Reading.......Harriet the Spy

I've been taking a jaunt down memory lane lately, rereading some of my favorite books from childhood, and Harriet the Spy definitely tops the list. I remember reading this book as a child and immediately vowing to carry around a notebook and write down every single thing I did and saw. This usually lasted about a week, thus the huge box of half filled journals and notebooks in my attic. But seriously, this is one of my all time favorite books. Harriet is such an incredible character. Not always likeable, but always original and very real. Rereading this book as an adult was a bit of a different experience, because I just don't recall the book being as dark as it seems now. There are some scenes that are perfectly Lord of the Flies-esque. But that is part of the brilliance of Louise Fitzhugh who is credited with introducing more realistic, less cookie cutter characters to young adult literature.

While reading up on Louise Fitzhugh's biography, I discovered that she also contributed the illustrations to a popular 1961 children's book, Suzuki Beane, which sounds absolutely delightful. A parody of Kay Thompson's Eloise books, Suzuki Beane is the child of beatnik parents, a downtown kid who becomes friends with an Upper East Side boy, thus exposing her to an entirely new world. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz bought the rights to the book, planning a sitcom around it, but it never happened. The book is now out of print and hard to find and I'm kicking myself because I found a copy on ebay over the weekend, very reasonably priced and no bidders, but I forgot to bid. Exactly the reason I don't really like ebay. Maybe next time.