Miss Twiggley's Tree
Dorothea Warren Fox ~ Parents' Magazine Press, 1966
Plucked from oblivion a few years back by the ever-amazing Purple House Press, the book spent years on Loganberry's most requested list and was remembered by countless people as a childhood favorite. Though I have not seen the reissue, it includes the story of how Dorthea came to write the book that involves an old willow tree, her children's tree house and a neighbor swinging on a rope. Purple House Press links to an article written in a Connecticut newspaper when the book was reissued, and the American Art Archives has a fascinating biographical piece on Dorthea and her husband, illustrator Charles Fox here. That said...
Funny Miss TwiggleyLived in a tree
With a dog named Puss
And a color TV.
She did what she liked, and she liked what she did,
But when company came
Miss Twiggley hid.
The rhymes here are so bouncy and fun, you are swept up right from the get go into shy Miss Twiggley's affairs. Roommates with a dog and some bears, she sleeps in her hat and never leaves home and is trifled about by the wicked mayor's wife. 
But when the town floods, and its citizens look for higher ground, there's only one place that's nice and dry. An endearing story of overcoming fears and not judging a book by its tree limbs.
The book is dedicated lovingly... To the boys who built the house and my mother who spent one summer drawing the tree. What a wonderful legacy for a mother and daughter to leave behind.
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You're on a roll! I still own this one too!
ReplyDeleteHow about Harvey's Hideout? ;-)
Ah this one has been on my radar for ages and I just saw this online the other day1 I think it's a sign.... :) oh -- I had this total stealth ninja idea of how to bid on that Tall Book of Make Believe on Ebay -- I was going to wait until the last 50 seconds and then bid, and I go so excited that I panicked and forgot my password (I also forgot to login ahead of time.) Doh! So no book. Boo. ~Melissa
ReplyDeleteI love the illustrations!
ReplyDeleteAnother great book to put on my list!
Love this book as well - and enjoying reading it to my kids. Great story of accepting those outside of the mainstream without being "preachy" about it.
ReplyDeletemy kids have watched the 'claymation' type movie version of this about a million times. such a charming story.
ReplyDeleteMy sister memorized this entire book when she was about 8. I think she can still recite it :-)
ReplyDeleteVery cute! That one image you shared of the dog up in the tree in the rain looks a lot like Scuppers to me - a small tribute to Garth Williams, perhaps?
ReplyDeletemelissa - D'oh!
ReplyDeletesteph - i had that same thought myself.
Thank you, what a delightful book!
ReplyDeleteFound a copy for .50 this summer. Big thrill!
ReplyDeleteWhaataa skiiill...
ReplyDeleteClang! (my jaw)
JOY I love GOOGLE ....i've thought about this book for so long ..i could only remember that she slept in her hat and lived in a tree:) ..late night just punch in and found this great treasure from my early childhood reading ..a gift from my mom ..i wrote all over the inside cover a a child ... so happy to find it and replace a long lost treasure of memories ..WOW!
ReplyDeleteImari
I love GOOGLE ..i've thought about finding this book from my childhood .. a gift from my mom .. all i could remember was an old lady who slept in her hat and lived in a tree, and the flood came and the people stayed in her tree .. I'm so thrilled to find it .. on a whim i typed this memory in and here it is ..JOY :)
ReplyDeleteJOY I love GOOGLE ....i've thought about this book for so long ..i could only remember that she slept in her hat and lived in a tree:) ..late night just punch in and found this great treasure from my early childhood reading ..a gift from my mom ..i wrote all over the inside cover a a child ... so happy to find it and replace a long lost treasure of memories ..WOW!
ReplyDeleteImari
loved this book growing up! I wonder if my mom still has it?
ReplyDeleteI love this book. I read it to my daughter and son. To my grand daughter and now i can read it to my great grand son. The same book i have had all these years. Thank you for such a wonderful story.
ReplyDelete