Rain Drop Splash

Our first official days of Spring have been full of rain.  Drip, drop, splash indeed!   Here is another fine pairing of Tresselt and Weisgard. This was Tresselt's first children's book and was named a Caldecott Medal Honor Book in 1947.

Rain Drop Splash

Alvin Tresselt

pictures by Leonard Weisgard 1990

The Rabbit Story

The Rabbit Story

Alvin Tresselt

pictures by Leonard Weisgard 1957

Alvin Tresselt provides the texts for this adorable bunny story while Leonard Weisgard illustrates.  (Weisgard most often paired with Margaret Wise Brown and created some real classics with her.)  

This midcentury story tells of a litter of bunnies born on the edge of the meadow and protected by their mother.  As they grow, one of them ventures into the farmer's garden where she is caught and turned into a pet for the farmer's son.  But she is a wild rabbit and after awhile she misses her wild freedom.  Soon she makes her escape and is back in the wilderness where she belongs, building her own burrow for her own little bunnies.  It's a very sweet story.  I was impressed with how Weisgard's pictures create a rich natural world with a simple grey palate.

Charlotte, being a bunny lover, loved this book!  We picked it up at a library discard sale.

Hi, Mister Robin!

 

Hi, Mister Robin!

Alvin Tresselt

pictures by Rodger Duvoisin

Tresselt and Duvoisin pair up again for a story about Spring.  A little boy is restless waiting for Spring.  He spots a robin who tells him to just keep watching and listening and that Spring is almost there.  The little boy's mother and grandfather encourage him to be patient along the way.

And little by little the day grew soft as a misty rain filled the air.  The trees lost their sharp winter look, a blur of pale green and yellow spread slowly over the tree-tops, and the young leaves started growing.

The Frog in the Well

Once there was a frog who lived at the bottom of a well and he thought that it was the whole world.  But when his well dries up and he has to venture out into what he thinks is the "end of the world", he begins to have a new perspective on life.

The Frog in the Well

Alvin Tresselt

illustrated by Roger Duvoisin 1958

A subtle message about expanding your horizons paired with some spot on midcentury illustrations.

Other books by Alvin Tresselt:  The Mitten

Other books illustrated by Roger Duvoisin:  The House of Four Seasons