Dianna Wynne Jones’s Eight Days of Luke (probably for ~12yrs) is an interesting vision of the Norse Pantheon—it shares some common quality with the D’Aulaires illustration of Loki that brought it to mind
Oddly, the cruelty to children thing is one reason I think that despite all his personal unpleasantness Roald Dahl will keep going—adults are really cruel to kids in his books and he's like yeah being a kid is all about being pushed around by these people at their convenience without ever understanding why. But maybe part of what makes that different is that the cruelty in a Dahl novel will always be pointed, it's not background noise.
Totally, Dahl is different because he’s doing something with the cruelty rather than it just being a taken for granted element. He’s another one I’m pretty ignorant of though! Definitely read Matilda in like third grade and still remember with shocking clarity when the headmistress puts her in the iron maiden but that might be it.
13 Clocks sounds really cool! And a kid’s first guide to William Blake—this is exactly the kind of rec I’m dying to get
I don't really like Matilda but I love The BFG (which my mom used to read out loud to me) and I remember liking The Witches (though the ending may be a bit much for some kids).
I haven't read it so this isn't a recommendation exactly but Ursula Le Guin actually has a picture book for kids called "Leese Webster"—I don't know anything about it except that it's about a spider? but if you can get it through your library or something…
Oh yeah, I was definitely aware she wrote children's stuff but somehow it's never occurred to me to look for any of it. Lol it figures that none of them have wiki pages but I'm quite intrigued by Solomon Leviathan's Nine Hundred and Thirty-First Trip Around the World
Dianna Wynne Jones’s Eight Days of Luke (probably for ~12yrs) is an interesting vision of the Norse Pantheon—it shares some common quality with the D’Aulaires illustration of Loki that brought it to mind
Ah she’s another author I know I need to investigate further. Thanks for the rec!
Oddly, the cruelty to children thing is one reason I think that despite all his personal unpleasantness Roald Dahl will keep going—adults are really cruel to kids in his books and he's like yeah being a kid is all about being pushed around by these people at their convenience without ever understanding why. But maybe part of what makes that different is that the cruelty in a Dahl novel will always be pointed, it's not background noise.
I haven't read it in ages but I remember really liking the James Thurber book The 13 Clocks. Also, in picture books, the Provensens are really good… https://www.themarginalian.org/2013/03/21/william-blakes-inn-provensen/
Totally, Dahl is different because he’s doing something with the cruelty rather than it just being a taken for granted element. He’s another one I’m pretty ignorant of though! Definitely read Matilda in like third grade and still remember with shocking clarity when the headmistress puts her in the iron maiden but that might be it.
13 Clocks sounds really cool! And a kid’s first guide to William Blake—this is exactly the kind of rec I’m dying to get
I don't really like Matilda but I love The BFG (which my mom used to read out loud to me) and I remember liking The Witches (though the ending may be a bit much for some kids).
I haven't read it so this isn't a recommendation exactly but Ursula Le Guin actually has a picture book for kids called "Leese Webster"—I don't know anything about it except that it's about a spider? but if you can get it through your library or something…
Oh yeah, I was definitely aware she wrote children's stuff but somehow it's never occurred to me to look for any of it. Lol it figures that none of them have wiki pages but I'm quite intrigued by Solomon Leviathan's Nine Hundred and Thirty-First Trip Around the World