Marcia Williams
I have been putting this choice off for weeks. I think because every year another favourite is published and I find it impossible to leave the old friend behind. So, finally, instead of giving the project up, I have decided to choose the five which I loved as a young child and which still hold their value for me. Not all of these are still in print, but they are all still to be found.
The Pirate Twins, William Nicholson.
Nicholson both wrote and illustrated this book, which was first published in 1929. It is a delight and the pacing is perfect. I think that Maurice Sendak might have known this book. It reminds me of his wonderful “Where the Wild things Are.”
Frou the Hare
This is from Père Castor’s wild animal series. Each book is a delight: beautifully illustrated with lithographs and charming, merry tales about the animals. They may be one of the first series that are nature study books within the context of a story.
Hans Anderson’s Fairy Tales
I had an edition of this with black and white illustrations. I am not sure which frightened me more the stories or those pictures. I don’t know who the artist, but they seemed so sinister and took me right into the depths of the deep, dark wood. Definitely the stuff of nightmares – yet I wish I still had a copy!
The Merry Minstrel (poetry anthology), Haydn Perry, Gilbert Dunlop & Mary Kendal Lee
I used to try to learn a poem a week from it – but although I still love the book – I can’t remember the poems!
Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter
I think the lasting appeal of this book lies in the unfairness of it all. Poor Peter, who was so adventurous and brave, had this terrible adventure with the terrifying Mr McGregor only to be put to bed with nothing but a dose of chamomile tea: ‘But Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail had bread milk and blackberries for supper.’
