I’m not one for horror movies. I’ve watched very few horror movies in my life, and I barely sat through them! The same goes for horror stories. But to classify Frankenstein as simply a horror novel is doing a huge disservice to the deep emotional themes handled in the book.

The story behind how the novel came to be is interesting in itself. Apparently Mary Shelley had to think up a theme for a horror story, and the idea of Frankenstein came to her in an early morning dream. Of course, there are those who dispute this, but none of that takes away from the magnificence of her novel.

Victor Frankenstein is a kind of ‘mad scientist’ who practically lives in his lab and discovers the magic that gives a human body its life force. He puts together a rather large human body with parts from cadavers and slaughter houses, and uses the knowledge of his magic to breathe life into it. And lo, his creature is born!

This ‘creature’ does not really have a name in the book, although it has come to be referred to as Frankenstein in popular culture. While erroneous, this nomenclature is accepted today, although in the book he is referred to as ‘wretch’, ‘fiend’ and similar unsavory terms. This isn’t surprising, given his yellow skin and gigantic stature that lend to his hideous appearance, and causes his creator, the doctor, to run away as soon as he comes to life.

The kind of names the creature is called would naturally have you believe that he is pure evil. However, by the time you finish the book, your sympathies are likely to turn towards the monster. That’s not to say that you can’t understand the doctor’s predicament. The fact that you respect and understand both of them shows the depth and brilliance of Shelley’s writing.

Frankenstein handles many themes like religion, ethics and basic humanity. But despite its seemingly eerie setting, this is a story that touches your heart and makes you hurt for that wretched, forlorn human-monster wandering in the wilderness.

When one speaks of Austen, the first novel that comes to mind is usually Pride and Prejudice, but that is not to say that her other novels are any less! Emma is one of her most popular works, and though it was written centuries ago, it still makes for a great read today!

Austen states on the outset that Emma is not a heroine you’ll like and she’s right! Emma is spoilt and rather snobbish, belonging to the rich upper class herself. She’s not particularly ambitious or talented, and tends to leave most of what she begins halfway done. With the exception of one activity – matchmaking!

Even though she has absolutely no experience in the romance department, Emma believes that she is the best person to decide who should be set up with whom. Her rather self-satisfying attitude doesn’t take into account this thing called ‘other people’s feelings’, which leads to disastrous consequences!

But Emma isn’t a bad person, and she really does have everyone’s best interests at heart – it’s just that she goes about it the wrong way. So she soon learns that love can’t be forced upon or away – the heart wants what the heart wants! Yes, she does make some people angry along the way, but all’s well that ends well!

Emma may appear as a rather light read, and it is one. But it’s also about learning about yourself, growing up, making mistakes and overcoming them. But the most important lesson is this - meddling in others’ love lives may not end well!

When an author like Dickens says that one of his novels is his favorite, you know that it’s something amazing! And that’s exactly what he said about David Copperfield, commonly considered his most autobiographical work. So much so that even the initials of the main character and the author are the same – only inverted!

David Copperfield is a book that nearly everyone has read (or made to read) during their school years. But if you’ve never read the original, unabridged version, it is strongly recommended you do so! Dickens brings to life 19^th century London, with many colorful characters that are characteristic of his stories.

David’s life starts off relatively happily, but the entry of a stepfather makes his life take a turn for the worse. Dickens goes into great detail to explain the various atrocities meted out on children – in schools, on the streets and in work places. Children were often exploited and made to do hard work in exchange for a paltry sum of money or meals. But David’s misfortunes end when he meets his aunt, the immensely interesting Betsey Trotwood.

Ms. Trotwood is just one of the many, many characters in David’s life and keeping track of all of them is quite a task! Midway through the story, you might have to turn back a few pages to remember who a certain person is. But that’s the fun of reading Dickens; you never know who might come up to change the story around!

David Copperfield is basically a growing up story. From a boy with no clear path in front of him, David learns from his mistakes and makes his way. I feel that an interesting aspect of this book is that it has many sub plots with the other characters, and Dickens does justice to them by resolving their stories satisfactorily enough. And since by the end of the book all of them feel like your friends too, you feel good knowing that they are settled down and happy!

This isn’t a traditional novel by any means, but it is a modern classic; in fact, it’s considered one of the best novels of the 20^th century! This is a book that I absolutely enjoyed; probably because I read it during my late teens and could sort-of relate to Holden Caulfield.

The Catcher in the Rye is written by J. D. Salinger, who meant it to be an adult novel. The story is about Holden Caulfield, who presents his tale in the first person from a mental institution. No, he’s not crazy; he’s just had a mental breakdown, something which many teenagers will attest to having on a weekly/daily basis!

At times, Holden does seem like a regular guy, struggling with common adolescent issues like fitting in, sexuality and basically finding himself. At other times, he seems a little full of it. But that’s what makes him relatable; we have to admit that even we’ve had some of those crazy thoughts, although we may not care to admit it.

Holden is basically caught between the innocence of childhood and the demands of adulthood – he often relates to adult life and relationships as an abyss from which there’s no return. He wants to ‘catch’ himself from falling into it for as long as he can. He even tries running away, only to return and be ‘caught’ by his little sister.

Despite its popularity, there have been mixed reactions to the novel. Some people consider it a bad influence on the younger generation, although I disagree. If anything, a confused teenager will feel less lonely; the book reminds him that there are others like him, perhaps even crazier!

I’m not much of an animal lover. Yes, I do like watching cat videos, and believe all creatures should be treated with kindness. But I’m not like the animal lovers I know, and I think I’m rather scared of animals! But one thing I can say for sure is that to read and appreciate Black Beauty, all you need to have is a heart that’s capable of love and kindness.

Black Beauty is a story about a horse, written by Anna Sewell, an English woman who died just months after publishing her only novel.  Due to a childhood injury, Anna was unable to stand or walk properly on her own, leading to her frequent use of horse drawn carriages. And that is how Anna fell in love with horses!

The protagonist of the story is a horse, but what’s unusual is that the entire story is told through his eyes! Yes, Beauty, the good looking black horse details his life in the various places he lives, which include good people and bad. Beauty is loved, kept warm, appreciated, overworked, thrashed and rescued – but he always seems to maintain a certain kind of dignity, never stooping to the level of his abusers. I absolutely love that about him – unlike Ginger, the aggressive horse that’s had a traumatic upbringing – Beauty is more invested in doing the best he can, whatever the circumstances may be.

Considering how commonly horses were used for transportation in those days, Black Beauty was an instant hit then, and became the sixth bestseller in the English language. The novel did what Anna wanted it to do – it opened everyone’s eyes to the kind of treatment horses were getting, especially those who worked with taxi cabs in London. It made people realize that horses felt pain, love and fear, just like humans did, and yet they unfailingly served their masters till the day they died.

Black Beauty was written as a children’s book, and I first read it as a child, several years ago. But considering the events happening around us today, I think it’s more relevant than ever – especially for adults. Kindness, respect and self-dignity – these never go out of fashion, and it’s a valuable lesson to learn; whether taught by humans or horses!

Do you like books about animals? Have you given Black Beauty a try?

Like most kids, I had also read Alice in Wonderland when I was around eight or ten, I suppose. I had also seen the Disney movie, and had the video cassette at home. However, it was only during my school assembly a few years later when I actually realized what a wealth of information it was.

The Principal was giving us senior students some tips about choosing our stream. He started his speech by quoting the Chesire Cat, who said that it didn’t matter which way you went if you weren’t sure about where you wanted to go. The fact that he would reference a children’s book itself was surprising to me! Later, I re-read this classic a few times, and it always gives me something new every time.  It was only natural that this would be my natural choice for starting the A to Z Challenge!

Alice in Wonderland is actually ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and is written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. The story originated on a boat ride Dodgson took with a little girl named Alice and her sisters. What started as the tale of a bored little girl looking for adventure has turned into one of the greatest literary classics of all time! While on the surface, the story seems extremely fantastical and nonsensical, a more intense look will reveal some wonderful life truths.

I feel that the characters in the book itself are good representations of people you see in life – The French Mouse is like many politicians today, giving useless speeches when others are suffering. The White Rabbit seems like any person rushing through the rat race of life and The Mad Hatter is like many people who don’t do much other than having tea and asking aimless questions all day! This fits in with one theory that Dodgson wrote the story as a satire on current society.

The events in the story are also thought provoking. It’s an important lesson in consequences – whatever Alice eats or drinks impacts her almost immediately! The Queen is a perfect example of a dictator who has no qualms about utilizing people – they are just nameless cards to her. She uses live animals for her amusement and has no sense of justice – sounds familiar?

Most importantly, Alice in Wonderland shows that it is possible to co-exist with people who look, think and speak differently from yourself. It shows that no matter how mad the world may seem, it is still possible to find those with good sense and valuable advice – you only need to listen!

Have you read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? What stood out to you in the story?

Who doesn’t love a good story? We all do, the more magical and fantastical, the better! While there’s a certain charm to listening to stories, there’s something unmistakably exciting about making up your own. And thanks to the #ColgateMagicalStories activity by Blogadda, we recently got a chance to do this!

Okay, so here’s how the activity works – We receive a pack of Colgate toothpaste, in three different themes – Space Launch, Space Walk and Alien Planet. We need to assemble the pieces and then let the kids create their own magical story. Now, that’s a super-interesting way to get the kids to open up and go wild with their imagination!

So we got our packs as promised, in a bright red Colgate gift bag. As promised, the three different themes were there, all ready and waiting to be cut out.

Preparing for the Activity

Obviously, the first step was cutting out the pieces, for which there was a helpful line which helped to open up the entire pack. Cub got straight to work with his pair of safety scissors.

Here are all the packs opened up. As you can see, there are an assortment of friendly looking planets, astronauts and lots of ahem….space stuff!

What I really liked was the little tid-bits of information that came along with the pieces. The text was concise and simple enough for my 8 year old to read and understand.

We cut out all the pieces of each pack and kept them aside separately. Then we went ahead and created a little background out of dark blue paper and a tissue box which we cut open. We then stuck a few golden stars to give the effect of outer space. The details do matter!

With this we were all set to start playing with our little figures and Cub was delighted with how they had all turned out. He immediately launched into a story, to which details were added along the way. Let’s see how it turned out!

Part I – The Start of an Adventure

The story starts some years back, when Jane and Carney were little kids. They grew up listening to stories about space from their Mom at bedtime. They were enraptured by the prospect of a whole wide space, sparkling with stars, where mysteries abound. They knew that there were planets and galaxies? But what else? Carney was sure there were aliens, but Jane was more skeptical.

As they grew, they decided that it was time to find answers to their questions. They became astronauts and were going on their first space mission – to find out if there were planets which harbored aliens. Here they are, wearing their 127 kg, 13-layered space suit and waving to everyone before the launch:

There’s the entire team waiting for the rocket launch – a liftoff that requires as much energy as 13,000 train engines! The countdown starts 3-2-1 and it’s liftoff!!!

Part II – The Exploration

So Carney and Jane are finally in space!! Now, they’re planning an exploration so they can settle once and for all if there are any aliens on any of the planets. Carney doesn’t want to plan, and sets out on his own:

But the sight of an angry comet with a tail of dust and ice crystals scares Carney and he decides against a solo exploration! So he listens to reason (or Jane) and the two set out. Since astronauts are trained to work without gravity, they have an easy time floating in space.

They see many planets. Saturn, whose rings are made of ice, rocks and dust, Venus, which rotates in the opposite direction and of course, the unmistakable red planet, Mars.

Carney was really interested in Mars, and he was landing on the planet, he was pretty sure he heard an alien. Jane said it was probably just the noise from the space station. Then they heard a rumble. Jane peered into the distance. What was that large saucer shaped thing coming towards them?

Part III – A Green Stranger

It’s coming close! The large saucer shaped thing was a UFO – an unidentified flying object!! The UFO landed right next to the rover, the space exploration vehicle that was supposed to gather information. Carney was right there, planting a flag, while Jane swung into action and pulled out a gun.

A green alien stepped out of the UFO, with something small in his hand. Jane began to position her gun, but then she realized that it was a strange kind of translating machine. The alien began to speak into it, and it came out as English! Jane was left staring – mouth wide open!

However, Carney realized that the alien meant no harm and smiled broadly. The alien was actually welcoming his guests to his planet – Mars was his home. Jane relaxed and talked to English, which got translated to the alien’s language through his device. The alien said that they were free to explore his planet and take back samples. He was happy to show them around too. Jane was happy the alien wasn’t dangerous and that they could gather valuable information. But the happiest person was Carney – his childhood dream had come true and he had actually met a true blue (or rather green) alien from another planet!

So there goes our story! Cub was really excited about putting the entire story together and he even came up with the names and the details! We also learnt a lot – the fact that space suits weight 127 kg? Amazing!

If you’d like to have your own set to play with, just look for the special Colgate packs – and you can have some fun #ColgateMagicalStories of your own too!

I’m blogging my #ColgateMagicalstories at BlogAdda in association with Colgate.