This week I’m looking at books that I think are worth rereading – and that I’ve reread more than once. These stand up to my tests, and I’ll try to articulate what it is I like about them. If any of them intrigue you, I hope you’ll give them a shot. I envy you the first-time experience.
I finally got around to the parental phenomenon – rereading kids’ books to your children. Lots of them are fun for the children, lots of them hold up to multiple readings, lots of them get stuck in your head, which can be a mixed blessing. Like Calvin’s dad reading “Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooey” (you’ll have to find that one in the classic Calvin and Hobbes collections), sometimes you just can’t stand reading it one more time…
Then there are ones that are fun for the children and give parents a little extra as well. That’s what I found with Not the Piano, Mrs. Medley!. It seems that Mrs. Medley has just moved to a house near the beach, and in setting out with her grandson Max and her dog Word, she just can’t decide what she’ll need to take. What if it gets too cold? What if it starts raining? What if they want some entertainment? She envisions those what-ifs, and has to return to the house with the increasingly impatient Max and aggravated Word to grab the stuff she’ll need just in case. Each trip takes them nearer and nearer the beach, so the walk gets longer even as their loads get heavier. When they finally make it to the beach, Mrs. Medley learns a valuable lesson, but discovers that she left the most important things behind.
Since I do the same thing every time I travel with my family, I got a kick out of Mrs. Medley’s dilemma. Sometimes trying to envision everything that might happen means missing the actual reason for the trip. And since I always forget something when I go anywhere, I can sympathize with Mrs. Medley’s final discovery.
S.D. Schindler’s pictures make a lively background to Mrs. Medley’s travels, and are worth taking the time to look over carefully. I reread this for the funny outcome, and because my kids ask me!
Check the WRL Catalog for Not the Piano, Mrs. Medley!
