It’s time again for another question copied from the walls of our our store’s "graffiti stall."
Put yourself in the role of literary matchmaker: What two characters, from two different books, would you pair with one another?
My favorite of the responses currently scrawled on our wall is probably Encyclopedia Brown + Hermione Granger. Or possibly Oskar Schell (of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer) + Matilda (of, of course, Matilda by Roald Dahl).
But I’ll bet you can do better.
i’m almost positive i was the one who wrote encyclopedia brown + hermione granger a few years ago. i still believe they belong together. as do holden caulfield (catcher in the rye) and scout (to kill a mockingbird). somebody’s gotta tell that guy to shut up.
Ohmygosh! I never even thought of thinking such a thought. Now I shall be wandering the halls of my employment, going about my day but lost in the daydream of pairing up mismatched characters. Who shall we pair with Dirk Gently? And obviously Trillian and Arthur Dent went awry, how shall we pair them now? And what about Cimorene? And who do we dislike enough to give Circe Lannister?
Max (Wild Thing) and Ramona.
Okay-here’s two; Desperaux and Lilly Olivia and Curious George
I always thought Encylopedia Brown should be paired with Cam Jansen. Both teenage detectives with unique skills and nicknames! They’re a perfect match.
How about Knuffle Bunny and the pink blanket in “Jane’s Blanket” (Arthur Miller’s only children’s book)? Or Duck (from “Duck at the Door”) with the Mama Mallard from “Make Way for Ducklings”? (Wow, what a fun question!)
Adam/Paul from Cormier’s I AM THE CHEESE and Aslaug Datter from MADAPPLE. Then back away slowly.
Okay, I am spending far too much time with this … How about Harry the Dirty Dog with Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, the tidy hedgehog in the Beatrix Potter tale? Or maybe, for twice the subversion, Nick Allen (“Frindle”) with Frankie (“The Disreputable History of Fankie Landau-Banks”)
Liesel Meminger and George Weasley should grow up to be together. They’re both full of mischief(sometimes for a noble purpose and sometimes just for fun)and they both live through dark times and profound loss during their formative years. I think it’s meant to be.
Charles Wallace from A Wrinkle in Time and Lucy Pevensie from three of the Narnia novels.
Padraig Seeley (IMPOSSIBLE by Werlin) with Galinda (WICKED by Maguire).
Doug from CONVERTING KATE with Saliman from the BOOKS OF PELLINOR.
Adam Canfield (from ADAM CANFIELD OF THE SLASH) and Kate Wetherall (MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY)
Violet (Series of Unfortunate Events) and Peter Pevensie? Lucy from the Sea of Trolls and The Great Brain?