Les Aventures De Léna Léna

Day one: Favorite book about books and/or bookshop

Are there really that many books about books or bookstores? Outside of fanfiction, I mean, where bookstores are only slightly less prolific than coffee shops. All I can think of is that I did NOT like A Note in the Margin. And Adrien English is a no too. 

I feel like I am missing something obvious, but I can't for the life of me think of what it could be. 

I guess I'll go with The Neverending Story. Pretty sure that was about a book. 

Right? 

Day two: Favorite book set in a school

I'm passing up Hogwarts and Enid Blyton here, because while those are fun, they do not fill me with undying love like Ciske de Rat does. (The only booklikes listing I could find was fro the omnibus, but technically I am talking about Vol. 1, which was also called Ciske de Rat).

The first person narrator of Ciske de Rat is Mr Bruis, an elementary school teacher  in the slums of Amsterdam in the 1930s (yes, the Depression reared its ugly head there too). His class is filled to bursting with underfed kids from the wrong side of the tracks, the condensation drips down the moldy walls in the school's hallways, his fellow teachers (all veterans) believe corporal punishment is the only way to go, the schoolbooks about cherubic children braiding daisy chains in sunny meadows are so far removed from his kids' reality the contrast hurts, and most of the parents don't give a shit. 

Into this pit of despair is tossed a new pupil, Ciske, nicknamed 'the Rat' that Mr Bruis takes a liking to. Of course, he only sees him at school, so the book takes place in the school and it is at once a vivid commentary on life in the 30s (the books were actually writtenin the early 40s, so it is not technically historical fiction) and an incredibly moving story about how some people can shape your life. 

This book has been made into a movie that I flatout have refused to see, because there is no way they didn't completely murder the book. I mean, it's a fucking musical.... or at least, there is singing involved. 

And I guess it has been translated into English in 1958. I am almost afraid to check that out, considering my experiences with Crusade in Jeans. I'm curious though.....