Corduroy & Company: A Don Freeman Treasury

Rating:
Summary: A Treasury Indeed!
Review: This wonderful treasury book contains ten of the beloved stories of the talented and original writer/artist, Don Freeman including his best loved character, the irrepressible teddy bear, Corduroy, complete with their full color illustrations. It also contains a never before published story called Gayelord, about a very colorful goat.
There is an interesting introduction and nice photographs of Don Freeman. Chuggy and the Blue Caboose is a great story about a little snow-plower caboose and his engine friend, Lucy, that save the day. In Pet of the Met we meet Maestro Petrini, a dashing and clever mouse who works as a page-turner for the prompter at the Metropolitan Opera House. The story of Beady Bear is next, followed by everyone's favorite red-headed boy, Mop Top. Fly High Fly Low, a Caldecott Honor Book from 1957 tells the story of two pigeons, Sid and Midge, and their adventures in San Francisco, featuring many of that city's beautiful landmarks. Who can resist the adorable Norman the Doorman, the charming mouse doorman of the majestic Museum of Art who becomes an artist in his own right. Enjoy Dandelion as he gets fancied up for a party and don't forget Tilly Witch, the Queen of Halloween, (sadly, now out of print) but still to be found riding her surf board with a whisk broom for a skeg in this great collection. Flash the Dash, the story of a dachshund who delivers telegrams, rounds out the treasury.
At the back of the book is a biographical article with more photographs of Don Freeman and samples of his drawings for other genres.
I love this book because it collects so many beloved stories in one place. It makes these gems available, preserving them for future generations and is an affordable package that makes it easy for parents to provide these classics for their children. Hopefully, it will encourage folks to seek out the individual story books, too, so they can enjoy the full size illustrations. Don Freeman's characters are so filled with fun and are so lively and expressive, they are not to be missed.