Terrifying Nixon-Era Children's Books: The House Biter by William D. Sheldon (ill. Dan Dickas) (1966)

Published in 1966, just as Johnson's Great Society was really getting started, The House Biter seems to have been inspired by the (probably understandable) fear children might have of the giant construction equipment then dotting the urban landscape, particularly those huge excavators with giant grapples for tearing down historic architecture so that cheap, modern, and totally disposable buildings could be thrown up in its wake. Like Bam Zam Boom, this book is a window into that strange, pre-preservation era when it just made sense to everyone that old stuff should just get knocked down. Today it seems somewhat strange to see that mentality articulated so bluntly in a book meant for children.

In this book, the machine calls itself "the house biter," because that's not nearly as scary as "hydraulic excavator," right?

He bites houses of any size, really. Including houses the size of your house. . .

See, nowhere is safe. Not even school.

That's all he does, really.

I like the way that woman is staring dreamily at the house biter. She can't wait for that historic home next door to be demolished!

I'll bet the new school is going to be really lovely, too, with none of that annoying old stonework or that leaky, 60-year-old roof. . .

 
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Sir Kevin of Devon by Adelaide Hall (ill. Leonard Weisgard) (1963)

This book was not written by the famous jazz chanteuse Adelaide Hall, because that would have made it impossibly awesome. Instead it was written in alternating rhyme by Adelaide Holl, author of such books as One Kitten for Kim, The Rain Puddle, and (our favorite) Little Pewee The Circus Dog. It's one of the books I picked up in an abandoned school library and sadly it's not very widely available (copies run $30-$0 on Amazon, which drives my wife nuts because she likes to give it as a gift). I really love the medieval-themed mid-century artwork of Leonard Weisgard, another of our favorite children's book illustrators. This book is about an eleven year boy who is so brave he becomes a real knight. Not surprisingly, my son loves it.

 

Previous Book: Alphabet World

A Little Old Man, by Natalie Norton (ill. Will Huntington) (1959)

It's a real treat to share one of our absolute favorite picture books today: Natalie Norton's A Little Old Man. It's been out of print for almost half a century, but it sure can entertain a couple of 21st century kids. I would say it's one of those rare books where the story is not overshadowed by the illustrations, and vice versa. I highly recommend picking it up for those dirt cheap used prices on Amazon or eBay. This book is one you won't mind reading over and over: it's got just the right amount of text. The subject seems like an odd one for a kid's book, but it is such a lovely story.

The little old man lives alone, but he manages to keep busy.

Maybe I enjoy this book because the old man reminds me of the kindly old farting Quaker who used to run a book store in downtown Kalamazoo? As busy as he keeps, sometimes such a life can still get a bit lonely:

All he wants is a cat! But there's no way a cat could get to his island. One day, there is a terrible storm that blows his house away. . .

But this is a lucky old man, and a boat washes up on the shore of his island. Its occupants are nowhere to be found. Maybe they drowned! Who cares, it's a kid's book!

It's even got a fully-stocked kitchen:

 

But it turns out the houseboat wasn't totally unoccupied:

The smile on the old man's face on this page always makes my kids howl with joy:

They just don't make children's books about lonely old men marooned on tiny islands who yearn for feline companionship like they used to.

 

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This blog seeks to share excerpted content from out-of-print children's books. If you are the copyright holder of any of these books and are unhappy with this usage, please contact me immediately and I will rectify it.