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Best in Children's Books, Volume 30
Anthology of children's stories. Contents: "Jason and the Golden Fleece" by Charles Kingsley, illustrated by Robin Jacques; "Gregorio and the White Llama" by Laura Bannon, illustrated by Bobri; "The Magic Skipping Rope" by Rose Fyleman, illustrated by Harvey Weiss; "A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go" illustrated by Adrienne Adams; "The Terrible Mr. Twitmeyer" by Lilian Moore and Leone Adelson, illustrated by Paul Galdone; "Toads and Diamonds" by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Aldren Watson; "Crunch Crunch" by Ethel and Leonard Kessler; "Science Quizzes and Experiments: by Jane Sherman, illustrated by Peter Spier; "Let's Go to the South Sea Islands [Oceania]" (no author noted), color photographs, full-color illustrated map.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1960
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 11, 2024
I like this re-telling of the story of "Jason and the Golden Fleece," adapted from Charles Kingsley, but I have to wonder if Robin Jacques read it before doing his illustrations. I can forgive the redheaded and blonde Greeks because not all Greeks have black hair now and there may have been far more variation back then, but the peaceful rippled stream Jason carries the old woman through is just not the "torrent Anauros" that loudly "roared" and proved "a strong man he must have been, or that wild water he never would have crossed."
I suppose I was in a cranky mood when I read this, because all through "Gregorio and the White Llama", a story set in Peru by Laura Bannon and illustrated by Bobri, I kept wanting them to give the White Llama a name. Cattlemen on a big ranch may not name their cattle, but they name their horses, while everyone I've known with a smaller farm or ranch named the animals they worked with as well. Most sheep don't get a name; most milk cows do, even those that end up on the dinner plate (one of my cousins refused to eat "Daisy," but was fine with beef in general...).
As a child, I could relate to the appeal of "The Magic Skipping Rope," which "never caught in your feet or in your clothes," and I also liked the fact that a poet rescues everybody. But a classic this story is not. Written by Rose Fyleman, illustrated by Harvey Weiss.
"A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go," illustrated by Adrienne Adams, is a classic, but never a favorite of mine. I do like the illos, though.
"The Terrible Mr. Twitmeyer" by Lillian Moore and Leone Adelson, illustrated by Paul Galdone, has a classic kid lit feel that I like. I am less pleased with the subject matter. It grapples with the town's scary dog catcher, who doesn't care to go into what happens to the dogs he takes away, and one family's challenges when their "dear little puppy" grows to be enormous and something of a terror. The story feels like it's written to reassure kids that what their former pet may face at the pound is not so dire as their imagination might tell them, which may or may not have been true back in the day but certainly feels dishonest nowadays.
"Toads and Diamonds" is Charles Perrault's classic telling of the tale, illustrated by Aldren Watson. I thought the illos too sketchy and unworthy of the color pages they got, but I've always liked the fairy tale.
"Crunch Crunch," written and illustrated by Ethel and Leonard Kessler, is basically a picture book with minimal text that tries to make grocery shopping into an adventure. Poor kid doesn't even get a penny pony ride. Tsk.
"Science Quizzes and Experiments," written by Jane Sherman and illustrated by Peter Spier, is more fun facts for about the first half, then experiments. As a kid, I had a heck of a time understanding how the sun rises in the Pacific and sets in the Atlantic and finally had to go look at a globe. Nowadays I can just hit the internet.
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-it-that-...
"Let's Go to the South Sea Islands" is the usual combination of a page of text, a two-page map, and two pages of photos with captions. I like these geographical write ups for their focus on interesting cultural differences, while recognizing the underlying common humanity of world peoples. They are always a product of their times, but rarely feel malicious to me. The writing of this one, however, plays to a child's interest in the Alien and the Other, using terms like "savage cannibals." I have seen pamphlets printed by Christian publishers in the 1940s that treated the Melanesian animist beliefs and their practice of cannibalism with more respect.
A sour ending to a volume I consider a poor representative of the series as a whole.
I suppose I was in a cranky mood when I read this, because all through "Gregorio and the White Llama", a story set in Peru by Laura Bannon and illustrated by Bobri, I kept wanting them to give the White Llama a name. Cattlemen on a big ranch may not name their cattle, but they name their horses, while everyone I've known with a smaller farm or ranch named the animals they worked with as well. Most sheep don't get a name; most milk cows do, even those that end up on the dinner plate (one of my cousins refused to eat "Daisy," but was fine with beef in general...).
As a child, I could relate to the appeal of "The Magic Skipping Rope," which "never caught in your feet or in your clothes," and I also liked the fact that a poet rescues everybody. But a classic this story is not. Written by Rose Fyleman, illustrated by Harvey Weiss.
"A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go," illustrated by Adrienne Adams, is a classic, but never a favorite of mine. I do like the illos, though.
"The Terrible Mr. Twitmeyer" by Lillian Moore and Leone Adelson, illustrated by Paul Galdone, has a classic kid lit feel that I like. I am less pleased with the subject matter. It grapples with the town's scary dog catcher, who doesn't care to go into what happens to the dogs he takes away, and one family's challenges when their "dear little puppy" grows to be enormous and something of a terror. The story feels like it's written to reassure kids that what their former pet may face at the pound is not so dire as their imagination might tell them, which may or may not have been true back in the day but certainly feels dishonest nowadays.
"Toads and Diamonds" is Charles Perrault's classic telling of the tale, illustrated by Aldren Watson. I thought the illos too sketchy and unworthy of the color pages they got, but I've always liked the fairy tale.
"Crunch Crunch," written and illustrated by Ethel and Leonard Kessler, is basically a picture book with minimal text that tries to make grocery shopping into an adventure. Poor kid doesn't even get a penny pony ride. Tsk.
"Science Quizzes and Experiments," written by Jane Sherman and illustrated by Peter Spier, is more fun facts for about the first half, then experiments. As a kid, I had a heck of a time understanding how the sun rises in the Pacific and sets in the Atlantic and finally had to go look at a globe. Nowadays I can just hit the internet.
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-it-that-...
"Let's Go to the South Sea Islands" is the usual combination of a page of text, a two-page map, and two pages of photos with captions. I like these geographical write ups for their focus on interesting cultural differences, while recognizing the underlying common humanity of world peoples. They are always a product of their times, but rarely feel malicious to me. The writing of this one, however, plays to a child's interest in the Alien and the Other, using terms like "savage cannibals." I have seen pamphlets printed by Christian publishers in the 1940s that treated the Melanesian animist beliefs and their practice of cannibalism with more respect.
A sour ending to a volume I consider a poor representative of the series as a whole.
Displaying 1 of 1 review