Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1984, 1st ed.
Ages: 5 and up
Themes: humorous stories, contemplating life, philosophy
Opening: Two small figures made of wood were lying out in the sun one day on an old newspaper. One was short, fat, and painted pink; the other was straight, thin, and painted yellow. It was hot and quiet, and they were both wondering.
Summary: (from my library catalog) Two painted wooden figures argue about where they came from, whether they just happened by accident or were created by some other being.
I like this book because: The story touches delicately with subtle humor on the perennial question: Why are we here?
Resources/activities: great book to start a discussion about where we come from and why we are here in an open-minded classroom.
Today’s tidbit: Check out Michael Sporn‘s post with layout drawings that Steig did for an animated Alka Seltzer commercial – early 60’s: HERE
julie rowan-zoch 
Yay at last I’ll find out lol. Looks funky.
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Yeah, that color combo alone!
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Love that last illo! This sounds like a Waiting for Godot kind of book. Will have to look for it!
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To me, it sounds like a non-creepy Twilight Zone episode for kids…how cool is that? 🙂
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I wish I had a few younger ones to test it on!
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Love the Steigfest! His stories make me wonder if there’s any room in today’s market for books like this.
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The magic is in the prose, so yeah, I think there is!
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You are sharing some obscure ones! Nice!
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Sounds awesome! 😀
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