EDWARD, HOPPY AND JOE

This falls between the magic of Robbut Hill and the let-down of Robbut but is quite definitely "good Lawson", and another plus count in his candidacy for the title of an American Kenneth Grahame. One of the few writers who can make his animals talk-and act- like humans without sentimental whimsy. Edward was a young rabbit who was an animated question mark, but completely bored with school. Hoppy the toad, and Joe the possum, were his inseparable companions — all of a piece when it came to indifference to the painful steps essential to growing up, or when Edward's fertile imagination suggested some new activity. Chapters just long enough for a good read aloud at bedtime take the trio through adventures with a birthday canoe, learning to swim, roller skates, an escapade in an automobile, a stolen trip to the circus, and so on. Bit by bit, circumstances taught them that even schooling had its place. In text and exquisite pictures in muted tones of black, white and grey, Lawson spins a tale with morals skilfully injected between the lines. A sure favorite. Full color jacket.