Corduroy's Fourth of July

Celebrate Corduroy’s 50th anniversary with a board book adventure!

Today is the 4th of July, and Corduroy and his friends are having a fun-filled picnic. They eat tasty treats and play games in the hot summer sun. Then it’s time to cool down with a dip in the pool. Next they take part in an Independence Day parade! Scruffy Pup bangs the drum, Checkerboard Bunny plays the flute, and Corduroy carries the American flag. Once it’s dark outside, the friends gather to watch an amazing fireworks display.

This sturdy, brightly colored shaped board book is perfect for the youngest fans of Corduroy, one of the best-loved characters in children’s books for the past 50 years.

Don Freeman was born in San Diego, California, in 1908. At an early age, he received a trumpet as a gift from his father. He practiced obsessively and eventually joined a California danceband. After graduating from high school, he ventured to New York City to study art under the tutelage of Joan Sloan and Harry Wickey at the Art Students' League. He managed to support himself throughout his schooling by playing his trumpet evenings, in nightclubs and at weddings.

Gradually, he eased into making a living sketching impressions of Broadway shows for The New York Times and The Herald Tribune. This shift was helped along, in no small part, by a rather heartbreaking incident; he lost his trumpet. One evening, he was so engrossed in sketching people on the subway, he simply forgot it was sitting on the seat beside him. This new career turned out to be a near-perfect fit for Don, though, as he had always loved the theater.

He was introduced to the world of Childrens' Literature, when William Saroyan asked him to illustrate several books. Soon after, he began to write and illustrate his own books, a career he settled into comfortably and happily. Through his writing, he was able to create his own theater: "I love the flow of turning the pages, the suspense of what's next. Ideas just come at me and after me. It's all so natural. I work all the time, long into the night, and it's such a pleasure. I don't know when the time ends. I've never been happier in my life!"

Don died in 1978, after a long and successful career. He created many beloved characters in his lifetime, perhaps the most beloved among them a stuffed, overall-wearing bear, named Corduroy.

Don Freeman was the author and illustrator of many popularbooks for children, including Corduroy, A Pocket for Corduroy, and theCaldecott Honor Book Fly High, Fly Low. For more information about Don Freeman, please visit:

www.donfreeman.info

Lisa McCue has illustrated many books for youngreaders. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland.