In My Mailbox Today: "Freddy and the Dragon"

Two weeks ago I ordered Freddy and the Dragon, the 26th and final book in Walter R. Brooks' Freddy the Pig series, which was published between 1927 and 1958. As I'm sure you can see from the picture above, I purchased a used hardcover copy. Unfortunately, a piece of the dust-jacket was damaged when I removed the library binding that covered the book (I expected there to be some damage). Thankfully, I'm not the sort of collector who insists on only owning flawless books. 

Although I haven't read Freddy and the Dragon yet (it only arrived in my mailbox about an hour ago), I thought I'd take the opportunity to share it here. Most likely, I won't write a follow up review after I read it. My consensus on the Freddy series is already in; I love these books. They're fun stories and they remind me of my childhood, browsing the shelves at my small community public library. I plan to collect all 26 books. I would encourage parents to get these classics into the hands of their children. 

If you haven't seen my posts from September yet, check out my Freddy Goes to the North Pole Review  and  A Childhood Favourite: "Freddy Goes to Florida" & The Freddy Books

Freddy Goes To The North Pole (Walter R. Brooks)

Sometimes a humorous children's book is exactly what I need. Children's books, especially the Freddy books, are light, laughter invoking and a little naive. In Freddy Goes To The North Pole, a title I ordered used online, Freddy the pig and some of his farm animal friends are bored with life on Mr.Bean's farm in the north-eastern United States. One day with much planning and fanfare, they set out for the North Pole. Not long after their departure, news comes back to the farm that they've been taken hostage on a whaling ship. 

A second groups of animals, led by a crow, set out as a rescue party. This party, an odd assortment of cows, mice, roosters and more, make their way into Canada. Finding themselves without food or warm clothing, they give lectures on "the world" in exchange for the necessities of survival. When they reach the North Pole, they face a new set of challenges, but they also enjoy the pleasures of perpetual Christmas. 

Neither the author nor the general reader care to question why eagles are flying so far north, why no-one suffers from frostbite, or how feasible it would be for a group of lone animals to overpower customs officials and cross the border, but as in many fantastical children's books none of this seems to matter. I can easily suspend my disbelief and laugh uncontrollably while 4000 ants attack a pack of wolves who have taken a rooster and a dog hostage. 

A Childhood Favourite: "Freddy Goes to Florida" & The Freddy Books

When I was about eight or nine, I pulled a battered hardcover off the shelf at the library and added it to the (most likely) giant stack of books I planned to check out. Over the next three years I read it, Freddy Goes to Florida, originally published in 1927 as To and Again, by Walter R. Brooks, over and over again, only stopping when I made my move from the children's section to the young adult and then upstairs to the adult department. About three years ago, I found an old library copy at a used book sale, re-read it and it has sat on my shelf ever since, tucked in between Anne of Green Gables and If I Just Had Two Wings. 

My copy of Freddy Goes to Florida is from 1966. The copyright page says it's the thirteenth re-printing. 1960's children's hardcovers were made to last. The cover boards are thick and the spine is strong, like an old Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys. Like all older books, my copy has adopted that faint musty-paper smell. It's wonderful to hold. I'm reminded of many evenings and afternoons spent curled up in bed or on the couch in my parent's living room, reading and re-reading the story of how farm animals ran away and journeyed to spend the winter in Florida.

(an image taken of an illustration in Freddy Goes to Florida)

Freddy, is case you've never heard of the book, or the 26 others written about Freddy and his friends, is a pig. Other characters include Charles the rooster, Alice and Emma, the ducks, cows, spiders and a cat named Jinx.

A few days ago, reading a book about book collecting, I was reminded of Freddy Goes to Florida and the 25 other books which, sadly, I never read. I recall five or six more Freddy books lined up the library shelf next to Freddy Goes to Florida but somehow I never got into them. I remember trying, but at the time, none of them seemed as good.

So here I am, twenty years old, and I recently placed an online order for a very cheap used copy of Freddy Goes to the North Pole and Freddy and the Dragon. What I missed out on as a child, surely, I can make up for now? I have an image in my mind of 26 weathered, well-loved hardcovers lined up in a row on my bookshelf, perhaps with a shelf all to themselves. With a little bit of hunting, I'm sure I can make that image a reality. I like what I see.