When I was a little girl I loved the Ant and Bee books by Angela Banner. She wrote about 10 of these (and also a couple which I have not read featuring someone called Curly Fork). They featured an Ant (a bit naughty), Bee (more staid), Kind Dog (self explanatory) and sometimes, Zoo Man. It is a bit hard to explain how magical they are: the illustrations are detailed but plain and very evocative, and she gives her two little insects a whole lot of personality. They are also 'teaching' books BUT ones which avoided being preachy.
In those days there were no board books just little books with normal paper
These books are now out of print. Ebay and Amazon tell me to my disappointment that good quality Ant and Bee books, which I would love to buy for my children, sell for upwards of $200.
In those days there were no board books just little books with normal paper
These books are now out of print. Ebay and Amazon tell me to my disappointment that good quality Ant and Bee books, which I would love to buy for my children, sell for upwards of $200.
I can't quite bring myself to spend that much and I wistfully regret ever letting my ones disappear (although that is the kind of thing I think I can probably safely blame on my mother - the last time I saw my Ant and Bee books they were in storage in her shearing shed at the farm - did the sheep eat them, or did the feral cats shred them?).
This story was my favourite one.
Ant and Bee (who you can see is quite English, he carries an umbrella for emergencies and wears one of those odd shade hats you see older people wear sometimes) discover a rubber car tyre half buried in the ground. They set to work painting it in rainbow colours and then they construct two little swings and hang them from the highest point. At the end of the day they sit happily on their rainbow, watching the sun set.
They have a lovely time until it rains and the colour washes off revealing the rubbery grey surface of the type. Slightly bittersweet but I guess they had fun while it lasted. It is probably a comment on the transience of child play.
How's that for memory? Have not read this book for more than 30 years and I remember all the detail! In honour of this book this post is a rainbow post.
And a plea into cyberspace - please, Heinneman, why don't you reissue these books. Angela Banner will be happy, and so will many children whose parents loved them.
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