Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse
Leo Lionni ~ Pantheon, 1969
Though I do try and stick with obscure finds and books readers might not have seen in a while, every now and again I have to give props to the classics. Even when the selection might seem pretty obvious to me, lots of folks out there might not have the same feeling and posting a book like this could reunite it with a long lost love. So, without further chitchat, I give you one of the books that I most remember from my own youth. A Velveteen Rabbit/Toy Story-ish tale about a real mouse and a fake mouse and a psychedelic lizard that used to scare the bejesus out of me.
Said toy mouse (Willy) and real mouse (Alexander) meet and mutual sparks of admiration fly... but when a box full of throwaway toys threatens to separate them forever, it takes a wily lizard and a full moon to set the story right.... well, that and a magical purple pebble."Lizard, lizard, in the bush," he (Alexander) called quickly.
The leaves rustled and there stood the lizard.
"The moon is round, the pebble found," said the lizard.
"Who or what do you wish to be?"
"I want to be..." Alexander stopped.
Then suddenly he said,
"Lizard, lizard, could you change Willy into a mouse like me?"
The lizard blinked. There was a blinding light.
And then all was quiet. The purple pebble was gone.
A great grass-is-always-greener story with Lionni's iconic illustration style utilizing pen and ink, stamping and cut or torn pieces of colored paper. A three-time Caldecott Honor winner, it's a shame he never pulled in the Medal because his books are so known and well-loved the world over. Plus, he was also an advertising guy. Hum... I wonder why so many advertising guys in the 60s turned to children's books, and why it doesn't happen nowadays like that? Or does it? Anyone, anyone?
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Little Blue and Little Yellow
Tico and the Golden Wings