Carbonel: The King of the Cats by Barbara Sleigh
Illustrations by V. H. Drummond. A New York Review Children’s
Collection reprint, it has a red spine as do all their books. Rosemary Brown
buys an old broom and a black cat from a retiring witch, and soon finds to her
surprise that while she is holding the broom handle, she can understand the
cat’s speech. He is Carbonel, a kind but rather haughty cat who was kidnapped
as a kitten to be the witch’s minion. To undo the spell that binds him so that
he can take rightful place as King of the Cats, Rosemary must, with the help of
her new friend John, find the old pointed hat, cauldron, and book of spells
that were used to weave the original magic. This won’t be easy because they
were scattered at the time of the sale, but with some sleuthing and a bit of
magic Carbonel could ascend his throne on the rooftops of London and reclaim
his rightful title as King of the Cats. I loved this book and read it in
McQueeney (was it in 4th or 5th Grade? Certainly, by the
5th). Because of it, I really wanted my own cat, and when Mrs.
Harris was giving away kittens, I got one. Since it wasn’t a boy and a black
cat, but brindle and a girl, I named it Rosemary instead of Carbonel. The Witch
Itch again, kids’ secret summer adventures, the hidden life of animals, magic –
it tickled all the tropes of my childhood. A secondhand ex-library book. And I
have always remembered the Summoning Spell from that day to this.
Ranking: Essential. Almost Foundational.
File Code: Fantasy. Novel. Hardback.
The Kingdom of Carbonel (Illustrated by Richard Kennedy), and
Carbonel and Calidor (Illustrated by Charles Front), by Barbara Sleigh.
When I found out they had reprinted ‘Carbonel’ at last, I
also saw that it had two sequels (also reprinted) that I never knew about.
‘Calidor’ hadn’t even been written until 1978! I ordered them too, years ago
now, but haven’t read them yet. Perhaps I’m afraid they’ll affect old memories
of the original; sequels can do that. Sleigh passed away in 1982, so if I had
been more on the ball, I might have been able to send her a fan letter. I have
a feeling this series got its reprints because of the Harry Potter craze, so I
have Rowling to thank for that.
Ranking: Essentially Unread.
File Code: Fantasy. Novel. Hardbacks.
Late for Hallowe’en, by Camilla Fegan. Illustrations by
Eileen Armitage.
“Every now and then I run across a book that I could have
read as a kid, that I probably would have read as a kid, or that maybe I even
did read but lost in the mists of time, so simply and easily it slips into the
shelf by old favorites and odd influences. Such a book is Late For Hallowe'en,
by Camilla Fegan. It is the story of ten-year-old English girl named Judy,
and what happens when a witch named Murgatroyd and her black
cat Hornsbydale set up housekeeping in the rhododendron cave at the
bottom of her garden. Murgatroyd has missed the Annual Witches' Dance
on Hallowe'en (hence the title) where the flying spell on her
broomstick can be renewed, and so she is stranded for a year. If I had to guess, I would
place Late for Hallowe'en's literary ancestors as The
Midnight Folk by John Masefield, Bed-knob and Broomstick by
Mary Norton, and Carbonel, The King of Cats by Barbara Sleigh.
The illustrations by Eileen Armitage are also reminiscent of Carbonel,
being squiggly and suggestive rather than having pinned-down details. This book
was first published in 1966 in Great Britain; the American edition (the one I
have) in 1967. A quick search revealed that it is on a "Deserves
To Be Reprinted" list, that it evokes fond memories from those who
recalled it, and the one edition for sale on Amazon was going for $165. I got
mine for fifty cents at our local school book sale. This seems magical enough
to me.” – Power of Babel. An ex-library book [which is w/o the jacket above]. Witch Itch!
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Fantasy. Children’s Novel. Hardback.
The Gammage Cup (with Illustrations by Erik Blegvad), and The
Whisper of Glocken (with Illustrations by Imero Gorbato), by Carol Kendall.
I’ve been aware of these books since the early 70’s, when I
read about them in an article on Children’s Literature in the World Book
Encyclopedia, but never saw a copy of either until I found the pair at a San
Antonio school book sale. These ex-library copies have that kind of school
re-binding that manages to reproduce cover pictures directly on the boards. You
don’t see that much now-a-days. It is a perfect vehicle for these old classics.
As soon as I read them, I knew I had found a new old treasure. The Minnipins
are a little race that live in the secluded Land-between-the-Mountains. Most of
them live quite ordinary, regulated lives, but then there are “Them”, the
eccentrics who can’t help but express their non-conformities. In the first
book, when a contest goes through the Valley to determine who shall receive the
Gammage Cup, “They” are banished to the mountains, where they discover a danger
that threatens their whole land: the cannibalistic Mushrooms have broken
through the caves and are ready to invade. Can “They” recover the ancient
secrets of the Minnipin race, and convince the stodgy villagers of the danger? In
the second book, the Valley is threatened by a flood, and five new heroes
journey to unblock the stoppage. They find the surprising cause and save the
Valley from another invasion. A flood and a sudden journey? Our night-flight to
Aunt Melva’s in the Flood of ’72 - or was it ’73 – gave me some bred-in-the-bone
memories to help supply emotions for that. These would have been treasured
childhood books if I’d read them then. Now they’re just treasured books. Maps!
Pictured Maps!
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Fantasy. Novels. Hardback.
Worzel Gummidge, by Barbara Euphan Todd. Illustrated by Tony
Ross.
When John and Susan go to stay in the country to recover from
whooping cough, they meet Worzel Gummidge, a somewhat slow, cranky, but
good-natured scarecrow with a turnip for a head. Rural adventures with the
secret scarecrow community. Quite popular in Britain, with radio and TV
adaptations, and several more books in the series.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Fantasy. Children’s Novel. Softcover.
The Borrowers, The Borrowers Afield, The Borrowers Afloat,
The Borrowers Aloft, and The Borrowers Avenged, by Mary Norton. Illustrated by
Beth and Joe Krush.
A series about tiny people who live in old houses and
“borrow” from the humans within as a means of living. “The primary cause of
trouble and source of plot is the interaction between the minuscule Borrowers
and the "human beans", whether the human motives are kind or selfish.
The main character is teenage Arrietty, who often begins relationships with Big
People that have chaotic effects on the lives of herself and her family,
causing her parents to react with fear and worry. As a result of Arrietty's
curiosity and friendships with Big People, her family are forced to move their
home several times from one place to another, making their lives more
adventurous than the average Borrower would prefer. After escaping from their
home under the kitchen floorboards of an old English manor they finally settle
down in the home of a caretaker on the grounds of an old church.” – Wikipedia.
It’s funny. When I was a kid, I somehow felt that all good books were written
ages and ages ago. The last Borrower book came out in 1982, and Mary Norton
died in 1992; it no more would have come into my head to write a fan letter to her
than of writing to Lewis Carroll. One of my favorite ideas in childhood, of
little people leading hidden lives all around us, using thimbles for cups,
watches for wall clocks, etc. It worked just as well with mice. I wanted to be
tiny myself (avoiding attention?) and look at the lumbering awkward hulk I
became. My copy of “The Borrowers” is a Scholastic book; the others are HBJ
Voyager editions. The series is constantly being adapted; the best so far is
the Studio Ghibli “The Secret World of Arrietty”.
Ranking: Keepers.
File Code: Fantasy. Novels. Softcovers.
Bed-Knob and Broomstick, by Mary Norton. Illustrated by Erik
Blegvad.
I can’t quite pin down exactly when we saw Disney’s “Bedknobs
and Broomsticks”, whether it was during the first or second run there in the
early 70’s. I THINK I got the book in 2nd grade; it was a Scholastic
book with a cover from the movie. This copy is a replacement of roughly the
same vintage. I remember being in love with Angela Lansbury’s Miss Price; in my
confusion I didn’t know if I wanted to marry her or just BE her. She was a good
witch, a concept that was fairly new to me (despite knowing Glinda almost from
birth – but she was more of a Fairy Godmother type) and anyone with magic
powers (or learning magic powers) appealed to me. I soon got into reading the
book, and fell in love with it, too; though I always considered the book and
the movie two distinct entities, if somehow vaguely related. The book is really
two books in one, The Magic Bed-Knob and Bonfires and Broomsticks. I especially
loved two illustrations, for the paraphernalia of it all: Miss Price’s basement
workplace, and Emelius Jones’s alchemist shop (especially the little frog
leaning pensively against the hourglass). I wanted rooms like that. I have a
far distant memory of reading the book in the car when we were over at Aunt
Melva’s house and Mom was ‘only going to run in for a minute’.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Fantasy. Novel. Softcover.
The Nip and Tuck War, by Mary Mian. Illustrated by Beth and
Joe Krush.
“The Nip and Tuck War, by Mary Mian, read in the
1972-1973 school season, which was 4th Grade to me, came in the mail this
Monday. The 4th Grade was a sort of mini-Renaissance to me, as I really tucked
into reading, partly, I must confess, to impress my teacher, Mrs. Bratton, on
whom I had a crush. Nip was a boy raised by animals who could understand their
language. Tuck was the head goat of the herd that Nip cared for. When the villainous
Baron Gnarl and his son Cramp try to overthrow King Boldo the Ninth (which I at
first tried to pronounce so as to rhyme with plinth) and his
beautiful daughter the Princess Cristella, Nip leads an animal resistance to
free the imprisoned royalty and restore peaceful times to the kingdom. I
remember I set out to prove at the time that the story of Nip and the story of
Mowgli bore more than a passing resemblance to one another. It's the first
instance of literary criticism I ever essayed. One line I always remembered
from it over the years: "Witless wight! A wart thou wert!" I always
thought it was spoken by an evil Duchess, but it turns out it was the ersatz
dragon at the beginning of the tale. Alliteration and archaisms have always
been favorites of mine. While I was re-reading it, the style of the
illustrations nagged at me. I had seen the imprecise coloring and uneven line
somewhere else before. I looked up the artists, Beth and Joe Krush, and saw
that they had done all the Borrowers books by Mary Norton. I
think it is a good style that complements the text, and it screams the 1960's.”
– Power of Babel. I must also say that this ex-library book has a map. I always
love a good map.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Fantasy. Novel. Hardback.
