Noodle

New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1937 First edition, first printing. Publisher's tan cloth, with a drawing of Noodle on the front board, lettered in black; in its original white, brown and black pictorial dust jacket, with $1.50 price to front flap, and Robert Francis Weatherbee advertisement to rear flap. Near fine book, with lightly bumped corners, and light offsetting to pages facing illustrations; good unclipped dust jacket, with some chipping to spine ends (minor loss to titles), "Leaf" written in pen to spine, some rubbing to flap folds, some chipping, creasing, and small closed tears to panel edges, and lightly chipped corners. Overall, a pleasing copy of this adorably illustrated children's book that carries an important message. Noodle is a dachshund whose unique build makes him wish that he was some other shape and size. A dog fairy overhears his wish, and gives him until the afternoon to decide which shape he would like to be. To help him make a decision, Noodle visits a zoo and asks an assortment of animals "What is the best shape and size to be?" This book is a collaboration between two of the most important children's book authors of the 20th century. Munro Leaf penned The Story of Ferdinand (1936), a timeless story of a bull who chooses to sit and smell flowers instead of fight. Two years after Noodle, Ludwig Bemelmans produced Madeline, about a character who, like Ferdinand, defies her environment to be true to herself. Madeline was awarded the Caldecott Honor in 1940 and was the first in a series of Madeline books, six authored by Bemelmans and eleven more authored by his grandson, John Bemelmans Marciano. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included. Illus. by Bemelmans, Ludwig.