Thank you Jolie!! My favorite children's books are the Little Engine that Could and the Country Bunny and the Golden Slippers. I remember looking through the pages of the Little Engine that Could, spending extra time on the section that features the Little Engine's passengers and freight. When I was three, I thought taking a train, where the passengers and freight were dolls, candy and elephants, was the height of travel chic. I was enthralled with the illustrations of candy, fruit and milk and when my father read it to me, made him spend extra time on those pages. I'm sure it was because those drawings were simple, balanced and uniform. Even at such an early age, the book's plot, based on the American dream, also resonated with me. I read the book yesterday for the millionth time and still smiled at the end. The story is timeless.
The Country Bunny and the Golden Slippers, written in 1939, was significantly ahead of its time. Besides the plot that contains feminist undertones, it also transcends socio-economic barriers, that I understood even when I was little. The drawings of the baby bunnies and mountain high piles of Easter eggs in the Easter Palace captivated me for hours. Looking at the pages with the stock piles of Easter eggs reminded me of how I felt the first time I went into Bed, Bath and Beyond. However, I never understood how the bunnies could do their chores without making a fuss or being asked to, maybe if I did, my bed would be made every day.
