I finished reading The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet last night. This is a new paperback that, for some reason, doesn't have the wonderfully odd illustrations that the original has. It's less because of that, but the story stands well alone. I just wonder if A will be able to understand the allusions to a 1950s world enough to enjoy the story.
I've started reading the second book in the series, Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet. I bought that one some years ago on ebay, I think; it's an old library copy and has the illustrations by Robert Henneberger that I love so much. These are the only two that I found as a child, but there are three more in the series, all available online at http://www.abe.com/ (American Book Exchange), which is where I found a copy of my all-time favorite child's book, Mystery Island, about 15 years ago.
Mystery Island is the "American" version of The Island of Adventure by the prolific British author Enid Blyton. I don't know why they say it's "American" because I just couldn't tell the difference between the two when I found the entire series in paperback around the same time I bought Mystery Island at ABE. At that time I had to order the paperbacks from England; they weren't available in the US, as far as I could tell, but it was worth it. They're set in the 1940s, I think, and are really dated, much more than the Mushroom Planet books, but I guess the English (as from England) references and sayings contribute to that.
Now it's easy to find the books of my youth. Aren't the internets a wonderful thing?
Showing posts with label Eleanor Cameron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eleanor Cameron. Show all posts
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Thursday, May 08, 2008
I finished it!
As soon as I got home, I sat down and read the last few pages of The Devil Wears Prada. And guess what? It sucked. Just like the rest of the book. And I actually remember reading parts of it.
On to the other book I put on the bookshelf at the head of the bed: Eleanor Cameron's The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet. What a book! I just bought it for A, hoping that she'll read it and enjoy it as much as I did when I was 8 and discovered chapter books. This book began my lifelong passion for science fiction. I want A to read it before we go to California, because it's such a wonderful book, and also because Tom knew Eleanor Cameron when he was a child and lived in Monterey, California. His best friend was taken under Eleanor's wing and they often rode their bikes through the woods to her house.
Unfortunately, Eleanor is dead. She'd be almost 100 if she were still alive, but I'd hoped against hope that she was still around. Well, she is still around. Her Mushroom Planet books are high-priced finds on old book sites; I didn't even know that there are five books in the series. Maybe one day I'll win the lottery and be able to own the 3rd, 4th, and 5th books. A girl can hope.
On to the other book I put on the bookshelf at the head of the bed: Eleanor Cameron's The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet. What a book! I just bought it for A, hoping that she'll read it and enjoy it as much as I did when I was 8 and discovered chapter books. This book began my lifelong passion for science fiction. I want A to read it before we go to California, because it's such a wonderful book, and also because Tom knew Eleanor Cameron when he was a child and lived in Monterey, California. His best friend was taken under Eleanor's wing and they often rode their bikes through the woods to her house.
Unfortunately, Eleanor is dead. She'd be almost 100 if she were still alive, but I'd hoped against hope that she was still around. Well, she is still around. Her Mushroom Planet books are high-priced finds on old book sites; I didn't even know that there are five books in the series. Maybe one day I'll win the lottery and be able to own the 3rd, 4th, and 5th books. A girl can hope.
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