1971
Let’s Read
February 1971


“Let’s Read,” Friend, Feb. 1971, 16

Let’s Read

Up A Road Slowly,
by Irene Hunt. New York and Chicago: Follett Publishing Company, 1966.

Julie was only seven, and lonely, when her mother died, and she went to live with her mother’s sister and brother in their old country home. Aunt Cordelia, who taught in the school there, was strict, but Julie grew to appreciate her aunt’s kindness and understanding.

Girls especially will be able to relate to Julie, who had many of the problems that girls growing up have wherever they live. The author tells about them with quiet humor and sympathy in this absorbing and beautifully written book, which was the 1967 Newbery Medal winner.

Fantastic Mr. Fox
by Roald Dahl. Illustrated by Donald Chaffin. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1970.

“Down in the valley there were three farms. The owners of these farms had done well. They were rich men. They were also nasty men. …” And so starts Roald Dahl’s new book of fantasy. You may remember Mr. Dahl’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which has pleased children of all ages. The same will probably be true of this one. The story is one of extraordinary adventure.

Little Calf
by Victor B. Scheffer, with illustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1970.

Little Calf is the incomparably beautiful story of the life cycles of a sperm whale calf. Born in September after lying for sixteen months in the warm body of his mother at a temperature of ninety-six degrees, he is suddenly cast into the cold water at birth.

The beauty of his development over the next months is artistically and authentically detailed in this unusual volume. Dr. Scheffer was awarded the Burroughs Medal for the year’s best book in the field of natural history, The Year of the Whale. This is an adaptation of that book. All anyone would ever want to know about whales is here.

On Firm Ice
by Carter Wilson. Illustrated by William A. Berry. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1968.

This book is for advanced readers, but it also provides a challenge to the reader who is not quite accomplished. It deals with the family life of the Eskimos. It is important for all of us to feel the impact of all people as they become part of the mainstream of mankind. This book helps, and it will give countless hours of information and inspiration.