Children's Books

New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1955. First Edition. Binding: Hardcover. Illustrator: Feodor Rojankovsky. Book Condition: Very Good+ Condition. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+. Size: 9″ -11″ – Small Quarto (Sm. 4to). [32] pages. Stated First Edition of the 1956 Caldecott Award Winning book. The dust jacket does not have the award sticker or mention the award, which is the case with later printings. The classic folk tale put to music of Frog’s courting of Mouse. In his introductory “Story of This Story,” Langstaff traces its origins to Scotland and journey to the American colonies. “The story of the ‘Frog and Mouse’ became a part of America,” he writes, “and belongs to all of us today.” The last page of the text includes the tune the author says was sung by “the children of the southern Appalachian mountains ….” The two-page facing illustrations alternate between green, black and white drawings and full-color illustrations. In their 1982 annotated bibliography Newberry and Caldecott Medal and Honor Books, Peterson and Solt wrote, “The predominantly red, yellow, and blue illustrations, as well as the monochromic ones, humanize the tale’s characters without stripping them of their dignity and natural traits.” They add, “Rojankovsky has recorded this tale so that it works well with the text and extends and synthesizes word and picture in a manner which retains the humor and fun of its original intent.” Supplementing the story and in keeping with the fun are matching full-color end papers showing the animals at play. Bound in blue textured paper over boards with the title in black on the spine and an illustration of Frog in black at the lower right corners of the front cover. Corners are sharp with minimal wear. The top of the spine has been bumped, resulting in a light crease 1/2″ down from the head of the spine and a diagonal crease in the upper left corner of the front cover. There is some light purple-ish spotting around the edges. Text block is tight, bright and unmarked. No foxing in this copy. Side and bottom page edges are clean, neat and free of foxing. There is some light dust speckling to the top page edges. The unclipped ($2.50) dust jacket has some wear at the folds with a 3/8″ chip at the head from the front flap’s fold and a small 1/8″ chip at its foot. There are small (1/8″ or less) chips at the head of foot on the fold between the front panel and the spine. The spine and exposed edges of the folds are slightly darkened from handling or exposure and there is some light spotting visible in the light areas of the front and rear panels. The dust jacket is protected in a clear archival Brodart sleeve. less