I love picture books. Someone once told me my inner child is
not very inner. My outer adult,
however, appreciates the fact that what we as a culture write for our children
cuts to the heart of things. So,
with that in mind, I offer this report on a picture book dear to my heart,
Quentin Blake’s Mrs. Armitage on Wheels. And yes, this is more or less a fitness
book, by my own quirky definition.
Mrs. Armitage loves to ride her
bike. However, she finds her bike
lacking some important amenities.
One thing leads to another, until, in her enthusiasm, she creates a
monster of a mess. Undaunted, she
moves along to the next challenge.
That is one of Mrs. Armitage’s best traits—boundless enthusiasm.
The book provides an example of
an older person leading an active life—may I be as powerful at her age!
Further, in a funny way, she
illustrates the problem some of us have when we get into something new. We collect more and more stuff for our
activity and lose the essence of why we were doing it in the first place.
Quentin Blake both wrote and
illustrated this book. His
illustration style may be familiar to fans of Roald Dahl. He has written other books about Mrs.
Armitage, which are also delightful.
Should you feel the need for
story time, check it out. Or come
over and I’ll read it to you, with sound effects. (Ask my kids…)
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