So I’m over at my girlfriend’s house the other night, checking out all the kids books she has on her bookshelf to see if there’s anything notable that I might want to snag for my son. Lots of random titles, lots of ones I knew and had read already, classics such as The Phantom Toolbooth – and then I came across a title that knocked me back full two steps!
Very Worried Walrus – part of the old Sweet Pickles series. It’s about a Walrus who uh… worries a lot. Didn’t see that coming did you?
First of all, I totally remember this series, since I was 11 years old in 1977 and have a brother that’s five years younger – not to mention a first-grade-teaching mom who’s probably GOT this book. However, that’s not the reason that this book came as such a surprise. For that, we need a short story.
You see, most of my family gives me a hard time about being “very worried” about most things, a trait I gleefully play up whenever I can. I totally identify with the concerns of Walrus related to biking, although I admit he takes it a bit far. It should be noted that he was right about hitting a tree. So I looked at Very Worried Walrus, to paraphrase the quote, and he was me!