NOW I REMEMBER: Autobiography of an Amateur Naturalist

by Thornton W. Burgess ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 20, 1960

The storyteller whose delightful Nature Stories first introduced us to Peter Rabbit and his Briar Patch friends decides to tell us how he became a successful and honored man and the inspiring moral lessons he had on the way. Beginning with some charming and nostalgic childhood memories of life in Sandwich on Cape Cod, he recalls his first attempts to earn a stipend as a writer of advertising copy in verse (for Spring Water and Shredded Wheat), his giant step into nature writing for magazines, the first children's book, his long tenure on the Radio Nature League and the resulting inspirational exchanges. He describes his system of writing which produced more than 15,000 stories for his daily column in the New York Herald Tribune and the amazing popularity of Reddy Fox, Johnny Chuck, Old Man Coyote -- especially during the tense war years. (The intentional absence of ""stark tragedy"" in Mr. Burgess' stories inspired wry editorials such as ""When Does Old Man Coyote Eat."") His loosely autobiographical style is seldom stimulating but the trials and ""thrills"" of the selfmade man are always readable and one is comforted by the fact that Mr. Burgess' life work was educational, informative and entertaining to children of all ages.

Pub Date: Sept. 20, 1960

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1960

Categories: NONFICTION