Attic of the Wind
Doris Herold Lund ~ Ati Forberg ~ Parents' Magazine Press, 1966
A month or so back I promised to track down more Doris Lund titles and I believe this might be her most remembered... quite a dream really. The sort of girly, wistful book that I'm so glad my son is still willing to sit through. It gives me hope for his spirit in the coming years that his life won't all be Star Wars and violence and killing and war. (Not that Chewbaccas are bad mind you, but you get my drift.) Yet again, Parents' Magazine Press hits a home run with glorious rhyme and illustrations... one word, magic.
What happens to things that blow away,Like bubbles you blew one sunny day?
Where did they all go anyway?
To the Attic of the Wind.
It's not an Attic you reach by stair--
It's past the clouds
and the stars somewhere!
And what will we find if we play up there
In the Attic of the Wind?
Well, one doesn't have to imagine for too too long...
There are autumn leaves
that the wind has swirled
From the far-off corners of all the world
And piled up high in a red-gold heap
So hundreds of children can play and leap.
Yes friends, here is the magical, wondrous place snowflakes and dandelion puffs and butterflies and birds and balloons and kites go when they float away toward the sky. Again, a tear jerker (at least for me) at the end...
Yes, the Attic of the Wind can store
All the world's lost treasure and even more...
The handkerchief you forgot to hold,
The spelling paper with the star of gold,
The picture you drew for Mother's Day,
All the things you somehow let drift away
Aren't exactly lost....
That part gets me every time. I have a reoccurring dream of being at an estate sale in my old elementary school and finding all the treasures of my youth there... Like that movie Amelie with the little found tin of someone's forgotten youth. If all our memories were so safe somewhere. So dear. So sweet. Nothing like staving off childhood's end with a depository for all that is good and true.
Also by:You Ought To See Herbert's House
I Wonder What's Under
This has to be one of the most charming children's books ever. The art is so ethereal, yet very 1960s pop. I read it every March to my primary students, although I think it is more for me. It is exquisite! I'm glad someone else appreciates it as much as I do!
ReplyDeleteTerry
I still have this book, one of my favorites as a little girl! I was in the hospital for a while and my parents found it in the children's playroom...I kinda took it home lol
ReplyDeleteNow Its in my Attic...
as my grandmother died, she asked me to read this to her. makes me cry.
ReplyDeleteWe had this book growing up, and it provided a cool respite on a summer day in a dim corner of our family room. Unfortunately, we lost this, and many other childhood treasures, in a house fire. Still looking to replace it.
ReplyDelete