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Corduroy

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Manufacturer: Viking Juvenile
List Price: $16.99
Our Price: $6.50
You Save: $ 10.49 ( 62% )
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Average Ratings:

Don Freeman's classic character, Corduroy, is even more popular today then he was when he first came on the scene over thirty years ago. These favorite titles are ready for another generation of children to love.


DESCRIPTION:

Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9780670241330
ISBN: 059075775X
Label: Viking Juvenile
Manufacturer: Viking Juvenile
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 28
Publication Date: 1968-03-11
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Reading Level: Baby-Preschool
Studio: Viking Juvenile


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CUSTOMER REVIEWS:

Customer Rating:
Summary: This book was ahead of its times socially and racially.
Comment: This book is one of the best that I've read to my kids. I say this as a dad who's read countless children's books for the last three years. The story is genuinely warm and satisfying, and the illustrations are first-rate. I suppose you can find many other children's books with these qualities. What makes this book unique is that it was way ahead of its time socially and racially. After doing some online research about the author and illustrator, Don Freeman, I couldn't help admiring him for his courage (more about this later). In a sense, this simple story is somewhat autobiographical and indicative of Mr. Freeman's unique life experiences and progressive social perspectives shaped by those experiences.

The book, written in 1968, features two main characters: a teddy bear named Corduroy (who's missing a button on his overalls) and an African-American girl named Lisa. Lisa and her mother are rendered beautifully, without caricatured features of a typical African-American person, such as enlarged lips. I was sure the artist was African-American himself. To my surprise, he was white.

1968 was the year of great racial strife: assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and subsequent race riots (e.g., Watts Riots) occurred that year. Strictly from a marketing point-of-view, Mr. Freeman would have been better off drawing Lisa as a white girl. I'm sure his editor mentioned this to him. The essence of story wouldn't have changed. Why would someone who wants to sell children's book, presumably to mostly white customers, have an African-American girl as a main character?

Mr. Freeman's biography provides some insights. He was born an orphan. This passage, from the website of Sullivan Goss Gallery (which sells some of Mr. Freeman's artworks), describes Mr. Freeman's art subjects this way:
"In his early years as painter Don Freeman worked as a painter in New York City. His finished canvases were depictions of inner city life: show girls, Bowery boys, drunks, apple sellers, window washers and numerous citizens of the city that were down on their luck...Freeman never depicted these models as discouraged or depressed or unsuccessful. Rather he would find the side of them which was warm, enterprising and often loving."
Casting an African-American main character in the book would be consistent with Mr. Freeman's progressive social perspectives.

Growing up as an orphan, Mr. Freeman must have felt something lacking, notwithstanding loving adoptive parents. Perhaps this accounts for his sympathy for the underdog. Corduroy is certainly one of these underdogs--and dare I say, an alter ego of the writer himself.

In the beginning of the story, Corduroy is sitting with other stuffed animals in a dept. store. No one buys him because he is missing a button on his overalls. One day, Lisa and her mother come in to shop. Lisa adores Corduroy on first sight and asks her mother to buy him. The mother says she already spent lots of money that day, and any event, Corduroy is defective. Corduroy's face turns sad and discouraged. One of Mr. Freeman's gifts as an illustrator is his ability to give Corduroy a wide range of facial expressions (puzzled, confused, inquisitive, tired, pleased, content, etc.).

That night, Corduroy says, "I didn't know I'd lost a button...Tonight I'll go and see if I can find it." He then walks around the dept. store looking for his lost button--without success.

During the course of his journey, Corduroy utters comments that mix naiveté and yearning. For example, when he gets on the escalator by accident, he observes, "Could this be a mountain? In think I've always wanted to climb a mountain." When he walks into a spacious furniture department, he exclaims, "This must be a palace! I guess I've always wanted to live in a palace!" He climbs on a mattress and upon seeing "something small and round," says, "Why, here's my button!" and tries to pull it off without success.

The next day, Lisa comes back to the store, tells Corduroy that she found enough coins in her piggy bank, buys Corduroy, and takes him home. Lisa shows Corduroy his small bed next to her own and proceeds to sew a new button. Corduroy says, "This must be home...I know I've always wanted a home." Finally, Corduroy says to Lisa, "You must be a friend...I've always wanted a friend."

Could Corduroy's missing button symbolize what Mr. Freeman missed as a youth (i.e., deceased biological parents)? Could Corduroy's yearnings (for climbing a mountain, living in a palace, living in a home, wanting a friend) and his journey be sentiments of an adopted child yearning for many "what if my biological parents were alive" scenarios? Could this artist have channeled childhood doubts and other inner conflicts into something positive--socially and racially progressive views--culminating in this book? Read and judge for yourself.

Tae Yi

Customer Rating:
Summary: A favorite in our house!
Comment: Our 7 month old son absolutely loves this book! I was a little disappointed when I first received the book, since I had read online that the Corduroy story taught a positive message to kids, teaching them not to judge someone based on their appearance alone. However this story is basically just a simple collage of things Corduroy did today (ending with bedtime). I was really surprised when after a few reads my son has chosen this story as one of his favorites. He gets excited when he sees the cover and loves touching and looking at the pictures. I'll definitely buy some of the other Corduroy books, which have more developed story lines appropriate for older children, in a few years.

Customer Rating:
Summary: AWFUL!! Still Haven't Recieved - WORST Customer Service EVER!
Comment: ATROCIOUS! I will NEVER buy ANYTHING again from DVD Legacy - They haven't gotten me my book or given me any sufficient update on when I should (if ever) expect. I am furious as I have sent them 5 sincere emails asking when I shall receive a baby gift I expected a month ago which was a present for a new addition to the family. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY - They are unprofessional HACKS!


Customer Rating:
Summary: asked for by my 3 year old
Comment: My 3 year old asked me to read this book to him at school... several times.
I had to get it for Christmas. Besides being a classic, it has lots of wonderful themes (imagination, simplicity) and lessons (you don't have to be perfect, someone loves you, if you need to do something, do it etc.).

Customer Rating:
Summary: Favorite for Dad & Son
Comment: I read this to my 3 year-old about once a week. He loves to finish each sentence. Every time we finish, he says that's a good story. Corduroy is a wonderful story with great illustrations. I personally enjoy reading each time.

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