a rose, a bridge, and a wild black horse
Charlotte Zolotow ~ Uri Shulevitz
Harper & Row, 1964
And speaking of Shulevitz... Though the illustrations are vaguely similar to the Sendak/Krauss series and the story will be familiar to those who've read Zolotow's other book, you could definitely add this to the "cutest books ever" list. The ideal story for a rainy Friday morning here is good 'ole San Antone, and if the boy only had a sister, it would be perfection.
Guess what I'll do, said the little boy to his sister. When I'm grown up, I'll break rocks in half for you with my bare hands. I'll capture a wild black horse and tame him for you to ride. I'll climb mountains and bring you a stone from the top. I'll swim across oceans and bring you coral from the bottom of the sea.
Oh, there's nothing this dear boy won't do for the love of his sister (including win the race in my Bugatti and take you for a ride a hundred miles an hour). The small ink lines and light watercolor scenes remind me of something delicate and sweet like saltwater taffy or sugar smoke on a gingerbread house. What a wonderful world this would be if we all had someone willing to build a bridge to the moon for us... or do our arithmetic.
Also by:I Have a Horse of My Own
The Hating Book
Flocks of Birds
Do You Know What I'll Do?
One Monday Morning
Dawn
3 comments:
Sugar smoke on a gingerbread house... what a beautiful example! I am intrigued by this book now!
I have a six-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter. I'm eager to read this book to them. Happily, our library has a copy. By the way, at your recommendation, I purchased the book The Secret Three. The kids love it. My son promptly enlisted my help in writing an encoded message to his best buddy.
I lifetime-thrilled back in the late 80s, when I had the opportunity to meet Charlotte Zolotow! She accepted an invitation to book-sign at the little children's book store (Pooh Corner) in the town I was living in at the time. A simply lovely woman-- a fond memory indeed!
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