This month's book is The Runaway Toys, written and illustrated by Lillian Baker Sturges. It was first published in 1920.
The toys head toward the moon on the horizon. Meanwhile, back in town, mothers checking on their sleeping children find all the children gone. They chase after the kids, who are still following the toys out of town. I don't know about you, but I'm getting a Pied Piper vibe.
The toys all board the train out of town, (Wait until the conductor finds out none of them have the fare. Hope the train doesn't have a wood burning engine...), but the mom's stop the kids before they board, promising them that if they come back they will be given all the toys they want.
Hmmm. I'm not sure I like the lesson here. Don't run away, (as you shouldn't be doing), and you'll be rewarded with as much as you want. In any case, it's a beautifully illustrated book. I'm not sure how little ones of today would take it. Kids these days don't seem to be reading rhymes as much as they were in 'the old days' when I was a kid. (I was watching a show last night about people digging up antiques at a 200 or more year old dump. One young woman found a piece of pottery with a picture of a cow, and part of a rhyme that went, "The sheep's in the meadow and the cow's in the corn." AND SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS FROM! She said, "I've never heard that one." What?! For Heaven's sake! Am I THAT old? Nobody knows "Little Boy Blue" any more?)
The book is available online and probably in second hand bookshops and antique stores. (Pay attention though, because there are several books called "The Runaway Toys".) I think I got mine in an antique store. It's usually expensive, but I got mine pretty cheaply.
That's the book for this month. See you soon for another post. (Really!)
When my mother was in college she ran into a teacher that urged the students not to read nursery rhymes to children. I forgot the reasoning why, but apparently NOT teaching children nursery rhymes was a thing at one point. It's a sad day indeed when someone doesn't know "Little Boy Blue."
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it still is. They were often violent and scary. Think about some of them. Fairy tales are awful too. But the same people who don't read fairy tales or nursery rhymes to kids will let the watch "Saw", so go figure.
DeleteTam, I love your book reviews, even if they DO make me search for the books, LOL! I just bought some Barbie hardbacks AND some Little Golden Books that I had as a child. I love the illustrations. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Did you get the 60's Barbie books or the 90's ones? Emma loved those 90'a ones when she was a kid. I love the illustrations on old children's books. I have loads. I like the old school readers.
DeleteAnd just a head's up for anyone looking for a copy--I just paid less than $4 for a copy at discoverbooks.com. Of course, I ended up buying four other books, too, but I have no self control. LOL! If you are interested, FRIEND15 will get you a 15% discount on the site!
ReplyDeleteThanks Beth!
DeleteI especially love the colour ones.
ReplyDeleteAnother one that I probably won't look for but enjoyed hearing about. And yes, strange lesson.
ReplyDelete