My Science School

               This is how the story of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’, goes. Max, a young boy, makes so much mischief in his wolf suit that his mother sends him to bed without his supper. In his room he imagines himself in a forest and he journeys to where the Wild Things live. They are fierce, but he conquers them by meeting their eyes. They make him their king. But Max is homesick, so he returns home to discover his supper waiting in his room for him.

               The story consists of just 338 words as it is basically a picture book. Written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, the book is very popular among children. It was published in 1963.

               Since its publication, the book and author have been honoured with a number of awards. The story has been adapted as a test animation project by John Lasseter, a 1983 opera by Oliver Knussen, and has been referenced in pop culture numerous times. In October 2009, Warner Bros. Pictures released a live-action theatrical film based on the book.

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            ‘The Wind in the Willows’ is a 1908 children’s book of twelve chapters by Kenneth Grahame. The book tells the adventures of the animal friends Mole, Rat, Mr. Badger and Mr. Toad. It has been read and re-read with pleasure by children and their parents through multiple generations.

            Mole is cleaning his home, but gets fed up with the work he is doing. He decides to leave his underground home, and take a walk in the fresh air. He eventually finds himself at the river, which he has never seen before, and meets the water rat Ratty, who takes him for a boat ride. Mole and Ratty quickly become friends. Ratty invites Mole to stay with him, and teaches him how to row a boat. In the summer, Ratty takes Mole to Toad Hall, the home of Mr. Toad, a cheerful and friendly character, who is also vain and boastful.

            Later, Mole shows interest in visiting another of Ratty’s friends, Badger, who lives in the Wild Wood. Ratty does not want to take him there, because he knows that Badger does not like visitors. Their story continues with more adventures than ever.

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            ‘The Giving Tree’ is a paradise of words for nature lovers. It is the story about an apple tree and a little boy. This beautiful book mainly focuses on the intense bond between the tree and the boy. For example, even though the boy ages, and becomes an adult as the story progresses, the apple tree prefers to affectionately call him boy till the end.

            In an effort to make the boy happy at each of these stages, the tree gives him parts of herself, which he can transform into material items. The tree gives the boy her fruits for money, her branches for building him a house, and her trunk for building him a new boat. With every stage of giving, the tree seems happy. Their amazing relationship continues, even after the boy grows into a very old man.

            ‘The Giving Tree’ was written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein and was first published in 1964.

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            The story of Snow White, a princess who was the most beautiful woman in her kingdom, is one of the world’s best loved tales.

            Snow White’s stepmother, the Queen who is the second most beautiful woman in the kingdom, becomes extremely jealous of Snow White, and grows to despise her because of her superior beauty. The Queen orders a huntsman to murder Snow White. The huntsman takes pity on Snow White, and allows her to escape into the forest. She takes refuge in a cottage that belongs to seven dwarfs. The seven dwarfs allow Snow White to stay as their housekeeper. The story takes a sudden twist when the Queen finds out that Snow White is still alive.

            ‘Snow White’ is a well known and very widely read children’s book. It is a beautiful, creatively written German fairy tale. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ‘Grimms’ Fairy Tales’. The Grimms completed their final revision of the story in 1854.

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               ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ is a children’s fantasy book. The title character of the book is a living wooden puppet, carved by a toy maker named Geppetto who makes the puppet his adoptive son. Pinocchio is initially disobedient and mischievous. He abandons his father and goes off in search of adventure. The story takes a turn as Pinocchio is saved by a fairy. The fairy educates Pinocchio, and manages to get him to change his ways. As a reward Pinocchio gets the best gift in his life, which continues to make the plot of the book interesting.

               The book of thirty six chapters is written by Carlo Collodi. It has been translated into some 250 different languages. There have been various adaptations of ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’, the best known of which continues to be the 1940 animated film Pinocchio, from Walt Disney.

               The popular myth of somebody’s nose growing longer when he or she lies was introduced in ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’.

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               ‘The Tinder Box’ is a fantasy short story for children by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen.

                The main character in the story, a soldier, is sent by a witch to visit an underground treasure trove. The witch tells him that he can bring back as much money as he can carry, and keep it for himself, but he must give her an old tinder box which he will also find down there. The story continues to narrate the soldier’s life ahead.

                The story which appeared in Andersen’s first collection of fairy tales was published in 1835 and was translated into English in 1846. The book was the subject of the first Danish animated film, released in 1946.

                There are also several similarities between ‘The Tinder Box’ and the stories ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves’ from ‘One Thousand and One Nights’, a work with which Andersen had been familiar since childhood.

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            Who doesn’t like to read enchanting folk tales from the mysterious Arabian lands? ‘One Thousand and One Nights’ is a compilation of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories, written down in Arabic

            The standard Arabic text of ‘One Thousand and One Nights’ today is the work of a series of anonymous authors, writing over a period of more than a thousand years. Its collection took place over many centuries and countries. Some of the tales, including ‘Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp’, ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves’, and ‘The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor’ were added by European translators.

            Despite the many differences between editions, one element they have in common is the frame story of King Shahryar and his wife, the storyteller Scheherazade. The stories themselves belong to a variety of different genres, including adventure, comedy, fantasy and tragedy.

            It is often regarded as a work that shows, man’s unending will to overcome defeat.

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               If you are a dog lover, and love to read stories about them, you should definitely read ‘Where the Red Fern Grows’. It is a beloved classic that captures the powerful bond between man and man’s best friend.

               It is a book about a boy named Billy Colman and the adventures he has with his two coonhound dogs named Old Dan and Little Ann. Billy spends two years earning enough money in order to buy the puppies. After that, he trains them to hunt raccoons, with Old Dan displaying strength and Little Ann displaying intelligence. Over time they become known as the best coonhounds in the area. The story continues to narrate the unexpected fate of the boy and the dogs.

               ‘Where the Red Fern Grows’, written by Wilson Rawls, was published in the year 1961. The book was a success, and attracted readers of all ages.

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          Is there anyone who isn’t familiar with the famous character ‘Mowgli’? Hopefully none. The main character of the evergreen ‘The Jungle Book’ (1894), a collection of stories written by Rudyard Kipling, is a huge part of our childhood.

            Mowgli is a human child raised by wolves in the jungle. In these tales, the animals proved to be both Mowgli’s allies and adversaries. Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther along with many others, are Mowgli’s friends. But Shere Khan the tiger is his biggest enemy. The stories are set in a forest in India.

            Kipling was born in India and spent the first five years of his childhood there. After about ten years in England, he went back to India, and worked there for about six and half years. The original publications contained illustrations, some by Rudyard’s father, John Lockwood Kipling. ‘The Jungle Book’ has remained popular, partly through its many adaptations for film and other media.

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            Well, the title character of this enthralling children’s book doesn’t even need an introduction, as he is one of the most popular cartoon characters in the world.

            ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ is a classic 1926 children’s book by English author Alan A. Milne, which tells the stories of Winnie-the-Pooh, a silly bear living in the Hundred Acre Wood with his friends Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, Owl and Christopher Robin. It was illustrated by Ernest H. Sheppard. This story collection is a selection of 15 charming stories, created to show little ones what it means to be a true friend. Come along with Winnie-the-Pooh and friends as they learn about sharing and caring, about working together, and missing each other when they’re apart, about putting friends first and building friendships that last.

            The book consists of ten loosely-connected stories, each told in one of its ten chapters. Later ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ was adapted into comic and animation format. In 2003, the book was listed at number 7 on the BBC’s survey ‘The Big Read’.

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            Do you dream of playing on the green and beautiful mountains sometimes? Then you will just enjoy the cute story of Heidi, the mountain girl from Switzerland.

            ‘Heidi’ is a two volume novel written by Johanna Spyri. It is by far the most popular piece of Swiss literature ever written, and has been translated from German into 50 languages, been filmed more than a dozen times, and more than 50 million copies of ‘Heidi’ books have been sold world-wide.

            This charming story is about an orphaned girl named Heidi who is sent away from her aunt to live with her grand-father in the Alps Mountains in Switzerland. Heidi’s grandfather is a cold hearted and mean man at the beginning.

            However, as they get to know each other, the love between Heidi and her grandfather, grows so strong, that they cannot be separated. Life in the mountains is perfect, and it all seems too good to be true, till Heidi is suddenly taken away from her beloved grandfather and her favourite mountains, and sent to Frankfurt.

            Heidi hates the hustle of city life. She can’t get over her homesickness and longs for the mountains where everything is green and fresh.

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            If you prefer a series of children’s books, rather than just a single storybook, you will find ‘The Wizard of Oz’ really fascinating. It is an amazing work for children written by American author L. Frank Baum.

            The first book in the series, ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ was published in 1900. Baum wrote thirteen sequels to the original novel, and a total of forty books, written by a variety of authors, belong in the series’ canon.

            ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ tells the story of an innocent little farm girl named Dorothy Gale, who is being raised by her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry when a tornado sweeps through their home and airlifts it, with Dorothy and her dog Toto inside. The next day, when the house finally hits solid ground, Dorothy steps out the front door. She sees a huge crowd of strange people and, on sight, decides this unfamiliar land isn’t for her. But she’s in Oz now. The story continues and revolves around Dorothy’s life and adventures afterwards.

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            Are you into stories about mischievous and imaginative children? Then you will surely love the works of the great storyteller Mark Twain.

            ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’, written by Twain is a child’s adventure story. It is also, however, the story of a young boy’s transition into a young man. The book was published in 1876. Mark Twain describes some autobiographical events in the book. The novel is set around Twain’s actual boyhood home of Hannibal, near St. Louis, US, and many of the places in it are real. As a result, today, these places support a tourist industry.

            ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ has become a classic portrait of a mischievous youth, and the adventures of adolescence. It is one of the world’s best-loved tales ever.

            This amazing book was Twain’s first attempt at writing a real novel. The titular hero of the novel, Tom Sawyer, is a young boy living on the banks of the Mississippi River. He lives with his Aunt Polly, half-brother Sid, and his cousin Mary.

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          ‘The Happy Prince’ is a fantasy short story for children by the Irish author Oscar Wilde. It was first published in a collection called ‘The Happy Prince and Other Tales’ in 1888. It contains five stories: ‘The Happy Prince’, ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’, ‘The Selfish Giant’, ‘The Devoted Friend’, and ‘The Remarkable Rocket’.

          The story’s title character is a beautiful statue, covered in gold leaf and decorated with jewels. The statue represents a prince who, during his lifetime, was famous for being happy.

          However, the truth is that the prince appeared to be happy only because he knew nothing of life outside of his palace. Only after he died and became a statue did the prince learn of the suffering of the poor people in his city.

          The happy prince befriends a swallow that spends time on the statue, and asks it to offer some assistance to the people who are living in poverty.

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          ‘Rip Van Winkle’ is a short story written by Washington Irving, and it was published in 1819. The book is beautifully interwoven with fantasy and history. The story is based on a German folktale.

          It is the story of Rip Van Winkle, who lives in a village in the Catskills, with his wife and children. He is an easy-going man, with a nagging wife who constantly criticizes him.

          One day, Rip goes hunting in the mountains, and meets the ghost of Henry Hudson, the famed explorer. Rip eats and drinks with Hudson and his crew, then falls asleep under a tree.

          The story then moves twenty years ahead, when Rip wakes up to find that the world has changed. His wife has died. His children are grown. At first, the only person in his village who recognizes him is Peter Vanderdonk, the oldest man in the village.

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