Thornton W. Burgess

The story is narrated by the hero, Bupps, who is an amateur de- tective and professional lawyer. His sister Helen is in the throes of a painful and acrimonious divorce with her husband Jim who also happens to be Bupps’ best friend. She is now involved in a torrid a air with a man called Frank Woods who, as Bupps discovers doesn’t enjoy a very clean reputation. Woods is a war-pro teer and his transactions have a seamy side. Things take a menacing turn when Jim is found mysteriously dead in a car accident. Bu- pps’ suspicious are aroused by certain strange circumstances that occurred during the accident. From here on, the plot takes readers on a roller coaster ride through sinister Bolshevik conspiracies, high society country clubs and deadly pursuit through barren landscapes, ending in a most unexpected denouement.

These delightful stories created by the writer known famously as the Bedtime Story Man provide hours of endless enjoyment for readers both young and old. His daily newspaper column which he wrote without a break from 1912 through to 1960 featured a host of engaging characters and their lively pranks and doings. In this charmingly illustrated volume, Reddy Fox, the young hero is sent to stay with his grandma. Grandmother Fox is the “wisest, slyest and smartest fox in all the country around” and she takes it upon herself to educate Reddy in the things that every fox should know! Thus begins a battle of wits between Farmer Brown, Farmer Brown's Boy, Reddy and Grandmother Fox. Interspersed with each story are tiny nuggets of valuable lessons on life—the dangers of pride and boastfulness, the value of friendship and loyalty, the perils of disobedience, nature's laws, kindness to others even though they may be our enemies and other such wonderful bits of folksy wisdom.

The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk is another in the long list chil- dren’s books by the conservationist, Thornton W. Burgess. In this book, Jimmy Skunk has encounters with Reddy Fox, Peter Rabbit, Unc’ Billy Possum and other acquaintances of his in the Green Meadows and Green Forest. Along the way, we learn some of the habits of Jimmy and his friends and we learn little lessons about life such as the importance of always keeping one’s temper, keep- ing promises and not playing practical jokes. We are also treated to a philosophical discussion by Jimmy Skunk on the advantages of defensive weaponry.

Thornton Waldo Burgess (January 14, 1874 – June 5, 1965) was a conservationist and author of children’s stories. He loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years. By the time he retired, he had written more than 170 books. Many of his outdoor observations in nature were used as plots for his stories. In his rst book, “Old Moth- er West Wind,” published in 1910, the reader meets many of the characters found in later books and stories. These characters in- clude Peter Rabbit, Jimmy Skunk, Sammy Jay, Bobby Raccoon, Joe Otter, Grandfather Frog, Billy Mink, Jerry Muskrat, Spotty the Turtle and of course, Old Mother West Wind and her Merry Little Breezes. Note to parents of very small children: in Chapter 15, lit- tle Tommy Trout gets eaten by a pickerel.