We’ll Always Have Frances, Emma, The Little Prince and Middlemarch

We have read that author Russell Hoban has died in London. It was another realization, that our Christmases still revolve around the books we give each other, that came from that sad death notice and provoked this post about our own holiday choices, now still being ordered today.

One of the Frances books we bought was A Baby Sister for Frances , which came in handy when baby sisters arrived in our house, but it was no more popular than Bedtime for Frances, A Birthday for Frances and Bread and Jam for Frances. There are seven books in the series, all but one illustrated by his late first wife Lillian; the first was done by the equally famous Garth Williams.

The most treasured present  for any occasion in our family is a book. Immediately, the recipient opens it and usually has difficulty going to another gift, so captured by the world that is opening in their hands. This year we’re giving a ‘threads’ version of
Emma: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Jane Austen both to ourselves and granddaughters.

This Penguin reissue is called the ‘threads’ edition as it’s sketched out in a traditional illustrative manner, then hand stitched using needle and thread. The final covers are sculpt embossed textured. We also bought the Black Beauty and Secret Garden books done in the same fashion with cover art by Jillian Tamaki. Although very grateful to our daughter for giving us a Nook for our birthday, the presentation of these classics were just irresistible.

So was the pop-up version of The Little Prince Deluxe Pop-Up Book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery and two copies this year’s Wonder Struck by Brian Selznick  … one for grandchildren and one for ourselves signed by the author. We have a number of bookshelves in our playroom that we hold aside for books that we haven’t given directly to a grandchild so they can remember enjoying them in our house, in that room.

The New York Times’ review of Wonder Struck, A Deaf Boy’s New York Quest, referred to the book (which it named one of the ten best children’s books of 2011) as “engrossing, intelligent, beautifully engineered and expertly told both in word and image.”

And yes, we’re getting a couple of DVDs for the holidays. One as a gift from a daughter, The Cazalets (the series we’ve mentioned before on these posts) and Middlemarch, the George Eliot Masterpiece Theater series from the book (which we’re thinking of re-reading, too).

We’d also recommend The Buccaneers (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) and the
Masterpiece Theater version of The Buccaneers.