Animals in the Woods
IN a disturbing piece in a recent issue of Commentary, Jason Epstein, vice-president of Random House, laments the present sorry state in the world of children's books. 'Children's hooks.' he writes, 'have increasingly become part
of a . sub-culture . cut oft by a dense
fog . . from the best literary and scientific culture of the community at large.' The great children's books of the past. Mr. Epstein goes on to say, 'though they often represented a distinct genre. were simply a department of literature, and they were commonly written by authors who, in contrast to the situation today. were not primarily writers for children. Such writers as Defoe. Swift, Blake, Coleridge. Mel- ville, Hawthorne, Mark Twain. Kipling, Doyle. etc., wrote for children either inadvertently or out of a romantic preoccupation with childhood
itself.' But today the kids have suddenly become a market. Mr. Epstein, who certainly ought to know, says it is a big one, 'and the woods are full of salesmen.'
Too many of the books in this lot, I must say, will be mightily in need of salesmen. A few are really enjoyable. The rest are passable.
Let's take a look at the animal books first. Very good indeed is Bedtime for Francis, by Russell Hoban, with pictures by Garth Williams (Faber, Its. 6d.). This is an engaging, slyly edu- cational teaser about a badger who can think up endless excuses for not going to bed. It has character and charm. The sort of book children listen to with a sense of recognition.
The best of the animal batch, however, is The Miller, His Son, and Their Donkey, an Aesop fable, with illustrations by Roger Duvoisin (Bodley Head, 9s. 6d.). This, of course, is the fable about the miller who tries to please every- one and ends up by pleasing no one. The text is spare and meaningful, and the pictures are nice, too.
In The Bear on the Motor-Cycle, by Reiner Zimnik (O.U.P., 10s. 6d.), the only bear in Europe who can ride a motor-cycle zips right into town one day to prove that he isn't stupid. A plodding text is somewhat redeemed by pleas- ing, satirical pictures. The Singing Rhinoceros, by Anna and Edward Standon (Constable Young Books, I ls. 6d.), tells just about the same story. Only this time the happy, gentle animal who quits the zoo, and terrifies the townspeople, is a rhinoceros. He ends up a world-famous singer. The text is riddled with exclamation points and illustrations that are only average. Little Laura and the Lonely Ostrich, by V. H. Drummond (Thomas Nelson, 8s 6d.) tells of yet another escape from the zoo. Little Laura. Nannie, and friend, are taken for a ride by Orly, the lonely ostrich. Out to sea they fly, landing on an island, where they are happily rescued by the King on his royal yacht.
We finally take leave of the zoo with Baby Elephant's Trunk, by Sesyle Joslin, with illustra- tions by Leonard Weisgard (Collins, 7s. 6d.). Mother and Baby Elephant, preparing for a trip to France, introduce French words and phrases painlessly. In The Pig. Who Thought Learning Was Fun, by Margaret Lowe (Faber, 13s. 6d.), 'the kids get a message rammed down their throats. A black-and-white pig, who thinks learn- ing is fun, is denied a good job because of his colour. Top pigs, it seems, are pink. The message is admirable. but I thought the story was muddled and heavy-handed It is also flawed by turgid pictures and dialogue like ' "Be nippy there now. kiddie. 'Armen they'll give yer a job
tive little book. It's about a delightful boy with a closet full of hats, twenty-seven of them in
(Abelard-Schuman, 12s. 6d.), is a most imagina- fact, including a tarboosh, an escape hat, and a silly hat. The dottiness of the text is almost Seuss-like; and 1 can think of no higher praise. The talented Mr. Weiss has also done the draw- ings for a book by his wife; Miriam Schlein, The Pile of Junk (Abelard-Schuman, 12s. 6d.)• This is a knowledgeable, but only mildly amus- ing fantasy about all the wonderful uses children and others can make of other people's junk.
I didn't much care for The House in Sunflower Street, by Gunter Spang (O.U.P., 12s. 6d.), but I suppose there's a moral in it for status-driven kids too nasty to appreciate an old house. But My Daddy and I, by Barbara Cooke (Abelard- Schuman, 10s. 6d.), has some really superior and fresh illustrations by Cyril Satorsky. Miss Cooke's text is fun as well. Highly recommended if you have a child who is just learning hag/ to count.
If your child can already count, but has abominable manners, then What Do You 0°' Dear? by Sesyle Joslin (Faber, 9s. 6d.), will in- struct him in Proper Conduct For All Occa- sions.' This is a charming inventive primer. with witty pictures by Marucie Sendak.
The Gingerbread Man, competently retold by Barbara Ireson (Faber, 10s. 6d.). is as scareY 3 tale as ever.
For older childen I'd like to recommend Gee°, and the Village School, by Parvathi ThamPl (Gollancz, 10s. 6d.), and. a more contemporary story, Pepe Moreno's Quixotic Adventure, by Eric Allen (Faber, 10s. 6d.). MORDE'2A1 MEW-0
Previous page
