Oldies but goodies

My next three picks are really old and rather obscure. They're not by popular authors, nor are they considered classics (or at least I don't think they are). But all three are near and dear to my heart. They were some of my very favorites growing up. So, here goes:

15. The Lunch Box

This book is out of print. It's a story about a boy named Davey who is disappointed to have the same old boring lunch in his lunch box day after day. On his way to school, he runs into his animal classmates and they all describe what they have in their lunch boxes. In the end, they decide that they each have what's best for them. (After hearing  about the cat's cold fish and the dog's old bone, Davey decides his peanut butter sandwich doesn't seem so bad after all.) I loved this book because it's shaped like an actual lunch box with a handle. There are some funny details too. The cat's lunch box is shaped like a fish, for instance. And the goat has an old boot for lunch and eats the newspaper that his lunch was wrapped in for dessert. Emma gets a kick out of these details too.

16. The Lonely Doll by Dare Wright

I have no idea where this book came from or why my mom got it for me. (I'll have to ask her sometime.) But I really loved it. It's about a doll who has no friends until one day she meets a little bear and his father. She befriends them, but is frightened that she will lose their friendship when she and the little bear misbehave. I found (and still find) the pictures in this book totally intriguing. They are actually still photographs of a doll and teddy bears. It's amazing to me how the photographer captures the story with her camera and evokes so much emotion with each photo. Apparently this book is rather controversial, since father bear spanks little bear and the lonely doll. Regardless, even if it's no longer PC, I definitely enjoyed it as a child. (Emma has a copy on her shelf, but we haven't read it yet. I'm not quite ready to have a conversation with her about spanking...)

17. The Little Rabbit by Judy Dunn

I sill love this book. We had a bunny growing up, so it was extra special  when I was a child. The story is about a little girl whose pet rabbit gives birth to seven bunnies. (She names them after the days of the week.) She wants to keep them all, but once they start growing up, they keep getting in to mischief and are just too difficult to look after. So, she has to find them all good homes. The pictures in the book are actual photographs. They're totally dated (from the late 70's), but that gives the book some of its charm, I think. Emma loves this book as much as I do. She even named our bunny after the mother rabbit in the book, Buttercup. There is a whole series of these books. The Little Lamb was (is) my other favorite.