And another obvious one: TS Eliot and his "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" - although one could argue that Andrew Lloyd Webber has done his best to ensure nobody thinks of Eliot in that context.. posted by kariebookish at 12:58 PM on January 13
I just finished Tom Robbins' kids book, B is for Beer.
A kids book about beer (what it does, how it's made, why adults love it so much) written ostensibly for kids. I'm gonna wait until mine is at least six before we read it together.
I think I may hot the library('s website) this weekend to see what can be found. posted by Seamus at 1:09 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]
It's also interesting to note that some authors, like Roald Dahl and Daniel "Lemony Snicket" Handler, never intended to write for kids, but are now arguably more well-known for their children's books than their works for adults. posted by cottoncandybeard at 1:27 PM on January 13
Not out of print, but Ian Fleming, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. posted by Cocodrillo at 1:39 PM on January 13
Duh, sorry, missed kariebookish... posted by Cocodrillo at 1:40 PM on January 13
I'm currently rereading two books from my childhood ("The Midnight Folk" and "The Box of Delights" -- both now available in very nice hardcover editions courtesy of the New York Review of Books) that were written by UK poet laureate John Masefield, who, despite having written more than a dozen novels, a handful of plays and non-fiction works, and twenty-odd volumes of poetry in his more than sixty year career, is remembered primarily for those two books today. (People know his poem "Sea Fever", too, or at least one line of it: "all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.")
The two children's books are really fun reads, and I'm surprised someone hasn't made a jawdroppingly-bad blockbuster movie version of them yet in these post-Potter days (there is, of course, the very good version of The Box of Delights made by the BBC in the Eighties, starring Doctor Who's Patrick Troughton). posted by orthicon halo at 1:49 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]
Any serious writer who experiments with various genres eventually writes a children's story, except for Anthony Burgess. posted by ovvl at 1:54 PM on January 13
Ted Hughes wrote The Iron Giant. Which was pretty heavy, but still a book for kids. posted by zomg at 2:29 PM on January 13
Sun Moon Star, the Christmas story as told by Kurt Vonnegut. illustrated by Ivan Chermayeff. He reads it (and describes it a bit) here. posted by chapps at 3:56 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]
My dad got me The Crows of Pearblossom as a gift when I was 2 or 3 -- I think he was tickled by the fact that Huxley had written a kids' book, and that it was so macabre. I vaguely remember sitting in my mom's lap and reading to her when I was three, just to show that I could read. If I had any talent at animation I'd make an animated short out of it, but sadly that ability is out of my reach. posted by pxe2000 at 5:07 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]
Great post! I am learning from the blog and this thread about all sorts of books that I had no idea existed. (And Ian Fleming wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?? The mind reels.)
One of my favourite books as a child was Jason's Quest by Margaret Laurence. And thus it is that I grew up not realizing that one of Canada's most influential writers was actually best known for her other books, NOT her children's books. My dad studied and taught Canadian Lit, and so, as with pxe2000's dad and the Aldus Huxley book, I think it tickled him that Margaret Laurence had written a children's book about moles and cats.
Jason's Quest is out of print now; I should submit it to this blog. I lost my childhood copy and had to order an ex-libris copy (a very nice one, the hardcover version) to replace it. posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:30 PM on January 13
The world is full of such beautiful things. Thank you for bringing this blog to my attention. And now I actually know about "Rose is a rose is a rose," rather than simply knowing it. posted by themanwho at 8:30 PM on January 13
I have the first editions, plus some galleys and miscellaneous bits, from those Ionesco books. Harlin Quist (the publisher) abandoned several boxes of personal letters and publishing detritus when he stopped paying his rent on the NorShor Theatre in Duluth, Minnesota in the early 1990s. He published several books in partnership with a French partner in the late sixties/early seventies utilizing French artists, though his dreams were always bigger than his pocketbook. Also, people were pretty puzzled by the surrealist bent of them. They didn't sell well, and the company tanked. Someday I'm going to scan the whole fascinating lot I salvaged from the dumpster and make a website. posted by RedEmma at 8:34 AM on January 14 [2 favorites]
from those letters i gather that he was not really insistent about not using caps in his name, but rather a bit ambiguous...? posted by ovvl at 6:00 PM on January 19
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posted by kariebookish at 12:58 PM on January 13