PPBF: Miss Twiggley’s Tree and a winner!

Congratulations ASHLEY WOLFF! You guessed right, yet there are 2 correct guesses: fox and chicken (I’m nice like that). This is YOUR prize – a copy of my favorite picture book!

Author/Illustrator: Dorothea Warren Fox
Publisher: Purple House Press, 1966
Ages: 4-7
Themes: friendship, animals, treehouses
Opening: Funny Miss Twiggley lived in a tree with a dog named Puss and a color TV. She did what she liked, and she liked what she did, but when company came Miss Twiggley hid.

Summary: (from Amazon) Why did Miss Twiggley live in a tree? Why did she send her dog, Puss, out to do the shopping? Why did she always run away and hide when people came to visit? And it was rumored that Miss Twiggley had even more peculiar habits…

Old Miss Twiggley
Was friendly with bears.
“They shed on the sofa,” she said,
“But who cares?”

And was it true, as the mayor’s wife had heard, that she actually slept in her hat? “Simply disgraceful!” they said. But when a hurricane hits the town and the water rises, everyone is grateful to Miss Twiggley and her tree. Even better, Miss Twiggley herself learns a very important lesson, with a warm and happy ending.

This is my personal favorite. Hard to believe I can chose one, but it speaks to my heart! I found Miss Twiggley late, but it was a meeting of kindred spirits (pssst – I grew up with a willow tree in our backyard). Even after the magic of reading bedtime stories had faded, I still read this one with my big kids – sure is nice that they humor me! For those of you who know me better it is transparent – I identify strongly with the main character. Please find and read this. Let me know if you share the admiration.

Resources/activities: Read it. Read it again!; Build a treehouse (I’d like one!); look into fostering animals from your local Humane Society; make an disaster preparedness plan 

For existing PPBF selections including resources and activities, go to Susanna Hill’s blog: HERE