In the village of Liver-and-Onions, there was a Potato Face Blind Man who used to play an accordion on the corner near the post office. The sometime narrator of these tales, he transports readers and listeners to Rootabaga Country, where the railroad tracks go from straight to zigzag, the pigs wear bibs, and the Village of Cream Puffs floats in the wind, looking like a little hat that you could wear on the end of your thumb.
Carl Sandburg, the beloved folk chronicler and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, invented these stories for his own daughters. Populated by corn fairies, circus performers, and such memorable characters as Poker Face the Baboon, Hot Dog the Tiger, and Gimme the Ax, Rootabaga Country is built with the homespun poetry of the American frontier. The stories’ inspired nonsense—loaded with rhythm, humor, and tongue-twisting names—fires the imagination and pulls at the heartstrings.
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"My wife Aundreta suggested it to me - a favorite of hers. Synchronizing what I like in my pleasure reading with what I like in my study. Fanciful and imaginative, it is making for a good journey so far. (15 Jun 2011)" — Michael (4 out of 5 stars)
"My wife Aundreta suggested it to me - a favorite of hers. Synchronizing what I like in my pleasure reading with what I like in my study. Fanciful and imaginative, it is making for a good journey so far. (15 Jun 2011)"
“Glorious for reading aloud.”
“These stories out of the Rootabaga Country…have taken root in American soil—they are here to stay.”
“Takes the home-bred American fantasy of The Wizard of Oz even further…An old favorite, which no American child should miss.”
" I've never forgotten the drawings and stories in this book. The characters were so perfectly absurd; they made sense to me as a child. I was thrilled to find a copy at a book sale. "
" I read this when very small and find it still makes my head light up with the ideas of funny things like two buildings in love. "
" The foxes and flongboos making their train jump the tracks at the horseshoe curve in Altoona might just be my favorite moment in literature. "
" These stories remind me of Gertrude Stein... which is never a good thing. The only thing that kept me enjoying the stories was the fact that I didn't have to analyze them too deeply. I could just read them for face value. "
" Some of the best out-loud reading I've done in a long time. Great for kids with whimsical & fertile imaginations. "
" I'm reading it for my literature class, so im only reading a selection of stories from it. They are pretty off beat and interesting. "
" I just love these. Actually heard them more then read them - grew up listening to an album my parents gave me of him reading his stories. So imaginative and rich. Very luscious! "
" Had this on record and would listen to it over and over. "
" I can understand why this didn't grab me when I was a child but all I have to say now is 'was he on acid, or what?' "
" Interesting as an example of children's literture of the 1920s. A couple of my favorites: The Story of Jason Squiff and The White Cloud Girl and the Blue Horse Boy. "
" I tried to read this, thought it was boring, and couldn't finish it as a child. I might change my mind if I picked it up again now. "
" one of my all time favorite books from childhood and on. i love reading it now with my own almost six year old daughter. this has been a formative influence for me... "
" The formatting on this book was very poor. This book is a series of stories that Carl Sandburg told his children. I am afraid that because of changing times, children now might not think these stories were as enchanting as they once were. "
" If I was in charge, I would make everyone read these stories. Since I am not in charge, I can only suggest that everyone read them :-) "
" One of the best children's series of all time, now in public domain. You can listen to a free audiobook of this at Librivox.org "
" This is one of my very favorite pieces of children's lit. Sandburg's language is magical, and if you have any connection to American prairie country, it's guaranteed to make you homesick. One for the ages. "
" Some things translate well over time and generations, some things don't. "
" HOly amazing. "
" these are supposed to be great but I guess I didn't get it---too silly "
Carl Sandburg (1878–1967) was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize, first in 1940 for his biography of Abraham Lincoln and again in 1951 for Complete Poems. In 1952, he was awarded the American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for History. Before becoming known as a poet, he worked as a milkman, an ice harvester, a dishwasher, a salesman, a fireman, and a journalist. Among his classics are the Rootabaga Stories, which he wrote for his young daughters at the beginning of his long and distinguished literary career.
Zura Johnson is a classically trained stage actor. She has performed in stages from her childhood home in California to the East coast, and all the way to Singapore. She has now worked in theater and as a voice actor for more than twenty years. She holds an MFA from the Old Globe Theatre and the University of San Diego.
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