Cranberry Christmas

I have a soft spot for Wende and Harry Devlin. With Christmas just around the corner it seemed appropriate to remember this one. In this story, Mr. Whiskers must save the local skating pond from mean old Cyrus Grape who insists the kids are trespassing and he won't allow it. A second conflict erupts when Mr. Whisker's sister, Sarah, insists he move back to the city so she can take care of him. With his pal Maggie and her grandmother helping out, not only are all the problems solved, but a lovely Christmas is had by all.

As described on Loganberry Books site, "Wende and Harry Devlin are both artists with a sense of humor. Working for several magazines in the 1940's, Harry became the leading editorial cartoonist at Collier's while Wende wrote a comic strip callled Fullhouse (also known as Raggmopp) with characters named for their own six children. On the serious side, Harry paints architecture and Wende portraits, but their winning combination in children's books and illustrations (and perhaps recipes?) is their best known artistic achievement, and most especially the Cranberryport series."

None of their books are currently in print, which is a shame because I just discovered there are far more of the Cranberry series than I realized. Below are some of my favorite illustrations:

Wende and Harry Devlin, Parents Magazine Press, 1976

Wende and Harry Devlin, Parents Magazine Press 1976