Pookie by Ivy Wallace

Fortune - a mixture of happiness, lettuce and kind words

Pookie sets off on an adventure to find his fortune. He encounters kindness, unkindness, danger, rain, snow and wind but eventually he does find his happy place. 

"This is the story of Pookie, a little white rabbit with soft floppity ears, big blue eyes and the most lovable smile in the world."

"Mother Rabbit said he was more trouble than Wiggletail, Swifflekins, Twinkletoes, Brighteyes, Tomasina, Bobasina and Weeny One put together. This made Pookie sad."

"He hopped out of bed and found his best handkerchief. Then he wrapped up his toothbrush, three acorns and a carrot, a clean vest and his red slippers. He left a note for his mother: Gon to ceek mi 4chune. Luv from Pookie."

"Please ... what does a Fortune look like?"

"A Fortune is ... something different for everyone. For some it is Money, for some it is Health and for some it is Love."

In 1997, when I had newly arrived in my school library my then school Principal asked to borrow a copy of Pookie to read with a group of children because it was her most favourite childhood book. Oddly, I didn't take the time to read Pookie back then but I was quite pleased that we had several books from the series.  Pookie was first published in 1946. 

Fast forward to 2023 and one of the library staff where I volunteer each week is working her way through books with very low or zero borrowing statistics. The library purchased Pookie in 2004 but alas it has never been borrowed even though it is in paperback with an appealing cover (the one at the top of this post). What is the issue here? Do children look inside and feel daunted by the amount of text on each page? Or is this because the little white creature on the front cover is difficult to identify - it this a rabbit or a cat or an imaginary creature? The figure of Pookie, on the cover of the library copy, is quite small. He has his knapsack and red scarf and is navigating a wild wind or storm. The back cover has a clearer image of little Pookie so if a child did flip the book over they would see his little green transparent wings. 

Here is the blurb from the back cover: In Pookie's first adventure, the little rabbit is teased about his tiny wings so he sets out to seek his fortune. After many adventures, Pookie is rescued by Belinda and finds his fortune at last; the love of a true friend. And he discovers a magical secret about his wings!

Ivy Lilian Wallace (1915 - 2006) was a British author/illustrator. She wrote ten books about her character Pookie. The stories were broadcast in Australia in Pookie's Half-Hour and thousands of children attended Pookie rallies. (Wikipedia) Here is the web site for Pookie Productions.

• Pookie (1946)
• Pookie and the Gypsies (1947)
• Pookie Puts the World Right (1949)
• Pookie in Search of a Home (1951)
• Pookie believes in Santa Claus (1953)
• Pookie at the Seaside (1956)
• Pookie's Big Day (1958)
• Pookie and the Swallows (1961)
• Pookie in Wonderland (1963)
• Pookie and his Shop (1966)

So what is my verdict? Should the library keep their copy of the first book from the Pookie series? YES they should. This is a very satisfying adventure story with that all important happy ending. I love that Pookie is a boy "fairy".  I think this book would be delightful to read at bedtime in a family. And as a bonus Pookie has some terrific vocabulary;

• bunny hops and bouncings
• flimsy, filmy wings
• the great dark wood
• music like the tinkling of a million silver bells
• wispier
• slimy weeds clutched at his fur
• trudged
• the moon-cool wood
• Pookie's brave song wavered
• like a wisp of thistledown

I also love all the hustle and bustle of the goblin market: stalls crammed with "golden pumpkins, fancy fruits, nuts for lazy squirrels, and baskets of scarlet and orange berries for the birds. Goblin tailors, wearing tiny leather jackets made from bats' wings, were stitching away at scented flower petals making filmy fairy frocks."

And all the references to honey - honey pies, honey tea, honeysuckle sandwiches (and buttercup biscuits with strawberry jam).

And the final sentence: "But by dawn he was always safely back in Belinda's basket, fast asleep, before waking up to another day of lettuces and love"

Belinda thinks Pookie's heart is broken which feels a little like classic story of The Velveteen Rabbit and the scene when he steals a lettuce leaf is surely a reference to Peter Rabbit. The illustration style is also reminiscent of other classic fairy illustrators - Shirley Barber and Ida Rentoul Outhwaite. The other obvious connection is with the Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton. 

Take a look at this Guardian article where the author takes an even deeper look at Pookie.