Remember: the book came first. We’ve reached the end of this particular series, which has been focusing on the best of British children’s literature. We’ve gone from Hogwarts to Narnia, from Paddington Station to the Hundred Acre Woods. Let’s wrap this series up.
Originally published in magazines over a year (1893-1894), the tales revolve around a young boy named Mowgli and are considered fables. The complete first book can be found online at Project Gutenberg’s website. The initial story tells of Mowgli being discovered and eventually being raised by wolves within the Indian Jungle. The wolves are assisted by a bear named Baloo, and a black panther named Bagheera. Mowgli must also eventually deal with an infamous tiger named Shere Khan. Eventual stories tell about Mowgli getting kidnapped by monkeys, Mowgli attempting to adjust to normal human life, and more. There have been several sequels to the original book, written by Kipling himself. The original story became so popular, it has spawned several films (one of the most famous being done by Disney), comic books, and even stage shows. There was even a BBC Radio Adaptation in 2008. There was hint of controversy, when Kipling, in a letter, confessed to plagiarism in the original story.
Everyone knows this nanny. She’s probably the world’s most famous nanny, come to think of it. What many people don’t know is that the famous character wasn’t actually created by Disney (despite popular belief and opinion). She was actually created by Australian P. L. Travers. While Travers is indeed Australian, it’s Mary, her prim and proper English manner, the location of the story (Number Seventeen Cherry Tree, London) and the popularity of the series in England that makes this a classic English children’s book.
The first book was originally published in 1934, and tells the story of the Banks family, who are brought back together with the help of a very vain, stern and usually angry nanny named Mary. Yes, Mary isn’t as plummy and cheery as she is portrayed in the film. She is, quite honestly, not very nice. Mary has a magical touch, however, that makes her absolutely magnificent. Jane and Michael (and at times, their siblings – yes, there are more than two children in the books) experience many things over the course of the eight books (published between 1934 and 1988). Amongst these adventures are a trip around the world with a compass, attending a birthday party at the zoo – complete with the animals, and even an upside-down tea party. The overall series is quite dark at times and frightening.
The most famous adaptation of the first four books is the 1964 Disney film of the same name, starring Dame Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. The struggle between P. L. Travers and Walt Disney is well documented, with several books and films being made about this topic. There was a television adaptation made in 1949 as well. In 2004, a stage show was created, with the Disney music featured, but the story was more true to the books than the film. The show started in London’s West End, then toured and even became a massively popular Broadway show (that included people walking on the ceiling and Mary flying over the audience).
Redwall (1986) is the first in a series of children’s fantasy novels, which are primarily aimed at older aged children. In total, there were twenty two novels, as well as two picture books published. The final book was published after Brian’s death. What made Redwall unique, amongst many things, is that the series did not follow any one particular timeframe. It took place over many periods in the history of the Redwall world. The books tell the stories of anthropomorphic animals, many of which are capable of speaking. The stories are so expansive, we’d be here for years if we re-told each one. These animals live similar lives to humans – in their day-to-day lives and more. The characters could go on expeditions, or have some conflict that must be resolved. Characters ranged from mice, otters, and voles to crows, snakes and foxes. During each book, there is usually two stories told. Brian was praised for the series. He was often compared to J.R.R. Tolkien and Richard Adams. The series has been translated in to more than 10 languages, and has been adapted into television shows, audiobooks and a 1996 opera.
This book was Richard’s first book, and to date, his most successful. The story tells of rabbits, mainly Fiver, who is known as a seer. He receives a vision of his warren’s upcoming destruction. After he and his brother, Hazel, are unable to convince the chief rabbit of this imminent attack, they leave with other rabbits, to find a new home. The group end up following the leadership of Hazel. Using Fiver’s visions, they eventually find Watership Down. Readers continue on to read the following adventures of the group in Watership Down. Watership Down is often listed as one of the saddest books in literature, for being blunt about the deaths of animals. Watership Down is also considered one of the greatest children’s books ever. It won numerous awards, including the 1972 Carnegie Medal. It’s been adapted into a film, television series, role playing game and a theatrical production. There were several audiobooks released.
While 1979’s The Snowman has no words, it’s most definitely a children’s book. This caused the sales of the book to increase drastically. The Snowman tells the tale of a young boy who, one day, builds a snowman. While the boy is sleeping that night, the Snowman comes to life at midnight. The boy wakes up and sees the Snowman attempting to understand human things, such as toys and appliances. They then fly off on a magical adventure, even flying to Brighton and over the ocean. The duo attend a party with other snowmen. Unlike the TV adaptation, there is no element of Christmas, nor is there any party or element of the scarf. They fly back to his home and the boy returns to bed. When he awakens the next morning, he finds his new friend, sadly, has melted and mourns this. The reason the book is so popular is probably due to the television adaptation, that is usually aired every Christmas. The adaptation varies slightly from the book, in which it includes elements of Christmas and an appearance by Father Christmas. The TV short film was so popular, it was nominated for an Academy Award. There has even been a stage adaptation, which has also been put on every year at Christmas time, by Sadler’s Wells.
No list would be complete without the story of Alice Liddell, a young girl with a rather large imagination and the wonderful ability to dream. She was based on a real person. There are several books in the Wonderland series, including Through the Looking Glass (1871). We all are familiar with the original (and first) story of how Alice fell down a rabbit hole and ended up in Wonderland, meeting all sorts of strange and wonderful characters (a dodo bird, a mad hatter, even the Jabberwocky). Alice encounters the Queen of Hearts and attends a mad tea party too. The story was originally published in 1865. Since its original publication, there have been numerous film adaptations, including two Disney films (one animated and one live), several TV adaptations, comic books, live theatre performances (including operas, ballets and even pantomimes) and more.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this series and have had a chance to reminisce over some of these popular books. Stay tuned for a special children’s book article that you may not want to miss.