Downy Dilly and the Monster Trick

An Upsy Downsy Storybook by Mattel

Copyright 1969

 

Considering how long I’ve owned this book, I’m really surprised that it doesn’t have my name amateurishly printed inside.  I’m not sure how it escaped my pencil.  This was a well-loved picture book of mine.  I remember the little plastic toy that came with it.  The half I still own is pictured here.  At some point, Downy Dilly’s purple Foot Mobile broke and was discarded.  

Everyone in Upsy Downsy Land knew that little Downy Dilly loved to play tricks.  After a very mischievous morning, Downy wanted to go to the beach to relax.  Unfortunately, the beach was crowded with all of her neighbors enjoying the sunny weather.  But Downy Dilly had an idea.  If she could play a prank and convince everyone else that a sea monster was coming, they would be scared, leaving the beach for her alone.  By digging giant footprints in the sand and floating an inner-tube monster out in the water, she achieved her goal.  

Her relaxation did not last long, for soon after she closed her eyes she was startled by big drops of water landing on her.  Opening her eyes, she saw a very real, very big, very pink sea monster, weeping great big tears.  Downy Dilly talks to young Splasha Lotta and finds out she has lost her mamma.  Fortunately, the baby sea monster is soon happily reunited with her mamma and both swim away.

By this time, Downy’s neighbors return, realizing she has played yet another prank on them.  Of course, no amount of arguing can convince Downy’s friends that she really did see a sea monster. 

Downy Dilly and the other residents of Upsy Downsy thought a sea monster would be terribly frightening.  So frightening, they ran away and hid.  In actuality, though, the sea monster turned out to be quite harmless.  There was no need to run away screaming.  I think that is how it goes with many of our fears.  What we imagine is usually much worse than the reality.  If we face our fears head-on, they just might turn out to be harmless. 

Five Children and It

By E. Nesbit

First published in 1902

A set of young siblings who are loving yet also love to tease each other stumble upon something magical while playing one day, leading them on a series of adventures.  That sounds a lot like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, doesn’t it?  This book was written almost half a century prior to C.S. Lewis’ well-loved story.  Instead of transporting the reader to a magical world, in Five Children and It, the magic comes into our world.

Robert, Anthea, Cyril, and Jane, with their baby brother the Lamb in tow, stumble upon a sand fairy while digging in a gravel pit behind their home.  Lucky for them, the sand fairy is forced to grant its finders one wish per day.  The catch is that each wish will come undone at sunset.  This actually turns out to be a very good thing for the children, since they have a string of disastrous wishes.  With each foolish wish, the children have to spend the rest of the day surviving the consequences. 

Sometimes they wish for something most people would want, such as beauty (no one recognized them) or riches (given in the form of ancient gold guineas).  Sometimes the wish is accidental, such as when Cyril blurts out that he wishes his baby brother would just grow up.  They thought the Lamb was bothersome as a baby – just imagine what happens when that baby is suddenly a grown man.

One of my favorites is when the children wished for wings.  They had a wonderful day, soaring above the countryside.  After having a picnic atop a church bell tower, they dozed off.  When they awoke after sunset, their magic wings had disappeared, and they had to yell for help to get down from the top of the tower.  Needless to say, they had a lot of explaining to do! 

Be careful what you wish for is the obvious message of this book.  Through trial and error the children finally learn their lesson and end up wishing for the exhausted sand fairy to have a good long sleep in his gravel pit.

Question for the day:  If you had one wish, what would you wish for?  Be careful, though.  The consequences might be more than you expect.

The Land of Health

How children may become citizens of the Land of Health by learning and obeying its laws

By Grace T. Hallock and C.E.A. Winslow

Copyright 1922

“Once upon a time, Fresh Air lived at the end of the world with her stepsister, Stale Air, and her stepmother, Shut Windows. “

So begins one of the stories in The Land of Health, a book for young children meant to teach health lessons creatively.  Tom and Sally are two young children who wish to become citizens of the Land of Health.  But first, they must learn its laws.  Fortunately, they have Wind and Rain and Sun to teach them through stories.

When Stale Air set out to seek her fortune, she came to a town where the people were in great distress over the poor health of their little princess.  Stale Air went to the palace and was taken to the bedroom of the princess where she found the environment much to her liking.  Heavy curtains hung about the bed and not a window was open.  Fresh Air also set out to seek her fortune and came upon the same town.  After hearing of the princess’ distress, she went to the palace to offer her services.  Fresh Air saw her stepsister sitting by the princess, immediately threw open the window and asked Mr. Wind to rush in.  Stale Air was hustled out of the room; the princess revived, and lived happily ever after. 

“As for Stale Air, I should like nothing more than to shut her up forever with her stepmother, Shut Windows, in the house at the end of the world.”

Tom and Sally have now learned the first law of the Land of Health:

“I must always breathe fresh air in rainy weather and in fair.”

Curious George

by H. A. Rey
copyright 1941

Curious George waiting to greet the children at the library.  Photo by Laura Litwin

Curious George is proof that curiosity can be messy, nerve-wracking, and potentially hazardous.  Despite this fact, curiosity can also be invigorating, challenging, and lots of fun!  Of course, it helps if you have a friend like the man with the yellow hat to bail you out.   

Over the years, George has had many adventures.  He has taken a trip to the hospital, flown in the air with a kite, and traveled into space.  

In his introductory book, George has just been taken from his home in the jungle to live in a zoo in the city.  Aboard the ship, George tries to fly like a seagull and ends up in the ocean.  Fortunately, he is saved by the crew and makes to the city in one piece.  At the home of the man with the yellow hat, George plays with the telephone and accidentally makes a call to the fire station.  In trouble for this false alarm, poor George lands in jail.  He is able to break out of his cell and runs out to the street where he sees a balloon vendor.  Curiosity gets the best of him, and he winds up floating through the air hanging on to a bunch of helium balloons.  The man with the yellow hat finds George, saves him, and takes him to a new home in the zoo.

Curious George provides inspiration to try new things.  This can be as simple as reading a book about a new topic, as interesting as reaching out to a new person to learn more about them, as intriguing as learning a brand new skill, or as exciting as traveling to a new and exotic location.  Curiosity about the world leads to new discoveries and adventures.   

Curious George learns his lessons by trying new things.  We can too!