Book 316

The Sailor Dog, by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Garth Williams, Little Golden Books, 1953.

How can a Little Golden Book that was written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Garth Williams be anything less than perfect?

Margaret Wise Brown wrote poetry -- not the forced rhythm, attempted rhyming couplets (or quatrains) that so often results in doggerel poetry -- not necessarily with a rhyme at all, but it was poetry none-the-less.  Her writing, for the most part, should be read out loud and savored.

I grew up with Garth Williams' illustrations.  From the time I was about six, we had all the "Little House" books in our house, and I devoured them.  His work shaped the way I thought about illustrations.