Currently reading
A London Family, 1870-1900: A Trilogy
The Cellist of Sarajevo
Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher
All the Names
A History of the World in 100 Objects
Down the Garden Path
Virtue Betray'd, Or, Anna Bullen
Year of Wonders
Swallows and Amazons
Illusion in java
In the late 50's, when her children were, I believe, 2 or 3 and 9, she and her husband took them to England for an extended trip during which they visited places relevant to the many children's books they had all read. Some of them are books you don't hear much about these days (such as Kipling's "Puck of Pook's Hill," and Caldecott's illustrated verses), but many are familiar: "[b:The Wind in the Willows|5659|The Wind in the Willows|Kenneth Grahame|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327869222s/5659.jpg|1061285]," "[b:The Tailor of Gloucester|345188|The Tailor of Gloucester|Beatrix Potter|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345804773s/345188.jpg|870737]," "[b:The Chronicles of Narnia|11127|The Chronicles of Narnia (Chronicles of Narnia #1-7)|C.S. Lewis|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348864262s/11127.jpg|781271]," and "[b:Swallows and Amazons|125190|Swallows and Amazons (Swallows and Amazons, #1)|Arthur Ransome|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1277148503s/125190.jpg|231599]," for example. Joan Bodger eventually became a world-class oral storyteller, but this book keeps us at a bit of a distance. I learned why later. Still, I really enjoyed hearing about their adventures and mishaps trying to find King Arthur, Toad Hall, and Beatrix Potter's farm.
My one warning is don't do what I did and read about her before you read the book. Just enjoy the book for what it is. By knowing what happened after the book, it was hard for me not to read into every page the signs of the future.