Vintage Stories Brought to Life in New Ways

The New York Review of Books is a company known for reissuing some of the best children's tales from the past. Here's its latest batch of retro wonders, plus some other vintage returns.

"Now Open the Box" by Dorothy Kunhardt; New York Review Children's Collection; 72 pages; $16.95.

This is my new "old" children's book favorite, and will be my choice gift for young kids I know. Penned in 1934 by "Pat the Bunny" and "Junket Is Nice" author Kunhardt, this fantastic tale introduces a circus dog — "little teeny weeny weeny weeny Peewee" — beloved because of his small size.

He soon grows to normal size, however, and his circus career becomes endangered. But then, a "wonderful splendid beautiful thing happened," and "dear little Peewee" starts to grow and grow, leading the circus man to say, "Oh my dearest little Peewee now you won't have to go after all because now you are so lovely and big you are just the very dog for my circus!"

Kunhardt's lack of much punctuation in this sweet, active story brings a childish appeal to its read-aloud qualities. Her red, yellow and black color scheme is perfect for a vintage circus look, and the underlying theme of "different is good" is years ahead of its time. "Now Open the Box" is genius and so fun that even my 18-year-old loved it!

Also fun is "Junket is Nice" by Kunhardt. In this 1932 tale, an old man with a red beard and red slippers eats an enormous bowl of junket, and a only a little boy knows why.

"The Little Woman Wanted Noise" by Val Teal; illustrated by Robert Lawson; New York Review Children's Collection; 48 pages; $14.95.

Another fun read-aloud, Teal's story was published in 1943, seven years after her hit "The Story of Ferdinand," and also with some of the most stunning black-and-white drawings in American picture books (from artist Lawson).

In the story, a little woman lives in a very noisy city and then moves to the country, which she deems too quiet. So she fills her farm up one by one with noisy animals — a cow, dog, chickens and a pig — but still finds her surroundings too quiet. Finally, she buys a car with a loud horn, and then, in her crowning achievement, brings home two boys ("a big boy with curly dark hair and a little boy with standing-up red hair"), louder than all the animals put together, and her farm finally begins to feel like home.

A stunner in looks and in flowing, fun tone with plenty of loud animal sounds, Teal's tale stands up as a timeless classic.

"The Reluctant Dragon" by Kenneth Grahame; illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard; Holiday House; 57 pages; $16.95.

This 75th anniversary edition of a beloved classic comes in an attractive purple and gold color scheme, and a lightweight, easy chapter book setup. With an illuminating introduction by Leonard S. Marcus, Grahame's 1938 tale of a prolific storytelling dragon reads gorgeously, with tons of wit, courage and compassion.

"Tug of War" by John Burningham; illustrated by John Burningham; Candlewick; 32 pages; $16.99.

Forty-five years ago, Burningham illustrated a classic known as "The Extraordinary Tug-of-War," retold by Letta Schatz. Here he uses his original, tropically tinged sketches and revised tale to present a story proving brains trump sheer strength.

In the action-packed romp, a hare is treated badly by bullies Hippopotamus and Elephants, and challenges them to a tug of war. The problem for the hare's competitors is that he secretly manages it so they're really competing against each other.

Kids will love the spellbinding story and the way the underdog wins in the end. Burningham's vintage sketches reveal a mysterious jungle with lots of classic appeal.

"Hickory" by Palmer Brown; New York Review Children's Collection; 56 pages; $14.95.

In 1978, Brown introduced young readers to the restless field mouse Hickory who wanted to see the world beyond the grandfather clock where he lived with his family. Now brought back to life in a gorgeous new edition, this coming-of-age story is poignant and adorable, rivaling "Peter Rabbit" in its exquisite creatures.

Retro typeface and colored illustrations pepper the slightly yellowed-on-purpose pages, making "Hickory" a vintage standout for children ages 5 to 8.

To find out more about Lee Littlewood and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.