Kate recommends books to read, ca. 1979

[IED0DXM%OAC.UCLA.EDU@mitvma.mit.edu]

 To: Love-Hounds
 From: Andrew Marvick (IED)
 Subject: Kate recommends books to read, ca. 1979

   <Reproduced from the fourth issue of the Kate Bush Club _Newsletter_,
which came out in late 1979. It's important to bear in mind that at
this stage the Club was directed mainly toward very young fans--it took
a while before Kate and her group realized how many older fans there
were, apparently. Nevertheless, these books, which are all children's
books, must be at least somewhat representative of the kind of books
Kate herself enjoyed at that time.>

                             _Books_to_Read_

   I thought it would be a good idea to recommend some of the books
I've enjoyed recently. They would be nice to give and to receive as
Christmas presents.
   _The_Snowman_, but Raymond Briggs (Hamish Hamilton). A lovely story,
told entirely in pictures, of a boy's adventures with a snowman who
comes to life one night. Beautifully drawn, funny and moving. A real
delight.
   _Masquerade_, by Kt Williams (Cape). The riddle book to end all
riddle books. If you can unravel the clues they will lead you to a golden
hare that is buried somewhere in Britain. Super illustrations.
   _The_Stone_Book_, _Tom_Fobble's_Day_, _The_Aimer_Gate_ and _Granny_
_Reardun_, all by Alan Garner (Collins). A linked quartet by one
of the finest living prose writers, though each book is an entity in
itself, covering eighty years, from 1860 to 1940, in the life of a
Cheshire family. Each book is only eighty pages long, and a fuller,
richer, more exhilarating eighty pages would be hard to find. Each story
is filled with the mysteries and magic of working with stone, wood
and metal, and each has a stunning set-piece that left me literally
breathless--a girl's whilrling ride on a church weathercock, a boy's
climb to the inner tip of a steeple, the thrill of sledging in new
snow in an air-raid. They are also well made books, with fine etchings
by Michael Foreman--a delight to hold as well as to read.
   _The_Haunted_House_ by Jan Pienkowski (Heinemann). Open every page
and horrific things jump out at you, and there are lots of tabs to pull
and push and turn to make it more ghoulish. Really good fun.
   _The_Wind_in_the_Willows_, by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Arthur
Rackham (Methuen). Everyone will know about this classic, but I would
like to recommend this edition, because it's a good size--it feels like
a book--and has the superb Rackham illustrations. It's worth having for
those alone.
   _Moshi_the_Jackal_, by Tas Gibson (Rex Collings). The life of the
Jackal, told through the story of Moshi, brilliantly illustrated by
one of the leading wildlife illustrators. Tas also had a hand in the
design of our Lionheart logo.
   _The_Mouse_and_His_Child_, by Russell Hoban (Faber). A brilliant,
funny and profound novel following the attempts of a father-and-son
clockwork toy to achieve self-winding, in the face of attacks by
Manny Rat, one of the great villains.

         -- Kate Bush

-- Andrew Marvick (IED)