The other week I was googling for an image of a book that I had picked up from the library. I have no idea why, but when I googled A Breath of French Air by H E Bates it came up with an image of a book called The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse by Susanna Davidson. It is even stranger given that today when I searched again, there was no sign of the mouse book! As soon as I saw the title it instantly bought back childhood memories of reading that book! A quick visit to the library catalogue and it was on it's way to me.
Except, when I got the book, it was clear that this wasn't the book that I remembered. The story was very similar but the pictures were definitely not the ones I remembered at all. Then, I looked at the copyright date. 1987. I have always been a pretty eclectic reader but I am pretty sure that I wasn't reading picture books at 16 years of age.So how is it that the story was the same as I remembered but nothing else? It turns out that The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse is one of Aesop's tales and there are lots and lots of versions of the story (and I only really looked for the ones that are known by that title). There are likely many more that take the story as its basis. On my library catalogue alone there are five different versions, including two that have copyright dated of 2011 and 2012. Here are just some of the covers for this one story that I found.
The Helen Ward book that is in the bottom row stands out in that it is the only one of the covers that I found that featured real mice and that is one that has been released in the last couple of years
There are lots of Aesop's tales that have made their way into our childhood stories and into cultural references, for example, the hare and the tortoise. I was surprised to learn though that we can quite easily access hundreds of them.
And the copy that I remember from my childhood....
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You have reminded me that I want to read more Julia Spencer-Fleming, so I put All Mortal Flesh on reserve at my library. I read her In the Bleak Midwinter in July and rated it a 10/10.
ReplyDeletehttp://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2011/07/library-loot-july-6-12.html
Hi Bonnie
ReplyDeleteI do think this is one series that you need to read in order, so if you haven't read it already I would recommend that the next book you should read is Fountain Filled with Blood.
Interesting post. The perspective of so called children's fairy tales, folklore, and fables differs greatly when viewed by kids and later as adults. Most have concepts that are very adult so I often wonder how they came to be used as children's literature. I think it was the didactic aspect of the past when education tried to teach morality lessons masquerading as literature. I enjoyed reading your findings.
ReplyDeleteRJ, it is interesting to look at fairy tales and fables from an adult perspective, especially when you consider that many of them were far darker originally than they are known to be now.
DeleteI loved those books too!!!!
ReplyDeleteStaci, I was glad to remember the book!
DeleteOh, I wish I could find one particular book...it was about dragons, and that's pretty much all I remember. That book taught me how to read in kindergarten... But what are the odds that I'd find it googling "books about dragons"? :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday!
Ivana, I think that you possibly need a little more information than that! You could start there though and see if it prompts any more memories.
DeleteGood luck with your search.
Oh, I LOVE the cover with the flowers on it! Though it looks quite Asian and Aesop wasn't Asian, I assume. But cool that he is breaking down cultural boundaries :-)
ReplyDeleteAarti, it does look quite Asian doesn't it.
DeleteI love reading books from my childhood though I don't do it often enough. As a teenager, there was a poetry collection by Emily Dickinson that I loved. A few years ago, I searched for that specific volume and bought it. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteVasilly, I don't do it often enough either!
DeleteI remember this book. My mother was a school teacher and taught new entrants. She had a huge collection of kid's books for her class. She'd often show us the new ones she'd purchased (we were teenagers by this stage) and we'd read them out loud and look at the pictures. Kid's books have some wonderful illustrations. Thanks for reminding me of this. :)
ReplyDeleteShelley, I am glad that this post bought back some great memories for you.
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