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Old Mother West Wind
Beloved children's classic offers warm, whimsical stories about Billy Mink's swimming party, Little Joe Otter's slippery slide, Reddy Fox's fishing expedition, why Grandfather Frog has no tail, other exciting tales. Gentle lessons about nature and wildlife combined with the fun of a good story. 6 full-page black-and-white illustrations.
Paperback, 112 pages
Published
December 29th 1995
by Dover Publications
(first published 1917)
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Old Mother West Wind isn’t really one story – it’s gobs of little ones stuck together into one book.
The Story.
Every day Old Mother West Wind and her daughters, the Merry Little Breezes sweep through the forest, frolicking with the animals, watching the games that they play, and listening to the stories that they tell. They watch as Peter Rabbit pulls pranks on his neighbours, and attend Jerry Muskrat’s festive swimming party. They even help to judge the grand Green Forest race by rushing alongsi...more
The Story.
Every day Old Mother West Wind and her daughters, the Merry Little Breezes sweep through the forest, frolicking with the animals, watching the games that they play, and listening to the stories that they tell. They watch as Peter Rabbit pulls pranks on his neighbours, and attend Jerry Muskrat’s festive swimming party. They even help to judge the grand Green Forest race by rushing alongsi...more
Jan 31, 2011
Jonathan Marshall
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
kid-friendly
The Burgess Books
This is a phrase that brings a smile to my face as often as I hear it. As a young child, I would lose myself for hours in the simple world of the wood and pond inhabited by Little Joe Otter, Buster Bear, Grandfather Frog, and terrorized by Farmer Brown's Boy. I can remember the very shelf, even the exact spot in the little library in Felton, CA where these books were kept. I would return practically every week with a new armload to last me until our next trip to the library. Of...more
This is a phrase that brings a smile to my face as often as I hear it. As a young child, I would lose myself for hours in the simple world of the wood and pond inhabited by Little Joe Otter, Buster Bear, Grandfather Frog, and terrorized by Farmer Brown's Boy. I can remember the very shelf, even the exact spot in the little library in Felton, CA where these books were kept. I would return practically every week with a new armload to last me until our next trip to the library. Of...more
This is the kind of book I would check out from the library and which would normally be rejected at bedtime for a story with more pictures or something less "babyish" or of the character of--not my favorite--Diary of a Wimpy Kid. But both my 10-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter listened with great interest to every story in this collection. Though they were written early in the 20th century, the stories still have some kind of magical appeal that taps into the very thing I am clinging to...more
My kids really like these books. I think they're kind of weird, and the style drives me up the wall. The style is..whimsical? Every animal has a little cutesy nickname, and their plots are sort of rambling. But like I said, my kids like them. The stories are completely innocent and generally positive, and they go on and on and on, so the kids don't seem to run out of them. But if *I* were looking for anthropomorphized animal stories that are funny and cute, I would choose Beatrix Potter over the...more
A simply well written 1910 children's classic. "As Old Mother West Wind climbs over the Purple the Hills with her sack of Many Little Breezes that will play in the Grassy Meadow all day..." I enjoyed the visually stimulating descriptions of nature with personality and the simplicity of the animal characters that have adventures all day; usually teaching some kind of moral, or value in each chapter. Wished I would have known about this book to read to my children when they were young. It was a de...more
An old favorite of mine when I was a kid, these stories still draw kids in. All three of my kids listened to these stories intently. Simple tales, highly moral, old-fashioned, anthropomorphic animals.... yet for some reason, they still appeal. A nice read aloud choice for younger kids just learning to sit for chapter books--each chapter is a self-contained story. They're also a nice choice for a new reader just learning to read a chapter book.
I had to go back to a book written a hundred years ago to find something my 4-year-old liked that didn't involve burps, farts, trolls, or dragons. These short stories of forest animals playing and growing are simple but not shallow. Sometimes there's a lesson about nature or a cautionary tale, but as another reviewer mentioned, there's nothing too preachy. A perfect book of bedtime stories.
My father read this book to me, and then it became one of the first that I read for myself. I have no idea what the original cover looked like because there was no paper jacket, and I doubt the 1947 or similar cover is available any longer. This book may have been my first view of the natural world because we lived in a large city.
My 5 year old actually LOVES the stories in this book. Each story is only a few pages long and has great animal/nature characters to relate to. Each story has a subtle 'moral' that's not very preachy. We're looking forward to investigating more books by Burgess after finishing all the lovely stories in this book.
This is a book I have read numerous times to kids in 1st grade, and they love it!! Although I find the stories to be repetitive at times, and it is written in "Old English" which is somewhat harder to understand, kids are thrilled each time they hear it, which makes me like it a bit more.
One of the first book series I read. When I was about 3 my grandmother read one of them to me. By the time I was in school I had read at least 10 of Thornton Burgess' animal story books. (First appearance of the character "Peter Rabbit", aka Peter Cottontail.)
I loved these. It was the first long chapter-type book I read to my 4-year-old, and as I got started I worried they would require too much stopping and explaining, and it did require plenty, but it turned out to be a wonderful time. The 4-year-old loved them too.
The entire Mother West Wind series is excellent. It a series from my childhood that tells the stories of the forest creatures with dignity and respect. Where else can a person meet and chat with Grandfather Frog!
Jan 05, 2013
Joani
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
why-i-like-children-s-books
I am a sucker for anthropomorphized animal characters and Old Mother West Wind is chock-full of them. This book is full of simple little adventures and tiny lessons. A great read-aloud for the little ones.
Michael Hague is one of my favorite illustrators so from that perspective I loved it. Story itself was just ok.
These were some of my favorite stories when I was a child and I am loving reading them to my kids now.
Sep 13, 2012
Melissa (ladybug)
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Children and the Young at heart
A childhood favorite. I can remember checking them out from the library. very nice moral animal stories.
Fun and lively. The illustrations fit the tone and feel of the stories.
fictional nature/animal stories with lessons for children, rec. by Ann Voskamp
Cute "Peter Rabbit" type stories. An old classic.
an amazing old book with animals adventures and tales.
A classic.
We loved this book! Such interesting characters with great morals to each chapter. Even if my 3yo son didn't start out listening to the stories when I read them, he'd always stop what he was doing and end up beside me as I read and he became drawn in.
Jun 18, 2008
Christina
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-read-aloud
We really enjoyed reading this series of tales. Written in 1910, these stories about meadow and woodland animals have the feel of a gentler time (with characters like Reddy Fox, Johnny Chuck and Grandfather Frog). A fun read for both of the kids.
The copy I have of this used to belong to my grandmother and the stories are so cute and timeless. They are little fables about why animals look and behave as they do, and carry little morals. Josh really liked reading these stories.
Jan 15, 2008
Sarah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
nieces, all children
Shelves:
ok-for-nieces
I remember loving this series when I was younger :) Kind of Wind in the Willows-esque. I read it so long ago that it's hard to remember... I think it's more of an age for A., but R. might still enjoy it since it involves animals.
Feb 28, 2012
Kathryn
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens-chapter-books,
2012
I'd forgotten all about Mother West Winds children, the Merry Little Breezes. And all of the fun characters of the forest Peter Rabbit, Jimmy Skunk, Sammy Jay, Grandfather Frog, to name just a few. This was a delight to read.
I would really give this a 4.5 stars. I liked this book alot. We read it in my second grade reading class. I liked all the fun adventures of the animals.
One of the first chapter books I ever read. My mom gave me her childhood copy. I've long since lost it, but remember loving the stories.
I remember reading this when I was a child, and again as an adolescent. Now I am reading it to my children to pass on the legacy.
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Thornton W. Burgess (1874-1965), American author, naturalist and conservationist, wrote popular children's stories including the Old Mother West Wind (1910) series. He would go on to write more than 100 books and thousands of short-stories during his lifetime.
More about Thornton W. Burgess...
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