Did I read a lot over break? Well.... yes and no. I read very few new books, but visited a lot of old friends like Dinny Gordon, that poor, benighted girl who who wanted to major in Classical archaeology. Of course, since Anne Emery was writing these books in the early 1960s, maybe Dinny (unlike my archaeologist friends) actually got a job.It is worth noting that Image Cascade has republished a number of books from the 1950s and 60s. If you have a hankering to own your own set of Beany Malone books or anything by Emery or Rosamund du Jardin, this is a must-visit site!
Also picked up Betty Brock's No Flying in the House(1970), which is now available in paperback and prebind, and is such a charming book that even middle school students enjoy it as a light read. Annabel, a cute young girl, shows up at the home of Mrs. VanCourt with Gloria, a very small talking dog, seeking a home. Because Gloria is so amusing, Mrs. VanCourt agrees to take them in. When it turns out that Gloria is a fairy, and Annabel is showing similar tendencies, a mystery emerges and is solved. How does one know if one is a fairy? You can kiss your elbow! My daughter shared this with her second grade class, whereupon they all had to try-- this would make a great read-aloud for younger students, and reluctant readers take to it well. The Wallace Tripp illustrations are brilliant. I was happy to see that he is relatively young (68), but saddened to see that he has been retired for a number of years due to Parkinson's Disease.More new books this week, I promise!
No Flying in the House was one of my favorites when I was little. Glad to hear it held up over the years!
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