Puppies, Pussy Cats and Other Friends
Gyo Fujikawa ~ Grosset & Dunlap, 1979
It’s a Gyo sort of morning here in Texas. One where the oppressive heat broke last night making for a beautiful (albeit humid) rain that drenched and hopefully saved the last traces of spring green. Just the sort of day to sit inside, love on a pet and watch rain drops slide down the window. This one’s not my favorite Gyo of all, but still a snugly sentiment full of precious pooches, friendly frogs, and all the darling children you can stomach in one sitting without having a full-blown adorable attack.
Wouldn’t you like to have a furry, fuzzy, feathery, or slithery smooth friend?
What child wouldn’t, really?
Growing up in America pre-World War II and being born of Japanese parents must not have been easy for Gyo. She was in her early 30s when Pearl Harbor happened and her family was sent to an interment camp. To have gone through all that and still been able to express such a sweetness and joy about a multicultural world is exceptional. All her books exude such a calm sense of peace and harmony.
In her New York Times obituary, Gyo is quoted as saying, «In all my books (except for the fairy-tale books) there are very few grown-ups… I am flattered when people ask me how I know so much about how children think and feel. Although I have never had children of my own, and cannot say I had a particularly marvelous childhood, perhaps I can say I am still like a child myself. Part of me, I guess, never grew up.»
Thank goodness for that.
Also by:
A Child’s Garden of Verses
A Child’s Book of Poems
Let’s Grow a Garden
Baby Animals
Oh, What a Busy Day!
Our Best Friends
Fairy Tales and Fables
Come Follow Me
The Night Before Christmas
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