What Wee Read
Little Boy Brown by Isobel Harris and illustrated by André François
A four-year-old boy lives with his well-to-do parents in a hotel in the heart of New York City. Despite being surrounded by the people and bustle of Manhattan, he feels incredibly lonely. When hotel chambermaid Hilda invites him to visit her little house outside the city, his world opens up. “Hilda’s family is smarter than we are. They can all speak two different languages … They’ve been on the Ocean, and they’ve climbed high mountains.” This heartwarming story was first published in 1949 with gorgeous illustrations by André François, who studied with Picasso. Our kids discover something new each time we read it, sparking questions about what it might feel like to be little boy Brown.