Old Nurse's Stocking Basket

by Eleanor Farjeon

Every night when the children were tucked up in bed, the Old Nurse would pull out a pair of stockings from the mending-basket and while she threaded her needle she would look in her memory for a story that fitted the size of the hole. The children always stopped their bickering at once, for none of them wanted to miss her extraordinary stories of princes and princesses, Greek gods, sea captains and other wonderful characters she had come across in her hundreds of years as a children's nurse. All the tales were so entrancing that the boys could hardly be blamed for sometimes making large holes on purpose, so that they'd have a long story to match!

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy

1 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1931

About the author

Daughter of Benjamin Leopold Farjeon, sister of Herbert Farjeon and J. Jefferson Farjeon.

Eleanor Farjeon was an English author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Many of her works had charming illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her correspondence has also been published. She won many literary awards and the prestigious Eleanor Farjeon Award for children's literature is presented annually in her memory by the Children's Book Circle, a society of publishers.

Awards:
Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (1956)

Reviews

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: A set of original fairy stories told by a nurse who claims to come almost from Noah's time and having been nurse to many people along the centuries.

ESPAÑOL: Varios cuentos de hadas originales, contados por una nanny que afirma ser casi tan antigua como Noé y haber sido la nanny de muchas personas a lo largo de los siglos.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ardizzone is one of my favourite illustrators. If I rated this book on the last story in the collection 'The Sea Baby' it would be a five star. This is a really beautiful story. I like to think it was written about Dunwich in Suffolk.

[Bamb Anchisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first books I ever read. I remember my parents setting me and brother off in a bookshop to select new books. My brother grabbed this and I grabbed E.Nesbit's House of Arden (which proves to be too hard for me and lay on the shelf for almost a decade before I finally got it down and addicted to it). My brother's choice became the instant hit for us. The stories are so sweet and imaginative and I really want to reread the whole thing in English (we bought the Thai version then) about the proud Infanta and the Sea Girl (how I wished she could stay on!). Some stories had me laughing, like the one with the prince and the farmer's son getting mixed up. The themes of the stories are subtly presented and some are unexpected but very realistic and able to relate to. As I write this, I'm remembering more and more of them and realize how much they influence my reading style.

I love the kids, especially Ronnie and Rolly, they are sooo very 'kid' in every sense! Imagine trying to tear your socks to get a long story from Nurse! I loved the stories when I was very very young, even though I don't really get some parts of it and I'm sure I'll love this even more right now! Kids and adults alike would love it! If I had a Nurse with stories like her, I'll tear holes twice Rolly's size, so there!

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"There was no end to the Old Nurse's stories: her memory went back such a long way that she never need tell the same tale twice, only sometimes they asked her to, if they remembered a special favourite."

This was the first book that I could ever truly say was "mine" rather than my Mum's or belonging to the small children's bookcase at home. As such it will always have a place in my heart.

If I was reviewing this book as I first read it, over 30 years ago, it would rate five-stars. If my children were still young enough to enjoy having this kind of story read to them, it would again rate five-stars.

But reading it for myself, as a piece of nostalgia, there is far less of (and to) it than I remember. Childhood me embroidered the tales in her imagination and they glowed. Now they are simply sweet, and very short.

I still have my dogeared, battered and yellowed edition: an early 80s paperback. It smells like home.

[notgettingenough]

A charming premise for anybody interested in knitting: apparently the nurse, while threading the needle to darn a sock, children gathered around her, would look back through her memory for a story that would fit the hole.

Oh and pics by Edward A. What more could one ask for? I loved Farjeon when I was little, but I can't recall having read this.

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Old Nurse only tells stories to her charges at bedtime when she has socks and stockings to repair. Her stories are all about other children she has been nurse to.

A lovely set of stories for children.

[Catherine Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really nice collection of children’s short stories. A relaxing holiday read.

[Pica]

The first "real" book I ever read. I selected it more or less at random off the shelf and vowed to sound out every single word in the damn thing until I could read. And I did. I have not read this book in over 20 years, but I still remember many of the wonderful stories from it. This book was an enormous influence on my later taste in literature.

[Hirosasazaki Sasazaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute stories. I love it. Perhaps I will tell my children these stories as lullaby.