Lucky Mrs. Ticklefeather
Dorothy Kunhardt ~ J.P. Miller ~ Simon and Schuster, 1935
Had never seen or heard of Mrs. Ticklefeather until I read about her on the Loganberry Books site, and as usual when serendipity strikes, it was only a matter of days before she and I would come face to face. I passed her over for what I thought was a bloated $10 price tag at an antique store in Virginia, only to have second thoughts later and send my mom back to fetch her.
Glad I did as it would have cost way more to meet her online. The story of an old woman and a puffin that doesn't really look like a puffin, it's an old favorite for a ton of people making this little Golden Book highly collectible. Written by the author of Pat the Bunny and famed Little Golden Book illustrator, J.P, I can totally see why people are hooked on or haunted by Ticklefeather's story. So, there's this old lady (Ticklefeather)....
Mrs. Ticklefeather was a very thin old lady with a good sized feather in her hat, and on her feet she had tall black shoes with plenty of buttons. She lived on the top floor of a terribly high building because the top floor is the best place for getting sunshine, and, Oh, what a good thing sunshine is for thin old ladies.
And she has a pet puffin (Paul) and one day the puffin disappears while trying to make the old woman's dreams come true. Once she realizes the bird is MIA, Ticklefeather dispatches a kindly policeman to fetch her bird and so the story begins. What happens next is a little bizarre and mildly confusing, but hilarious all the same and fetchingly illustrated in that great 30s yet modern style. AWESOME. (Plus bird boy LOVES Puffins... even puffins that look more like parrots.)(For more Little Golden Book fun, check out Meet Me At Mike's this week!)
Also by:Little Peewee
The Little Red Hen
The Around the Year Storybook
Little Galoshes
8 comments:
Sounds like a very cute book. I had never heard of it. Lucky you got it for only $10. At first glance I thought the bird was a parrot.
I am one of those who has loved this book since it was read to me in childhood. A few years ago, I was thrilled to buy a copy online. But today, I am REALLY thrilled that I actually saw real puffins in the wild, yesterday, during a Puffin Watch boat tour from New Harbor, ME! Amazing how those childhood books can still with a person!
I can clearly remember being on my mom's lap while she read this book to me over & over again. Those were precious, loving, close days. Seeing the cover page today brings tears to my eyes. A flood of memories return. When, as a child, I heard Mrs. Ticklefeather say, at the end of the book, with her arm around Paul, "What a lucky lucky lady I am", I knew that is exactly how I'd feel as an older lady. AND I DO!!!
This was my absolute favorite book as a child. I still have my original copy. I would love to see a puffin....
Hello, I just went online today to get a copy of this book & can't believe how much it goes for! Wow, you got a bargain! It was one of my favorite books also. My friend who lives in Alaska just had her first baby & I thought this would be such a nice book to add to her collection--there are lots of puffins in Alaska. I've seen puffins in real life--they are adorable--and ur right, the puffin in the story looks nothing like the real thing. But doesn't matter one bit. Such a wonderful, imaginitive story. Great for any animal lover! Wish they'd reprint it.
Wonderful colors and illustrations. Very fun.
Oh how I loved this book! As clear as a bell, I remember it was enclosed in a bag of assorted socks my mother purchased for me at a store in Central Square, Cambridge, Ma. When I was four years old.
My FAVORITE BOOK as a child. I'm 69 years old now.
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