CLAP YOUR HANDS

If you believe in community activism.

(Thanks to Chris)

Comments

[Brainy Jello]

I gotta say, that's a first.

[southerngirl]

Have these people been spending too much time with Willie Nelson?

[southerngirl]

Simulpost! Brainy just types faster.

[pepe]

do the fairies pay property tax?

[gfunksizzle]

Sounds like these people have had a few too many tasers in the testicles.

Or ferrets in the haystack, either one.

[Slightly Irregular]

These guys said it best.

[Brainy Jello]

(psst: slightly - linkey no workey)

[Somewhere North]

Fairies? Silly villagers. It's the middle earth people they should be worried about.

[PirateBoy]

Just when you thought the Dark Ages had ended....

Hey, where'd I leave that fairie dust?

[Dave (not Barry)]

The leasing agent who works in the front office of our apartment complex is a fairie..

not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Slightly Irregular]

Brainy J - just trust me, they did say it, even if the link is being redirected. Apologies to all - it worked when I previewed.

*prepares wrists for slitting*

[Bumble]

They better hope they're not dealing with The Fairy Rebel.

For the record, if you have youngsters who like to read, this is an excellent book. It was one of my favorites growing up, and I still read it occasionally, though it only takes me an hour now. The author also wrote the "Indian in the Cupboard" books, which I never read, and "I, Houdini" which is also quite good.

[Mr. Completely]

Fairies. Why did it have to be fairies?

[mudstuffin]

I was once stopped dead in my tracks by a fairy when I tried to use a contemporary valance in a room that was otherwise old-world chic.

[southerngirl]

Fairies wear boots, and ya gotta believe me.

*snork* to Mud!

[Renee]

MacFeng Shui WBAGNFARB.

[crossgirl]

this could never happen in florida. we LIKE to wreck the habitats of endanged, protected and infrequently seen critters.

[Jeff Meyerson]

The Disturbed Fairies - NOT AGNFA Scottish RB

[judi]

bumble, we LOVE that book :) another good fairy-related book is stardust, by neil gaiman... though this one is better for those older than what is traditionally considered to be a child.

[Bumble]

judi~ I'll have to check that out. Other good fantasy fiction for young readers: Ella Enchanted and The Two Princesses of Bamarre, both by Gail Carson Levine. They're like really elaborate and well-written fairy tales. Ooh. Have you ever read Number the Stars? Historical fiction about a young girl who lived during the Nazi occupation of Denmark and helped to save the life of her Jewish friend. Also very good. We read it in fifth grade at school. I could write a whole list; I loved to read growing up as much as I do now. The Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, The Boxcar Children (The originals are the best, though I read a lot of the others), Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, the Wayside School books... There's so much good stuff out there to read. I don't understand how people can't love it.

[Bumble]

Dang that's a long post. In case you guys haven't noticed, if I get started on a topic that interests me, I can go on for days. *sigh*

[judi]

i've read ella but not the other one. generally read YA or children's fantasy/sci fi, and my daughter actually hopes to study/write folkloric stuff so those are great. check out anything to do with "Faerie" and a bunch of adult re-written fairy tales (i mean ADULT) compiled by datlow and windling.

for the kids: you can't go wrong with patricia wrede. she's MARVELOUS. the whole 'dealing with dragons' series and the two-book (so far i hope) series about mairelon the magician... oh man, could i go on too! ;)

[Bumble]

So much to read and so little time. My reading list grows ever longer...

[Sallyacious]

Robin McKinley is also a great fairy tale writer. She's got some YA and some very much more adult fairytales.

[Mr. Completely]

*hands Bumble a bright shiny object...*

[Bumble]

What am I, a raccoon?!? :-)

[southerngirl]

"those older than what is traditionally considered to be a child."

Uh, Judi, does this mean that I, as an adult, might enjoy it? Give it to southerngirl!!..she reads ANYTHING. Then she shares with her kids.

Bumble ~ The Boxcar Children" ~ I have some of these, b/c my in-laws passed on one of the older grandkids' books to my kids. (Yes, I read them first.)

Beverly Cleary RULES. 'Nuff said.

The Fairie Rebel .. my kiddies are 9 (girl)and 12 (boy.)Which one would it interest? Oh, never mind, I'll read it myself.

Next: My favorite: Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Last, but certainly not least, "There's so much good stuff out there to read. I don't understand how people can't love it."

Couldn't have said it beter, myself.

[southerngirl]

"better," that is.

[judi]

sgirl, my daughter read it when she was about 9, if that helps.

[Bumble]

I don't remember when I first read The Fairy Rebel; Somewhere between 4th and 6th grade.

Yes, Laura Ingalls Wilder is awesome, too. Mom got me the boxed set from a book order in 6th grade. I was the kid everybody but the teachers hated because mom bought me just about everything I wanted from the book orders. The teachers got ordering credit for everything the kids ordered, so my 5th grade teacher was loathe to give me up to my 6th grade teacher. She told me I could come back and order from her if I wanted. :-)

[Bumble]

But if you like humorous stuff (and I know you do :-) you should also read the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books and the Wayside School books. The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle book I linked to is the first of four; there's also Mrs. P-W's Magic, Hello Mrs. P-W, and Mrs. P-W's Farm. They're a series of short stories about an odd woman who is very good with children and knows ways (some magical, some not) of curing their faults. The Wayside School books (amazon listed them in reverse order, but they're all in that set) are about the adventures of wacky kids and their wacky teachers at a crazy school. Those books crack me up. Some of the humor is kind of complex for kids, but the more I read them, the more I got, and the funnier they were. They're great books.

[southerngirl]

Thanks, Judi & Bumble. I got the LIW Little House boxed set when I was 8. My son read some of them, and they're now sitting on my daughter's bedroom shelf. She's started reading them, but hasn't finished, b/c they have an accelerated reader program at school, and unfortunately, these books are not on the list. Go figure.

*going to Christmas list to add "The Fairy Rebel" and "The Wayside School."

[Bumble]

We did accelerated reader in school. I took a ton of those tests because a lot of the books they were over were things I'd already read. I took tests over the first 4 Chronicles of Narnia before I'd read them based on my knowledge of the old movie versions; aced them, but I probably still shouldn't have done it. Catherine Called Birdy, A Royal Pain (hilarious book)... fun stuff. southerngirl, the first one is called Sideways Stories from Wayside School, then Wayside School is Falling Down and last, Wayside School gets a Little Stranger. They're well worth reading. Very clever.

[Bumble]

*delete out-of-place "they" from previous post for better flow*

*must learn to read my comments before posting*

[Dux]

OOh! I should have found this thread days ago!
I wrote my college entrance exam on Ella Enchanted. (They must've liked it since I'm here, and got a couple of scholarships too!)
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean is one of those retold fairy tales for grown-ups that's really good. But my favorite is Jack the Giant Killer.
Charles DeLint has good urban fantasy stuff, but some of it can get kinda heavy. However, I love how he uses Native American folk tales interweaved with faery and old world folk tales.
So much good stuff! Merecedes Lackey has great stuff, and Sabriel by Garth Nix is one of my all time favorite books.
Okay, I could go on for hours here. I love sci-fi and fantasy books!! (Terry Pratchett!!)