Rating: 
Summary: Ambling about in Fantasyland
Review: You're enjoyment of "How the Heather Looks" may be in direct proportion to your ability to instantly recall scenes from classic British children's books. And not just the "classic" classics, mind you, but some rather obscure works indeed, classic for their quality instead of their familiarity. Do you know the illustrated verses of Randolph Caldecott? How about Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" or Kipling's "Puck of Pook's Hill?" I found that my interest waxed and waned along with my familiarity. I was thrilled to go to Tintagel and Sherwood Forest in search of King Arthur and Robin Hood. I delighted to visit with Mrs. Millne in the Hundred Acre Wood of Winnie the Pooh. Toad Hall and Rat's Riverbank are well-traveled terrain. Less so are the lands of The Borrower's, or the Gypsy Caravans or Pook's Hill. (I winced when they drove past Anlwick Castle without stoping. They missed out on quite an experience.) The writing is very much like that of a person keeping a journal. Details do not fit into a story, and the narrative drifts along with the same randomness of the family. The only voice is Joan Bodger's, and her husband and children are foils for her to act upon. All in all, it is a very pleasant little book that I enjoyed reading. I know I would have enjoyed it more if I had a library of British children's literature to browse through for familiarity.
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