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I loved Miss Suzy! Such a sweet story of justice. That's the book that made me fall in love with Arnold Lobel's illustrations. I love the little toy house in the attic. I don't think my copy exists anymore. Eaten to bits by bookworms.

Say, I wonder if Miriam Young was inspired by a squirrel infestation in her own attic.

That's a tough question, because so many books influenced me as a child. If I had to choose a picture book, though, it would be Many Moons by James Thurber, illustrated by Louis Slobodkin. That book taught me that everyone has a different answer, and sometimes the simplest one is the best.

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, by Du Bose Heyward. Illustrations by Marjorie Hack.

It's about a little brown bunny who dreams of becoming one of the five Easter bunnies when she grows up. Everyone makes fun of her, but she tells them to wait and see. When she is grown she ends up having 21 babies and thinks her chance is over. But the wise old grandfather bunny sees something in her, in the way she is raising her family - seeing that she is wise, kind, swift, and clever - and makes her the fifth Easter bunny. She is the only female among them.

The book appealed to me in so many ways. It made the world seem vast, yet dreams were still attainable. And though the Country Bunny was afraid that others might see her as just a mother, she always believed herself capable of anything. I suppose to this day that book is feeding some of my delusions. =)

"Days with Frog and Toad" written/illustrated by Arnold Lobel. The story discusses friendship and loneliness (and related fears). Frog was the taller, laid back fellow while Toad was the shorter and more serious of the two amphibian chums. The tale has poetic and philosophical feel akin to that found in the works of Charles M. Schultz. I read and reread this book throughout my childhood. Every word and image gave hope in times of loneliness. I love children's books that embrace rather than gloss over these raw emotions...because children feel everything.

Cinderella from Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Reading collection. I poured over this version of Cinderella when I was four to the point of obsession. Handled with care, it went everywhere with me. Knowing that the bullied child had the last laugh and was not forgotten, provided hope. It was and still remains a beautifully illustrated piece of escapism, even though now life has taken most of its idealistic magic away. I can still remember the scent of the covers. :)

secret garden

Miss Suzy is my favorite from childhood. I have a blog post about it, too. It made me smile to see the cover here! Love it!

Scuppers the Sailor Dog (Margaret Wise Brown and Garth Williams). I loved the idea that he wanted to go to sea, "so he went there." And the list of all his goods both before and after he visits the navy store. And the illustration of the little house he built after his shipwreck is gorgeous.

Mine was "The story of Ferdinand" by Munro Leaf, illustrated by Robert Lawson. It's the sweet story of a Spanish bull. Instead of butting and fighting like all the other young bulls, Ferdinand liked to sit quietly and smell the flowers. But on the day the men came to get the fighting bulls from the pasture, Ferdinand sat on a bee, which stung his butt. He leapt into the air, butting, snorting, pawing ... and was taken to Madrid to fight.

All the lovely ladies had flowers in their hair and when Ferdinand entered the arena, he simply sat in the middle of the arena and smelled. There no was fight, no display, and Ferdinand was sent back to the pasture, where he remains, very happy, sitting and smelling the flowers.

Doing what you love, and not necessarily what others expect, is a good life lesson.

Marguerite Henry's KING OF THE WIND.
I related to the MC so well and it got me interested in reading more books.

I second Shelli's "Secret Garden" and Laura's "Country Bunny." I actually forgot about that one (shameful!), so thanks for bringing back wonderful memories of reading with my Mom. Another favorite picture book is "The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear" by Don Wood. Adorable, funny, and about strawberries, can't ask for more.

So many memories came flooding back to me upon seeing the picture of that book! I loved that book.


How Fletcher Was Hatched by Wende and Harry Devlin was another of my many many favourite books as a child.

This was my daughters favorite book too. When she found it in the boxes of books in the attic she squealed with delight. She is 38, by the way, and still loves this book. She took it home with her and read it many times to her son.

I still own Miss Suzy and am eternally grateful to my grandparents for signing me up for the Children's Book Club. I loved the illustrations and wanted Miss Suzy to take the dollhouse back to her tree.

I was glad the thugs got their comeuppance. Much later in my life, when a confrontation with "thugs" didn't go well, I took a lesson from Miss Suzy and developed "soldier brothers" to help me feel safe and to help me find friendship again.

I was VERY MUCH a reluctant reader growing up. Syd Hoff was my favorite author early on and Danny and the Dinosaur was a book I read a hundred-zillion times.