Pulling the wool over your ears Jo Treggiari reads from her magical new kids book in Woodstock
A yarn is a story, and this story will unravel in a wool shop. The Golden Notebook bookstore of Woodstock, knowing its synonyms well, is hosting a book-signing at the Woodstock Wool Company. The book is The Curious Misadventures of Feltus Ovalton, and its author, Jo Treggiari, will be on hand to sign books and answer such questions as, “What does Wex Lethoo Radok! mean?â€Â
The story brings together a neglected child, whos not such a nice boy, with his strange and witchy great-aunt. There is imperfect magic, an array of oddball names and plenty of twisted humor.
Treggiari has drawn on some of her earliest writing experiences while crafting this book. The author got her start around age eight, when she decided that fairy tales just werent quite right. She rewrote the traditional stories “making the baddies really, really bad, and giving the princesses more grit.†Her writing for this book employs the use of narrative- “Feltus Ovalton LeRoi was not a nice boy. In fact he liked to think he was odious…â€Â- as well as italicized lines that are thoughts taken out of the main characters head: “Note to self: if youre the only kid on your floor, be a little more discreet when you revenge yourself on a snitch.â€Â
These Curious Misadventures are part of a revived genre. Recent popular series for young adults include the unfortunate orphans and quirkily named relatives of Lemony Snicket and the half-abused, half-loved magical novice underdog of J.K. Rowling fame. Both authors have drawn from childrens books of a previous generation. A Series of Unfortunate Events and Harry Potter bring to mind the eccentric style and magic of Matilda, The Witches and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Another series evoked is The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken. Aiken recounts the saga of two Victorian Era children as they adventure through possible parental murders, heartless governesses and near-disaster, all with delightful wit and wickedness.
Ken Greene
Ulster Publishings alm@nac
October 26, 2006
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