Murdo's story Book

Thornton W. Burgess' little nature stories are as delightful in adulthood as in childhood, which is, as C. S. Lewis said, proof of a good children's book.

I hadn't visited The Green Meadows, the Green Forest, the Briar Patch, or the Smiling Pool in decades, but what fun to return and find Peter Rabbit, Grandfather Frog (the wise old storyteller), Billy Mink, King Bear, Mr. Weasel, Mr. Owl, Reddy the Squirrel, and all the other happy people (for people they are) who live and play and learn in the wonderful world Mr. Burgess constructed from the places of his childhood.

These would be wonderful stories to read to a grandchild (the dachshunds don't seem much interested), if I had a grandchild. After all, a child cannot grow aware of his or her heritage and the joys of nature through the dreary, spec-written nonsense commissioned by state agencies.