A guest post by Sarah, mum to Neve, Cissy and Jemima
There is a lot of talk amongst parents about learning to read and reading dutifully to the kids every night – so much so you would think it had all become just another chore! Many experts agree that children need to hear a lot of stories before they can learn to read. But there are other much better reasons to read to the children every day… because it is fun, because you get special time together and because these moments are the stuff of wonderful memories. I think that When we were little Sunday is all about the specialness of these moments – even more than being about the books, it is about those shared times that make me remember being little and the important people in my life who read to me.
And with that in mind I want to talk about a book which I have never seen in a bookshop – have never been able to source secondhand and have never seen in a books in print list. (I know because I have tried to obtain a copy numerous times.)
It is The Story of Horace, retold and illustrated by Alice M Coats. My Grandma bought this book at the Presbyterian Bookroom in Collins St, Melbourne, sometime in the 70s (there is a sticker in the front).
The Story of Horace is about a family:
There was -
Great-Grandpa,
Great-Grandma,
Grandpa,
Grandma,
Pa,
Ma,
Paul
and little Lulu.
And with them lived Horace.
Horace was a bear!
One day Pa went out hunting.
And on the way back, he was met by – Great Grandma, Grandpa, Grandma, Ma, Paul and little Lulu.
And they all said, “What do you think has happened?”
And Pa said,
“What HAS happened?”
And they said;- “Horace has eaten GREAT-GRANDPA!”
And Pa was just WILD,
and he said,
“I will KILL Horace!”
But they all took on so,
he hadn’t the heart to do it.
And you can all guess what happens next….
Horace eats his way through Great Grandma, Grandpa, Grandma, Ma, Paul and Little Lulu until it is Pa’s turn. Believe it or not when it is only Pa and Horace left…
And Pa was just WILD,
and he said,
“I will kill you Horace!”
But HORACE took on so –
he hadn’t the heart to do it.
And the next day HORACE went out hunting.
Really it is a terrible story which to begin with just plain terrified me. But it inevitably became a favourite amongst all of my cousins, my brother and I. Sleepovers at grandma’s had to be accompanied by the bloodthirsty Horace. I think this had a lot to do with the way Grandma would read it. The fantastic repetition of the story, no matter how gruesome, made it truly entertaining. Every time Pa came back from his various hunting exploits, he was greeted by one less family member, and every time they would say “What do you think has happened?” I just love the fact that he never could guess!
We all loved it so that on her 90th birthday Grandma read it for us, whilst my uncle videoed it for posterity (sorry didn’t have time to convert it so I could post it here – but it was a legendary performance!) This book brings with it so many memories of my lovely Grandma, it will always be super special. As you can see from the pictures, I am the lucky custodian of the family copy of this book.
i’ve been a long-time we heart books fan and i have to say that this was definitely one of my favorite (and adorably hilarious) posts. fab! would have loved to see the vid of nana reading the story (and what a family treasure!). thanks so much sarah!
That is a wonderful family memory. Thanks for sharing with us Sarah. I’ll be keeping an eye out for Horace now too!!
How lucky you are to have a copy ! This was one of my very favourites as a child – my mother was a great reader just like your gran, and when I had my children we couldn’t find the book anywhere.
Thanks for bringing it all back to me.
I loved this book! We were a family of eight, and one of the older boys got it out of the library one year, and over the next umpteen years- every school holidays someone would get this out – the entire family knows it off by heart, ( we are all in our 40′s and 50′s now, ) and most of our kids know it off by heart too. I’ve never seen another copy of it since I was little, but I’d love to find a copy of it because its my mum;s 80th birthday in a few weeks – it was a standing family joke how much mum hated the book ( presumably because she had to read it to us kids over decades!) while we all loved it
I was tickled pink to find a PDF version of this boon in the Australian National Library TROVE section, especially after seeing a hardcopy selling for $150 US. Thanks for sharing this wonderful story — my granddaughter LOVED it and it’s quickly becoming her favorite!
Hi Sarah,
Thankyou for sharing Horace with us. What a fantastic book! My Mum read it to me when I was little and I think, like you mentioned, it was the way in which she read it that made it such a wonderful book. My Mum reads it now to her grandchildren, I’ll have to take a video of her reading it too like you have of your Grandma, what a great idea for her 70th birthday coming up. My copy of Horace is the same as yours. The title page is inscribed: To Luisa, who loved Horace so much she wore out the library’s copy, love Mum June ’77. Mum says she sourced this book from London and it took months to arrive. Mum has the original book at her place to read, but I have a reproduction that I got from Better World Book not too long ago that I read to my children.