Allan Wright

I picked up Mrs. Bunnykins' Busy Day, as well as one other Allan Wright title, because their size, format and subject-matter reminded me of Beatrix Potter's work, and I was curious to see what another author had done in the same vein. Published in 1926, Wright's little book relates the events of one day in the life of the Bunnykins family, from Mrs. Bunnykins house-cleaning and visit to a friend across the river, to the young Bunnykins' picnic, and encounter with the frightening Gipsy Fox.

I can certainly understand why this title has slipped into obscurity. The narrative is disjointed and the prose overly expository, reading like a laundry list of the characters' actions. The illustrations, including color plates and simple line drawings in blue ink, were mostly uninspiring. I understand that the characters in Wright's books were used for a line of Royal Doulton figurines. Other than collectors interested in those figurines, I cannot imagine anyone finding these books interesting.… (mehr)

Picked up with another Allan Wright title, because their size, format and subject-matter reminded me of Beatrix Potter's work, The Story of a Saucy Squirrel follows the adventures of a busy squirrel, as he forages for food and comes into contact with the other woodland creatures...

Like Mrs. Bunnykins' Busy Day by the same author, this miniature picture book, published in 1926, was a disappointment. The first-person narrative is a wooden recitation of facts, the illustrations - both color plates and blue line drawings - are uninteresting. The inclusion, toward the end of the book, of a golliwog (a type of black-faced doll), is perhaps not surprising in a book of this era, but will still be quite distressing to many contemporary readers. All in all, this is a title that deserves to be out of print, and will probably only be of interest to those who collect the Royal Doulton figurines that were created based upon Wright's characters.… (mehr)