For the first four, maybe five, years of Abbyโs life, she would wake up at 5:45 in the morning, leap out of bed, throw her door open and sprint down the hall โ bump, bump, bump, bump, bump โ and into our bedroom. Depending on who was on Morning Duty that day, Jenny or I would hoist ourselves out of bed, take Abby by the hand, and stagger back to her room to (a) organize her Playmobil farm, (b) play Dora โChutes and Laddersโ while fighting off waves of despair, or (c) read a pile ofย books on the floor. In the winter months, when you had an hour and a half to fill before the sun came up, this was tough duty. I know how this will sound to all the early risers out there,ย but this was someย existential stuff. Anyway, most of the time, I took Option C, books. The problem is, you can read a lot of kid books in an hour, and if you choose wrong โ if you getย pushed into theย wrong groove โ you can be in for a world of hurt. In particular, I remember struggling through Amelia Bedelia and a series of Backyardigans books โ really, any TV show spinoff was a serious soul-killer. Cutesy books, with cutesy alliterative characters โ Randy the Rooster, Francie the Fairything, Harry theโฆ Holy Momma, those were some dark days. But they were also some good days.ย Because really, when you locked in on the good ones, and Abbyย would sit there in your lap for an hour, turning pages and listening to you read:ย youโd have to have a stone for a heart to complain about that.ย And as for what qualified as good, in the pitch dark, before coffee? The books that made us laugh (thank you, Paper Bag Princess), that were about things (The Red Balloon, which I will write about someday on this blog),ย books thatย gave kids credit for having a brain and being able to understand questions of longing and love andย worry and beauty, books that explored what, even for adults,ย qualifies asย mysterious or unknowable. And, to my mind, the writer that most consistently hit those marks? William Steig. I know, duh. Weโre not breaking news here, but William Steig was one of those guys who could talk to adults and to kids at the same time, with one voice,ย which is a rare quality indeed. I literally wore Sylvester and the Magic Pebble out, read it so many times, it just fell apart. And, later, when the kids were in first and second grade, Steig was a favorite when we would go in and read to the class โ the perfect length, a few good laughs along the way, a moment or two where a kid might think, Yup, the world is a lot bigger than I know. Anyway, here are a few of our favorites*, but Iโm sure you have yours, too. I miss these books. I kind of miss the early mornings, too. โ Andy
*You wonโt find Shrek here, but thatโs only because the movie ruined it for me.
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1969)
CliffsNotes version: Mamaโs boy donkey named Sylvester Duncan (how great is that name?)ย collects pebbles. One day, he finds a magic one: when you hold it and make a wish, the wish comes true. Not being dumb, he immediately sees the potential for good in this, wants to take it home to show his parents. Sees a lion on way home and, freaked and scared of being eaten alive, wishes he was a rock. Turns into rock. Unable to touch magic pebble and wish to be a donkey again, he sits there, inert: a rock. His distraught parents go looking for him. They look for him for a year. Parents eventually go for a walk and have aย picnic on him. Theyย findย the pebble, place itย on the rock, and Sylvester is reborn.
Favorite little moment: โThe sun was shining as if rain had never existed.โ
Favorite passage: โMr. Duncan walked aimlessly about while Mrs. Duncan set out the picnic food on the rock โ alfalfa sandwiches, pickled oats, sassafras salad, timothy compote. Suddenly Mr. Duncan saw the red pebble. โWhat a fantastic pebble!โ he exclaimed. โSylvester would have loved it for his collection.โ He put the pebble on the rock. They sat down to eat. Sylvester was now as wide awake as a donkey that was a rock could possibly be.โ
How I might describe it: A book, in some ways, about loss. But with a happy ending.
Gorky Rises (1980)
CliffsNotes version: A frog named Gorky mixes up a magic potion in his parentsโ kitchen one day, as any boy frog would want to do. He drinks it, and begins floating up into the sky. Up through clouds, through a rainstorm, into the heavens, where he is suspended, โlike a coat on a hanger.โ Looks down on the world from whence he came, ponders life. Comes back down to earth, lands on 10 million year old Elephant Rock, which suddenly comes alive. Is reuinted with his loving family.
Favorite little moment: โWhat a magical, cloverous smell!โ
Favorite passage: โHe hung there a long, long time, wondering where he was โ exactly what spot on the map he was over. There was nothing around him but the secret, silent night, the sea of blinking stars. Dreamily, he began asking himself questions he could not answer: Did anyone know where he was? Did God, for example, know? Did his parents? He wished he were home with them now, asleep in his feather bed. He was tired.โ
How I might describe it: An exploration of our dreams of escape, of transcending our circumstances and striking outโฆonly to take comfort in home. William Steig books always come home.
Tiffky Doofky (1978)
CliffsNotes version: Trash collector dog named Tiffky Doofkyย stops, on his daily rounds, to get his fortune told. On this day, the fortune teller tells him, he will meet the love of his life. He goes on to meet the love of his life. Endures several strange encounters, and is almost strangled to death by a large boa constrictor named Dolores, only to be saved by a white poodle and snake charmer named Estrella โ who turns out, naturally,ย to be the love heโs been looking for. And the daughter of a garbage collector, as well.
Favorite little moment: โWhy worry and get wrinkles? It would happen.โ
Okay, another favorite little moment: โMadam Tarsal knew her onions after all.โ
Favorite passage: โTiffky Doofky jumped to his feet. He was wide awake and in the coils of a boa constrictor! He tugged at the powerful snake, but it only tightened its hold. โHelp!โ he shouted. โHelp!โ But soon he could shout no longer. The breath of life was being pressed out of him. He decided to face death with dignity. The sun was now on the rim of the earth, about to leave this gruesome scene. โGoodbye, dear world,โ said Tiffky in his mind. โGoodbye, great sun. And goodbye, love, whoever, wherever you are!'โ
How I might describe it: Faith.
Amos and Boris (1971)
CliffsNotes version: Sea-loving mouse named Amos builds a boat and sets sail. Destination: the other side of the water. (Love that.) One night, admiring stars on deck, falls overboard. Endures a long night, abobย in the โvast loneliness,โ confronts death, and is rescued and befriended by a whale of โabounding friendlinessโ named, of course, Boris. Amos climbs aboard Borisโs back and, together, they journey home. Along way, become the best of friends. Years later, Boris is beached during a terrible storm. Amos finds him there, dying. Amos locates two elephants (just go with it)ย to help push Boris back into deep water and save his life.
Favorite little moment: โMorning came, as it always does.โ
Favorite passage: โHe began to wonder what it would be like to drown. Would it take very long? Would it feel just awful? Would his soul go to heaven? Would there be other mice there? As he was asking himself these awful questions, a huge head burst through the surface of the water and loomed up over him. It was a whale. โWhat sort of fish are you?โ the whale asked. โYou must be one of a kind!โ โIโm not a fish,โ said Amos. โIโm a mouse, which is a mammal, the highest form of life. I live on land.โ โHoly clam and cuttlefish!โ said the whale. โIโm a mammal myself, though I live in the sea. Call me Boris.'โ
How I might describe it: That, right there, isย friendship.
Brave Irene (1986)
CliffsNotes version: A dressmaker is sewing a gown for a duchess to wear to some kind of royal ball. But the dressmaker becomes ill and it falls to her young daughter, Irene, to deliver the dress. Problem: there is an epic, driving snowstorm, Irene is little, and the dress is a large thing to lug across a dark and stormy forest. An โill-temperedโ wind batters Irene, tears into her, forces her to walk backwards, but Irene is determined. She canโt let her mother down. Then the dress is ripped form her hands, and flies away, stolen by the wind. She continues on, through the night, nearly freezing to death. She is lost. The dress, youโll be glad to know, is magically delivered. Irene is hailed by royal typesย as a โbrave and lovingโ person. And again (detecting some themes?) she is reuinted with her mother.
Favorite little moment: โHow could anything so terribly wrong be allowed to happen?โ
Favorite passage: โSoon night took over. She knew in the dark that the muffled snow was still falling โ she could feel it. She was cold and alone in the middle of nowhere. Irene was lost. She had to keep moving. She was hoping sheโd come to a house, any house at all, and be taken in. She badly needed to be in someoneโs arms.โ
How I might describe it: A parable about perseverance. And an argument for being nice to your mom when sheโs not feeling so good.
Dominic (1972)
CliffsNotes version: First off, this is a chapter book, probably more for 2-4th graders, 146 pages of pure joy. Dominic is a โlively one,โ aย dog who sets out on his own โย with a righteous ensemble of hats and his trusty piccolo โ to see the world. Along the way, he runs into a roving band of bad guys, known as the ย Doomsday Gang. They try to lure Dominic over to the dark side. This gang, it turns out, has been stirring up a lot of bad juju out in the larger animal world, and Dominic sets out toย make things right. Includes an unbelievably beautiful moonlight serenade of mice carryingย Japanese lanterns.ย Thatโs right.
Favorite little moment: โOne could not be happy among the good ones unless one fought the bad ones.โ
Favorite passage: โThe peacock spread his gorgeous tail about him and listened. Dominic did not know how long he played. And when the music was over, there was no stopping him; he had to sit down on his haunches and yield to some deeply felt howling, not harsh, pent-up howls this time, but soft, yodeling ululations, expressive of feelings that affirmed his presence in an ancient yet young universe. The peacock attended respectfully till Dominic was done.โ
How I might describe it: Life can be hard, but thereโs a crazy amount of beauty in it, too.
Abelโs Island (1976)
CliffsNotes version: Another chapter book with a four-legged protagonist. Abelโs a mouse, aย trust fund dandy,ย newly married to a girl mouse named Amanda. One day, while picnicing (Steig loved a picnic) on watercress, quail eggs, caviar and champagne (Steig loved food), a hurricane blows through (Steig loved storms) and snatched the scarf from Amandaโs neck, prompting Abel to leave her (you get the idea re: Steigโs obsessions) and rescue her scarf. He is, instead, swept away by the storm and washes up on a small island in a river, where a sweet and beautiful version of kid book Survivor unspools. Abel is forced, for the first time, to make his ownย way in life: to make new friends, to fend for himself, to find aย new home and, at the same time,ย a way back to his love.
Favorite little moment: โThe toasted each other, and everything else, with a bright champagne which was kept cool in a bucket of ice.โ
Favorite thing about that little moment: The word โbright.โ
Favorite passage: There are too many to say, and Iโve blabbered on too long.
How I might describe it: You are capable of so much more than you think. That, and itโs amazing what weโll endure for love.
thank you! thank you!
I love your childrens book posts more than you know! With 3 daughters (ages 2,5,7) we are reading all the time and always looking for more inspiration. You have a real knack for GREAT recommendations! Thank you. My amazon cart just grew by 13 books ๐
Steig is incomparable. Our favorite family quote that gets thrown out in so many situations comes from The Amazing Bone โ โI donโt know. I didnโt make the world.โ
But really, all this reading before coffee? You are masochists โ no matter the quality of the author. We have to do the same early morning routine, but make the little one venture to the kitchen with us for hot milk (for her) and coffee (for us).
A delightful list! My fave is Amos & Boris, but all 3 boys love Peteโs A Pizza. Is it every boys dream to be made into a food?
William Steig is also featured in Miss Brooks Loves Books about a reluctant reader. Not that you have that problem in your house.
I teared up a bit reading this (I am a sentimental sap) because my Dad still canโt talk about Sylvester and the Magic Pebble without tearing up (like dad, like daughter). I know his tears are not just about this beautiful book but about the years he snuggled into our beds and read to us each night. Steig was the favorite in our house.
I donโt have kids yet so I think what I love most about these posts is that they fill me with the only other reference point I have, which is about being a kid myself. And now I think I need to call my Dad.
Thank you so much for clueing me into William Steig. Weโve spent the last week or so tracking down his books from the library. They really are a lovely break from the usual. My kids (5 and 3) seem to be enjoying them as much as I am.