Corduroy

I love Corduroy. This is one that I really do remember from my childhood. I remember the photos and I remember the story. Now after falling in love with [b:Corduroy Goes to the Doctor 270110 Corduroy Goes to the Doctor (lg format) Don Freeman http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309286091s/270110.jpg 1312694] and [b:Corduroy's Day 270115 Corduroy's Day Don Freeman http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309285201s/270115.jpg 261850] AppleBlossom is able to experience the real thing. :) I'm loving the free monthly books from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library!Update 12/1/2016: Reading to my son (and third child) for the first time. While snuggling with a little Corduroy stuffed bear. Wonderful story time tonight!

I can't find a proper edition for the one I found at the library, and that's a shame. It was absolutely magical with music, sound effects, and multiple narrators who actually managed to make me cry happy tears over having such a wonderful part of my childhood brought to life.

Though I'm not sure where it is, my paperback copy of this book is somewhere in storage, and still owns a large part of my heart. Corduroy played a significant role in how much I cherished and loved my plushies as a child (and still to this day, as an adult collector thereof). And this story also taught me to love even the damaged ones - a part of my personality to this day, but an even bigger one as a child and teen. I remember when a toy I got for Christmas didn't move the way it should, and I broke down crying when my mom offered to return it to the store. I love this one, even hurt! And I still have it to this day, and still cherish it. I can't help but attribute at least some of that to this book, which I read over and over as a kid - and had read to me every night as a bedtime story until my parents demanded I pick something different for their own sanity.

This is a beautiful story about a child's connection to an ‘imperfect' plushie, likely intended to teach a lesson about accepting and valuing friends for who they are. And it has charming art in it, as well. As an adult, I especially like the end where Corduroy's new friend - the little girl who purchased him with a missing button - reassures that she loves him as he is but thinks he'll be more comfortable when she sews a new button into place for him. It makes me think of having a friend or family member with an ailment and loving them as is but also wanting to help however possible for their sake. A wonderful message for a children's book, in my opinion.