Birthed with the name of Denise Holly Ulinskas in 1944, Holly Hobbie first sold her distinctive artwork of the little cat-loving girl who carries herself in a rag dress and giant bonnet. It wasn’t until she married Douglas Hobbie in 1964 when she named her originally nameless character after her.
When the first images of the rag-clothed little girl came to the public’s consciousness, the character has been nothing but the most common design chosen to grace greeting cards. When the girl’s popularity started to soar high, that’s when people started to adopt the name “Holly Hobbie” in reference to the character’s creator.
I have always enjoyed Holly Hobbie’s books, much to the point where I actually made an outfit based on the rag dolls. The story of ELMORE is a heartwarming tale of friendship and how hard it is at times to find a friend when you have a physical barrier to anyone getting close to you. I can see this book as a bridge to bring up disabilities since Elmore, has a quite pointed issue because of being a porcupine and all.
After a heart to heart talk with his elderly uncle, he finds that he must share his uniqueness and be more engaging with his fellow forest creatures. He decides to gift everyone with his quills for use as pens. Of course, who can turn down a free pen? No one it turns out! The story provides a challenging vocabulary and even the youngest will be sure to pick out their favorite new words. The artwork is really nicely done and reminds me a bit of Beatrice Potter.
This sounds warm and fun. I enjoy children’s books. There are so many out there now and I want them all. LOL And the cover art is so cute!