The Sky Was Blue

THE SKY WAS BLUE
Charlotte Zolotow with pictures by Garth Williams/ published 1963 by Harper and Row

Always loving the Garth, especially when it comes with the one-two punch of Zolotow. His sweet girls with their feathery hair and pinched, little lips are truly darling. This one is overflowing with nostalgia when a girl and her momma look at an old photo album and take a walk down memory lane back three generations. Discussing things like the dress her grandmother wore, the doll her great-grandmother had, and the especially awesome 50s/60s modern house her mom grew up in. (I think this book might have been written in future-tense if you know what I mean.)

The little girl
closed the photograph album and leaned against her mother.
"Is that all?" said the little girl.
"No," said her mother.
"Someday, you'll be showing your picture to your little girl,
and you will be telling her that...
the sky will always be blue.
Grass will always be green.
Snow will always be white and cold.
The sun will always be warm and yellow.
And then," said her mother,
"you'll hug her too.

When these two get together, the themes are always so sentimental and dear, but sadly - as far as I can tell - very girl-oriented. Even still, my son gets all snugly at the end. Why, I got two cheek kisses and a hug around the neck just this morning from this book. I love anything that generates the mom/son warm fuzzies. (I know, I am getting too 60s-themed again... will try and dig back deeper for tomorrow.)

Also by:
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present
Wait Til the Moon is Full
I Have a Horse of My Own
The Hating Book
Flocks of Birds
Do You Know What I'll Do?
The Rabbits' Wedding
Three Bedtime Stories
The Friendly Book
Amigo