Iwon Blum - Elsewhere at Home: The fantastic world of letters from A to Z. And a little more.

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Elsewhere at Home

The fantastic world of letters from A to Z. And a little more.

Copyright Iwon Blum 2013

Text, Illustrations and presentation by Iwon Blum

English translations by Margo Vera

Production and Publisher: BoD Books on Demand GmbH. Norderstedt

ISBN: 9783735704610

For every book sold, 1 Euro goes to animal protection.

Visit our blog: http://elsewhereathome.wordpress.com

www.facebook.com/elsewhereathome

It was not fair, 26 against one. The majority was overwhelming. Until I was 8 years old I was not able to make friends with the 26 letters of the alphabet. Somehow I had missed the moment. Suddenly everyone in my class was reading and writing except for me.

Every time we had to read or write in class I closed my eyes hoping the teacher wouldnt see me. Well, most of the time this did not work. Often I was sent out of class to put me to shame for my repeated refusal to read out loud. This pedagogical method didnt help me learn the letters. And so the desperate teacher finally called my parents, letting them know that I would have to repeat second grade if I did not learn how to read and write. My parents were not happy.

They gave me a clear task with very little room for interpretation: You will stay in your room for the entire weekend and learn the alphabet. A weighed down me equipped with all kinds of educational material was sent to my room to truly acquaint myself with the letters.

Luckily I had found the videotape amidst all the boring learning material. It was a recording from Sesame Street. On it a big yellow bird sang a very happy song with very simple lyrics: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz, its the most remarkable word I have ever seen! I got it!

I had finally understood that there was no need to look at 26 letters individually; I could just remember one big word! And so I sang along about 1837 times, and poof, I knew the alphabet! Whenever I couldnt remember a letter, I just sang the song.

A few years later, at the age of 20, I got my first job at a newspaper. And who would have thought... as a proofreader.

Ever since then I have been earning my money playing with letters and words. Now we are 27 fun friends who like each other very much. And if I have any confusion about the ABCs, I just sing to myself the song of the big yellow bird but only very silently.

Elsewhere at home wants to bring the letters closer to our big and small readers. Each creature represents a letter of the alphabet. Every creatures character and personality is described in a poem, which features the specific letter as often as possible. But Elsewhere at home is not an alphabet textbook in the classic sense.

The creatures in this book wish for the readers to take the time and delve into their stories and environments. They hope for you to live in their world for a bit, maybe even think of a couple of adventures to have together. If anybody discovers their love for reading that would not be too bad either.

My gratitude goes out to:

My family for just everything, especially to my parents who sometimes saw themselves forced to be very lenient with me. Thanks to my godparents, Hannelore and Werner Paasch, who have always supported my artistic ambitions.

Special thanks to: Tina Grob, her family, and our mutual friends, with whom we sat, in Ticino, for many nights and worked on my poems. In Ticino I have also found inspiration for many of the sceneries in the illustrations giving a home to my 26 creatures. My heartfelt thanks go out to Tinas mother, Ingrid Grob, who I am deeply sorry cannot celebrate with us the final presentation of this book.

Also great thanks to Margo Vera who has taken the original German version and so wonderfully faithfully accurately interpreted and translated the texts into English. As well as to Timo, Tina, Marta and Asa who have read the poems with a critical yet benevolent eye.

My friends and readers of my blog http://elsewhereathome.wordpress.com you have supported me during the finalization of this book. You have given me ideas, opinions and encouragement for the layout of this book.

Thanks to the Zrcher Hochschule der Knste, for teaching me the technique and skills to illustrate and design, and for accepting this book as my dissertation.

And last but not least to all those who have continuously asked me about the publication of this book; to those who have given me the necessary push to complete this work through its final steps to publication thank you.

Albert the Appuh salutes, with welcome baskets full of fruits.

About amenity and aesthetics he does not care, hes always out chasing adventures and dare.

Appuhs eat eight apples before bed. For changes, theyd rather drop dead.

At home they feel most relaxed it seems, having long sleeps and mighty good dreams.

Buffis bathe rather often, bedazzled as they soften.

Their bellies are round like a big ball and fifteen blue legs stand tall.

Buffis love blooming flowers absolutely. But big bulky trees they hate acutely.

Best case is a beautiful birch, where Buffis can find their perch.

Cilodrobes are cranky and conceited. Yet musically uncanny and undefeated.

Their choir chorus is globally celebrated as clearly and continuously demonstrated.

Even the cembalo and cello are caressed. The Cilodrobes are melodically obsessed.

Their character can be a little crude, because the Cilodrobe is a one-arm-dude.

Dickledackees show abiding gratitude. Some might think its a daffy attitude.

Dickledackees dabble in dramatic benediction. Others say their behavior is better than fiction.

Yes, their diplomatic babble of debt comes deep from the heart, you bet!

As they lose their path distracted by daisies, again they thank the guide home like crazies.

The existence of the Elofix

is as clear as the river Styx.

They select gemstones and exclusive attire. Yet deep inside they have nothing to admire.

The Elofix behaves like a rather spoiled brute, defiled and messy, and not at all cute.

To tell the difference between plebe and class,

just look at their toenails, slimey green as grass.

The Flupeepies love to feast at many festivities.

To frolic and party are their favorite activities.

They dance gleeful around the bonfire, telling horror stories of burning the pyre.

Those delightful Flupeepies are just so cheerful,

not even feisty dragons can let them feel fearful.