Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep

All the other reviews here have it right, Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep is a wonderful, well-written story with a good foundation and a positive ending. However, there are some themes within the book (the loss of childhood/innocence, poverty, the coldness of industrial development, etc) that are very sad. Those themes give it weight and breadth, of course, and it's exceptional - but if you wouldn't give your child The Velveteen Rabbit to read, maybe reconsider this one.

We were given this book when my children were ages 4 and 6. At the time, I was involved in trying to save natural areas near our neighborhood. The kids loved this book, I loved this book, and we all understood the relationship between fairies, using your natural gifts, and pursuing your dreams. I was surprsed the kids loved it as much as they did (girl and boy). We still read the story about once a year -- always aloud, even thought the kids are now 9 and 11! We, too, loved the rhyme, almost like a chorus, which another reviewer shared. The illustrations are also lovely.

Wasn't sure my son would go for this book, because the main character is a girl who loves to jump rope (not our usual fare), but I was enamored with it and gave it a go. I'm glad I did, because he loved it. The writing flows very nicely, and has it's own 'Old World charm' - "Elsie Piddock skips as never so." Lots of fun to read, and a great story about standing up for what is important to you sort of snuck in there...Buy this book as a gift for anyone who has girls because they will surely love it!

Any child, and I am now fifty-nine years old, who can recite Andy Spandy's ropeskipping rhyme has me for a friend. This is one of those tales for children that sounds better being told aloud by a good reader. When I was growing up, both my parents loved to read aloud, and my sister and I heard many fine tales before the fireplace, listening to mother or father.But the lilt of the language as the rope swings round is the unforgettable part:ANDY SPANDY SUGARDY CANDYFRENCH ALMOND ROCK!BREAD AND BUTTER FOR YOUR SUPPER'SALL YOUR MOTHER'S GOT!

There may be no better book for reading aloud to pre-teens. Originally one of the stories in Farjeon's "Tales Told Under the Green Umbrella" -- long out of print -- Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep is easily as much fun for the adult reader as for the young listener, and in this case that is saying a great deal. It is actually two consecutive stories (ideal for consecutive nights), one a delightful fantasy of fairies and skipping rope -- just as appealing to boys as to girls, honest -- and the second an adventure, at once enthralling and emotionally satisfying, with an ending that will bring tears of delight to all who hear it.