For the moral health of our children
Uncle Wiggily Longears is a rabbit gentleman with a red, white and blue barber pole rheumatism crutch who lives in the hollow stump bungalow with Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the Muskrat lady housekeeper.
If I could recommend one thing to implement in our elementary schools, it would be a steady diet of Uncle Wiggily stories throughout the school year. Nothing could be better.
There is a woeful ignorance among America’s youth about Uncle Wiggily Longears. As far as I can see, no one individual is to blame for this severe lack of knowledge. Though it does not represent the bunny uncle well, as it barely hints at the great stories waiting to be read, some folks know of Uncle Wiggily from the board game of that name.
However, maybe you are an older person who remembers listening to Uncle Wiggily stories as a kid or maybe you are someone who has been reading Uncle Wiggily stories to your children and grandchildren or to children in day cares and the like. If you are not, the remedy is easy. Get hold of some Uncle Wiggily storybooks and start reading.
There is no lack of stories. Beginning in 1910, Howard Garis wrote an Uncle Wiggily story every day, six days a week, for the Newark Evening Gazette. He kept that up until 1947. That’s a lot of stories. There are quite a few in publication. Check Amazon.com or look for Uncle Wiggily directly or, for a treat, Google Howard R. Garis.
The best book of all, as far as I’m concerned, is the delightfully- illustrated by Elmer Rache, Uncle Wiggily and his Friends. The book, a collection of eight stories, is not in print, though it can be obtained from used book outlets. Being as Uncle Wiggily and his Friends may not be an option for most, probably the best move would be to purchase Uncle Wiggily’s Storybook.
Start reading Uncle Wiggily stories to children at bedtime. They are good for your soul, to say nothing of the souls of the children, no lie.
When I was in grade school, I nearly always went home for lunch. We had an hour. Plenty of time to walk eight blocks home, eat some soup and bread, drink a glass or two of milk, and get back on time.
One day in the middle of winter in International Falls, Minnesota, it was six below zero or so at high noon. I, a second-grade pupil at the Alexander Baker School, took my lunch to school because mother would not be home that day.
The lunchroom scene was new to me. I didn’t know the ropes and I didn’t know the teacher in charge. I was nervous. After the girls and boys finished eating, the teacher gathered us together and began reading an Uncle Wiggily story.
I was entranced and enthralled. I loved the old rabbit gentleman immediately. I wished I could take lunch to school every day. My love persists. Uncle Wiggily is my role model. I could do a lot worse.