Annis Duff (1904–1986)

I've been carting this little book (the Viking Compass edition from 1969)around with me for nearly forty years and finally got around to reading it. I think I bought it back in the early 70s when I was getting certified to teach Children's Lit. I probably should have read it then, but I didn't. But I was quite enchanted with what I found in BEQUEST OF WINGS, because I found in Annis Duff a kindred soul, a booklover. She tells very charmingly of how she introduced her own children to the joys of books and reading. One might think that a book written in the forties would be irrelevant by now, but it's really not. I was particularly fascinated by her story of how her little boy was a train buff from an early age, and I made note of the train books she bought for him, things like Lois Lenski's THE LITTLE TRAIN, Viginia Lee Burton's CHOO-CHOO, THE STORY OF A LITTLE ENGINE WHO RAN AWAY, and of course Watty Piper's classic THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD. I have a three year-old grandson who is a train fanatic, and I sent him a few of the train books Duff talks about here. (Yes, they're still in print.) Not only did the three year-old love the books, so did his six year-old brother who immediately tackled reading them himself.

Besides her talk of kiddie lit kind of books here, Duff also looks at classic nursery rhymes and other poetry, as well as books which will introduce children to great art and music. Quite simply, there are a lot of great ideas in BEQUEST OF WINGS (first published in 1944) for any parents who want their kids to grow up culturally literate. It's still a very worthwhile read for parents and educators alike.… (meer)