Sunday, November 28, 2010

30th November Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745) L.M. Montgomery (1874 -1942)





Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, poet and Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. He is best known as the author of Gulliver's Travels. Is this a children's book? The idea definitely appeals to children even if the length and language doesn't appeal to modern children. A good way to introduce the idea is to use a book like Usborne's Young Reading Gulliver' Travels or serialise an abridged version such as the one written by Martin Jenkins and illustrated by award winning Chris Riddell, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver. This book contains all of Gulliver's voyages and because Riddell has brought to life Swift's imagination in his depictions of the people, creatures and kingdoms, it is more accessible to younger readers than the original.

L. M. Montgomery was a Canadian author. She always published her books using her initials in this way. Her name was Lucy Maud, but she was known to family and friends as Maud. She is best known for her series about a young orphan called Anne. We first meet her as an eleven year old in Anne of Green Gables. As for Jonathan Swift's Gulliver, children often first meet Anne in a movie or television series, however also like Gulliver, young children can get to know her through abridged versions such as Mary-Claire Hellendorfer and Ellen Beier's Anne of Green Gables which is a picture book version.

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