My VERY favorite book,

from the time I was four or five, was The Tale of The Land of Green Ginger, by Noel Langley, an English playwright who specialized in farcical pantomimes. I loved the story, the pictures and being read to out of it ~ and then I loved reading it aloud to my own children when that time came.

But I don't own a copy.

The books been out of print for ages. I had found one on the used market in Scotland in 1961, but it disappeared. Penguin published it in paperback a few years later, but in a vastly different version. We xeroxed our Aunt Helen's copy, but only in black and white...

Meanwhile, back at The Ranch (or, more precisely, in The Garage at The Ranch,) Digital Scanning was being invented...

And a month or so ago, I asked my sister if still had a copy and might possibly be able to find it somewhere...

She thought so; she did; and, of course, she'd be delighted to lend it...and here it is!!!

(Note about the picture: Abu Ali is on His Quest, and has stopped to ask the Green Dragon for directions. The Green Dragon knows How To Get There but wants a quid pro quo ~ namely, the donkey, for a nice late afternoon snack. The donkey is not all that interested, and finds himself Unsure of the Firmness of Abu Ali's resolution....)

I am so happy!