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How the Heather Looks
How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children's Books | Joan Bodger
1 post | 1 read | 14 to read
Over forty years ago, Joan Bodger, her husband, and two children went to Britain on a very special family quest. They were seeking the world that they knew and loved through childrens books. In Winnie-the-Pooh Country, Mrs. Milne showed them the way to that enchanted place on the top of the Forest [where] a little boy and his Bear will always be playing. In Edinburgh they stood outside Robert Louis Stevensons childhood home, tilting their heads to talk to a lamplighter who was doing his job. In the Lake District they visited Jemima Puddle-Ducks farm, and Joan sought out crusty Arthur Ransome to talk to him about Swallows and Amazons. They spent several days messing about in boats on the River Thames, looking for Toad Hall and other places described by Kenneth Grahame in The Wind in the Willows. Mud and flood kept them from attaining the slopes of Pooks Hill (on Rudyard Kiplings farm), but they scaled the heights of Tintagel. As in all good fairy tales, there were unanswered questions. Did they really find Camelot? Robin Hood, as always, remains elusive. One thing is certain. Joan Bodger brings alive again the magic of the stories we love to remember. She persuades us that, like Emily Dickinson, even if we have never seen a moor, we can imagine how the heather looks. First published in 1965 by Viking in New York, How the Heather Looks has become a prized favorite among knowledgeable lovers of childrens literature. Precious, well-thumbed copies have been lent out with caution and reluctance, while new admirers have gone searching in vain for copies to buy second-hand. This handsome reprint, with a new Afterword by Joan Bodger, makes a unique and delightful classic available once more. From the Hardcover edition.
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LeahBergen
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I was going to pick Hay-on-Wye for #WishICouldBeThere (but it's been nicely covered today by others). How about replicating the trip this family takes around Britain to the birthplaces of classic children's lit? The Hundred Acre Wood, R.L. Stevenson's Edinburgh, Beatrix Potter's Lake District, Camelot, and along the River Thames in search of Mr. Toad (and many more stops along the way). Written in 1959, this is a sweet and nostalgic travelogue.

RealLifeReading Ooh this book sounds lovely! 8y
Hobbinol Lovely edition! And what about the other book? How the Leather Looks... maybe? 8y
See All 9 Comments
LauraBrook Hello, wheelhouse! I didn't know this existed until this very second but now I NEED IT! 8y
LeahBergen @Hobbinol Good one!! That is actually just the blotter on my library desk. Pretty snazzy, right? 😂 8y
LeahBergen @LauraBrook I know! I love this stuff. I also have another cool one, a more European kid's lit version of this type of travelogue, 8y
eastbaykate This is so awesome! Just bought it! Thank you!❤️📖❤️ 8y
LeahBergen @eastbaykate I hope you like it! 😀 8y
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