Steampunk Lit For Kids? Elementary, My Dear!

What is exactly is "Steampunk"?  I like this quote from author Caitlin Kittredge:

source

“It’s sort of Victorian-industrial, but with more whimsy and fewer orphans.”

According to steampunk.com: Steampunk has always been first and foremost a literary genre, or least a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy that includes social or technological aspects of the 19th century (the steam) usually with some deconstruction of, reimagining of, or rebellion against parts of it (the punk).

Not Quite Steampunk:

Steampunk moving towards the mainstream? Ya think?

As happens with trends, Steampunk seems to be everywhere all of a sudden, and often a bit over-done and misunderstood - as you can see from this funny Youtube video:

Jules Verne: Before Steampunk was Hipster
Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828–March 24, 1905) a French author and visionary, is often called the "Father of Science-fiction", as a pioneer of the science-fiction genre. Born out of his own love for travel, Verne's books are about cosmic, atmospheric, and underwater travel before air travel and submarines were commonplace and before practical means of space travel had been devised.

Jules Verne, with some of the amazing inventions her imagined.
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Libraries

Did you know that Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days was based on a true story?  In 1870, U.S. railroad magnate George Francis Train declared in the middle of his Presidential candidacy that he would travel around the world in 80 days or less. It ended up taking him almost double the time.

Verne never acknowledged George Francis Train (that couldn't have been his real name!) as the inspiration for his book. Train lived until 1904 and made three more round-the-world trips, beating his record each time, finally achieving 60 days. He once told an English journalist: "Remember Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days? He stole my thunder. I'm Phileas Fogg. But I have beaten Fogg out of sight."  source

Other sci-fi books by Jules Verne: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; Journey to the Center of the Earth

Modern day author/illustrators who've introduced kids to a fantastical Steampunk world in their books:

Graeme Base - An alphabetical search and adventure book full of alliteration, Animalia was published in 1986 and has been a hit ever since. Each page features a short poem utilizing the feature letter of each page for many of the words. The illustrations are intricate, embedded with riddles and secret objects. The author has even hidden a picture of himself as a child on every page.

The Eleventh Hour is another award winning mystery picture book by Graeme Base. Set on the grounds of Horace the elephant’s elaborate mansion, Horace hosts a dress-up party for his eleventh birthday, inviting all of his friends; swans, alligators, rhinos, pigs, mice and more, to feast on a lavish spread, which regrettably, mysteriously disappears.

James Gurney, author of the Dinotopia series. In the year 1860, biologist and explorer Arthur Denison and his son, Will, set out on a sea voyage of discovery and adventure. When a powerful typhoon wrecks the ship in uncharted waters, Arthur and Will are the sole survivors. Washed ashore on a strange island called Dinotopia, they are amazed to find a breathtaking world where cities are built on waterfalls, people have found new ways to fly, and humans and dinosaurs live together in harmony. With new discoveries at every turn, Arthur and Will embark upon their own separate journeys to unearth the mysteries of Dinotopia. (You can find James' wonderful blog, here.)

William Joyce's The Guardians of Childhood picture books and chapter books develop fantasy "origin stories" for childhood figures such as Santa Claus, The Tooth Fairy, and the Man in the Moon. Ultimately, the series will consist of 13 books - six picture books and seven novels, for older kids.  Pure imagination - childhood folklore and mythology at its best (and beautifully illustrated!)

Balloons lost on earth often floated up to the moon, carrying
the hopes and dreams of the children who lost them.

Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret website is here.  The movie, directed by Martin Scorsese, has more of a Steampunk look than the book, but there is definitely a steampunk aspect to this story: the mysterious drawings, notebooks, keys, secret messages, and oddball contraptions (including an automaton) come togehter for a great adventure!)

And lastly:
Two classics, with some Steampunk style... 
The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle
Doctor Dolittle heads for the high seas in perhaps the most amazing adventure ever experienced by man or animal. Told by nine-and-a-half-year-old Tommy Stubbins, crewman and future naturalist, the voyages of Doctor Dolittle and his company lead them to Spidermonkey Island. Along with his faithful friends, Polynesia the parrot and Chee-Chee the monkey, Doctor Dolittle survives a perilous shipwreck and lands on the mysterious floating island. There he meets the wondrous Great Glass See Snail who holds the key to the greatest mystery of all.

book by Hugh Lofting

film version

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, by Ian Fleming
Commander Caractacus Pott is an inventor who buys and renovates an old car after gaining money from inventing and selling whistle-like sweets to Lord Skrumshus, the wealthy owner of a local confectionery factory. The car, a "Paragon Panther," was the sole production of the Paragon motor-car company before it went bankrupt. It is a four-seat touring car with an enormous bonnet (the car can also function as a hover craft). After the restoration is complete, the car is named for the noises made by its starter motor and the characteristic two loud backfires it makes when it starts.

book by Ian Fleming (yes the James Bond author)

Car from the movie

M. Pax's Backworld's Book 2 is Out!

I'm happy to announce that M. Pax's newly published sequel to The Backworlds is now available! Craze and his friends continue their adventures in Stopover at the Backworld's Edge.
See what role chocolate plays this time!

The interstellar portal opens, bringing in a ship that should no longer exist. It's a battleship spoiling for a fight, yet the war with Earth ended two generations ago. The vessel drops off a Water-breather, a type of Backworlder thought to be extinct. She claims one of Craze’s friends is a traitor who summoned the enemy to Pardeep Station. A betrayal worse than his father’s, if Craze lives to worry about it.

Available for all ereaders from:

Amazon / Amazon UK / B&N / Smashwords
(iTunes and Kobo will be available shortly)

If you haven’t read The Backworlds yet, it’s available as a free read from many outlets. Click HERE for links.

Inspiring the words M. Pax writes, Mary spends her summers as a star guide at Pine Mountain Observatory in stunning Central Oregon where she lives with the husband unit and two loving cats. She write science fiction mostly and has a slight obsession with Jane Austen. Visit Mary's blog here.

RIP, Mr. Bradbury, How You Still Light up the Stars for Us!

The young Ray

I am so very sad to hear that my favorite writer, mentor and inspiration died today. Ray Bradbury and his stories lit up my world so many years ago when I bought Martian Chronicles at a school book fair. Not just lit me up, but exploded my mind into a million synapses of burning delight. 
Part poet, part magician, and ever the inventive plot-meister, Ray wrote some of the best science fiction around. He was also an illustrator, and did cover art and interior spots for some of his own books. Something Wicked This Way Comes was a deliciously dark book about a carnival coming to town that was more sinister than the usual. (Don't you always suspect that clowns are perverse little demons? Think Killer Klowns from H*ll). His short story, "Fire Balloons" proves that not all summers are the same-old, same-old, but can transport young adults to a place of dreams. In Ray's words: "It's a story in which a number of priests fly off to Mars looking for creatures of good will. It is my tribute to those summers when my grandfather was alive. One of the priests was like my grandpa, whom I put on Mars to see the lovely balloons again, but this time they were Martians, all fired and bright, adrift above a dead sea." To read his whole piece, click here. It's in the June issue of The New Yorker, all devoted to sci-fi! Pick this issue up, it's totally worth the $.

One of Ray's Illustrations

Ray's list of classics is way too long to list here. But mention the title Farenheit 451 and you know how influential he was, and still is. This book is a cautionary tale about how important it is to protect books, and intellectual thinking. It's read in high schools across the country.

My favorite, forever is The Martian Chronicles. I have a version in Russian and French and wherever I travel I pick one up. (MC in Turkish, here we come!) This is the one that first lit my head on fire. His prose poetry still reigns supreme in passages like this: "Mr. and Mrs. K had the fair, brownish skin of the true Martian, the yellow coin eyes, the soft, musical voices. Once they had liked painting pictures with chemical fire, swimming in the canals in the seasons when the wine trees filled them with green liquors, and talking into the dawn together by the blue, phosphorous portraits in the speaking room. They were not happy now." Why? They sensed the coming of the humans from Earth is why!

I could go on and on but I'll leave you with some great links:
For a book containing his illustrations, Bradbury, an Illustrated Life, by Jerry Weist.
For more on Ray's life and work, read today's article on io9, the coolest online SF mag. Click here.
New addition, Obama weighs in on Ray here. Who ever said Obama wasn't a smart guy?!

Mr. Bradbury, I just know you can hear us crying down here, and you're probably saying, "Don't sweat it, folks, I'm having the time of my life in the stratosphere, drinking up virtual Dandelion Wine." So, let's all toast to invention, to Ray Bradbury and his wonderful works.

STILL CELEBRATING THIS WRINKLE AFTER 50 YEARS!

It was a dark and stormy night. In her attic bedroom Margaret Murry, wrapped in an old patchwork quilt, sat on the foot of the bed and watched the trees tossing in the frenzied lashing of the wind...
-opening sentence from A Wrinkle in Time

Taeeun Yoo [source]

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the publication of Madeleine L'Engle's classic novel (fantasy sci-fi), A Wrinkle in Time.  I wrote about it in my monthly column for the website "Travelin' Local", HERE.

There have been many different covers by a variety of talented artists for this book. The one above is from the current edition, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo. Below is one of my personal favorite covers, the hardback, done by Diane and Leo Dillon.  I also found the original hardcover with artwork by Ellen Raskin (scroll down).  To see more cover art for A Wrinkle in Time, go HERE.

Leo and Diane Dillon's hard cover [source]

Original hard cover artwork, Ellen Raskin [source]