Little Old Man Who Could Not Read
- Category: Ages 3-8, Worldwide Books
This whimsical tale, told with humor and grace, portrays the frustration of the little old man who got everything all mixed up because he could not read.
Once there was a little old man who could not read. He just never wanted to learn. His wife went to the store and bought the food, but—the little old man stayed at home and made beautiful toys out of wood. Children all over the world loved his toys, and many wrote to tell him so. But still the little old man never wanted to learn to read.
One day his wife decided to go on a visit. “You will need to go to the store,” she said. So the little old man went to the store. Of course he bought all the wrong things because he did not know how to read.
“Fiddlesticks and fish fur!” said the little old man. “This is not spaghetti. Who wants to eat wax paper—even with sauce on it? Not I, for one."
Endearing illustrations by Seymour Fleishman bring the little old man to life. Originally printed in 1968.