Books published by publisher The Bobbs-Merrill company

"Young John Deere enjoyed nothing else so much as helping Captain Lawrence, the blacksmith, shoe a horse or repair the tip of a plow. He was elated when he was old enough to be apprenticed to the blacksmith. Word went around the Vermont countryside that he was a thorough workman. As a young man, John seemed to be pursued by bad luck. He became a blacksmith, but twice his blacksmith shop burned. Most of his customers were farmers, but the farmers were so poor that they couldn't pay cash for his services. At last, he became a master mechanic, repairing stagecoaches. John Deere was born in Vermont in 1804. In those days many people in New England were attempting to make a living by farming, but the growing season was short and the soil in places was exceedingly thin. As a result, many became discouraged. At last farmers began to leave New England and move to more fertile lands in the Middle West. Some of these farmers urged young John Deere to go with them, pointing out that there would be a great need for blacksmiths on the frontier. Finally he yielded to their pleas and moved to the prairie land of Illinois. The farmers who moved to the Middle West soon discovered that their heavy iron plows were unsuited to turning the thick prairie soil. The soil stuck to the plow like glue, and every few yards they had to stop and scrape away the clinging patches with a paddle. A team could pull a plow only a few hours a day. John Deere experimented with a new type of plow for the prairie soil. He made a light steel plow out of an old saw blade. The plow was so light that it could be pulled by only one horse. As it moved through the soil it polished itself and kept itself clean. This was the real type of plow the farmers needed....John Deere began to specialize in designing and making plows....Soon he formed a partnership and established a factory for making plows. Thus he started one of the greatest farm implement businesses in the world."

It is the start of a new school year in Kendal, Jamaica, and Josh is determined not to be late. He sets off in good time... but so does his beloved bull-calf, Boy, who follows him everywhere like a dog. Josh's teacher is horrified to see Boy in the classroom but Josh manages to turn the situation to good advantage - until things start to go badly wrong. When the headmaster tells Josh's mother the story of Boy's disastrous visit to school she insists that the calf is sold at once. The local storeman buys him in spite of Josh's protests, driving a hard bargain. But Josh is a fighter; he organises his schoolfriends to mount first a demonstration and then a hunger strike in his campaign to get Boy back. The villagers, hostile at first, are soon on his side. Before long the embarrassed store man realizes that he has not been as clever as he thought. About the author: C. Everard Palmer was born in Jamaica and lived there until a few years ago, when he moved to Canada. His childhood was spent in just such a village as Kendal, lived in by the kind of people who fill the pages of this book. All his stories have been inspired by memories of his childhood and though the people and incidents he describes are imaginary they could easily have been real.

First edition bound in red cloth with a color pastedown plate on the front board. 12mo size, 319pp. Illustrations by C.M. Relyea. Good condition. The front board is rubbed and faded along is outer edges. Rubs/frays to the corners and spine tips. The white lettering is faded and rubbed and the spine lettering is rubbed away. Former owner's name is inked on the tanned front fly. Scattered foxing to the pages, which are generally clean and unmarked. A worn but solid copy of an uncommon first edition.

The Bobbs-Merrill Company Hardcover - Weekly Reader, copyright 1966. Size:8.2" x10 1/2". "Simp was what most people would call an ugly little dog. She was fat and small, and had only a stump for a tail. Her owner found homes for her brothers and sisters but could not persuage anybody to take Simp. One evening he took Simp outside of town and just dropped her near a trash dump." Follow Simp feeling alone and hungry and finally ending up in the circus.

First edition thus. Hard cover with dust jacket. Green cloth decorated with Denslow cast of characters on front cover, photographic endpapers show cast and scenes from the 1939 film. Dust jacket is decorated with Denslow illustrations on front and spine panels with movie photos on rear panel. With 8 tinted plates and numerous in-text and full-page b&w drawings.