A Flower Pot Is Not A Hat
Martha Moffett ~ illustrations, Susan Perl
E.P. Dutton, 1972
I've written about Susan Perl before and how if you were a child in the 70s, her doll-faced children permeated the book world. Their happy eyes and Vienna sausage fingers still tickle me, and since their landscape is riddled with animals, the boy has more than obliged my sweet spot for them. I found this a while back in a stack of paperbacks at a used book shop and I scooped it up for $1, not realising it is one of her more collectible titles. I never saw it as a child, but the story and concept are so delightful, I'm glad our paths crossed before my son got too much older. And so...
A flower pot is not a hat.
A lamp shape is not a hat.
A frying pan is not a hat.
If I put it on my head it is.
Yes, a typewriter is not a chair and a coffee pot is not a drum, but with a little imagination, anything is possible.
The use of typeface in the pictures really brings each page to life, and Perl's drawings are as darling as ever. Here, children try everything while curious, cute animals look on with inquisitive expressions. Reminding us all that childhood is about trying things out and experimenting because...
If I can sit on it, pound it, ride on it, sleep in it, play with it, and put it on my head, then I can find out what it is by myself.Not enough of us take this notion into adulthood, but I'm personally making it my mantra. I am three years from forty and you only have one life, right?
Also by:More Easy Answers
Susan Perl's Color Wheel
Thanks for choosing this book today -- I was recently thinking about the Healthtex ads I used to love as a child. Full page, color ads in the NY Times Sunday magazine. My father and I would study them together, noticing every tiny bird and ladybug. And now I know they were drawn by Susan Perl!
ReplyDeleteThis book reminds me of a precursor to todays book "Not A Box" which we love. Maybe I'll run across a copy of this one in my in-laws vast pile of vintage books.
ReplyDeleteThe Healthtex ads apparently go back to the 1950s...I found this wonderful one on a Flickr photo stream.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/bluecoat/2585673893/in/pool-healthtex
that health tex ad is awesome. that would make a great print or childs t-shirt. if anyone finds any more, let me know.
ReplyDeleteOh, another one to keep an eye out for. Don't remember seeing this one -- love the idea of it!
ReplyDeleteSusan Perl's "Too Many Bozos" was one my first reads as a budding reader in the 1970s. Her drawings still fascinate me.
ReplyDeleteMy 6YO daughter read this to me tonight. It's one of my childhood favorites. My copy is dated 1974 when I was three.
ReplyDelete