Thursday 19 June 2014

Book of the Week: Mabel Lucie Attwell Going to Bed Tales

This week's book of the week is a beautifully illustrated bedtime story book by Mabel Lucie Attwell.

An anthology of stories and rhymes beginning with Bunty and the Little Boos;

"It was the Green Umbrella's doing really, for if it had not suddenly turned inside out and flown away over the sea, Carrying Bunty, Mops and Queen Elizabeth the doll with it, they would never have found the Little Boos. That's quite certain!

The Brown Rabbit helped a little, for if it hadn't called "Stop!" just when it did, they might have flown on and on, and there is no knowing what might have happened. I do know they were all very relieved when - bump, bumpty-bump - they were on firm land once more.

After they picked themselves up they saw a little mouse hurrying along. "Oh, please!" cried Bunty politely, "are we going right? We have lost our way." "Yes, straight on" said the mouse hurrying away. What an unhelpful person thought Bunty.  As Bunty and her friends were tired, they climbed on to a comfortable tree to rest, but hardly were they seated when a squeaky voice asked for their tickets. "What tickets?" cried Bunty. "Tickets for the Little Boos concert tonight," said the voice, "and if you haven't any, you must come along with me to the king."

Bunty meets a Boo-Boo

The stories about the Boo-Boos are adorable but there are many others to choose from and poems too;

Ready for the rain;

It was such a sunny day,
when I set out on my way,
and the sky was a clear, bright blue.
But when the sky turned black,
I's my brolly and a mac,
Or I'd surely have been soaked right through!

Cheer Up!

Please don't be sad! Oh, do cheer up!
And smile again, says Patch the pup.
You're making me feel dismal too.
It's time we both stopped being blue.


Us Three

There's Timmy who's older and going to be tall,
and me in the middle, and baby who's small,
we share out our toys and we don't fight at all,
it's ever such fun when there's three!

But whenever we're planning a prank or a game,
whenever there's mischief they say I'm to blame,
whatever the trouble it's always the same,
the one in the middle is me!

This is one of my favourite illustrations it accompanies a story called The Gentle Dragon
This is Emily with her doll, Candy Mae and the very sad dragon.


 Mabel Lucie Attwell's Going to Bed Tales is now sold, thank you for your interest.


If you would like to read previous Mabel Lucie Attwell posts please click on the following links 


Something else I've fallen in love with this week 

Each has a cut-out on the back cover. 

I'm itching to cut them out - but of course, I won't! 

I was over at the Always Crave Cute Blog the other day where the lovely Diane was talking about clouds.  Her “I spy in the sky a Puppy Dog up High” post reminded me of something I saw just a few days ago. The following pictures are as they came out of the camera other than a touch of clarity to bring out the details.

This is how the cloud looked when I first noticed it, 


Then as it drifted away, 


it began to turn over and ended up looking like this. 


I like to think it was a visit from my Guardian Angel but what do you think?

Wherever you go
Whatever you do
May your Guardian Angel
Watch over you.

38 comments:

  1. Absolutely superb read....But, mostly the
    illustrations, they are fantastic....Some
    times you see a picture/drawing that says
    it ALL....
    The one with the little girl, facing the wall,
    with a puppy at her feet.....Ah! Now! That's
    a gem....
    We must remember....
    "Every day may not be good...but there is
    something good in every day!.

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    1. Hello Willie,
      Thank you for your lovely words, I will have a big smile on my face for the rest of the day now. : )
      When you wrote, “We must remember” – I thought you were going to go on and quote Mable Lucie Attwell with her, please remember don’t forget never leave the bathroom wet” poem so you caught me out there. I’ve not heard your saying before, but I will be sure to use it from now on!
      I hope you are enjoying the sunshine. Thank you for your visit Barbara

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  2. Oh Barbara, this was MAGIC! From that enchanting little tale (and that darling green umbrella!!) to your guardian angel, I am blessed this very moment. That cloud is a rare and wild phenomenon and sometimes, those things are preserved just for us, at the right moment. Angels, INDEED! Thank you for always delivering the charming, the sometimes forgotten treasures of the past. THANK YOU! Anita

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    1. Dear Anita, thank you for always saying just the right things. You are such a sweet friend. I didn’t expect a visit from you today as I know you are enjoying a little time off so it was doubly nice to hear from you. Barbara x

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  3. Just in case I haven't told you enough time already, I think Mabel lucie Attwell's illustratios are gorgeously cute. I particularly love that image with the dragon :)

    Wow! that's really unusual, Ii'd like to believe it was your Guardian Angel too...how lovely xx

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    1. Hi Yvonne, they are gorgeously cute so you should just go right ahead and say it as many times as you like. (There I’ve said it as well now!) ;0)

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  4. My second try at a comment. The book is simply lovely - both the story and the illustrations. how I wish I could draw like that. As for your pictures - they do show up to tell us they're with us, don't they? Thank you so much for sharing those.

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    1. Hi Donna, sorry about the problem with comments, I think Blogger was having a funny day today. I couldn’t comment on several of my favourite blogs, saying that I must go back and try again.

      I truly believe they do Donna. I've had strange few days/weeks, and that visit was exactly what I needed.

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  5. Oh my friend, I may have taken time off from posting but I am still here to catch the magic from your world and others! I am enjoying my summer holidays by reading and gardening, hoping to write as the inspiration flows! It is raining incessantly here, and my garden is so lush.

    HUGS! Anita

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  6. Oh my dear friend, I may be taking a break from posting, but I am still here enjoying other peoples' posts, and yours especially, because I don't want to miss the magic! It is raining incessantly here, but my garden is so lush. My imagination is running wild too with all the reading I am having the pleasure to engage in during my summer holiday! Enjoy your day, Anita

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    1. I had to give the garden a drop of water today. Can you believe it after all the floods? It’s hot, dry and very sunny. I’m sure your garden is enjoying a good drink, but I hope you have some sunshine too.
      Have a wonderful holiday. xx

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  7. The Mabel Lucie Attwell book is adorable. Goodness, in one of the pictures, that puppy was licking the girl's calf! Love the one about the green umbrella carrying Bunt, Mops and Queen Elizabeth to the Little Boos, too. This would make a heck of a bedtime storybook.

    That cloud you caught on camera looks like either a feather quill or a snow ballerina. Beautiful guardian angel!

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  8. Oh and thanks for pointing me to Nicole's book. I like the storyline and hope there's a copy at my library!

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    1. Hi Claudine,
      Dogs are amazingly clever at working out how their humans are feeling, and as they are unable to give hugs a lick is the next-best thing!
      I hope you manage to find a copy of Nicole’s book I’m sure you will enjoy it.
      Have a good weekend, Barbara

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  9. As Always amazing illustrations,beautiful lines and magical books! However the pictures of teh cloud were real magic!! when i saw the first image ,I thought it was some sort of a fluffy feather but it was a cloud!!! Amazing sights and a lucky capture specially the second image with moon and a two toned sky.Thanks for sharing :) Have a nice day :)

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    1. Hello Kokila, It was the moon that first caught my attention and watching that strange shaped cloud drifting past it was an incredible sight. Thanks for coming over to say hi, have a good weekend.

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  10. Dear Barbara,
    Such a lovely post...
    I most certainly think you were being watched and looked after by your angels..It's an incredible sight of cloud forming you witnessed its just got to be...
    The verse about Guardian angels i write on my black board's thought of the day in the shop...I adore angels...
    LOVE and love some more the Mabel Lucy Attwell books...The pictures the words, so very charming...Ooh I also 'Wish' I had a pretty brolly like the one in the book..
    then a proper Mary Poppins I would be... hehe!
    Wishing your June to be as lovely as you are and thanking you for kindest words always...
    ( I am struggling with out **** Twinkles once more on my little corner....And a post with out them just won't do my friend..
    Bye for now...
    Maria x

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    1. I agree Maria, what else could it be. I was feeling the need of a Guardian angel at the time, and there she was!
      Isn’t that brolly special? I’m sure they would sell well at Bumble Bee you could stock them in different colours and designs. It might start a new trend especially if you sold Bumble Bee ones!
      Sending you lots of hugs and Twinkles, Barbara xx

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  11. I have always adored MLA's illustrations. Nothing else I have seen has ever captured her unique illustrative skills. She is simply one of a kind.

    Jean x

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    1. Hi Jean, I can tell you are a woman after my own heart! Thanks for your visit, Barbara

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  12. Those illustrations with the big rosy cheeks remind me of books I loved as a child. They did love to color the cheeks, didn't they? So charming...and there's something about that type of drawing that makes a story much more enjoyable than the fancy-pants illustrations of today!

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    1. Hi Stephanie, thanks for making me laugh! I find some of the newer illustrations a little too ‘real’ I prefer to keep on wearing my rosy tinted specs! Have a great weekend.

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  13. I love the poems and the pictures. I recognized MLA's style right away. :) I adore the picture with the baby dragon. So cute!

    What a fabulous set of cloud pictures you took. I like to think it is your guardian angel too. Definitely magical!

    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. There is no missing an MLA illustration is there? The baby dragon is my favourite too, probably because it is a little different from her more usual ones.

      Thanks for your visit.

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  14. Hello Barbara! You know how much I love Mabel Lucie Attwell. Her illustrations are really gorgeous!!! That little girl in "Cheer Up" is my favorite today but I love them all.
    I try to take home all things by MLA I find (very few here) and I've recently found an old card (my first one by her!) and...a chamber pot. I'm very happy with them.
    Thank you very much for sharing such wonderful images.
    Besos!

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    1. Hello Silvina, I can honestly say I’ve never, ever seen a MLA chamber pot but would love to! Have you featured it on your blog? It would make an interesting post!
      Thanks for calling in today, Barbara.

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  15. The cloud is looking like an angel wing , amazing picture Barbara :)

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    1. Thanks Aunt Mary, the cloud was amazing – the pictures just average :0)

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  16. There's definitely something fluffy and feathery about that cloud - a lovely summery image.

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    1. Hi Sue, eerie but beautiful is how I would sum it up.

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  17. The book is adorable, it reminds me of the books that were available when I was a kid. The cloud is beautiful, really sharp and clear capture of the imagine!

    Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net

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    1. Thanks Lainy, my little point and shoot camera did do well! Glad you enjoyed the book & pictures.

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  18. I can understand why that is one of your favourite illustrations as it is very sweet but then again so are they all. Thank you for my daily dose of cuteness.

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    1. Hi Tracy, you are most welcome. Thank you for your kind comment. Barbara.

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  19. Another of those lovely adorable books. One of my favourites as they had lovely illustrations and rhymes.
    What a coincidence that you should talk about clouds. I am travelling again and as I was going to the airport , I was watching the planes coming into land when, I spotted a cloud that looked like a boomerang . I could not take a picture but I remember seeing a programme in television where they said that they were rare cloud formations . Your cloud looks like a fluffy feather duster. Thanks for sharing the lovely picture.

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    1. Hi Shashi, how interesting, I’ve never seen a boomerang shaped cloud. I must look them up on Google. I posted about ‘my’ cloud because Diane over at Crave Cute was talking about clouds, so there are a lot of coincidences occurring at the moment. I enjoyed sharing the pictures, thanks for taking the time to look at them. Enjoy your travels. Barbara.

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  20. Your books are cute as usual, but oh my word, that cloud is amazing. I've never seen anything like it! Barbara that is really pretty strange! I may have to do some research on this... Have a brilliant, sunny weekend! ~ Diane

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    1. Hi Diane, let me know if you find anything out. It was most odd, but I decided to take it as a good sign rather than a bad one! Raining at the moment but it’s only Friday, so there is still hope! Thanks for coming over xx

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I really appreciate your comment. Thank you!
Barbara xx