Hatpin's family tree

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Published by: Mike in the West on 14th Oct 2010 | View all blogs by Mike in the West

Budding genealogists are asked to spare a thought for Hatpin. We all know how satisfying it is to 'find a relly' after weeks of searching - it's such a boost. But how frustrating it is when we know for certain the dates of birth, marriage and death of a close relative but we can find no trace of their records.

Hatpin having lunch

If you visit the following website you'll be able to see how Hatpin stays cheerful inspite of making almost no progress at all with his family tree.

http://hatpin999.tripod.com/

Mike in the West would welcome ideas on how to convert this web-based story to a conventional paper-based format without too much hassle.

Comments

7 Comments

by maryluv 1 year ago

This is so much fun, Mike! Well written, wry and fun. I love hatpin's take on life and nature.
by Caducean Whisks 1 year ago

This was lovely - I especially liked his family tree - made me smile.
What about a children's book? Or series of books? Hatpin's Tree, Hatpin is Hungry, Hatpin finds a Friend? etc. ?
by Mike in the West 1 year ago

Thank you Mary and Whisks, so glad it made you smile. Strange thing has just struck me though. Some of Hatpin's humour is 'grown up' (certainly not 'adult' in the raunchy sense of the word) and would be too subtle for very young children, thus presenting a dilemma regarding 'target audience'.
by spike1 1 year ago

Nonsense
The best kids stuff has stuff only adults will get.
May I draw your attention to such excellent things as the works of cosgrove hall (Dangermouse, Duckula, Alias the Jester, etc), the works of Aardman (especially the wallace and grommit stuff) and of course Pixar and Dreamworks.
by Mike in the West 1 year ago

OK Spike, thank you. I'll need to explore that, thanks for the leads.
by mike 1 year ago

This did work very well as a web pages. I can only think that you could, in some way, convert your web page story into a conventional book while keeping the 'web' format for each page. I think this woud work as many children now access information in this way. The book could take the form of a children's picture book about a particular animal - one page for its habitat - another for its food - etc.
by Mike in the West 1 year ago

That's very helpful Mike, thank you. Yes, I think you are right, plenty of food for thought there now as there does seem to be some potential.

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