Monday, January 03, 2011

Teaser Tuesday 66: A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


For Christmas, I received 100 Classic Books (USA version) for the Nintendo DS from my sister. A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys is the second book I have read on it. I remember reading these myths as a kid, so it's been fun reacquainting myself with them. The stories are narrated by Cousin Eustace, and this week's teaser comes from the epilogue of "The Golden Touch." And yes, this is only two sentences!


It is a peculiarity of these October days, that each of them seems to occupy a great deal of space, although the sun rises rather tardily at that season of the year, and goes to bed, as little children ought, at sober six o’clock, or even earlier. We cannot, therefore, call the days long; but they appear, somehow or other, to make up for their shortness by their breadth; and when the cool night comes, we are conscious of having enjoyed a big armful of life, since morning.

~A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys
By Nathaniel Hawthorne
(pg 360/1052 of 100 Classic Books for Nintendo DS)




About the Book:
Written in 1852, A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys is a retelling of some of the most famous of Greek myths, re-written for children. The book includes: The Gorgon's Head, The Golden Touch, The Paradise of Children, The Three Golden Apples, The Miraculous Pitcher, and The Chimæra. The book was so popular when it was originally published, that Hawthorne published Tanglewood Tales for Boys and Girls only a year later.



17 comments:

Belinda said...

Wow, that's the king of two sentence teasers!! I'm glad you're enjoying it :D

Heather said...

Belinda: James Fennimore Cooper and Balzac could beat Hawthorne hands down in a longest sentence contest (I posted one by JFC earlier this year), but Hawthorne does give them a run for their money, LOL.

Wendi said...

Nice tease - but I'm kind of stuck on the whole going to bed at six o'clock! I have a 4 year old and almost one year old... neither has EVER gone to bed before 7:30 at the earliest! I'm jealous. :)

Here's my Teaser! ~ Wendi

Julie said...

I so love the language and writing style of the classics! Thanks for the teaser!

Shelley Munro said...

It's interesting how long sentences were good back then while we tend to much shorter even one word sentences now.

Here’s My Teaser

Marg said...

I don't recall hearing about this book before.

My teaser can be found here

Anonymous said...

What a great passage! I love the idea of this book...

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

That is fabulous and full of great images...I love visualizing the "big armful of life."

Thanks for sharing.

Here's mine:

(click on my name)

Alice Audrey said...

I love Wonder Book. Frankly, it's the only book my Hawthorne that I really enjoy.

Deepali said...

Wow, an armful of life - beautifully said!
My teaser is from a Nordic mythology fantasy story by a debut author at e-Volving Books

kayerj said...

how interesting . . . books on the DS.

Heather said...

Wendi: Amazing how early people (esp kids!) went to bed before electricity, isn't it? Wait until they're teenagers, lol!

Julie: Me too! Well, some of them anyway, LOL. Hawthorne is one of the easier "classics" to read.

Shelley: It is, isn't it? I think part of it has to do with the more visual world we live in today. We have the benefit of TV, art and photographs to help visualize the world around us, whereas they needed to be more descriptive in their writing to help people "see" what they did.

Heather said...

Marg: This book and it's companion, Tanglewood Tales seem to have recently enjoyed a reprinting and introduction to a new audience. Definitely worth looking into!

iwriteinbooks: Beautiful writing, isn't it? Because it was written for children, the stories are quick and easy reads for any age.

Laurel-Rain: Thank you, I'm glad so many others appreciate this passage as much as I did!

Heather said...

Lit Witch: Thank you! Will be sure to check yours out later. *g*

Alice: I liked a number of his short stories read in American Lit, as well as The Scarlet Letter, but am lagging in other works by Hawthorne. I keep meaning to read The House of Seven Gables, which has been moldering on my shelf some years now, but never seem to get round to it. One of these days...

Deepali: From Greek myths to Norsk -- looks like we've got mythology covered today! *G*

Kaye: It truly is a "novel" concept! *VBG*

Jenny Q said...

That's a really nice passage. Thanks for stopping by my teaser!

Sonia said...

People had a different writing style in the old days huh? Such long sentences. But it is surprising good for all that! Plus, I have to agree with the quote.

mine: http://storytreasury.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/teasertuesday/

Emma Michaels said...

I love Nathaniel Hawthorne!

Sincerely,
Emma Michaels
Emma_Michaels@hotmail.com
http://EmmaMichaels.Blogspot.com