Miss Lollipop's Lion
My family was a regular subscriber to the Weekly Reader Children's Book Club. Every month we would receive a book in the mail and this book would inevitably make its way through the four kids in the house. Being the third of four children, the books were often love-worn by the time they reached me. This was very much the case with one of my favorites — Miss Lollipop's Lion written and illustrated by Judy Varga, published in 1963 by William Morrow. The story centers on cute-as-a-button Miss Lollipop — the gentle bun-wearing woman who loves to take in stray animals. When a lion shows up at her door, Miss Lollipop can't bring herself to turn him away, even though she has little food to feed her many pets. If that weren't enough, her newest charge storms into the parlor and creates a ruckus, knocking over everything in his path and chasing the other smaller animals. Not to worry — Miss Lollipop may look like a pushover, but she runs a tight ship and trains her lion to be respectful and considerate. Before long, the lion is one of her star pupils. So what about the food shortage problem? There is another knock at the door, and the surprise on the other side leads Miss Lollipop to a new vocation as a lion tamer -- now she can support her animal family and spend time with her special lion. Ah, good times.
Homespun charm. Those are the words that comes to mind when I think of this endearing story and especially the illustrations. You can easily see the influence of some of the great illustrators of the 1940s and 50s in Varga's work --Tibor Gergeley, Roger Duvosin (The Happy Lion), and even JP Miller. Given that this book was published before a four color printing process was available, it's printed in black and white and three color — the three colors being yellow, green, and blue. I especially love this color choice combination as it evokes a 1940s tablecloth pattern that you might have seen on Aunt Bea's country kitchen table in an episode of the Andy Griffith Show (if that show were in color). Miss Lollipop's Lion is just shy of 50 years old but it's as relevant and as satisfying today as it was then -- all three of my children can attest to that. If you're looking for a sweet, cozy, animal-centric story with a Barbara Cooney-esque heroine, look no further.