John S. Goodall ~ Antheneum, 1978
Managed to get up before the dawn today to share this one. It's actually cold here in Texas this morning, so if I close my eyes and pretend, the world doesn't feel so far off from these pages. What the life must have been like when it was all handmade. I already feel guilty about having too much plastic to sort into my son's stocking, but after reading this, I get the feeling I should be darning more socks and plumming some pudding. Oh, to have been a child growing up at the beginning of the 1900s, able to visit the English countryside for Christmas. I realize I am idealizing (as this book does), but still... wouldn't real flickering candles on a tree be divine? And all those servants? Wow.
Once again, Goodall creates a wordless world for the reader to slip inside. An unannounced guest on an intimate life with moments that will have you lost in the details. A holiday costume ball. Ice skating and parlor parties. Little children gingerly hanging their stockings from bed posts. Rabbits waiting to be roasted in the market and a midnight walk to church. Evergreen garland on the banister and a delicate nest sitting abandoned in a tree. Hoping my son will look back on these picture book memories and appreciate the long forgotten places and people they help us to know. My goodness, where would we be without books to remind us? Enjoy!
The Sleeping Beauty
4 comments:
Oh lovely! Thanks for sharing this one! I'd definitely take all the servants for a day or two!
Gorgeous pages!!! just... oh, so lovley!!
Those illustrations are something else. Thanks for sharing!
Love this and love the Christmas ABC. And I'm disappointed I haven't had a chance to check in here, so I missed the giveaway. Maybe next year.
You know what you (I) need on this blog? A button for me to "add this book to your favorites", so I can keep a running list of the books that call my name.
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