Cozy Classics board books for Toddlers!

Cozy Classics "Emma"

My heart melted when I saw these amazing board books for toddlers. The brainchild of two brothers from Vancouver who were tired of reading boring books to their little ones, Cozy Classics distill classic novels down to 12 words and illustrates them with needle felted characters in realistic settings.

Cozy Classics- "It was badly done indeed, Emma!"

How a classic novel can be distilled down into 12 toddler friendly words is beyond me but these creative twin brothers have done it.

Cozy Classics Emma reads as...lady, man, goodbye, hello, why? surprise! carry, thanks, laugh, angry, sorry, happy.

I think the facial expressions and the body language are what bring these tales to life for little ones.

Cozy Classics- Emma and Mr. Knightley

I mean, not only does Emma look very sorry for her treatment of Miss Bates, but Mr. Knightley is looking pretty darned sexy. In felt!

Cozy Classics "Pride and Prejudice"

Here is our beloved Lizzy with her muddy hem and her eyes "brightened by the exercise". You can even see the wind blowing her shawl and her bonnet ribbons. Brilliant!

Mr. Bingley is so happy and Mr. Darcy is...well...Mr. Darcy!

Cozy Classics Pride and Prejudice distills down to...friends, sisters, dance, mean, sick, muddy, yes? no! write, read, walk, marry.

Yup that's it. P&P in 12 well chosen words. But look at those little faces!

"You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you"

So if you have little ones to buy for this Christmas (well, any occasion would do to justify these books!) you are all sorted! And don't think they are just for girls. There is a Cozy Classics version of War and Peace, Les Miserables, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist and Moby Dick. And Great Expectations is coming out soon. There is a photo of Miss Havisham looking a little burnt on the Wang brothers' twitter feed. They realistically use real fire to the occasional detriment of the felt figures!

And if there is a Star Wars geek in  your family, the Wang brothers are doing a "Star Wars: Epic Yarns" book to be released next year. Stay tuned for that and hopefully the rest of the Jane Austen novels. Please?

Mark Strong- Actor of the Week

Mark Strong in Lord Blackwood costume, smiling!

What a delight to find that I had not yet had Mark Strong as my Actor of the Week. I luuuuurve him and am so glad to be able to go back and review my faves of his films! Whether a good guy or a bad guy, he is always an asset to a film. Born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in London England to an Italian father and an Austrian mother, his name was changed in childhood by his mother (after his father left) to help him fit in with his peers. Fluent in German, he studied at a University in Munich for a year with the intent of becoming a lawyer before pursuing an acting career in Britian.

Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley in Emma

OK here is my weak spot. I love all the Mr. Knightleys for different reasons. But just look at that furrowed brow on Mark Strong. Is he annoyed at Emma (Kate Beckinsale) or is he annoyed at himself for caring about her so much? He certainly brings out a different aspect of Knightley's character than either Jeremy Northam or Jonny Lee Miller. Sigh! Must watch this again soon. Next migraine day?

Mark Strong and Colin Firth in Fever Pitch

Another role of Mark Strong's that I adore is as Colin Firth's best mate in Fever Pitch. This one is from way back in 1997 and is set in 1989 so the fashions are an absolute hoot, but the story and the acting from these two men in particular make this my second fave Nick Hornby film just edged out by About A Boy. If you have ever had a sports mad male in your life, you need to see this film.

Mark Strong as Harry Starks in The Long Firm

After playing the psychotic 1960s gangster Harry Starks in The Long Firm he had no trouble convincing filmmakers that he could be a bad guy. It is truly amazing that until 2004 he had rarely been cast as anything sinister. And now I think we need to see more good guy roles. Because let's see what he has been in since 2004:

Mark Strong as Toby Crackit in Oliver Twist

In a small role as Toby Crackit (the accomplice of Bill Sykes) in Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist, he rather rocks the ginger fright wig and facial hair.

I won't put a photo of Syriana on this post as I turned it off when Mark Strong's character was pulling out fingernails. Nope. Wouldn't finish watching that one!

Mark Strong as Nick in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

As oily 1930s nightclub owner Nick in Miss Pettigrew Loves for a Day, he is a much more fun bad guy. Oily and controlling, you love to hate him. A perfect role for Mark Strong.

Mark Strong as Sir John Conroy in The Young Victoria

Another wonderful bad guy role for Mark Strong is Sir John Conroy, the oppressive, social climbing comptroller to Queen Victoria's mother ( The Duchess of Kent) in The Young Victoria. Constantly scrapping with Emily Blunt who plays the young queen, he makes you hate him and yet feel sorry for him at the same time as he loses his control over the young Victoria. He apparently went to The National Portrait Gallery in London to see what Conroy looked like and was struck by the resemblance to himself. Would you like to see the real Sir John Conroy?

Sir John Conroy

The resemblance is striking isn't it? Mark Strong was born to play this character! You could swear that this was Mark and not the real Sir John Conroy.

Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes

If you have to have a bad guy in a film, why not make him as appealing as Lord Blackwood in Sherlock Homes? Mark Strong does bad and sexy sooooooo well!

Mark Strong as Sir Godfrey in Robin Hood

As Sir Godfrey in Robin Hood, an English knight collaborating with the French, Mark Strong gets a meaty role and does it well. Is it shallow of me to say I don't like him bald? I'm just sayin'!

Mark Strong as Jim Prideaux in Tinker Tailor

In Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, he plays the fascinating role of Jim Prideaux. This is an awesome film but very hard to follow if you haven't read the book. I recommend either reading the book or at least the Wikipedia entry for the book or film before you see it. To heck with spoilers, you need help just to follow the plot!

I couldn't get even half of the roles I would have liked on this post, so feel free to add your faves in the comments below. Any other Mark Strong fans out there?

Oliver Twist BBC 2007

Oliver Twist BBC 2007

PBS is on the Dickens bandwagon for the next two months. Huzzah!!!! Check out this amazing lineup:

Old Curiosity Shop Feb 26 2012
Oliver Twist Mar 4
Little Dorrit Mar 11,18 & 25
Great Expectations Apr 1 & 8
The Mystery of Edwin Drood Apr 15

Of course, my local Buffalo NY station WNED is one of those who decides they know better than the PBS head honchos so I didn't get to see Old Curiosity Shop last week (OK, not a tragedy as that was the book I almost threw in the lake I was so mad at the ending!). Oliver Twist however is one of my favourite Dickens books and I would really like to see this one. Alas, WNED is showing Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall. I'm sure that makes some people happy but not me. I own Little Dorrit (and I ADORE it) so I will watch that for the next few Sundays on my own and then I will get to see Great Expectations with Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Thank goodness.

William Miller as Oliver Twist

However, I will have to have my readers let me know how they liked Oliver Twist. I hope you are in an area which gets this on their local PBS station tomorrow, March 4 2012. Timothy Spall (Harry Potter, Our Mutual Friend) plays Fagin and Sophie Okenedo (Hotel Rwanda) plays Nancy. Gorgeous Tom Hardy (Inception and The Virgin Queen) plays Bill Sykes. This version of Oliver Twist got much better reviews than the cinematic version from 2005 (directed by Roman Polanski) so it's worth a look.

Sophie Okenedo as Nancy in Oliver Twist

So folks...check local listings before you get excited about seeing this one on PBS Masterpiece. I have my fingers crossed for you. Although, maybe you would enjoy The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall better. Who knows?

8-11 p.m. on select PBS stations.

Thanks to Kate from Leeds for tipping me off that Oliver Twist 2007 is on YouTube. Here is the first installment: