I loved this book as a child. I even remember where it was purchased--in the Old Market section of town in an independent bookstore, and from what I recall the bookstore was all kid's books, so I must have been in heaven. I can't quite remember how old I was, but I must have been pretty young, and like so many other things the memory of it remained, but the title faded away. So all I was left with was an impression of a story and part of a title, but never enough to find it again. Thanks to the beauty of the internet and book blogging, some kind soul came across a very old post where I mentioned this book and how I was looking for it, and they emailed me about it. So I have found my favorite childhood book, Pop Corn & Ma Goodness by Edna Mitchell Preston and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker (I found a cheap used copy from Better World Books by the way).
It came out in the fall of 1969 and funnily the person who emailed me said they knew about the book about the "hippie farm family" book, which I had been looking for. I had forgotten that aspect of it, but they are indeed a hippie family. I think what I loved about it was the alliteration of the story and how it rhymed happily along--no doubt music to the ears for a small child. Do you want to take a peek inside?
Here's Ma Goodness coming down the hill right before she literally falls head over heels and bumps into Pop Corn. The verse reads:
Ma Goodness she's coming a-skippitty skoppetty
skippitty skoppetty
skippitty skoppetty
Ma Goodness she's coming a-skippity skoppetty
All doon the hill.
Okay, so I realize that all sounds like a lot of nonsense, but when you're four or five you're (well I wasn't) much of a critic!
Of course the two marry and have kids and live on their farm with their animals happy as can be and rhyming away.
But I must not have been too off target when it comes to reading good books, as this was a Caldecott Honor Book and the New York Times wrote, "The story of how Pa and Ma met and married, their joys, sorrow and contentment, told in alliterative, nonsense verse. With handsome water-color illustrations the book is a near-classic rural American folk hymn."
In my young eyes it was totally a classic and I am happy to have it back in my hands. What was your favorite childhood book?