Santa's Toy Shop

The Walt Disney Studio ~ Golden Press, 1950

After having spent the better part of my 20s and 30s decidedly anti-Disney, the arrival of my son four years ago heralded my return to loving all things Disney... or at least all things Disney created before 1960. As many of you know, my son and I love watching Uncle Walt's old flicks... with the 1944 film The Three Cabelleros being his current fave while I like seeing Roy Roger and Trigger jam cowboy-style in 1948's Melody Time (though my husband says Dale's horse Buttermilk was waaaaay cooler.) That said, most old Disney stuff is rad, and in particular, really any of the old school Little Golden Books that are illustrated by "The Walt Disney Studio" are usually pretty great. Santa's Toy Shop included.

Oh, everyone is busy in Santa's toy shop. But Santa Claus is busiest of all. He shows the doll makers how to paint on smiles. "I'll take a day off soon," says Santa Claus, "and play!" But letters keep coming from boys and girls, wanting talking dolls and cowboy boots and rocking horses and fireman suits. "I'm just too busy!" Santa Claus sometimes says. "I never have time to play with the toys."

And so goes Santa's dilemma... like being a diabetic trapped in a candy store... or like me and my boy in a Starbucks, but they won't serve us any chocolate milk and iced coffee. Talk about nightmare. No deep meaning here about the true spirit of Christmas or any of that heavy stuff. This title is totally about the toys, which is OK with me when you get a gander of Santa's tubby belly and rum red cheeks. Do you just wanna squeeze him or what!?!

The Polar Express

Chris Van Allsburg ~ Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985

First off, I want to apologize for my absence yesterday, but funerals and family called. Second off, I want to say Happy Thanksgiving. And lastly, I want to apologize in advance for the book I am about to review, as it is highly out of character for me... but here goes. Now, some of you might wonder why I would pick The Polar Express as my first holiday offering of the season. It is hardly rare, still totally in print (odds are you can buy it everywhere from the grocery store to Walgreens), and was recently made into a massive feature film that has grossed millions worldwide and still sells huge on DVD. Well, I happened to look at the copyright page tonight and noticed the book is... are you ready for this?... 23 years old!!!! I was totally shocked. I thought it ten, 15 years old at best, sooooo, as you know, anything over 20 years is classic and fully reviewable here at VKBMKL. So here goes.

Like many of you (or maybe not), I was one of those people who turned my nose up at this book. Thought it too mainstream and sentimental. Thought it over exposed and corny. And then, I actually read the book... and I would be lying to you now if I said I didn't weep like a baby at the end.

Yesterday, for the holidays, my father gifted my son the book, the movie and a "circle C" Polar Express train set complete with silver bell, and though at first I sighed and rolled my eyes, by the end of this evening my son was sold, hook, line and sinker. He was so entirely rolled up in the imagination of the story, that it usurped all conversation for a good day and a half. And so it begins...

On Christmas Eve, many years ago, I lay quietly in my bed. I did not rustle the sheets. I breathed slowly and silently. I was listening for a sound -- a sound a friend had told me I would never hear -- the ringing bells of Santa's sleigh.

"There is no Santa," my friend had insisted,
but I knew he was wrong.

I won't get into it too deep for fear of giving away the punch line (for those three of you out there who actually haven't read it), but basically, the story is about believing. Needless to say, no matter how many train sets it has sold or how much dough it has put in the pockets of Tom Hanks and the people who animated its strange, big screen, IMAX version... taken all by itself, it is quite simply a great story. Perhaps even one of the last classic Christmas tales ever written.

The Big Book of Nursery Tales

Evelyn Andreas ~ Leonard Weisgard ~ Grosset & Dunlap, 1954

What's up with us and anthologies this week? Freaky. Well, the great thing about books with multiple stories is that you can keep them by the bedside for a few nights without having to rely on rotation. (Unless you are one of those parents mired in the AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN faze, and in that case, Godspeed my friend.) Plus, there are a ton of books like this out there, and if you are cutting back on frivolous purchases... what beats buying used AND (in this case) buying 12 stories for the price of one. Sweet, right?

Here you will find the classics: The Fox and the Little Red Hen, The Ugly Duckling, Henny-Penny, The Gingerbread Boy, The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Little Red Riding hood and The Three Billy Goats Gruff... not to mention three I have never heard of ~ Drakestail, The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids and The Half-Chick. Whew. That's alotta read. All illustrated by the vintage kids' book master, Mr. Weisgard... meaning all you Generation Xers (and beyond) most certainly either had this book or at least borrowed it once from the library in your younger days.

"Who's that tramping over my bridge?" roared the Troll.
"It is I," said the big Billy Goat Gruff in a great big voice.
"I am coming to gobble you up!" said the Troll.
But the big Billy Goat Gruff had two strong horns. When the Troll came up, he lowered his head and butted the Troll right into the river. And that was the end of the Troll. So -- Snip, snap, snout, this tale's told out.

Though, honestly, that troll doesn't look too spooky to me. He bears an odd resemblance to the roly poly mayor from The Wizard of Oz... more likely to give you the key to the city than a tour through his intestinal track.

Also by:
The Quiet Noisy Book
Little Chicken
The Little Island
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Treasures to See

The Golden Treasury of Children's Literature

edited by Bryna & Louis Untermeyer ~ Golden Press, 1966

Scored this amazing and hefty tome for a mere 49 cents, and believe me, it will bring this household hours and hours of family fun. Not only does its 544 pages hold one of my favorites ~ Switch on the Night ~ with illustrations by Hillary Knight (who knew?)... and a wonderful selection of Aesop's fables illustrated by the Provensen's, but it has this excerpt (Bambi Finds the Meadow) from the original Bambi story by Felix Salten illustrated by cult fave Charles Harper (Charley).

No mommy dies in this particular section, and it is still a weeper.

Bambi was a child. If he had been a human child he would have shouted. But he was a young deer, and deer cannot shout, at least not the way human children do. So he rejoiced with his legs and his whole body as he flung himself in the air. His mother stood by and was glad. She saw that Bambi was wild. She watched how he bounded into the air and fell again awkwardly, in one spot. She saw how he stared about him, dazed and bewildered, only to leap up over and over again. She understood that Bambi knew only the narrow deer tracks in the forest and how his brief life was used to the limits of the thicket.

I think any parent can relate to this and knows exactly how Bambi's mother feels here, which makes the inevitable all the more heartbreaking. I don't think I'd ever read this story in its original form, but it is elegant and profound. Even though ~ all on its own ~ the movie has traumatized children for generations, I doubt I'll ever view it in the same way. It certainly takes the "umbilical connection" (that's what my mom has always called that mother/child love) to a whole new level. Here I am, off to find the full text. With Thanksgiving just a few days away, let's all give thanks for mommies why don't we?

Great Monday Give: The Story About Ping

Though not as fabulous in abundance as last week's Great Monday Give, this week's is a must-have for every kids' library. Sooooo, without further blah blah blah, one lucky reader will win a like-new Scholastic paperback of The Story About Ping. All you have to do is comment on this post before Sunday ~ November ~ at midnight CT. The next day, the winner will be announced.

And now... by the highly technical, blind scroll and point method, the winner of last week's give, that awesome collection of Ms. Potter, is... drum roll... longtime reader and vintage kids' book advocate... Jonathan's Mom. (I can't remember if she's ever won before, but if she did it was a while ago, so there.) Congrats.

Of further note, I am running a holiday shipping sale at my Etsy shop. I am offering a flat shipping rate in the Continental US of $3... buy one book, it is $3 to ship. Buy 10 books, it is $3 to ship. Buy all the books on the site... it is $3 to ship. You get the point right?

Of even further note, beginning next Monday, I will try and feature a holiday book every day until Christmas. I might step off the theme if I find something super cool, but for the most part I'll be highlighting holiday faves and forgottens.

Of even farther out further note, if you get a chance, check out my guest post on the Savvy Source today.

Stay tuned for a very special book review shortly....

Three Bedtime Stories

Garth Williams ~ Golden Press, 1958

Another oversized Big Golden Book I came across last week, here, Garth has included three nighttime tales that feature characters of three: The Three Little Kittens, The Three Little Pigs & The Three Bears.... using the cover and end pages as an opportunity for them to interact. As soon as I saw it, I thought what a wonderful third birthday present it would make, but then, I'm a dork like that. I will admit that my favorite part is that Garth hasn't sugarcoated the Three Little Pigs story... the two lesser, lazy pigs do die at the hand (fangs) of the wolf while we actually get to see the bad guy getting boiled alive. Awesome. Preschool gore is always the most refreshing! And so...

The three little kittens, they lost their mittens, and they began to cry, "Oh Mother dear, we sadly fear our mittens we have lost!"

The second little pig built himself a house of sticks. He was just putting the finishing touches to the window curtains when the big bad wolf knocked at the door and said, "Little pig, little pig, let me come in!" "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!"

One day a little girl, who was called Goldilocks because of her golden curls, went for a walk in the forest. And she came to the house of the three bears. Knock knock knock at the door went Goldilocks. But of course there was no answer.

As always, the fussy illustrations delight, and the stories do seem to connect in a way I'd never associated these tales before. Short, sweet, mildly horrifying, and to the point, these really are the perfect nightcap. (Particularly for those of us who are newly mourning the loss of nap times and look forward to that twilight time of day.)

Also by:
Wait Til the Moon is Full
Do You Know What I'll Do?
The Sky Was Blue

Big Golden Animal ABC

The Rabbit's Wedding
The Friendly Book
Amigo

More Animals

Oliver Herford ~ Charles Scribner's Sons, 1901

Though my edition is a '66 Dover reprint, it always amazing me that people were really this funny back then. Sometimes you see old photographs and dress style, and it is easy to assume things about the generations that came before... when they were as snarky and sassy as the rest of us. As such, this ticklish book of humorous poems about animals is a gem. It was the followup to the wonderful Child's Primer of Natural History ~ the full text and pictures of which can be seen here. With an animal nut in my house, these orange and black images please every time.

The Mouse
Consider now the Humble Mouse.
He is an Outlaw in the House.
He makes his Hiding in the Wall.
And lives upon the Crumbs that fall.
And yet, my Child, although we deem
A Mouse a Pest, he stands Supreme,
The Wonder of Creation's Plan,
The only Subject known to Man
Concerning which we're safe to find
No Woman ever Changed her Mind.

The book covers 23 animals and even includes four varying views and poems on the dachshund. (As if it ~ over all the other animals in the kingdom ~ deserves special attention to detail. Ha!)

Ahhhh... takes me back to my youth... those days when I did have a dachshund and Dover books really were just a dollar.

Little Dog Lost, Little Dog Found

Esphyr Slobodkina ~ Abelard-Schuman, 1956

A protege of Margaret Wise Brown and most famous for her book Caps for Sale, I snagged this quote off the Slobodkina website from Esphyr because her insight about children's books it is just soooo right on...

In her memoir she wrote, “The verbal patterns and the patterns of behavior we present to children in these lighthearted confections are likely to influence them for the rest of their lives. These aesthetic impressions, just like the moral teachings of early childhood, remain indelible.”

This, my friends... right here... this is why I do what I do. This is why I collect these books. This is why I spend one to three hours a day reading to my son. And I imagine, this is why you guys are here too. Awesome.

And so the story goes of Johnny and his best little dog Jet...

But Jet had one very bad habit!
Jet was careless, and no matter
how Johnny tried to teach him
to be more careful, he always
managed to lose his dog-tag....

And thus, Jet eventually becomes lost, impounded, and adopted by a nice, old woman. Though eventually Johnny and Jet are reunited, it is not before they change one lonely lady's life forever. An innocent story, which in an era where my son's after-preschool rambling often include killing, dieing and Pokemon (wha!!) is very much needed to keep his good guy alter-ego intact. Thank heaven for boys who still wanna snuggle and read at the end of the day.

Also by:
Pezzo the Peddler and the Circus Elephant
The Wonderful Feast
Caps for Sale

The King, the Mice and the Cheese

The King, the Mice and the Cheese
Nancy & Eric Gurney ~ Random House, 1965

In retrospect, I have no idea why I used to obsess over this title in the school library. It's not that the illustrations are particularly special... in some kind of broad generalization/sexist way, they are probably better suited for boys. And still, I used to take it from the shelf over and over again and read about the king with the mouse problem with such rapt attention to detail, that it shocked me how much of the story I remembered when I became reacquainted with it through my son. (Whew, that was a mouthful!)

Now, despite my better (and snootier) judgement, here it is, in all its primary color glory. Soooo, there's this king, see. And he loves cheese, and we all know who else likes cheese. When his kingdom becomes infested with the little critters, he calls on his wise men to find a solution.

"How can I get rid of these mice?" he asked them.
The wise men thought of a wonderful idea.
The wise men brought in cats...
big cats, little cats,
fat cats and thin cats.
The mice-chasing cats did a very good job.
Soon all of the mice
were gone from the palace.

But then of course, the king finds himself with a cat problem... and when the dogs are brought in, well, you can see how the story progresses from there. That is until the kingdom becomes overrun with elephants, and guess who gets hauled in to do the scatting? Ha! Maybe it was the fact that the book is so tickling and the good guys win and small guys can outsmart big guys, who knows? I do know that my boy is just an enamored with the king and his mice. It must be something in the cheese, I guess.

Great Monday Give: Beatrix Potter Collection

To celebrate the opening of my Etsy store (and by the way, I just posted new books on there today and marked some books down, and remember, buy four books or more and get a mystery book free!), and to usher in the holiday season, this week's Great Monday Give is gonna be a whopper. A set of ten books from the Beatrix Potter Tale of Peter Rabbit collection. (Somehow Jeremy Fisher didn't make it in the shot, but it's included as well.) Slightly oversized compared to the original small editions, these books are in like new condition, perfectly suitable for under-the-tree gift giving. All you have to do to be in the running to win these kids' classics is comment on this post before midnight CST ~ Sunday ~ Nov. 23. The winner will be announced the following day.

That said, the winner of last week's Give .... Petunia... is TRUPEACH, a southern belle after my own Carolina girl heart. (I grew up in Pawley's!)

The Lively Little Rabbit

Ariane ~ pics by Gustaf Tenggren ~ Golden Press, 1943

As far as Little Golden Books go, Gustaf may very well be the most famous artist, illustrating such classics as The Poky Little Puppy and The Tawny Scrawny Lion... not to mention being the chief illustrator on Walt Disney's very first feature film Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. Looking at this book, it is easy to see his influence in all of Disney's early movies. Such a master, thus why I felt compelled to post a few extra pics this morning. (That owl just knocks me out!) Moving on... There is a wee little rabbit and his squirrel friend, see. And there is an evil, awful weasel who wants to eat them!

"Hello! What's the news?" said the lively little rabbit. "Oh, dear!" cried the little rabbits. "The mean old weasel came again this morning and ate our great grandmother on Daddy's side for breakfast!"

OH NO, NOT GREAT GRANDMOTHER ON DADDY'S SIDE! Ha.

This made the lively little rabbit very sad. "Something must be done," he said. "What?" said the other little rabbits.
"I think I know," said the wise squirrel. "We must give that weasel a terrible, terrible scare."

So, they and their woodland family and friends (including the owl who in real life is probably way more trouble to them than any old weasel) get together and come up with a genius plan... They build a faux dragon and scare the living daylights out of that mangy, nasty weasel. Whew. Great book. I love it when small, snugly creatures kick butt. Poor, stinky weasel.

(This is a reprint from 1982... the original cover can be seen here.)

White Snow Bright Snow

Alvin Tresselt ~ Roger Duvoisin ~ Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1947

Since I saw snow for the first time in seven years this week and our neighborhood just put up its community Christmas tree (already, can you believe!?!), I thought I'd celebrate with a wee bit of snow love. Winner of the 1948 Caldecott Medal, more than any other book (save maybe The Snowy Day), this one highlights the magic of the first snow, celebrating the wonder of the winter season.

The postman said it looked like snow.
The farmer said it smelled like snow.
The policeman said it felt like snow, and his wife said her big toe hurt, and that always meant snow. Even the rabbits knew it, and scurried around in the dead leaves. While the children watched the low grey sky, waiting for the first snowflake to fall. Then, just when no one was looking, it came.

So sweet the way the whole community (kids, fauna and all) celebrate in the majestic splendor of the new fallen landscape... right through to the moment when spring appears and the wonder is reborn. I doubt there are many out there (adult and otherwise) who don't become kids again when the seasons shift and we all get a second chance. What a wonderful world, no?

Also by:
Petunia, Beware!
The Rain Puddle
A Child's Garden of Verses
Petunia
Veronica and the Birthday Present
Donkey Donkey
The Old Bullfrog

The Tale of Two Bad Mice

Beatrix Potter ~ F. Warne & Co., 1904

This post is way overdue. I'm not sure why I've neglected one Ms. Helen Beatrix Potter. Maybe I thought her books were too obvious. Maybe I thought the way I feel about these books would be too difficult to portray in 300 words or less. Maybe I thought my words could never do justice. Whatever... the point is, I'm over those hangups now, and I'm ready to tell you about my... AND YOU WILL ONLY HEAR ME SAY THIS ONCE... all time favorite books EVER EVER EVER of my childhood. (And I am lumping all her The Tale/Story Of books together because to love one means you've love them all.) That's right. For all you folks out there who were wondering what my number one pick would be. From her first book in 1902 (The Tale of Peter Rabbit) to the last of the series in 1930 (The Tale of Little Pig Robinson), Ms. Potter created a world so divine, so elaborate, so imaginative... that for over 100 YEARS, she's been making children fall in love over and over again.

Really, there are no books better. If you are looking for the holy grail of children's literature, look no further for ye shall find it in a complete box set of the series. That said, this particular ditty is about two very bad mice who ransack a dollhouse.

The doll's-house stood at the other side of the fire-place. Tom Thumb went cautiously across the hearthrug. They pushed the front door - it was not fast. Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca went upstairs and peeped into the dining-room. Then they squeaked with joy! Such a lovely dinner was laid out upon the table! There were tin spoons, and lead knives and forks, and two dolly-chairs - all so convenient!

When they come to find out that the food isn't real, they trash and loot the joint leaving a couple of dollies stupefied. A jolly good show really. One of the lead players in this book (Hunca Munca) was always my sister's favorite make-believe character, though I was more of a Jeremy Fisher girl myself. (He gets eaten alive for goodness sake... how marvelous!)

Potter's drawings are delicate and perfect, spinning a wonderful world that is interconnected and alive with possibility. And her words are pristine, though it is hard to read them aloud without putting on the Brit. Really, eight million fingers and toes and any other extremities you might care to point up, up.

(This is my original childhood copy, so excuse the scribbles.)

YOU ARE RI-DI-CU-LOUS

André François ~ Pantheon Books, 1970

By the famed French artist and New Yorker cartoonist, I have vague, vague, vague memories of these characters from being a child, but have no memory of this specific book. Perhaps these were reoccurring characters, perhaps Monsieur François had some backdoor way into the collective subconscious of the 70s toddler set. Who knows. What I can tell you is this book is funny and weird and great and puzzling and shocking and sweet, all at the very same time.

There are these two friends, see. Mister Punch and Mister Poo... and they like to make fun of each other and make asses of themselves...

You look pretty funny.
You do too!
You have a big nose!
You are terribly fat!
I can paint my nose blue.
I can wear a green hat.

But when these two tricksters ban together and head out to sass a two-headed dragon, fatal mistakes are made...

I don't like being called funny names!
said the dragon offended and spitting hot flames.
In fact, Mister Punch,
In fact, Mister Poo...
I'll swallow you up and
wear your hats too!

As my son is prone to ask, "What is the moral of this story, momma?" Well, son. Don't ever call anyone fat, and never, ever, ever make fun of a two-headed dragon lest you want your flesh soaked in stomach acid.

The Friendly Book

Margaret Wise Brown, Garth Williams ~ Golden Books, 1954

I seriously doubt I will ever meet the day when I've read all the titles by this dynamic duo. These two authors alone give me such great hope every time I walk into a used book shop or lean over to root through a wire rack full of Golden Books.... what new treat will I discover today. Her with her slightly eccentric rhyming, and him with his fussy lines and wistful rabbits. Since I am spreading the love here, it is only right that this book is all about spreading the love, anywhere and everywhere...

I LIKE STARS
Yellow stars
Green stars
Red stars
Blue stars
I like stars
Far stars
Quiet stars
Bright stars
Light stars
I like stars
A star that is shooting across the dark sky
A star that is shining right straight in your eye
I like stars.

Trains, cars, snow, dogs, boats, whistles, people.... there is room to love everything here on these pages. Such a happy book for a happy time, my friends. My son still is the snuggle king, but this book just reinforces the importance of enjoying your kiddos while you can before they get all grownup and cynical, darn it.

Also by:
Wait Til the Moon is Full
Do You Know What I'll Do?
The Sky Was Blue

Big Golden Animal ABC

The Rabbit's Wedding
The Quiet Noisy Book
On Christmas Eve
Christmas in the Barn
The Dead Bird
Little Chicken
The Little Island
Amigo

You and Me

Florence Parry Heide ~ Ted Smith ~ Concordia, 1975

Not sure what the cultural significance of You and Me is, but as I grew up in a good Episcopalian 70s home, you know we had the red dot and his friends hanging around. I rediscovered this book a few weeks back, and still find it to be enthralling. Using dots as people, we are introduced to the concept that everyone is a different individual, each with our own thoughts and feeling and ideas. I actually remember the exact moment when this epiphany hit me, so I know this sort of self discovery is important to a child. Otherwise, I think we'd all grown into little Jeffery Dahmers, but I digress.

Here I am.
(Now don't forget!
Every time you see the red dot in this book - that's me!)
If I want to go somewhere I can go up or down
or back and forth
or around.

Conceptually, the story is very intelligent, and links us all back to God in a way that is nondenominational, and the way I remember all religious things being when I was little before so many zealots started pulling us in lots of different directions. But again I digress. I believes the closing of the book says it all....

God made every single person
their own person
their own separate
different special selves.
Isn't that wonderful!

Isn't it?

The Travels of Babar

The Travels of Babar
Jean de Brunhoff ~ Random House, 1934

So, the boy's BFF had given him a CD of stories downloaded off Kiddie Records Weekly, and we listened to it nonstop on the drive back from Mexico this summer. One record in particular about Babar really stuck in my mind. I had all the Babar books when I was little, but this record was based on one I remembered, but didn't know the name of... that is until I found it at a thrift shop last week. Remember when Babar and his sexy cousin Celeste head out on their hot air balloon honeymoon at the end of The Story of Babar? Well, this is what happened on that ill-fated rendezvous....

Blown out over the sea by the wind, the balloon is suddenly caught by a violent storm. Babar and Celeste tremble with fear and cling with all their might to the basket of the balloon.

So yea, the balloon crashes, setting off a series of events that get stranger and stranger with each page: fierce cannibals, a whale ride, being sold to the circus, a skiing trip to the mountains, a war with the rhinos as well as eleven singing canaries and a cunning little monkey.

Really, the adventure is high in this one. Hands down probably the best Babar book ever, and it doesn't include any somber moments at all about that unfortunate business of Babar's mommy getting gunned down that so taints the first book. As the Kiddie Records Weekly version sings... "Long live King Babar, ditto Queen. Of all the elephants, they're of the best." Here, here.

The Lady of the Blue Beads

guest blogger ~ Katie of We Heart Books

Annie Rentoul ~ Illustrated by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite
First Published – George Robertson, 1908

Here is a book that is classically Australian, which conjures up thoughts of long hot summer days and nostalgia for a time that was simpler.

First published in 1908 (unfortunately I don’t have an original copy) The Lady of the Blue Beads was written and illustrated by Melbourne sisters Annie Rentoul and Ida Rentoul Outhwaite. Annie’s narration is full of quaint Australian references; of mosquitoes buzzing, boomerang throwing and "blazing" sun. But it is her descriptions of the Australian landscape ~ bush and animals ~ that are actually very evocative, “Above, the sky was a dome of deepest blue – the blue that is found nowhere except in Australian summer seas and skies.”

Eight-year-old Margaret is the hero in the story. She is the "Lady of The Blue Beads" named for the blue beads she wears around her neck to match her eyes. She is one of those characters who is brave and bossy but never dirties her dress or loses her hat – everything I've strived to be!

Margaret believed in fairies and could see glimpses of them herself at night in her nursery. Then she gets an invitation to visit "Coconut Island the Realm of King Crunchem Quick, Cannibal King and Co." On her journey to the Island in a nautilus shell, she encounters Sprites and Fairies, Elves, Ghosts and Bogies and a squid named Fredrick.

“O come with me across the sea
To a beautiful palm fringed isle,
Where row on row the coconuts grow –
Yes the coconuts mile on mile
And if you feel hot, you are very soon not
If you plunge in the waves awile;
And if you feel cold, on the sands of gold
You can bask in the sun and smile.”
“The mermaids there, with golden hair.
Sing melodies low and sweet,
The murmuring caves and the winds and the waves
Their magical songs repeat.
And I have come o’er the white sea foam,
Little earth-child, to your feet.
Oh come with me across the sea,
Where the birds wing fat and fleet.”

The real beauty in this book comes from the watercolour illustrations by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite who was/is considered one of the best fairy painters in the world. In her colour plates her fairies are like butterflies. She doesn’t need glitter or sparkle; her fairies are effortlessly ethereal and graceful. They are drawn much like delicate little girls, just with wings, which I think really appealed to me as a child. She also depicted them alongside Australian animals like kangaroos, kookaburras, and koalas.

Ida stopped illustrating during the Second World War saying "the war stopped the taste for fairies — in parents anyhow — and the fairies fled, appalled..." Because Annie and Ida’s books were only given limited print runs of 1000 copies or less, their books are quite rare in the original, and it has been only recently that Ida’s fairies have been reprinted in a collection.

I’m not sure my two-year-old, Ned, will be interested in reading The Lady of the Blue Beads - maybe he will when he’s older, when he can appreciate that the story comes from another time in Australian history. But it is definitely the divine illustration that gives this book a very important place in Australian children’s literature.

We Heart Books

Tommorow, I leave for Colorado.... and yes, leave it to me to live in Texas and not check the Weather Channel until just now to find out where I am going gets down to 14 degrees at night, and I (quite literally) do not own a pair of socks... much less mittens and hats and coats and scarves and all that other stuff that goes with dressing for the snow. That said, I will be posting while away, but for tomorrow, I am letting Katie from We Heart Books take over. She is one half of the awesome Aussie mummy team (Lou is the other mother) who keep parents the world over informed of new books for tots and book-related items plus posting my most favorite weekly delight... When We Were Little Sundays. If you haven't noticed, Australian bloggers rule, so catch the wave! See you next week... that is if I don't get frost bite and die. In that case, I leave all my books and book-related items to Ben Kleinman. May I rest in peace. Cheers.

How To Make Flibbers, etc.

Robert Lopshire ~ Random House, 1964

Best known for the classic Put Me in the Zoo (the unforgettable story of the wha? with colored spots who so desperately wants to be accepted), sadly, the man doesn't even have his own Wiki page, so I don't know squat about him. I couldn't find an obit so I don't know if he's dead, or why he illustrated so few books (Big Max, I Am Better That You, etc). Anybody got the 411 on this guy?

Though my son is still too small to get the full luxury out of "A Book of Things to Make and Do", I'm jacked for the day when he'll want to "grow a jungle" out of a sweet potato, make his own "Creepy Willy", wear a "Huffel Hat", or build a "two-horned noser." The later of which goes a little something like this...

1- Get a small paper bag, crayons and scissors.
2- Draw a face on the bag. Make it a funny face.
3- Cut two holes in the top of the bag, and one where the nose goes.
4- Put your hand in the bag. Put one finger in each hole.
5- Now wiggle your horns and waggle your nose.

If that doesn't spell rainy day fun, I don't know what does! I'll be curious to find out if the flibber recipe really works. Those things look cool, man.

International orders....

Who knew there were so many vintage book lovers overseas..... Ha! Anyway, I am finishing up changing the profile, so now I can ship international. It's been a long election day folks. I am out of town Thursday to Thursday, so any orders make after say 2pm CT tomorrow (Wednesday) will ship out late next week. Thanks for the support guys. I am breathless, really! 

(I will still be posting reviews while away though so fear not!)

Little Hatchy Hen

James Flora ~ Harcourt, Brace & World, 1969

Again, Flora heads back to the farm, but this time it is Grandma who is spinning the tall tale. As with all my Flora books, even though this is a largely crappy copy culled from a library in Oregon, I adore it and so does my boy. As with the crossover that occurs in so many of his books, the bird is question is previously mentioned in Grandpa's Farm and has a very magical ability indeed.

Did you ever hear about Grandma's Little Hatchy Hen? She was such a good hatcher that she could hatch anything you put in her nest. She hatched chickens, ducks, geese, turtles, bluebirds, and ostriches. When Grandma needed new clothes or a piano or a bicycle, Little Hatchy Hen would hatch them for her. When Grandpa's barn caught on fire, he didn't have enough hose to reach the barn. Little Hatchy Hen hatched a box of spaghetti into two hundred feet of fire hose.

As with all of god's creatures that are born with gifts, trouble soon follows when Big Bruno spirits the little hen away in the night to use for his own evil, money-making scheme. It seems Hatchy is meant to spend a life hatching other peoples dreams, until the fowl smartens up and hatches a dinosaur (of course!) who whisks her back to the farm and the loving arms of Grandma. Always a surrealist twist from this modern master of absurdity. Any and all of his books... awesome.

Also by:
Pishtosh Bullwash and Wimple
Kangaroo for Christmas
Stewed Goose
Great Green Turkey Creek Monster
Grandpa's Farm
Leopold the See-Through Crumbpicker
The Day the Cow Sneezed
Grandpa's Ghost Stories
Grandpa's Witched Up Christmas
My Friend Charlie
Sherwood Walks Home

Great Monday Give: Petunia

I hate to do it to you guys again, but I am once more out of town for a few days, so this week's Great Monday Give will extend for two weeks. That said, the book I will be giving away is a used but nice hardback, weekly reader book club edition of Petunia by Robert Duvoisin. Such a great title, and you can be entered to win by commenting on this post before midnight ~ Sunday ~ November 16... two weeks from yesterday. The winner will be announced on the 17th....

And speaking of winners.... The winner last week's give and her very own copy of The Little Tiny Rooster .... is Amber! Please e-mail me your info to webe(at)soon(dot)come, and I'll ship it out as soon as I return next week.

That said, have a great one guys.... I'll still be posting this week and next, so fear not!

Tim Tadpole and the Great Bullfrog

Marjorie Flack ~ Doubleday & Co, 1934

I bought so much stuff on my last sojourn to Virginia, and yesterday, the box I shipped back to myself arrived on the doorstep. Packed full of goodies I had all but forgotten, Tim Tadpole floated to the top of required reading today. Really, educational and fun, Tim is the tale of a wee little tadpole who wants to sing and jump like other frogs, but sadly, he can only swim. His despair over his lack of legs and lungs draws advice from the Great Bullfrog to swim, swim, swim, and swim he does.

So all day long Tim swam, and he swam, and all night long Tim swam and he swam and he never had time to feel sorry for himself at all. Until one day what should Tim find kicking out near his tail but two little legs! Soon came a day when Tim had a left arm and then came a day when out came a right arm! And every day Tim's tail was getting shorter and shorter and his mouth was growing wider and wider. "Now," said Tim, "I will find the Sun!"

A hugely uplifting story that will get any kid who loathes being small to rise up, jump and cheer. Written and drawn by perennial favorite and illustrator of The Story About Ping and The Country Bunny... Flack's imagination is crisp and very approachable as she draws from a common place within us all. The underdog overcoming ~ which in itself is a lesson in life we hope all our children will learn. Go frog go!

Also by:
The Country Bunny
The Story About Ping
Angus and the Cat

My Etsy Store

Hey guys! In an effort to purge some of my overflow and keep my husband from divorcing me, I have decided to open up an Etsy shop. I've tried to keep the pricing fair or at least cheaper than most places, but hope to make this blog break even sometime before 2032. I've priced things based on what I spent on them and what they look like. In some cases, I plan on putting little Easter eggs on that are far underpriced, and I'll let you readers know first! Needless to say, all proceeds (and sadly, then some) from the sale of books in my shop will be put back into the purchase of books to review. Never fear however, my best finds will always be reserved for the Great Monday Give! Hence forth, my Etsy shop will be linked in the side bar, and I will be posting new stuff periodically. Cheers!