Keyword: story

Like most of my generation, I grew up with the Famous Five, my childhood enriched by farfetched notions of mystery and secret passages. Rereading those books of long ago, I can forgive the predictable plots and banal writing style and enter into the carefree world of children solving crimes and catching villains. I am happy to accept the implausibility of these children having such adventures everywhere they go and never seeming to grow old despite a succession of school holidays. I am ha…

I was reading Jack and the Beanstalk to my kids, not too long ago. Every time I read it I think about what a terrible story it really is. Some kid breaks into a guy's house and starts to steal all his stuff. After the 3rd time, the giant comes chasing after the little thief (totally understandable) and ends up getting killed. Meanwhile sticky-hands and his overly-critical mother (who never seems to care how her son is pulling in all this loot) lives happily ever after. What kind of message is th…