Little Red Riding Hood by Roald Dahl

So I have been away doing shcoolish things as of late. I am working my way towards a degree and The Boog and I have been paving the way towards the start of first grade. Although I do updates on my Facebook Page Books We Grew Up With, I came to the sad realization that my last posting on the bloggedy blog was in January. I aim to remedy that with an impromptu post and the promise to return more frequently. The Boog's reading skills and taste in books have changed substantially over the last half of this year and I look forward to sharing some of our new found favorites along with some classic standbys.

With that I leave with this poem I recently stumbled upon from Roald Dahl's version of Little Red Riding Hood. The poem can be found in his ghastly collection of classics "Revolting Rhymes."

A version only Dahl could have thought up! ;)

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The Sesame Street Storybook: The Magic Apple

The Sesame Street Storybook
The Magic Apple
Verse Adaptation by Albert G. Miller
Illustrated by Kelly Oechsli
1971

There was once a simple far boy, poor but honest as the dickens, and he worked from dawn to midnight, pitching hay and feeding chickens.

"I am poor and I am honest," said the farm boy, "but it's rough working every day till midnight pitching hay and other stuff."

Thought the poor but honest farm boy, as he leaned upon his rake,

"if I had one wish to wish for, There is only one I'd make. I would wish the trade this barnyard and this yucchy farm-boy life, for a dandy golden palace and a princess for a wife."

He was sound asleep one  morning underneath an apple tree, when he heard a great explosion that was loud as it could be. BOOM! A lady stood beside him, saying,

"Hello there, young fella. I'm your handy fairy god-ma, like the one in Cinderella."

Pointing upward in the tree, the fairy answered,

"If you pick that magic apple what you wish will come to be."

Then there came a loud explosion, and before her godson spoke, she had vanished very quickly in a cloud of purple smoke.

"I can't reach that magic apple," said the farm boy. "Not at all."

So he grabbed the tree ans shook it, but the apple wouldn't fall.

Then he got so tired from shaking that he tumbled in a heap underneath the magic apple, where he promptly fell asleep

Then his snoring shook the tree trunk from he bottom to the top and the rosy magic apple fell into his mouth- KER-PLOP!

"Glugga-mugga," said the farm boy."Argha-bargha, google-gapple."

But you couldn't understand him 'cause his mouth was full of apple.

To make a long story short, a king shows up and, as luck would have it, he had been looking fro a farm boy since the spring who possessed a magic apple. He invites the farm boy to move into his palace and marry his daughter. He even sweetens the pot by offering him his own apartment with a stove and running water! Well, how can the farm boy resist an offer like that?

The princess didn't look exactly like the princess of his dreams, but a small oversight compared to a life full of banana milkshakes and rubber duckies.

This was the first in the in a series of larger format anthologies known as The Sesame Street Storybooks.

Also By:

The Sesame Street 1,2,3 Storybook

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The Juniper Tree: Pictures by Maurice Sendak

The Juniper Tree and other Tales from Grimm
Selected by Lore Segal and Maurice Sendak
illustrated by Maurice Sendak
1973

Happy Mother's Day to me! My husband surprised me with a Boxed Set of Grimm Fairytales illustrated by the late Mr. Maurice Sendak. Unfortunately Mr. Sendak is no longer with us, he passed away on Tuesday, so this gift is extremely special to me. 

 lovingly wrapped and quickly delivered by Vanilla Dog, a very quaint shop over at Etsy.
Needless to say I will be visiting again soon!

Here are a few sample illustrations:

They are a bit on the Grimm side, so I won't be sharing them with The Boog until she is a bit older. For now, they make an attractive addition to my vintage library!

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A Gorey Rumpelstiltskin

Rumplestiltskin
Retold By Edith H. Tarcov
Pictures By Edward Gorey
1973

Once upon a time there was a poor miller who had a beautiful daughter… and thus the story goes of Rumpelstitlskin and his grave ill tempered behavior. This story is plenty gruesome (the miller’s daughter has promised Rumpelstiltskin her first born in exchange for some golden straw) but what makes it a bit more macabre are the illustrations by Gorey.

"Now the poor miller's daughter was all alone.
She really did not know how
to spin straw into gold.
She did not know waht to do.
So she began to cry."


"Don't cry miller's daughter,
the little man said. I will help you.
But
you must promise to give me something...."

"Anything! Anything you ask! she cried"

"A year later, the king and the queen
had a beautiful baby."

"You promised to give me your first baby, said the littleman."

When the queen refuses he gives her 3 days to figure out what his name is. The queen sends her messanger to do some recon and he overhears the little man singing:
" Tonigth my cakes I bake.
Tonigt my beer I manke. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow
The queen's little baby I take!

Lucky Ill go as lucky I came
for R U M P E L S T I L T S K I N is my name! "

"Now it was the third evening and the little man came again.

Good evening, queen, he said
Do you know my name?

Tell me, is it Tom? the queen asked.

No.

Hm... let me see. Is it Dick?

No.

Well, let me think... Is it Harry?

No. The little man laughed and he shook his head.
No, no. That's not my name.

Then .... tell me... asked the queen.
Could it be.....?
Is it...
Perhaps....
R U M P E L S T I L T S K I N?"

It doesn’t end well for Rumpelstiltskin and his temper gets the best of him. He ends up stomping so hard he banishes himself deep into the earth…..No one has seen him since.



I grew up loving the dark and whimsical works of Gorey. I own a few of his books and must say that now that I look back, they seem to be more suited to adults than to children. All the same, I think it’s good to instill something a bit different from the realm of kids books The Boog is used to. Like myself, The Boog, has developed a penchant for Melancholy.

The story was reprinted into a collection of Three Classic Children’s Stories illustrated by Gorey, along with Little Red Riding Hood and Jack the Giant-Killer.

Also By:
The Gashlycrumb Tinies

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Obscure Scan Sunday: The Story of Goldilocks and The Three Bears

The Story of Goldilocks and The Three Bears
Read Aolng With Me
Award Publications LTD
1985

I have a ton of obscure children's books in my collection so I decided to showcase them via "Obscure Scan Sunday." Most of them will be stories that you may be familiar with, some of them will leave a ? hanging over your head. For now, lets focus on an old favorite all about a little messy blonde girl and Three very hungry Bears.

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