When I Have a Little Girl

When I Have a Little Girl
Charlotte Zolotow ~ Hilary Knight ~ Harper, 1965

I was looking over at Julia's Bookbag the other day and noticed she commented on Hillary Knight's reprint of When I Have a Little Girl/ When I Have a Little Boy as a flip book. We bought that charmer at a library sale when my son was very young, but just recently, we found a copy of the original version of When I Have a Little Girl.

For the 2000 reprint of the titles together as a flip book, Knight hand-watercolored the original drawings, however, the first edition of the girl version was two-color with a lovely pink and green dust jacket. As far as I can tell without having a copy of the boy book, this one was published first in 1965, with the opposite sex to follow in 1967. Ladies first, right?

The sentiments in these books are darling, and something, as a parent, I try and keep close. I hold on to the memories of all the unreasonable things grownups asked of me as a child. Even when I am laying down a law I know in my heart to be outdated and old fogeyish, I try and have empathy for my son as mirrored through the little girl I used to be. Soooo....

When I have a little girl...
She can wear party dresses to school.
She can be fresh to unpleasant people.
She can go through all my bureau drawers...
and try on my rings and bracelets and scarves without asking.

Delightful, delightful, delightful! And, yes, if my son wanted to traipse around in my fancy dress, more power to him! Zolotow's words are lovely, and although both Mercer Mayer and Hilary Knight were both my favorite illustrators as a child, no one draws joy better than Mr. Knight.

Boy or girl, one thing my son never has to do? Be home before dark.

That way he can always, always, always see the moon rise.

Also by:
The Circus is Coming
Where's Wallace
Sunday Morning
Eloise
Christmas Nutshell Library
I Have a Horse of My Own
The Hating Book
Flocks of Birds
Do You Know What I'll Do?
The Sky Was Blue
a rose, a bridge, and a wild black horse

—————

Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, and Etsy!