Of Magic Lands and Queer-Looking Folks
I was recently reminded of these children's books that I adored as a kid in grade school. These were among the first novels that I read and fell in love with that I borrowed them from the school library again and again and again. One of my sisters even thought that the book was ours because she always see it at our place.
The Magic Faraway Tree and The Folk of the Faraway Tree were actually the second and third books in a 4-book series. I didn't know it at that time and I didn't really care because the novel stood on its own. The series included The Enchanted Wood, The Folk of the Faraway Tree and Up the Faraway Tree.
Characters
Both books tells the adventures of 3 siblings (Jo, Bessie and Fanny) in the Enchanted Wood. There they came across an enormous magic tree where queer-looking, yet friendly, folks live such as:
- Moon-Face - the rounded faced guy who also lives in a round house with round furnitures
- Saucepan Man - as his name suggests he always carries a bunch of saucepan and kettles in this body.
- Silky - the silky golden haired fairy
- Dame Washalot - this character washes clothes all the time. Residents and guests of the Magic Faraway Tree walking up and down the tree should be alert for any sound of dirty water being thrown down the tree to be able to go under cover to prevent getting wet.
- Mr. Watzisname - the guy who do not know his name.
What's more is that roving magic lands rests at the top of the tree every once in a while where the main characters meet more curious folks.
Cultivating the Creative Imagination
In our society where children would rather watch TV or movies, it would be beneficial for them to take a moment and read novels like this to feed their imagination and help them to be more creative.
How about you? What were the books that you enjoyed reading as a child and why? Feel free to leave your comments below.
Thanks for taking time to read this hub.
