Old Mother West Wind

Old Mother West Wind #1

by Thornton W. Burgess, Michael Hague (Illustrator)

Perfect for gift-giving--a classic illustrated by Michael Hague, in a beautifully redesigned edition.

Thornton W. Burgess said that imagination was "the birthright of every child." His Old Mother West Wind stories, first published in 1910, have worked their magic on generations of children.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Classics, Animals, Fantasy, Nature, Picture Books

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

Thornton W. (Waldo) 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.

Thornton Burgess loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years in books and his newspaper column, "Bedtime Stories". He was sometimes known as the Bedtime Story-Man. By the time he retired, he had written more than 170 books and 15,000 stories for the daily newspaper column.

Born in Sandwich, Massachusetts, Burgess was the son of Caroline F. Haywood and Thornton W. Burgess Sr., a direct descendant of Thomas Burgess, one of the first Sandwich settlers in 1637. Thornton W. Burgess, Sr., died the same year his son was born, and the young Thornton Burgess was brought up by his mother in Sandwich. They both lived in humble circumstances with relatives or paying rent. As a youth, he worked year round in order to earn money. Some of his jobs included tending cows, picking trailing arbutus or berries, shipping water lilies from local ponds, selling candy and trapping muskrats. William C. Chipman, one of his employers, lived on Discovery Hill Road, a wildlife habitat of woodland and wetland. This habitat became the setting of many stories in which Burgess refers to Smiling Pool and the Old Briar Patch.

Graduating from Sandwich High School in 1891, Burgess briefly attended a business college in Boston from 1892 to 1893, living in Somerville, Massachusetts, at that time. But he disliked studying business and wanted to write. He moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he took a job as an editorial assistant at the Phelps Publishing Company. His first stories were written under the pen name W. B. Thornton.

Burgess married Nina Osborne in 1905, but she died only a year later, leaving him to raise their son alone. It is said that he began writing bedtime stories to entertain his young son, Thornton III. Burgess remarried in 1911; his wife Fannie had two children by a previous marriage. The couple later bought a home in Hampden, Massachusetts, in 1925 that became Burgess' permanent residence in 1957. His second wife died in August 1950. Burgess returned frequently to Sandwich, which he always claimed as his birthplace and spiritual home.

In 1960, Burgess published his last book, "Now I Remember, Autobiography of an Amateur Naturalist," depicting memories of his early life in Sandwich, as well as his career highlights. That same year, Burgess, at the age of 86, had published his 15,000th story. He died on June 5, 1965, at the age of 91 in Hampden, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 in my children--their innocence and interest in nature, even if it is anthropomorphized like all their still-cherished stuffed animals. When we finished the last story, both kids were disappointed. I told them I would find more--and I have: Thornton Burgess's "How" stories--and they went to sleep happy.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a kids' book originally written in 1910 by the author for his son. Its setting is the New England countryside. The characters are personification of the winds (Old Mother West Wind - the title character - and her bag of Merry Little Breezes), and the animals who inhabit the Green Meadows, the nearby woods, the Smiling Pool and the Laughing Brook - including Reddy Fox, Grandfather Frog, Jimmy Skunk, Billy Mink, Peter Rabbit, Sammy Jay, Jerry Muskrat, Johnny Chuck, Bobby Coon, Little Joe Otter and Spotty the Turtle. The author would go on to write books with each of these as the main character in one of them. Other animals and birds would make appearances in these later books. "Old Mother West Wind" was the first of several in a series. The longest series was the Bedtime Story Books series with 20 volumes. These are delightful to read to small kids and for me they are nostalgic of my own childhood.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished reading aloud to my kids, my 4yo boy connected with it more than my daughter & it took us awhile to get into it. But the stories they loved they REALLY loved & asked for over & over (such as “Johnny Chuck finds the Best Thing in the World” and “Peter Rabbit Plays a Joke”)

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7 yr old gave these books a 5. I agree. "His books are awesome' she says.I liked the way morals were told in an entertaining way. I bet my daughter didn't feel she was being moralized at because she wanted to hear the whole book. I've tried others that had a distinct 'moral' or 'value' and she hates it.(Books that go ... is thankful or ... learns to be honest. blah.

Burgess books are interesting entertaining and a good read. Hopefully the little lessons learned by the animals were also learned and put away in the back of my daughter's mind!

But if not, that's ok. A book is meant to entertain and if it did that, that works for me.

They are a little 'old-fashioned' meaning the sun is called: Mr. round red jolly sun, the wind is Old Mother West Wind, a breeze is One of Mother West Wind's Children, the Merry Little Breezes etc. Quaint and not exactly science but endearing nonetheless. But other than that these books are science in story form. The stories are about real life things that frogs or bears or skunks do or could do. Unlike most books with animals as main characters where they learn to ride bikes, win the spelling bee at school etc. Beginning animal lore for young children. Or budding animal lovers.

If you miss any of these from your local library they are also on Gutenberg's free books site.

Personally I think that these should be re-released with new covers so kids will read them again.

Old Mother West Wind: A group of stories with Mother West Wind or her Little Breezes helping the animals of the Meadow and forest. A couple of 'how the xxx got/ lost zzz' stories also that were quite entertaining.

Morals/ values/ lessons intertwined in the book: vanity, friendship, contentment, helpfulness.

Buster Bear: Buster moves to the Green Woods. This doesn't please the other animals because he takes 'their' fish, and they are frightened of him. But when the animals find out that Farmer Brown's Boy is afraid of Buster, they look at him with new eyes...until they find out the next personality trait Buster shows.

Morals/ values/ lessons intertwined in the book: temper, new friends come to the neighborhood.



Danny Meadow Mouse: Danny gets upset because he has a short tail. He also gets caught by Hooty the Owl, who wants him for dinner.

Morals/ values/ lessons intertwined in the book: greed, anger, envy, kindness, friendship, look before you leap.


Grandfather Frog: He decides it's time for him to see more of the world. A little risk keeps life exciting. He has some exciting adventures before discovering 'there's no place like home'.

Morals/ values/ lessons intertwined in the book: greed, mischieviousness, thoughtlessness, patience.

Old Man Coyote: Something is making a new sound in the Green Meadows/ Green Forest. The animals don't know what it could be. When it is discovered who has moved in, Granny Fox is determined to oust them from HER feeding grounds. Granny is in for a surprise because this stranger isn't easy to fool.

Morals/ values/ lessons intertwined in the book: courage, resisting temptation, good planning

Bobby Coon: Poor Bobby awakes from his winter nap to find his tree being chopped down! He is injured in the fall but taken good care of by Farmer Brown' Boy His trial are not yet over. Bobby must find a new home but that is harder than he thinks.

Morals/ values/ lessons intertwined in the book: helping others, not worrying needlessly, losing your temper.

[Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

my childhood right here

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to my oldest very slowly over the course of his kindergarten year. Some chapters were a miss for him, but we really liked it overall. Lots of giggles! Will definitely be reading more Burgess in the future.

[forthefamilyssake Hailey White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical! An incredible book, one I wish I had known about sooner. This captivated the attention of each of my children (ages 2-9), and they begged for more each time I read aloud. "Johnny wood chuck chuck chuck, Johnny Woodchuck". Looking forward to other stories by this author.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for Year 0.5 with Asher in 2016.
Read for Y0.5 with Asa in 2023.

[Sara Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read aloud with my 6 & 8 year old. My kids & I are so in love with the magical world Burgess has created. I wish all kids could experience these. I know every Burgess book I read to my children will be a core memory of their childhood.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old Mother West Wind has several children known as the Merry Little Breezes, who love to involve themselves in the affairs of the animals who live in and around the forest, including: Peter Rabbit, Jimmy Skunk, Sammy Jay, Bobby Coon, Little Joe Otter, Grandfather Frog, Billy Mink, Jerry Muskrat, and Spotty the Turtle. As these animals interact with each other and with the Breezes, the reader is treated to many gentle adventures, most of which have a bit of a moral at the end.
My husband read Old Mother West Wind aloud to my oldest as a toddler, but when I tried it with my second daughter she wasn't a fan. It wasn't until now, with daughter number three (E, age 3.5) that I actually read the entire book. Unlike her older sister, E. really enjoyed entering the world of these animals and observing their activities.

For me, a reader who doesn't love animal stories, it was not my favorite read-aloud, but I did appreciate that the chapters were short enough to hold my young listener's attention and that it was very easy to sort out right and wrong actions taken by the animals in each story. For a book that is over 100 years old, much of it is still relatable to preschoolers who are starting to really understand how to interact with others for the first time. They can explore various social situations vicariously through these animals, and then apply those lessons to real life.

Old Mother West Wind is a great first chapter book to read aloud, and I plan to keep it in my preschool curriculum for when the twins reach this stage in the hopes that it will resonate with one or both of them as well.

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the stories. However, I am virtually certain the language was changed in places which annoys me. Certainly there was no claim to being unabridged but I think they should acknowledge the change. I realize some things are dated in these books. All the animals are male, except for mothers and Grannies (Granny Fox). The "females" are Old Mother West Wind and Dame Nature which is not a phrase I remember from the original series. I didn't find Hague's illustrations all that interesting in this book. They are a bit too cutey cute for my taste. I'm going to toss this copy.

[Jon E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the chapter "The Windful Little Breeze" and I liked in the chapter where the Windful Little Breeze played with the nodding buttercups. And rested behind the bush. And wished that Old Mother West Wind was there.

[Margret Melissa (ladybug) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood favorite. I can remember checking them out from the library. very nice moral animal stories.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up many years ago as it is always recommended on the homeschool lists. But, yep, I never got around to it with the girls, and it has sat languishing on my shelf. In my attempt to read more off my overflowing shelves, I picked this up for our "weather related" book club theme. Most people would give this a glowing 5 stars. And it probably deserves it. There are so many good morals here, cute stories, and not so veiled life lessons for kids. And the cute little animals, with all their cute little stories...I especially like the story of Jerry Muskrat's Party. The only reason I docked a star is because though this is an adorable little community of animals, little eggs get eaten and so do little trout, and I just thought that if you are going to create a community of animals, maybe they shouldn't try to eat one another LOL!

[Kacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My girls (4 and 5) LOVE these stories. We’ve been reading at bedtime and when we got to the end, we immediately started the book over again. They love each character and have been excitedly narrating every story back (unprompted). Whimsical, funny, and endearing in the best ways.

[Becca Tillotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

We listened to an audiobook production of Old Mother West Wind as we drove around town, and the boys loved it! They refer to the Merry Little Breezes and all the animal characters all throughout our day. :) Now on to the next Burgess!

[Haley]

Have spent the last few weeks reading the charming adventures of Johnny Chuck, Reddy Fox, Peter Rabbit, and company aloud to Scarlett. Time well spent together! We will seek out more of TWB's animal stories for sure.

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1910, Old Mother West Wind became the first of hundreds of nature books written by Thornton W. Burgess. Dad used to read his books to my brother (Marc) and I as bedtime stories. In fact, the animals that became the subject of the Bedtime Stories series make their debut in this initial Burgess narrative.

Here, Burgess established the Green Meadows, the Purple Hills, the Smiling Pool, and the Laughing Brook as the milieu in which the animals interacted. He also introduced some of the beasts that would become main characters in their own stories: Reddy Fox, Johnny Chuck, Peter Rabbit (known briefly as Peter Cottontail), Jimmy Skunk, Sammy Jay, Bobby Raccoon, Little Joe Otter, Grandfather Frog, Billy Mink, Jerry Muskrat, Spotty the Turtle, Old Mother West Wind, and her Merry Little Breezes.

Obviously, there are more, but it always felt as if Burgess cared about these characters, even when they opposed each other as enemies. In Old Mother West Wind there are various vignettes about specific characters and their various machinations. Grandfather Frog says "Chug-arum!" Reddy Fox faces off on Peter Rabbit. Eventually, Farmer Brown must be contended with.

My kids found these stories to be too tame and not very dramatic. I must admit though that the stories do become way more intense, especially when it comes to hunting and shooting, but not here in this initial book. Very good book that I enjoyed as a kid and still did today although less now because I recognize that the world has become more sophisticated in the interim.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how I've never heard of this book before. Hinton talked about it a lot because his teacher read it to them at school, and then he started "writing a sequel" (Old Father East Wind), so I decided it was time for me to read the original. :-) A book that has gentle lessons taught by wildlife creatures, with enough practical jokes thrown in to keep everyone entertained.

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of talking animal books-just a personal preference-but my son loves these books and they contain good moral stories. Well written. And our Burgess books are old and so just reading out of them makes me happy. I love old books!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, short instructive stories.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was wonderful to re-visit this classic children's book. Thornton Burgess combined excellent writing and a make-believe world filled with real nature peopled by iconic animal characters. Each chapter festures a different animal character interacting with animals friends we had met before. Even the Sun, moon, wind, and breezes are characters more or less interacting and influencing the stories. A small excerpt from "Billy Mink's Swimming Party" shows how he draws the reader into the setting:

"By and by Billy Mink came to the Smiling Pool. There the Laughing Brook stopped and rested on its way to join the Big River. It stopped its noisy laughing and singing and just lay smiling and smiling in the warm sunshine. The little flowers on the bank leaned over and nodded to it. The beech tree, which was very old, sometimes dropped a leaf into it. The cat-tails kept their feet cool in the edge of it."

I found this book mesmerizing, even as an adult. As I read it I wished I was reading to a child, but enjoyed it myself anyway.

Another book in Burgess's series was *Mother West Wind "When" Stories,* which I did not appreciate as much as this first one. I found the stories were more moralistic and preachy. But these stories stand on their own to take a child to another world that is captivating and beautiful.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: Old Mother West Wind came down from the Purple Hills in the golden light of the early morning. Over her shoulders was slung a bag--a great big bag--and in the bag were all of Old Mother West Wind's children, the Merry Little Breezes. Old Mother West Wind came down from the Purple Hills to the Green Meadows and as she walked she crooned a song: "Ships upon the ocean wait; I must hurry, hurry on! Mills are idle if I'm late; I must hurry, hurry on."

Premise/plot: Old Mother West Wind is a children's classic; this children's fantasy novel was first published, I believe, in 1910. There isn't a central character--not really--nor a central plot. Each chapter is its own story. There are overlapping characters, but, in this one--at least--the characters don't have a tremendous amount of depth or substance. This classic does introduce characters that Thornton Burgess will feature in many, many, many more fantasy books through the decades.

My thoughts: I didn't love this one. I did LOVE The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum. I did love the characters in that one. By the time that one was published, Burgess' characters had more life and liveliness to them. I do plan on reading more of Thornton Burgess's novels.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a soft spot in my heart for this book. I first read it when I was in elementary school sometime between 3rd-5th grade when I was obsessed with any fable or mythology I could get my hands on. I do remember being amazed by people who came up with ‘origin’ stories. I am still amazed by this creative talent.
The version of the book I borrowed at my elementary school had these fantastic picture plates. And the stories about Billy Mink and Johnny Chuck captivated me. I bought the book this past holiday season for my niece, but the version of the book I got from Amazon was the scanned version (ie, no illustrated color pictures rather large scanned images.) Not what I wanted to give as a gift, but not something I’d return. Instead I re-read it a few times.
I was surprised the stories still fascinated me in the same way – childlike with the imagination the author had and I had a different appreciation given it was written in the early 1900s. But I also was aware of some of the other lessons on kindness, contentment and ingenuity.
These are great short stories to read to little ones or on your own.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read these stories off and on over the last month. Some were fun and silly. Most had a lesson to learn. There were four illustrations in the whole book, given the age of the book I understand.

However, some of the writing was hard for me reading aloud. It was repetitive and unimaginative. I kind of abhor "very" and "very,very" as the only adverbs. I was soon eliminating them as I read. However, I did enjoy the term "by and by" which occurs in older books and rarely makes an appearance in modern writing which is unfortunate.

Still, fun little stories for littles and when you don't have a lot of time. I generally enjoy Burgess tales in general.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely children's book (this volume is actually a collection of two) featuring a meadow full of animal characters in short, moral stories. The title is named after a woman (the personification of wind) who comes into the meadow every morning to drop off her Merry Little Breezes who blow through the plant life and play with the animals who live there.

Recurring landmarks like the Smiling Pool and the Crooked Little Path become as familiar as Grandfather Frog, Johnny Chuck, and Reddy Fox. It's very simple and very very charming and I love that it creates compassion for animals while also teaching children about things like contentment and just being a positive influence in the world.

[Ruthe Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Thornton W. Burgess comes this old (1910) series of stories where he personifies animals and even the wind and breezes. IN so doing, the animals and Old Mother West Wind and the Merry Little Breezes intermingle in the green Meadows. Each chapter tells a story with a value - such as why does the frog has such a short tail - because at one time he had a long tail but was prideful about it. Another story is why a skunk has a white strip down it's back - because in the dark, Jimmy Skunk was not easily spotted and got away with mischief in the dark. Since he could not be trusted, Old Dame Nature put a bright white line down his back. Great bedtime stories.

[Chris Meads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up on Mother West Wind and the Merry Little Breezes, and all the animals of the forest and meadows. You will get to know Peter Rabbit (not the one of Beatrix Potter), Jimmy Skunk, Reddy Fox and others.

Thornton Burgess started writing these stories for his son (in letters) while he worked as a magazine writer and editor. These stories originated from his own boyhood, remembering his wanderings in the forests and meadows of his own home. Old Mother West Wind is the first book of a series.