WORDLESS BOOKS  Without the need to decode the words, children build their reasoning and comprehension skills as they “read” the illustrations, discover details and clues, and infer what is happening on the page.  Instead of you reading to your child, your child can tell you the story as they deduce it.  Having your child tell you the story can also lead to more complex conversation and promote more sophisticated vocabulary—because they are not restricted by words on the page to narrate the story.  Children also gain confidence and independence as they determine the story they are seeing, and articulate it.  Children love exploring wordless books.  By encouraging your child to “read” these books to you, you are helping them begin the process of constructing stories in their head from information on a page.  Their attention to detail grows, and they develop a passion for books and get excited about trying to read for themselves.  Here are some terrific wordless or nearly wordless books. They all feature wonderful illustrations and richly imagined characters and stories that will provide you and your child hours (if not years!) of engaging discussions.  Eva Moskowitz  https://lithub.com/the-joy-of-perusing-pictures-a-reading-list-of-wordless-picture-books/  

On November 30, 1955, Patricia Highsmith published her fourth novel (her third under her own name—she originally published 1952’s The Price of Salt as Claire Morgan), a psychological thriller starring the one and only Tom Ripley, the character who would become Highsmith’s most famous.  This, of course, was The Talented Mr. Ripley, a book that arrived to acclaim and continues to delight and influence readers and writers of all kinds.  Highsmith famously wrote the book in six months in 1954.  “It felt like Ripley was writing it,” she said later, “it just came out.” * Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White begins serialization in All the Year Round (November 26, 1859) * Charles Dodgson sends the handwritten manuscript of Alice’s Adventures Under Ground (soon to be published as you-know-what) to Alice Liddell (November 26, 1862)  * The first part of Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene” is registered for publication (December 1, 1589) * Sherlock Holmes makes his first appearance in the story “A Study in Scarlet''—which would not end up being one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s favorites (December 1, 1887) * Isaac Asmiov’s I, Robot is published (December 2, 1950)  Literary Hub  November 26, 2023  

Cornwall is a ceremonial county in South West England.  It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations and is the homeland of the Cornish people.  The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the English Channel to the south.  The largest settlement is Falmouth, and the county town is Truro.  The county is rural, with an area of 3,562 square kilometres (1,375 sq mi) and population of 568,210.  Most of Cornwall forms a single unitary authority area, and the Isles of Scilly have a unique local authority.  The Cornish nationalist movement disputes the constitutional status of Cornwall and seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom.  It includes the southernmost point on Great Britain, Lizard Point, and forms a large part of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  The AONB also includes Bodmin Moor, an upland outcrop of the Cornubian batholith granite formation.  The county contains many short rivers; the longest is the Tamar, which forms the border with Devon.  Cornwall had a minor Roman presence, and later formed part of the Brittonic kingdom of Dumnonia.  From the 7th century, the Britons in the South West increasingly came into conflict with the expanding Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, eventually being pushed west of the Tamar; by the Norman Conquest Cornwall was administered as part of England, though it retained its own culture.  The remainder of the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period were relatively settled, with Cornwall developing its tin mining industry and becoming a duchy in 1337.  During the Industrial Revolution, the tin and copper mines were expanded and then declined, with china clay extraction becoming a major industry.  Railways were built, leading to a growth of tourism in the 20th century.  The Cornish language became extinct as a living community language at the end of the 18th century, but is now being revived.  See graphics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwall 

John Moore Cornwell (1931–2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré was an English author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television.  "[A] sophisticated, morally ambiguous writer", he is considered one of the greatest novelists of the postwar era.  During the 1950s and 1960s, he worked for both the Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).  Near the end of his life, due to his strong disapproval of Brexit, he took out David Irish citizenship, which was possible due to his having an Irish grandparent.  Le Carré's third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963), became an international best-seller, was adapted as an award-winning film, and remains one of his best-known works.  This success allowed him to leave MI6 to become a full-time author.  His novels which have been adapted for film or television include The Looking Glass War (1965), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974), Smiley's People (1979), The Little Drummer Girl (1983), The Night Manager (1993), The Tailor of Panama (1996), The Constant Gardener (2001), A Most Wanted Man (2008) and Our Kind of Traitor (2010).  Philip Roth said that A Perfect Spy (1986) was "the best English novel since the war".  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_le_Carr%C3%A9  

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2750  November 29, 2023