Johnny Lion’s Book

An I CAN READ book

By Edith Thatcher Hurd

Pictures by Clement Hurd

Copyright 1965

I recall my original copy of Johnny Lion’s Book had a white cover.  I had forgotten about it until I stumbled across this one at a thrift store.  Growing up, I had this book read to me over and over, and a little later, it was a well-loved early reader.  Reading it now, I realized that the lesson in this book went completely over my head at the time.

Johnny Lion has just learned how to read.  To keep their child occupied while they are out hunting, Mother and Father Lion give Johnny a new book.  Johnny was happy to have a story to read about another little lion, Oscar P., who was also left alone while his parents went out hunting. 

Unlike Johnny, Oscar P. did not have a book to read and he didn’t want to play, so he decided to go out all by himself into the world.  At first, all was well for little Oscar P.  Soon, however, he started to get hungry, and tired, and hot.  Cooling off in a river, Oscar had a close call with a scary alligator. After running and running to get away, Oscar P. became lost.  Fortunately, his parents found him.  Unfortunately, he is punished for disobeying his parents and is sent to bed right after supper.

Johnny just finished his exciting book when his parents came in the door.  Johnny told Mother and Father all about his exciting adventures, exploring in the wild, getting chased, and becoming lost.  But Johnny was just fooling!  It wasn’t him who had those adventures – it was Oscar P.!   Johnny was home all day, reading his book.  Because he was such a good little Lion, he got to stay up very, very late!

Johnny ended his day tucked snuggly into bed.  Oscar P. did have great adventures, but in the end, Johnny was happy to be himself.

I didn’t understand the book within a book theme as a child, but I eventually learned the lesson, loud and clear.  Books are wonderful things!  They let us experience adventures, emotions, hardships, and triumphs all while sitting still.  I grew up knowing that one should never leave for an appointment without a book in hand.  That time spent waiting in a doctor’s office is never boring if one can dive into a story.  I remember my mother telling me that once a person learns how to read, they never have a reason to be bored.  I recently shared that statement during a storytime at the library, and a second grade girl nodded and enthusiastically agreed with me.  I was so pleased to find such a young kindred spirit!  

Peter Pretzel

By Mary Mills

Copyright 1970

This is one imaginative short story!  I can picture the author, tired and worn, asked by a small child for a bedtime story.  I think the strange tale of Peter Pretzel could only come from a mind foggy from lack of sleep and from desperation to entertain a little one.  

Peter Pretzel, along with his good friend and fashion accessory Boliver Bow Tie, escape from the pretzel box into the wild outdoors.  The goal is to reach Pretzel Land, where they will be safe.  Fortunately, they are not on their own.  They are aided by a few friendly creatures and an unseen chorus of advisors who send help in verse.  

  

“Peter Pretzel and Boliver, too,

We will tell you what to do:

Stay away from the falling rain –

Water will shrink you and bring you pain.”

Unfortunately, they also meet some obstacles along the way.  Mean old Chauncey Cat licks Peter nearly bare of his salt freckles, causing Peter much discomfort, for his salt freckles are his source of pep and energy.  How can Peter escape Chauncey’s tongue and reach the freedom of Pretzel Land?  A brilliant idea comes to him.  Reaching up, Peter pulls off two of his own freckles and throws them directly into Chauncey’s eyes.  The cat shrieks in pain, drops Peter, and runs off to rinse his eyes in water.  Melvin Mole then guides the two friends through the final tunnel into Pretzel Land, with Boliver Bow Tie pulling poor, weak Peter behind him. 

Hooray for Peter!  He has reached his destination and can be revived in the wonderful Fountain of Salt. 

There is a lesson to be found in this crazy little tale.  Peter had much help along the way, from kind friends and from the unseen voices he heard, yet he could not rely completely upon them.  At times, he had to take matters into his own salty hands and use his little pretzel brain to find a way around obstacles.  In the end, he is rewarded with a final home in the paradise of Pretzel Land.  

The voice in his soul, the kindness of others, his own hard work – all leading him through danger and obstacles to his final reward.

Many Moons

Copyright 1943

Winner of the 1944 Caldecott Medal

By James Thurber

Illustrated by Louis Slobodkin

“Once upon a time, in a kingdom by the sea, there lived a little Princess named Lenore.”  

One day, little Lenore ate too many raspberry tarts and fell ill.  Her doting father, willing to do anything to make the Princess well, told her he would get her whatever her heart desired.  When Lenore said she wanted the moon, the King turned to his many knowledgeable advisors for help.  Each of them attempted to convince the King that the feat is impossible.  

When the Court Jester entered the room, the King expressed his extreme sorrow.  How could he get the Princess what she desires so that she will feel better? The Jester had an idea.  Find out how big the Princess Lenore thinks the moon is, and how far away.  When the child gazed up at the moon and said that it is a little smaller than her thumbnail and not quite as far away as the tree outside her window, and is of course made of gold, the King’s problem was solved.  The Royal Goldsmith crafted a tiny round golden moon to put on a chain for the Princess to wear around her neck.  

 

It just goes to show us that wisdom does not always come with knowledge.  It took the uneducated Court Jester to solve the King’s pressing problem.  He alone had the wisdom to look at the challenge from a different perspective.  He also had the wisdom to realize that sometimes we make more of a problem than we need to.   Take the time to find out what really needs to be done – the solution may be simpler than we think. 

Mary Arden

By Grace Livingston Hill and Ruth Livingston Hill

Copyright 1948

Grace Livingston Hill was a prolific author of Christian fiction in the first part of the twentieth century.  This is her last book, completed by her daughter and published after her death.  This is the first book of hers I’ve read, and I have to say I found it frustrating, yet hard to put down.  

Mary Arden has just graduated from college and has decided to leave the prosperous home of her parents to return to the country home she spent time in as a child, which she has just inherited.  Unfortunately, her horrible and conniving mother is distraught with this plan.  And yes, her mother is truly horrible.  She has picked out an equally horrible and conniving young man, Brooke Haven, for Mary to wed and neither will accept perfect, gentle Mary Arden’s refusal.  Perfect, gentle Mary Arden has just been reacquainted with equally perfect and gentle young Laurie Judson who is now a preacher in the small country town.   Mary’s wonderful father would understand, but is inconveniently out of the country during the whole ordeal.

The book was hard to put down because I needed to know if the mean tricks of the evil characters would keep the perfectly good angelic characters apart.  Not only that, but a miscommunication between Mary and Laurie threatened their happily ever after.  This book was frustrating because one simple miscommunication threatened their happiness.  

The most frustrating aspect, though, was the author’s depiction of every main character as either totally good or totally evil.  Mary Arden never did anything wrong or kept an immoral thought in her head.  Her mother never displayed a redeeming quality or acted unselfishly.  Laurie Judson was the picture of a perfectly kind and moral Christian man, while Brooke Haven was the devil in disguise.  

Lesson relearned:

None of us are always good, or always right.  Neither are we always wrong, or always evil.  Some degree of both good and evil exist in us all.  The challenge and the hope is to let the good prevail!