How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children's Books
by Joan Bodger
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Description
Over forty years ago, Joan Bodger, her husband, and two children went to Britain on a very special family quest. They were seeking the world that they knew and loved through children's books. In Winnie-the-Pooh Country, Mrs. Milne showed them the way to "that enchanted place on the top of the Forest [where] a little boy and his Bear will always be playing." In Edinburgh they stood outside Robert Louis Stevenson's childhood home, tilting their heads to talk to a lamplighter who was doing his show more job. In the Lake District they visited Jemima Puddle-Duck's farm, and Joan sought out crusty Arthur Ransome to talk to him about "Swallows and Amazons." They spent several days "messing about in boats" on the River Thames, looking for Toad Hall and other places described by Kenneth Grahame in "The Wind in the Willows." Mud and flood kept them from attaining the slopes of Pook's Hill (on Rudyard Kipling's farm), but they scaled the heights of Tintagel. As in all good fairy tales, there were unanswered questions. Did they really find Camelot? Robin Hood, as always, remains elusive. One thing is certain. Joan Bodger brings alive again the magic of the stories we love to remember. She persuades us that, like Emily Dickinson, even if we "have never seen a moor," we can imagine "how the heather looks." First published in 1965 by Viking in New York, "How the Heather Looks" has become a prized favorite among knowledgeable lovers of children's literature. Precious, well-thumbed copies have been lent out with caution and reluctance, while new admirers have gone searching in vain for copies to buy second-hand. This handsome reprint, with a new Afterword by Joan Bodger, makes a unique and delightful classic available once more. "From the Hardcover edition." show lessTags
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Member Reviews
A lovely, restful sort of book, as the author describes her family's travels around England in 1958, searching for the locations of their favourite stories. I was amazed at how much they did find, and wonder what would be left of that today.
I intend to look for the author's autobiography, The Crack In The Teacup, but anyone who wants to stay in their happy place after reading How the Heather Looks should probably not delve too deeply into biographical material.
I intend to look for the author's autobiography, The Crack In The Teacup, but anyone who wants to stay in their happy place after reading How the Heather Looks should probably not delve too deeply into biographical material.
family travelling England in search of places described in their favorite children's books. It was fun and I enjoyed it. I found it slow in parts where I didn't care very much about the books. I was surprised how many of the books I had read and enjoyed. It is a trip I might like to take myself.
I read this book with a friend of mine in Kelowna, Canada. We made a Pinterest board out of it.
As a journey: "How the Heather Looks" ~ The author describes her family's travels around England in 1958, searching for the locations of their favorite children's stories.
http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol7/no2/heather.html
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780771011184&view=pri...
http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol7/no2/heather.html
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780771011184&view=pri...
books about books, children's books
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Ambleside Year 7
69 works; 1 member
Author Information
6 Works 656 Members
The late Joan Bodger was known internationally as one of our foremost storytellers
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children's Books
- Original publication date
- 1965
- People/Characters
- Randolph Caldecott; Richard Whittington; Henry V, King of England; Beatrix Potter; Gypsy; Norman Noel Dodds (show all 12); King Arthur; Arthur Ransome; Katherine Hull; Pamela Whitlock; Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; Kenneth Grahame
- Important places
- Avalon; Cadbury Castle, Somerset, England, UK; Camelot; Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK; Clovelly, Devon, England, UK; Exmoor, Somerset / Devon, England (show all 18); Glastonbury, Somerset, England, UK; Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, UK; Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK; Lyonesse; Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK; Perranporth, Cornwall, England, UK; St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UK; St Agnes Beacon, Cornwall, England, UK; Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, England, UK; Westward Ho!, Devon, England, UK; Whitchurch, Shropshire, England, UK; Wirswall, Cheshire East, England, UK
- Epigraph
- [None]
- Dedication
- To John and Ian, and to Lucy who went back to find the door
- First words
- We were bound for Whitchurch, just thirty miles down the road from Liverpool. A few hours before we had disembarked from a staid, broad-beamed Cunard liner which had taken more than a week to cross the Atlantic.
- Quotations
- I never saw a moor,
I never saw the sea;
Yet I know how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.
(Emily Dickinson)
I have been informed that [this] is the book most often stolen by retiring children's librarians (Afterword) - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Where did Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle go?" she asked.
"Next time you can look for her," I said.
"Next time all by myself," said Lucy. "Next time I'll find the door. ..." - Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Children's Books, Literature Studies and Criticism
- DDC/MDS
- 820.99282 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) literatures History, description, critical appraisal of works in more than one form
- LCC
- PR109 .B6 — Language and Literature English English Literature
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 540
- Popularity
- 54,851
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (4.23)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 6
