I was sad to hear of the recent death of children’s book illustrator Margaret Bloy Graham, who was 94.
Although you may not recognise Margaret Bloy Graham by name, it’s very likely you’ll know Harry the Dirty Dog, her famous character, which she created alongside her then-husband Gene Zion (followed by No Roses For Harry, Harry By The Sea, and Harry and the Lady Next Door).
I always started the year with Yr1 by reading this book.This would then lead onto the discussion about how can we tell when this story happened ,the present or the past and look for clues in the illustrations. Then we would discuss the technology of the past in the illustrations such as coal heating, steam shovels and steam trains.
Harry the Dirty Dog
Gene Zion, Margaret Bloy Graham
Harry is a black and white dog who hates having a bath – so when he sees his owner with the dredded bath, he runs away. But in the end, harry gets so dirty that his owners don’t recognise him and so he has to beg for the thing he used to dread so much so they let him back into the household.
Harry was originally published in black-and-white. Margaret added colour in the 2002 edition. She won two Caldecott medals and collaborated with several children’s authors, such as Charlotte Zolotow and Else Holmelund Minarik.
Harry the Dirty Dog, published in 1956, is still one I was asked for all the time when i was a teacher-librarian. This is what the the website “Readings” says about these lifelong favourites
“This got us thinking about what a meaningful achievement longevity is when so many brilliant new picture books come out each year, and how much we cherish handing down our favourite childhood stories to the next generation.”So today, joining dear Harry, are even more picture books we have to keep in stock to meet demand 50 or more years after they were first published (with apologies if we’ve missed your childhood favourite).”
These books are still great reads for little kids today and most would still be found in the local library.
The 50+ Club for picture books
- Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag (1928)
- The Story Of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson (1936)
- Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina (1938)
- Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans (1939)
- Curious George by Margret and H.A. Rey (1941)
- Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McClosky(1941)
- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd (1947)
- Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson (1953)
- The Cat In The Hat by Dr Seuss (1957)
- Go, Dog, Go! by P.D. Eastman (1961)
- Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1963)
- Bread and Jam For Francis by Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban (1964)
And, here are some longer illustrated works that are still going strong
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (1904)
- The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs (1918 onwards)
- Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne (1926)
- The Muddleheaded Wombat by Ruth Park and Noela Young (1962 onwards)
- Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish and Fritz Siebel (1963)
Finally, here are some heel-nippers who are on their way to the 50+ club
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Eric Carle (1967)
- Green Eggs and Ham By Dr Seuss (1967)
- The Tiger Who Came To Tea by Judith Kerr (1968)
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (1969)
- The Elephant and the Bad Baby by Elfrida Vipont and Raymond Briggs (1969)
- Mog The Forgetful Cat by Judith Kerr (1970)
- Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel (1970)
- Mr Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham (1970)
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day (1972)
- Mulga Bill’s Bicycle by A.B. “Banjo” Paterson, Deborah and Kilmeny Niland (1973) Do you have any favourites from your childhood we haven’t listed? Please add them in the comments below
teachbabytotalk 