Donald Has a Difficulty
By Peter F. Neumeyer
I picked this book up yesterday during my visit to the Edward Gorey House.
This lovely little hardcover was the result of a longstanding correspondence and collaboration between Neumeyer and Gorey.
Young Donald is out playing in the woods, when he gets a splinter in the calf of his leg while pushing a tree. Fortunately, his mother is wise in the ways of splinters, and she calls upon her skills to attend to Donald's wound.
The text is simple, yet skillfully worded. The illustrations are classic Edward Gorey, especially during a sequence of daydreams that Donald uses to distract himself while his mother sets to work on the splinter.
Neumeyer's afterword gives some insight into his friendship and collaboration with the sometimes enigmatic Gorey.
This is the kind of quirky, fun book that children will find appealing while their parents marvel at the artwork.
Donald Has A Difficulty was Book #16 in my goal of reading 50 books in 2009.
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