Moving to Woodcock Pocket (and Taking Skippyjon with Me)

I'm in love.

Again.

I mean, of course, in addition to my wonderful husband. Maybe not quite up there with him, but it's close. And because I love you guys, I will share in my newfound bliss. Two words:

Toot and Puddle. (The "and" doesn't count.)

They are adorable. They are amazing. They will Change Your World (and potentially steal your heart).

I first discovered Toot and Puddle quite by accident. I was browsing the H's while the boys rampaged in the children's section of our library when I saw "Hobbie, Holly." The name triggered a memory of a long ago Holly Hobbie blanket. So I pulled out the book to see if it was indeed the same character--and magic!

It turns out that author/illustrator Holly Hobbie (who did create the Holly Hobbie character I was thinking of) had written an entire series about two little pig friends named Toot and Puddle. Puddle is a homebody--a cook, an artist, a gardener--while Toot is pretty much his opposite--an adventure chaser, an inventor, a traveller. They are best friends who live together in a wondrous place called Woodcock Pocket (I want to move there--I'm letting the Air Force know). The boys and I have now read through four of the Toot and Puddle books, starting with the original Toot and Puddle, where Toot travels the world for a year and sends postcards to Puddle about his adventures (bull fighting in Spain! elephant rides in India!), and continuing on through Let it Snow, A Present for Toot, and I'll Be Home for Christmas. They were all charming. I'm ready to read all the rest of the series. Library day doesn't come often enough...

Here I am with Toot and Puddle. If only this was real life...

 

I seriously want to rip pages out of these books and frame them. I won't. But only because they're library books, and base library books at that. I don't want them to send Security Forces after me. That'd be embarrassing...

 

P.S. For a bonus round, and because I truly do love you that much (just not as much as Toot and Puddle) (or the Man), I want to make sure that you know about Skippyjon Jones. You should because I've referenced him before but in case you're new around here or you, pause for effect, forgot (GASP!), Skippyjon Jones is Judy Schachner's fabulous Siamese kitty who thinks he is a chihuahua and goes on heart stopping adventures in spite of his Mama Kitty's disapproval. This week, the boys and I read Skippyjon Jones: Cirque de Ole. I admit that I mostly get Skippyjon for me, since I'm not positive the Little Man had any idea what was going on. I, however, was dying laughing. My favourite line: "But what can be more important than a mustache, muchachos?"' (Did I mention that Skippyjon also teaches you Spanish? I now know the word for "flea".) And just so you can be made happy by this book too, I included a picture of me with the tiny Trembling Tower of Power that was built on top of Skippito's grande cabeza. I've never liked chihuahuas even half this much. Or Siamese cats for this matter.

 

And yes, you're welcome. Don't children's books just make you happy on the inside?