The Doll Book of the Month Club: The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat

 This month's book is one that was a favourite of mine when I was in first grade. It's The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat.

 I went to a four room school, and we didn't have a library. But my teacher had a stack of books that we were able to borrow every week. There are two versions of this particular book. There is this version, which contains not only The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat, but also The Dinkey Bird. Here are some of the beautiful illustrations from the Dinkey Bird. No dolls, but it's gorgeous, isn't it?

In some editions one book is on one cover, and the other book is on the other cover, with the covers facing the opposite vertical direction. That way either side is the front cover of the book, depending on which way you hold it, and the stories can be read with either first. In this one both covers are The Gingham Dog, and it doesn't even mention the Dinky-Bird. The stories simply come one after the other, like a regular book. 

   I borrowed a different edition of this book quite often in first grade, because I loved both poems the book was made up of, and their accompanying illustrations. That edition had The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat, and Wynkyn, Blynkyn  and Nod. Both poems were written by Eugene Field, and illustrated by Helen Page, (as was The Dinkey Bird). These days these editions of the poems, which have been published many times, are expensive and hard to find. I bought a more modern version of Wynkyn, Blyken, and Nod for Emma when she was small, but nothing comes close to the beauty of Helen Page's illustrations. I was really excited, when Ken and I were on our anniversary day out, to find this book in an antique mall. I was disappointed that it was the Dinkey Bird version, but glad to have the other poem, at least, in the edition I loved all those years ago. And the price was affordable, and Ken insisted on buying it for me for our anniversary.

  

   Now, I will warn you, the poem is disturbing! Some people who read it as kids were creeped out. I don't remember ever being scared by the poem, but I think I found it dramatic. You see, the story concerns two stuffed toys, the dog and cat of the title. 

  

From the off we're told that there's gonna be a fight.

"The air was littered, an hour or so, with bits of gingham and calico."

It's pretty violent, but the end is still a bit unexpected. Spoiler ahead.

  I remembered the last line being something like 'all they found was the tail of the dog and the hair of the cat', or something like that. But it ends this way: Next morning where the two had sat, they found no trace of dog or cat. And some folks think unto this day that burglars stole the pair away! But the truth about about the cat and pup is this: they ate each other up!

  They ate each other! Pretty gross, huh? I suppose it was reading stuff like this that made me what I am...whatever that is. The other poem in the one I read, Wynkyn, Blyken, and Nod, is very sweet and sentimental, and makes me cry these days. 

  That's the book for this month. For once I'm on time, sort of. Also check out today's other post for the doll of the day. See you tomorrow for another doll.