Edith Thacher Hurd (1910–1997)

Tired of his witch always casting spells - one of which turned him into a rat! - a large black cat named the So-So Cat (because he was "so, so black") hides the witch's wand, hat and broomstick. Intending to retrieve these magical tools when Halloween comes, the So-So Cat keeps silent as the witch wonders where each item has gone. When Halloween night finally arrives and he finds that the hidden objects have disappeared, he must set out in search of them. But will he be able to convince the show more little girl who found them, and is using them as her Halloween costume, that she must give them up...?

Published in 1964, The So-So Cat is the first book I have read from prolific children's author Edith Thacher Hurd, who wrote seventy books over the course of her career. I am far more familiar the author's husband and illustrator, Clement Hurd, whose work on such childhood classics as Good Night Moon and The Runaway Bunny is rightly celebrated. I found the story here entertaining, and full of lots of witchy fun. The artwork is quite dark, and is in a different style from some of Hurd's other illustrations. I'm not sure I particularly cared for the visuals, truth be told, although I do think they add to the feeling of spookiness throughout. Recommended to picture-book readers who enjoy witchy fare, and to readers looking for vintage Halloween books for children. show less

Johnny Lion has a cold and has to stay in bed all day. He occasionally drowses and has some bad dreams, but it's unclear if he is having fever dreams or if they are induced by the medicine his parents keep pouring down his throat -- cough syrup in the 1960s when this book was written could contain a large percentage of alcohol and/or other substances now strictly controlled.

My daughter insisted on a ritual of me reading her books about colds, illness, and check-ups whenever she got sick, and show more this was one of the regulars, along with some Pooh and Berenstain books. She liked this one, but no matter how many times I read it, I never grew fond of it. Too many dream sequences for my taste.

FOR REFERENCE:

Rated "Indifferent" in our old book database by Rod; rated "Good" by Adelia. show less

Reading a book about a lion reading a book is not my idea of fun.

The nested narrative is a story about a little lion disobeying its parents. The framing sequence is just Johnny passing the day with his new book.

My daughter enjoyed this when she was two, but I was bored then and now.

FOR REFERENCE:

#1636 in our old book database. Rated "Indifferent" in our old book database by Rod; rated "Good" by Adelia.

Interesting story for an easy reader. Miss Mugs babysits for Suzie. But before they can go to the zoo, Miss Mugs needs to clean. Suzie understands by page 8 that Miss Mugs "WASHED too much." SPOILER: Finally, after the elephant at the zoo soaks Miss Mugs, she realizes that having some fun is more important than cleanliness. Miss Mugs displays obsessive-compulsive behavior until the end of the book. While this is funny and makes a beginning reader feel superior to a grownup, I'm not sure if show more most people with OCD can cure themselves so easily.

The pictures are black outlines with splashes of a few colors from a time when artists had to do color separation themselves.

This is "An I CAN READ BOOK' from Harper & Row. show less