"'There are lemonade licks
And syrupy sticks,
Raspberry rockets
And pineapple pockets.
And my special flavor for today
Is Fun Valley Smash:
Raspberry-strawberry-marshmallow mash.'
Oh, my they did taste good." - The Good Humor Man, Kathleen N. Daly
When I was pregnant with my oldest son a co-worker gave me a set of reissued classic Little Golden Books as part of a shower gift. One of the books in the set was The Good Humor Man, a book I had overlooked (or perhaps it had been out of print) during my own childhood of reading and collecting Little Golden Books (perhaps someday I will write a post about the profound influence these books had on my life as a reader). I have very vivid memories of sitting on the floor in the nursery reading aloud to my infant son while he did tummy time on a blanket beside me. Later, this ended up being the book we would throw in a backpack or carryon to take on airplanes or day trips into the city. Simply put, this book with its sweet story and 60s era charm is a family favorite.
Kathleen N. Daly's story about a neighborhood ice cream man who brings treats to families in a typical 60s suburban neighborhood seems almost outdated. When is the last time you saw an ice cream man? I am pretty sure that my kids know about ice cream men only from this book, although the ice cream truck was a fixture in the California neighborhood I grew up in. In the book we see the Good Humor man make his rounds in his white truck, selling "raspberry rockets" and "pineapple pockets" to the families on his route. One of his customers is a lonely boy named Johnny. Another customer, who lives way up on a hill outside of town, is an older woman who has a visiting grandson, Dick: he's also lonely. The next day, when the Good Humor man notices Johnny is without his puppy, he learns the dog is lost. But hooray! Dick and Granny have found the puppy! This inspires the Good Humor man to play matchmaker--Johnny gets his puppy back and, in the process, he and Dick become friends.
Tibor Gergeley's original illustrations are perfectly paired with Daly's text, perhaps more now than when the book was published in 1964. The retro look (which is, of course, "retro" only by present day 2010's standards) perfectly complements this story of a bygone era--when the highlight of a family's summer day might well have been the ice cream man's visit.
Drawing inspiration from the Good Humor man's flavors, we made some ice pops on this first weekend in June.
Fun Valley Smash
"Fun Valley Smash" is the Good Humor man's special flavor of the day. He describes it as being "raspberry-strawberry-marshmallow mash."
Ingredients:
- raspberries
- strawberries
- marshmallow creme
- vanilla yogurt
Additional equipment: Stick blender, ice pop mold (mine was $2.00 at Target)
1. Wash fruit. Chop stems off strawberries and cut into smaller pieces. Place in blender cup.
2. Use stick blender to puree fruit. Children should be supervised during this process.
3 Comments on The Good Humor Man - Fun Valley Smash Frozen Pops, last added: 6/9/2010
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What a lovely post :-) And the good news is that our street is still visited by 2 icecream vans at weekends and during the holidays, with their very distinctive jingles. I normally get rather annoyed with them (they inevitably turn up during my youngest's nap time, their jingles are rather loud and I worry the little one will wake up!) but having read your post I will look upon them a little more kindly :-)
I loved the Little Golden Books as a kid but I somehow missed this one. It sounds really cute! Terrific post and those Fun Valley Smash bars look delicious :)
Zoe - How fun that you still have ice cream men serving your neighborhood! Those chimes signal summer to me. The last time I actually saw an ice cream man was when we were living in Illinois--the ice cream man was circling my neighborhood while I was running. I felt like he was taunting me!
Ladytink - The Fun Valley Smash bears were great! And so easy to make with the right ingredients on hand.