Wednesday, February 9, 2011

A Little Old Man, by Natalie Norton (ill. Will Huntington) (1959)


It's a real treat to share one of our absolute favorite picture books today: Natalie Norton's A Little Old Man. It's been out of print for almost half a century, but it sure can entertain a couple of 21st century kids. I would say it's one of those rare books where the story is not overshadowed by the illustrations, and vice versa. I highly recommend picking it up for those dirt cheap used prices on Amazon or eBay. This book is one you won't mind reading over and over: it's got just the right amount of text. The subject seems like an odd one for a kid's book, but it is such a lovely story.


The little old man lives alone, but he manages to keep busy.



Maybe I enjoy this book because the old man reminds me of the kindly old farting Quaker who used to run a book store in downtown Kalamazoo? As busy as he keeps, sometimes such a life can still get a bit lonely:



All he wants is a cat! But there's no way a cat could get to his island. One day, there is a terrible storm that blows his house away. . .


But this is a lucky old man, and a boat washes up on the shore of his island. Its occupants are nowhere to be found. Maybe they drowned! Who cares, it's a kid's book!


It's even got a fully-stocked kitchen:


But it turns out the houseboat wasn't totally unoccupied:


The smile on the old man's face on this page always makes my kids howl with joy:


They just don't make children's books about lonely old men marooned on tiny islands who yearn for feline companionship like they used to.


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This blog seeks to share excerpted content from out-of-print children's books. If you are the copyright holder of any of these books and are unhappy with this usage, please contact me immediately and I will rectify it.