A few weeks ago, I found this book at Borders which I read when I was a child - The Five Chinese Brothers. It is exactly the same as I remember it. I loved this book and now the girls can enjoy it too. It is based on the classic Chinese tale of the, I think it is 10 brothers but here it is just 5. I love the illustration, especially the part where the first brother holds the sea in his mouth while desperately trying to get the naughty boy to come back to shore. It is hilarious!
When I buy books for the girls, I like to get them funny stories. We have a good laugh and I think these funny stories are somehow more imaginative. Some of our favourite funny stories are "Not Now, Bernard" and "The Hill and The Rock" both by David McKee, Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola, and there's "Bad Bad Barney Bear" by Tony Ross which is the funniest children's story I've ever read. I like to think that these stories help the girls develop a good sense of humour.
Talk about imaginative tales, nothing beats Hayao Miyazaki's films. He is one of greatest animators and film directors ever. His stories and characters are very compelling and full of imagination. He is a true genius. We have a whole collection of his films which we have not finished watching. My favourite is My Neighbour Totoro which does have much of a plot but is very captivating and we have the Mandarin version to give the girls more exposure to Mandarin. The girls' current fave Miyazaki film is The Castle of Cagliostro. I've not watched it yet so I think we'll put it on this afternoon... another wet day with nothing much to do....
4 comments:
I'm a HUGE Miyazaki fan! So glad to find another who love his works.
I love his animations. They're so rich, in terms of the visuals, and also the plot. I love those with strong Japanese culture but Totoro is one of my fave. Did you watch the recent Howl's Moving Castle? Just LOVE it!
I wanted to bring my girls to watch Howl's Moving Castle but they were showing it in Japanese. and I've not seen it out on DVD yet.
The DVD is out in some shops. But the first one I got is of poor quality. Now holding one that is from JB. Quality is quite good.
I was surprised that my kids actually enjoyed watching 'My Neighbour Totoro' which you sent to us. I didn't think they'll take to the different culture. Then I found the 'Spirited Away' video, which you wanted to get for them instead, at a video sale here and bought it straight away. It's a bit scary, I must say, but in a strange way, it doesn't scare the kids to watch it over and over. I love hilarious books for children too and I remember laughing uncontrollably in front of my class of 44 students while reading to them. I just can't help it! Sometimes, the pictures themselves can make you laugh! Anthony Browne is my favourite children's author. His books are thought-provoking and stimulates the imagination. You'll love his chimp character. Very funny.
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