Forerunners of Minpins

Dear Annie,

It's funny, I've always thought of the Minpins -- which we also loved -- as being one of Dahl's scarier books.  It's that nightmare sense of being chased by something very scary, belching fire...

The Minpins was Dahl's last book, published in 1991 shortly after he died.  The little people make one think of the Oompa Loompas from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964).   The monsters Little Billy's mother warns him against -- Whangdoodles, Hornswogglers, Snozzwanglers -- are the same ones who terrorized the Oompa Loompas in Charlie.  The world of the Minpins, sans Gruncher, seems much more harmonious than their forbears, though.

I was poking around on various kid-reading book sites today, and came across a lovely photo of a different sort of harmony.  One of the frequently-cited ways a parent can encourage a child to become a reader is to model the behavior oneself.  Then one ends up with a family of readers.

I love the dad's hand on the kid's leg.  In touch.  I can't figure out what the dad is reading, but the book on the right is a compilation of three Tintin books.  Tintin: another topic we should take up one day.

Love to you,

Deborah