When the Wind Blew

By Margaret Wise Brown

Pictures by Geoffrey Hayes

Copyright 1937

Margaret Wise Brown is best known for the classic children’s books, Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny.  Her books have pleasant, soothing text and a simple storyline.  The author had extensive education in child development and education and seemed to have an intuitive understanding of a child’s thoughts and feelings. 

When the Wind Blew was her very first book for children.  It is the simple story of an old woman who lived all alone, very happily, by the sea.  She wasn’t lonely though, because of her 17 cats and one little kitten.  Each day, she milked her cow so she and the cats could have fresh milk for breakfast.  She washed all their dishes, put them out to dry, and then went out in the sunshine to watch her cats.  One day, the wind began to blow so hard that the little old lady carried all 17 cats and one kitten inside her little house so they could nap by the fire.  It was then that her tooth began to ache.  The poor old lady had no medicine, no dentist, and no one to help her.  She didn’t even have a hot water bottle.  She curled up in her bed, cold and sad, with the wind tearing through the cracks in her house.  

But then, suddenly, she heard a little purr and felt something soft and warm against her cheek.  It was as warm as a hot water bottle.  What could it be?  It was the little kitten, curled up cozily against her face and purring gently into her ear.  Soon, even though the wind continued to howl, the little house became warmer and the little old lady’s toothache went away.

This lovely story of a contented “cat lady” shows the companionship and healing a pet can bring to a lonely person’s life.

Anastasia Krupnik

By Lois Lowry

Copyright 1979

Anastasia Krupnick is a strong, smart, original 10 year old girl, caught in that often painful spot between childhood and adulthood.  She keeps a private list of her likes and dislikes and often changes her mind about which side people and things are on.  

Her parents move back and forth between the two lists, depending on the day.  When they have the audacity to announce to Anastasia that they are going to have a new baby, she is appalled and lets them know it.  Then, when they tell her she can have the honor of naming the new baby, she secretly decides upon One-Ball Reilly and adds babies to her growing list of dislikes.  However, her parents move back to the list of likes when her father soothes her hurt feelings after she receives an F on a poem she wrote for a school project. With her father being a poet himself, she works extra hard on the project and proudly recites her lovely poem to the class. Her teacher scolds her for the lack of rhyme and in front of the whole class writes a big red F on the paper.  A wonderful moment in the book happens when her father, after reading the poem, changes the F to Fabulous.

Her grandma begins on the likes list, but is crossed off.  Anastasia’s grandma is very old and in a nursing home and often doesn’t know who her granddaughter is.  Anastasia feels very uncomfortable around her grandma and doesn’t like visiting her.  As she matures over the course of the book, she begins to feel compassion for her grandma and the losses she has endured.  The evolution of the relationship between the two is very touching, and by the end of the story, Grandma is firmly back on the likes list.

Anastasia is growing up and that means leaving her selfishness behind.  It means seeing the world from someone else’s point of view and having compassion for them.  It means taking the time to fully understand something before passing judgement.  By the end of the story, her heart has expanded and babies have been written onto the likes list.  And fortunately for her new baby brother, Anastasia has changed her mind about the name One-Ball Reilly! 

Trudy Phillips, New Girl

By Barbara Bates

Illustrated by Dorothy Grider
Copyright 1953

 

It was Trudy Phillips first day at a new school and she was understandably very nervous.  Would she fit in?  Would she make any friends?  Fortunately, it doesn’t take Trudy long to find a group of girls and boys to hang out with.  She is frustrated though because for some reason she just can’t seem to get in with the beautiful, popular, and stylish Gloria Holden.  If only Trudy could befriend Gloria, she could be popular too and everything would be perfect.

There is also a mystery to solve at Trudy’s new school.  Money is being stolen – from students and from the school clubs.  The thief has been impossible to catch.  The school officials make the obviously smart decision to enlist the help of the new girl to catch the thief so they don’t have to call in the police.  Trudy plants money and hides so the culprit can be caught in the act.  It works, but Trudy is shocked to find that it is Gloria who has been stealing!

Gloria didn’t need the money, she admits.  She’s just craving some attention.  With her parents busy working all the time, Gloria is very lonely.  And then Trudy came to school and everyone liked her, so Gloria had become jealous.  That is yet another shock for Trudy.  She thought Gloria’s life was perfect, when all along Trudy was the fortunate one. 

Life lesson for Trudy Phillips:  Just because someone appears to have it all together doesn’t mean they really do! 

Swimmy

By Leo Lionni

Copyright 1963

The story of Swimmy, a little black fish among many, many little red fish was a Caldecott Honor book in 1964, the same year Where the Wild Things Are won the prize.

Swimmy was a much faster fish than all his little red siblings.  Fortunately, that meant he was able to outswim the giant tuna that came after them.  Unfortunately, none of his slower brothers and sisters could, so Swimmy was left by himself.  He traveled on all alone and saw some amazing sights.  He swam by beautiful sea anemones, a marvelous jelly fish, and a forest of seaweeds, growing from sugar candy rocks.  As amazing as the sights were, he was so happy when he came across another school of little red fish, just like his own.  

All those little red fish wanted to do was hide among the rocks.  They knew the giant fish were out there ready to eat them up.  What could Swimmy do to help?  Fortunately, he was quite the innovative problem solver!  He taught his new friends to swim in the formation of a giant fish, with Swimmy himself as the eye.  That way, they were able to scare all those big bullies away.

Swimmy teaches valuable lessons.

We are safer when we band together.

Community matters.

Be yourself – but be part of a community.