The Happy Forest

 Oh my goodness how beautiful are these 1968 illustrations by Susan Aspey?!  All pastel blues and pinks and browns.  The stories about the animal characters take place in the Happy Forest, a place where "you just can't help feeling happy while you are there."  There's Tommy the Toad with his pipe, and Chatter the Squirrel who can't seem to keep a secret, and Billie the Beaver who has no inclination to be busy.  Each story even comes with a song!

The Happy Forest

Eric Winstone

illustrated by Susan Aspey 1968

The Sunflower Garden

The Sunflower Garden

Janice May Udry

illustrated by Beatrice Darwin 1969

 Beatrice Darwin's prints accompany this story about a "Algonkian" girl named Pipsa who not only saves her little brother from a snake, but also brings sunflowers to her village.  While Pipsa works hard taking care of her baby brother and helping her mother, her father doesn't seem to notice her.  It's not until she kills a dangerous snake that her father comes to see what has happened and notices the incredible field of sunflowers she has been planting and tending.  Not only does her father tell her he's proud of her, but the whole village praises her for bringing a "new plant and new ideas to her people."