B9 Literature
March 24 – 30, 2011
The Epoch Times
Children’s Library
The Top Shelf:
Novelty Books
Pages popping
with surprises
to delight young
readers
By BARBARA DANZA
Epoch Times Staff
liza voronin/the epoch times
A Reading of ‘The Buried
Life’ by Matthew Arnold
When story time needs a twist
(say, when your “reading” aloud
each book from memory or your
2-year-old is reaching for her tattered and torn copy of “Goodnight
Moon” again) a novelty book can
serve to inject just the right new
energy into the mix. For more experienced young readers, these books
can redefine what books can be.
The marketplace is flooded with
pop-ups, lift-the-flap, sound-enhanced, and other forms of what
are wholly categorized as novelty
books. Here are a few standouts
that young readers are sure to find
entertaining.
By CHRISTOPHER NIELD
Who are we? Where did we come
The Buried Life
from and where are we going? Even
to ourselves, as we sit at home or
hurry through the city streets, we
remain a bewildering mystery.
But often, in the world’s most crowded streets,
Matthew’s Arnold’s haunting
poem, “The Buried Life,” describes
But often, in the din of strife,
our yearning to know our own heart.
In this short extract, not even “the
There rises an unspeakable desire
world’s most crowded streets” can
stifle the “unspeakable desire” to
After the knowledge of our buried life;
find our most essential self. The
word “unspeakable” suggests that
A thirst to spend our fire and restless force
such knowledge cannot be put into
words—and is somehow deemed obIn tracking out our true, original course;
scene by others. The true individual
is terrifying to the group.
A longing to inquire
This stubborn desire can arise at
the most unexpected of moments:
Into the mystery of this heart which beats
a moment filled with joy and panic.
Suddenly, after years of contentment,
So wild, so deep in us—to know
we question everything. Has the
course of our life gone surprisingly
Whence our lives come and where they go.
wrong? Has a burning dream of ours
been left to die? Is it now too late to
change—too late to live a life we can
be proud of?
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)
Throughout the poem, Arnold
searches for the elusive spark of
truth. He starts by addressing an un- Anything to avoid our most profound
clear.” When our ear “is by the tones
named woman. He reflects on the
feelings. They are too shattering for of a loved voice caressed.” Then the
charming and brittle “war of mock- the status quo.
“heart lies plain” and we connect to
ing words” between them, but hunArnold’s poem is alive with emo- “life’s flow.”
gers for a deeper, more significant
tion. When he speaks of the “mystery”
We feel this ebb and flow in the
bond. He yearns for her to place her of our heart, which beats “so wild, so
poem’s rhythm itself, as it sweeps us
hand in his, and for her “limpid eyes” deep” in us, our heart seems to beat
into a confrontation with ourselves,
to reveal her “inmost soul.” Yet even
with greater urgency, responding in- our fear of stagnancy, and our secret
love seems unable to bridge the gap
tuitively, instinctively, to each word. hope for renewal. Do we follow the
between them.
Few poems touch with more subtle
dangerous freedom of our heart or
He wonders about the price we
and searing power, in Arnold’s phrase, slip back into the crowd?
pay by trying to escape from fate. “the soul’s subterranean depth.”
We hide behind a false persona and
Arnold ends the poem on a note Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) was a Britallow ourselves to be possessed by
of guarded optimism, evoking cer- ish poet and cultural critic. He is most
distractions—even turning our tain moments when life does seem
famous for his poem, “Dover Beach.”
identity inside out. We do anything
to reveal its inner meaning. When
Christopher Nield is a poet living in
to avoid obeying our “being’s law.” “our eyes can in another’s eyes read London.
schwartz & wade books
form in which pictures are used
illustrations introducing the most
to represent some words or word
basic building blocks of learning
parts, creating a puzzle of sorts that
to young readers. The representareaders can solve in order to “read” tive pictures are revealed in crethrough the story.
ative ways: the owl under the letter
Beginning and experienced read- “O” opens and closes his eyes, for
ers alike will delight in successfully
example.
uncovering the many unusual hapThe numbers count from 1 to 20
penings inside this quaint store on
and then by tens to 100, managing
Pumpkin Street. Published Sep- to reveal that number of creatures
tember 2010.
behind each sum. Educational and
delightful, these are a home run
within their category. Published
July 2010.
candlewick
“The Crocodile Blues”
by Coleman Polhemus
(Candlewick Press)
Published in 2007, this nearly
wordless story features silhouetted illustrations that introduce
the “reader” to a man, his cockatoo,
and their quirky adventures with
an egg-turned-crocodile. The story
seems almost set to music as each
page reveals another surprising
turn in the story. Each picture is
worth a thousand words!
candlewick
“The Most Amazing Hide“The Fantastic 5&10¢
and-Seek Numbers Book”
Store: A Rebus Adventure” and “The Most Amazing
by J. Patrick Lewis and
Hide-and-Seek Alphabet
Valorie Fisher (Schwartz Book” by Robert Crowther
& Wade Books)
(Candlewick Press)
An old five-and-ten comes to life
in this “rebus” story—the classic
Under each number and letter of
these lift-the-flap books are simple
“Good
Night Little
Bunny”
by Emily
Hawkins
and John templar books
Butler (Templar Books)
This newly released “changing-picture book” is perfect for the youngest audience, depicting the story of
how Little Bunny overcomes his
fear of the dark with the help of his
forest friends. The sweet illustrations feature baby animals gently
transforming with the lift of a flap
or by simply turning the page. Published in February 2011.
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