Robert Lawson

Four and Twenty Blackbirds

tldr

Rather too large to be a dainty dish.

It's kind of interesting from a historical standpoint, but I'm really unsure whether this was ever intended for children.

Message

It's important to remember all nursery rhymes.

The Story of Ferdinand

meh

How disturbing this book is depends on the reader's knowledge of bullfights.

What what the heck? How did this book and the story that it tells become so popular? I vaguely remember the 1938 Disney animated short. It was only published two years prior to that, in 1936, and it shows. The writing is very simplistic, and it feels so rhythmically slow compared to modern books, with the exception of the ones written for very little children.

Message

Some people like to smell flowers, and that's okay. You don't have to be violent.

Wee Gillis

meh

Insert joke involving bagpipes, cows, and deer.

The style of the illustrations isn't very modern but they're pretty. There's not much to it. It's just another book where somebody turns out to have hidden talents they weren't expecting to have.

Message

Put your strengths to use. Or, don't be prejudiced against your neighbors.

Robert Lawson