Laura Roslin is the best president this galaxy has ever seen?*
• Are you bummed because the iPad's release in Australia has been delayed for a month and you were busting to get the Marvel app, because have you seen how good comics look on that screen?
• Are you keen to meet the brilliant minds (and pencils) behind such works of genius as The Great Gatsby, The Silence and Tango?
• Looking for somthing to do tomorrow?

If you answered Yes! to any of these questions, then Supanova Pop Culture Expo is for you. It looks like so much fun.

A contingent from the House of Onion with envoys from the Mothership will be running an Allen & Unwin stand where we'll be chatting about, and waving around, many fine things from our awesome list of fantasy and graphic novels. Two areas where we *ahem* excel.

We'll be showcasing Nathan Jurevicius, Shaun Tan, Garth Nix, Karen Healey, Catherine Jinks, Neil Gaiman, Celine Kiernan, Nicki Greenberg, Bruce Mutard, Jon Walker and lots of others.

Possibly even more exciting is that some of our finest graphic novelists will be appearing LIVE AND IN PERSON at the Borders stand.

You can catch:

Bruce Mutard on Saturday from 11.30 to 12.30

Bernard Caleo on Saturday from 2.30 to 3.30

and
Nicki Greenberg on Sunday from 11.30 to 12.30

So say we all!



*Or maybe you just want to get near someone who has been near Starbuck and Apollo.

Well would you look at that...

It appears that our ask has been answered; someone has written a poem about Gary Ablett's possible move to the Gold Coast.




*editor sidles from the room making no further comment*

Kombi Kake! (and some favourite road-trip books)

The Tall Designer had a birthday on the weekend.

And just look at the genius with which he was presented today...

That, my friends, is a cake. A cake shaped like his Kombi van.
Best. Thing. Ever.
Happy birthday, Bruno! Nice work, SB!*

And who can look at a Kombi van without thinking ROAD TRIP? Here are some of our favourite road-trip books.

Rose by any other name by Maureen McCarthy

What could be better than a road trip to unkink your thoughts and smooth yourself out? Well, just about anything it turns out, if your Mother decides she's coming too. Prickly, tangled-up Rose is such a wonderful character. And Nat? Be still my beating heart.

Paper Towns by John Green

The road trip in this book is pants-wettingly funny. Or, perhaps more accurately for the characters, funnily pants-wetting.

Guitar Highway Rose by Brigid Lowry
Just read it. It's wonderful. That is all.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Cameron embarks on the mother of all road trips into the dark (yet hilarious) heart of what it means to be alive. The strapline pretty much says it all really: Love. Death. Microwave popcorn. And a wild trip to save the world.

Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit) by JRR Tolkien

Of course, this isn't a road trip in the sense of a car and tunes and hitchhikers and freedom and first love and getting into exciting kinds of trouble (OK - now I want to go on a road trip. Who's with me?), but these guys are literally on the road the ENTIRE trilogy. I mean, Bilbo even has a song about it.

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

And while we're in that spirit, let's include The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. Not for Toad's obsession with the motorcar, but for Mole and Rat and Toad (and the long-suffering horse) on the open road in their canary coloured caravan.




Any others favourite road-trip books we've missed?



*You might remember her from such previous cakes as The Gingerbread House

NSW Premier's Literary Award shortlist of Awesome

We are sqealing in the corridors again!
Look look look at the NSW Premier's literary Award shortlist...

The Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature

Vulture's Gate by Kirsty Murray

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Worldshaker by Richard Harland

A Small Free Kiss in the Dark by Glenda Millard

Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature

The Hero of Little Street by Gregory Rogers

And the Mothership are also much pleased...

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey - shortlisted for the Christina Stead Prize for fiction
Kill Khalid by Paul McGeough - shortlisted for the Douglas Stewart Prize for non-fiction
The Striped World by Emma Jones - shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Prize for poetry
Document Z by Andrew Croome - shorlisted for the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing for fiction


Congratulations to all our clever authors - and to everyone else on the shortlists!

O Delicious Ode [***UPDATED***]

She that asketh receiveth; she that seeketh findeth, and to her that knocketh it shall be opened.

No sooner had we expressed our longing for a poet-in-residence, than one stepped up to the plate.

We leave you over the break with the magnificence that is...

Ode on a Missing Pencil
by An Anonymous Writer (more versed in prose than verse)

O pencil with thy heart of lead
Sharpened to your sweetest point
Can it be that thou art dead?
Or lying greyly in some faint?
When I about the desk have made
A hunt for thee
Upon the ground?
What is this?
Oh mercy me!
Behind my ear I had you laid!
O pencil mine, at last you're found!

Happy Easter or Passover

or non-denominational holiday, everyone.
Rest up. Eat well. Drive safely.

***UPDATE***

The Mothership has just alerted us to the exciting fact that WE distribute several collections of Carol Ann Duffy's peoms, including this most gorgeous collection New and Collected Poems for Children. The cover is very lovely, and the wee bird seems somehow paschal - so here's this to enjoy over the break as well...


*Editor disappears to make sure her staff account isn't maxed out*