I want to be Mrs. Piggle Wiggle!

When we were growing up, we didn't have a regular reading rime, but we did have books, always. Our mom seized every opportunity she could to spend time with us. She loved to play games - and she still does; She loved to hear about our day - She still does; and she loved to read - She still does.

I suppose she is the very one who put Mrs. Piggle Wiggle into our consciousness. I say that, because I don't really remember a time before this literary character. We always wanted to hear about Mrs. P-W, and about what children she had helped. There wasn't a time, when we weren't excited to learn about the bad habits she had cured with magic or with hard work, or the funny, self-important neighbors who had perfect children, or the wonderful post-depression era world Betty McDonald had created. Wow! How romantic to live in a time when the moms had tea parties, routinely, and planted nasturtiums in their yards, and served freshly baked cookies to their bright-eyed children, who rushed home from school, all pink-cheeked. And these same ladies managed to fix such good meals, keep such straightened houses, and all had second cups of coffee in their daily routines. In this world, you walked everywhere, because everywhere was just around the corner. I wonder if there were more hours in the day, back then? How strange and appealing it all sounds!

The Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books, are best read one chapter at a time, maybe before bed. Each chapter is a short story, that examines, in a humorous light, a bad habit or character flaw of a child - and how Mr.s Piggle Wiggles' wise advice or special magic helps cure them. These books are so excellent because they are timeless. The people she wrote about are the same, today. My sister Melissa observed it is still so true, that the mom will pounce on her errant child, fretting constantly over a solution until the situation is resolved, while the dad, if he is even aware of a behavior change, just takes measures to avoid the problem until it is worked out - just like the characters in the book. There are still overprotective, pompous, or prissy parents (and their children are exactly like them!) - and normal ones, too. It is the same today, as it was in the 1940's. Somehow, that is comforting.

The author, Betty McDonald, was a genius at capturing the foibles of human nature and relating them in a humorous, sensitive way. She was also a great writer. Besides her children's books, she wrote a few adult books, that were quite popular at the time. The most famous one is The Egg and I. It is about her time spent on a chicken farm during her first, unhappy marriage. I plan to read it, as soon as I can get a copy. This book was such a phenomenon, that it inspired the Ma and Pa Kettle films, during the 1940's. Her children's books were written during her second, happy marriage on Vashon Island. Sadly, she died at the early age of 49. Betty McDonald's own life seemed not so idyllic as real, with the some of the same problems all people have, but she faced them with bravery and humor and luckily for us, portrayed her experiences in her stories. If you are interested in learning more about her, read her books, and check out http://www.bettymcdonald.net/.

When I was young and growing up, I thought it would be so much fun to have a Mrs. P-W living nearby and now that I am grown, I believe I would like to be Mrs. P-W. I think I don't have to look far for an example -- I watch and learn from my mom. She has become Mrs. Piggle Wiggle to her grandchildren. Just ask my kids!