Book Review: The Walloping Window-blind, Adapted and Illustrated by Jim LaMarche

A capital ship for an ocean trip
   Was "The Walloping Window-blind;"
No gale that blew dismayed her crew
   Or troubled the captain's mind.

This picture book is Jim LaMarche's adaptation and pictorial vision of Charles E. Carryl's fun, rollicking, nonsensical, sea shanty-ish adventure poem, first written in 1885. My girls, who groaningly interrupted me after the first stanza with "Is this a rhyming book?" soon got into the swing of the poem, greatly aided by LaMarche's funny, imaginative illustrations featuring kids as the captain and crew of the Walloping Window-blind.

This is a poem I remember from my childhood, that I'd all but forgotten until I saw this book at the library. (It was made into a folk song at some point, and I remember hearing it on an LP record when I was young.) The poem has been "adapted" (i.e. changed) slightly from the original, in places, to reflect a more universal, PC appeal. It's not something that would necessarily bother other people, but I don't, as a general rule, like it when the words of an author are "updated" for PC purposes. I understand the reason for it (mostly), but I don't approve. (She said, with her nose in the air.) To me, it's changing the historic record. In all fairness, my peevishness aside, I think the changes are well done, and in keeping with the general spirit of the poem. And I adore LaMarche's kid crew; their facial expressions are priceless.

The Walloping Window-blind

(The original version)

by Charles E. Carryl

A capital ship for an ocean trip
   Was "The Walloping Window-blind;"
No gale that blew dismayed her crew
   Or troubled the captain's mind.

The man at the wheel was taught to feel
   Contempt for the wildest blow,
And it often appeared, when the weather had cleared,
   That he'd been in his bunk below.

The boatswain's mate was very sedate,
   Yet fond of amusement, too;
And he played hop-scotch with the starboard watch
   While the captain tickled the crew.

And the gunner we had was apparently mad,
   For he sat on the after-rail,
And fired salutes with the captain's boots,
   In the teeth of the booming gale.

The captain sat in a commodore's hat,
   And dined, in a royal way,
On toasted pigs and pickles and figs
   And gummery bread, each day.

But the cook was Dutch, and behaved as such;
   For the food that he gave the crew
Was a number of tons of hot-cross buns,
   Chopped up with sugar and glue.

And we all felt ill as mariners will,
   On a diet that's cheap and rude;
And we shivered and shook as we dipped the cook
   In a tub of his gluesome food.

Then nautical pride we laid aside,
   And we cast the vessel ashore
On the Gulliby Isles, where the Poohpoo smiles,
   And the Anagazanders roar.

 

Composed of sand was that favored land,
   And trimmed with cinnamon straws;
And pink and blue was the pleasing hue
   Of the Tickletoeteaser's claws.

And we sat on the edge of the sandy ledge
   And shot at the whistling bee;
And the Binnacle-bats wore water-proof hats
   as they danced in the sounding sea.

On rubagub bark, from dawn to dark,
   We fed, till we all had grown
Uncommonly shrunk, - when a Chinese junk
   Came by from the torriby zone.

She was stubby and square, but we didn't much care,
   And we cheerily put to sea;
And we left the crew of the junk to chew
   The bark of the rubagub tree.

Bird Love - Four Picture Book Mini Reviews

   My girls are obsessed with birds at the moment. All the books that Susanna loves the most are about birds: Owl Babies, The Best Nest, and the Gossie books.
  My older girls have been fascinated by the huge flocks of small birds that stay here in the south during the winter. One day as we were going to town (which takes us about twenty minutes) we all watched in wonder as this HUGE flock of birds burst off the ground and flew for miles along with us. There must have been many thousands of birds, because the flock stretched thickly for literally miles, and we couldn't see the end of it. My girls watched them in silent awe the whole trip until we saw them turn and head in another direction. And of course they were full of questions. What made them gather together in such huge numbers? How did they decide where they were going? How could so many birds all in one place find enough to eat in winter? On and on the questions went. So we started looking into the answers. Along the way, of course, bird picture books caught their eye at the library. So here is our recent "bird" line-up of library books:

 Birds

Written by Kevin Henkes
Illustrated by Laura Dronzek
Ages: 2 and up
Publisher: Harper Collins

A simple, appealing book about birds from an artistic, imaginative standpoint. The first part of the book talks about their physical characteristics in simple terms. The last half talks about them from a "what if.." point of view. For example:

"If birds made marks with their tail feathers when they flew,
think what the sky would look like."

  (The illustrations show bird "contrails" on that page.)
  The illustrations are perfect for the text. They are bright, bold paintings that are almost child-like in their simplicity. My girls loved the book.

 The Language of Doves
Written by Rosemary Wells
Illustrated by Greg Shed
Ages: 4 and up
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers

  On Julietta's sixth birthday, her grandfather gives her an Isabella dove, and tells her the story of his Isabella dove he was given as a boy and what became of her.
  This was a good story. Very interesting, historically speaking, as well. (Don't forget to read the author's note at the front.) I love stories of children interacting with their grandparents. And I love the idea of passing on family stories. The illustrations are marvelous. Every picture glows with light, and feels like a snapshot of a memory.

Crow Call
Written by Lois Lowry
Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
Ages: 4 and up

Publisher: Scholastic Press

  Liz is going hunting for crows with her stranger father who just returned from the war. It is the story of a little girl and her father connecting in a real way, which resonates with all children (and their parents). It is based on the true experiences of the author. My girls loved this story. They could relate because their daddy takes them on daddy-daughter dates all the time, and they love that connection time with him.

  Again, a beautiful pairing of art to story. The colors work so well for the hesitancy and awkwardness that both of the characters may be feeling, as well as the time period in which the story is set. And the facial expressions are wonderful. The illustrations feel so hopeful, which captures the essence of the story perfectly.

Albert
Written by Donna Jo Napoli
Illustrated by Jim LaMarche

Ages: 4 and up

Publisher: Harcourt Trade Publishers

  Fearful Albert can always find a reason not to go outside. Then one day when he sticks his hand out the window to check the weather, a twig falls in his hand. In shock and surprise he watches as two cardinals build their nest in his hand. And the experience will change his life forever.

  My girls, while recognizing how absurd Albert's situation was, were thoroughly delighted by this book. They both laughed at and empathized with some of Albert's fears, and they rejoiced when he was finally set free.

The illustrations are so wonderful. I think Jim LaMarche captured Albert perfectly. We oohed and aahed over the pictures. And the girls were fascinated by the fact that they were rendered in colored pencil. Oh, to have talent like that!

Can you think of other picture books featuring birds that will aid our "obsession"?