Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Tootle by Gertrude Crampton, ill. Tibor Gergely

“If you’re going to Lower Trainswitch / Be sure to wear flowers in your hair…”

So when I think of Little Golden Books, this is the image that comes to my mind:

Now squint. See that little guy, center bottom? That’s Tootle. Ever read him? No? Well, in 2001 Tootle was the all-time third best-selling hardcover children’s book in English. He’s not as famous now as he was twenty years ago, but that fact made me curious. Why is he so forgotten? Should he be brought back? Is this some lost gem of children’s literature just aching to be rediscovered? We discuss how this 1945 release came out after Ferdinand, but seemed to cast the idea of frolicking with flowers in an entirely different light.

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Show Notes:

Curious about Little Golden Books? Then you can do no better than the beautiful Golden Legacy: The Story of Golden Books by Leonard S. Marcus. It’s sort of your one-stop shopping for all things Golden.

And for probably the best possible interpretation of this book, check out the Yale University Press release The Lonely Crowd by David Riesman with Nathan Glazer and Reuel Denney.

You want more text in picture books? Boy, do we have the book for you! Sometimes the pages here seem to be almost nothing BUT text! Be careful what you wish for:

We’ll give Tootle this much. There is a lot more lore here than we ever heard about in, say, Thomas the Tank Engine. For example, there’s an entire educational system created entirely just for engines! Can the Island of Sodor claim as much?

Question: How long before parents reading this book to kids can no longer read cursive handwriting? We give it 5-10 years.

What book does this particular image remind you of? Kate says Thomas the Tank Engine. I say The Little Engine That Could (which came out in 1930, by the way).

This book was released in 1945, and it’s interesting to see such a wild embrace of conformity on the picture book page. Poor, Tootle. Too early to become a hippie.

You may have spats, a top hat, and a chain for your pocket watch, but if you don’t have a sash that says the word “MAYOR” on it, can you truly say that you’re a public official?

Kate Recommends: Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer on Netflix

Betsy Recommends: October 1-3rd, you can go to The Lucky Rabbit Literature Festival at The Rabbit hOle in Kansas City, MS. Do!

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