How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children's Books Paperback – February 16, 2010

How the Heather Looks by Joan Bodger is quite well written, it can be slightly boring at times, but overall is pretty good.The book is about a family of four who visit england to find the sources of popular children's literature.They visit many different places including Beatrix Potter's home, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte's home, etc. etc.The Chapters and the main subjects in them, below;Chap. 1 Whitchurch, Randolph Caldecott.Chap. 2 Beatrix Potter's ''The Tailor of Gloucester''Chap. 3 Narnia.Chap. 4 King ArthurChap. 5 CamelotChap. 6 Wind in the WillowsChap. 7 Johnny CrowChap. 8 Rudyard KiplingChap. 9 Winnie the Pooh, The Borrowers.Chap. 10 Robin Hood, Frances Hodgson Burnett- The little Princess, The Secret Garden, Etc. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte, and Robert Louis Stevenson. *** My favorite chapter***Chap. 11 Beatrix Potter, Arthur Ransome- Swallows and Amazons.(written by my 13 year old daughter.)Now I will write mine!joy to the world!This book was very popular when it came out and was reported most stolen by retiring children's librarians.It covers many sites of popular English children's classics, and talks about how they got to the site, what they felt on finding it, and how it appeared, and who they met, as well as where they stayed.(written by 15 year old son.)

On curriculum recommendation, I bought this book for our UK geography in home school studies. The premise behind Bodger's travels was that she and her family would discover locations written into existence by British authors - professedly places like Camelot, Narnia, and various natural settings like those of the Wind in the Willows. But after working through half the book, it became too apparent that they never actually discovered any of the literary locales. I grew tired of reading lines like "we drove by the place it might have been" and "myth placed the castle (or lake, or village, what have you) in this area," and "we found something akin to what we'd been searching for." They visit castles, towns, cliffs, moors, and so on, and we were able to use these points on our Map Drills. But overall, i was disappointed: it was like digging for treasure and never finding any, moving on, and not finding any in another place either.Our personal decision was to set this one aside and use another text.

This is undoubtedly one of the best books I have ever read. As a former teacher, I had still not read all of the children's books mentioned in How the Heather Looks, but it did not matter. Joan Bodger wove her magic tale and explained references in detail. Her style is beautiful--I felt like I was on the trip with her and her family. An excellent read that I used as a text per our homeschooling curriculum--but I shall undoubtedly re-read several more times!

What a dear glimpse into a once-in-a-lifetime journey through England with a couple and their two young children! I enjoyed reading about all the books that brought them to each site. And it's bittersweet to read about their family after the return home.

We have a fondness for British children's literature from the early 20th century. When I learned about this book through our homeschool curriculum, it seemed like a good bet. My oldest was supposed to read it the following term. However, as soon as the book arrived in the house, my middle child read it in every spare minute over the next couple of days. The older child finished it within a day or two later. We have not gotten around to discussing the book yet, but their enthusiasm for it makes me think the discussion will be lively.

This book was written in 1958. A family goes to England for a summer holiday and travels to many different sites to see where a number of famous children's books were written. They have a 10 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. It is absolutely delightful and FULL of good authors and books! Highly recommended!

Beautifully written by a naturalist. We used this in our homeschool and the children didn't just learn about the natural world, they "experienced" it! We used it in Jr. High school ages, can also be used in high school.

Arrived in a timely fashion exactly as described. Thank you!

Well written, although a few of the topics were of little interest to me. The autobiography of her long life sounds interesting.