Over forty years ago, Joan Bodger, her husband, and two children went to Britain on a very special family quest. They were seeking the world that they knew and loved through children’s books.
In Winnie-the-Pooh Country, Mrs. Milne showed them the way to “that enchanted place on the top of the Forest [where] a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.” In Edinburgh they stood outside Robert Louis Stevenson’s childhood home, tilting their heads to talk to a lamplighter who was doing his job. In the Lake District they visited Jemima Puddle-Duck’s farm, and Joan sought out crusty Arthur Ransome to talk to him about Swallows and Amazons. They spent several days “messing about in boats” on the River Thames, looking for Toad Hall and other places described by Kenneth Grahame in The Wind in the Willows. Mud and flood kept them from attaining the slopes of Pook’s Hill (on Rudyard Kipling’s farm), but they scaled the heights of Tintagel. As in all good fairy tales, there were unanswered questions. Did they really find Camelot? Robin Hood, as always, remains elusive.
One thing is certain. Joan Bodger brings alive again the magic of the stories we love to remember. She persuades us that, like Emily Dickinson, even if we “have never seen a moor,” we can imagine “how the heather looks.”
First published in 1965 by Viking in New York, How the Heather Looks has become a prized favorite among knowledgeable lovers of children’s literature. Precious, well-thumbed copies have been lent out with caution and reluctance, while new admirers have gone searching in vain for copies to buy second-hand. This handsome reprint, with a new Afterword by Joan Bodger, makes a unique and delightful classic available once more.
From the Hardcover edition.
A gem for those who truly believe children’s books matter This book is a rare gem for anyone who truly believes that children’s books matter. Joan Bodger writes engagingly about her family’s journey to Britain to discover the places and landscapes that inspired the writers of their favorite children’s books, including Kenneth Grahame, A. A. Milne, Beatrix Potter, Rudyard Kipling and others. Pooling the family’s talents (the author’s passion for stories, her husband’s research skills and her children’s imaginations) they set off on a summer-long adventure scouring the back roads and villages of England to find prototypes for Toad Hall, the Hundred Acre Wood, King Arthur’s Camelot and more. This is a book that opens up remarkable possibilities for travelling with children and for honoring the world of childhood. A far cry from Disneyland…
A delightful account of travel in England This is a delightful book. (I read the earlier edition, and I am glad that it is back in print). I recommend it to anyone who is interested in England, children’s literature or the pleasures and problems of traveling with young children. I have visited many of the places described and find that the book brings back many happy memories.
A Wonderful Vacation If you love children’s books and/or are an Anglophile at heart, you will love this book. The Bodger family is on a quest around England to find Pooh’s Enchanted Place, Toad Hall and other places from classic British children’s books. In addition to enjoying their literary discoveries, I enjoyed Joan Bodger’s descriptions of the special challenges of traveling with young children. Food, laundry, and places for their children to play are as important as locating Beatrix Potter’s farm. While reading this book I felt as if I were on a vacation with some very good friends. I loved this book.