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Howdy Readers, This time out we present two Jimmie Acorn adventures from October 1953 and January 1954. In these installments, Jimmie meets Frisky the Chipmunk and Porky the Porcupine (you were expecting maybe a Pig?). These were published in Children’s Activities magazine, written by Edith Forbush and illustrated by Ruth van Tellagen. These charmed me back then, I saved them out of a discard pile of old magazines at “Miss Bedell”‘s Bristol School library in St. Louis. I think these should provide you hopeful companionship in the winter of these fearful times in which we live. I love the welcoming prose of Edith Forbush and how she makes us feel the friendliness of the North American animals who take in the orphan Jimmie Acorn and make him feel like he belongs. I identified with Jimmie in the stories and felt less afraid of wild animals and was more interested in their natural lives as I read the stories. I still consider myself to be a naturalist and remain fascinated by the animals and birds which surround us here in Glendale. We have horned owls, raccoons, tree and ground squirrels, rats and mice, lizards and of course, coyotes. Just this past year we saw a terrific, noisy skuffle among three raccoons who made such a screeching noise that it woke us and our neighbors up at 4 AM! It was impossible to tell if they were making love, or trying to kill each other. At the end of the skuffle, they skittered up a nearby cypress tree and shook violently until they calmed down. Jimmie Acorn would have been bowled over by the raccoons’ antics.
Jimmie Acorn and Frisky the Chipmunk
November 10, 2025
Childhood Nostalgia
No Comments
Mark
H
Howdy Readers, This time out we present two Jimmie Acorn adventures from October 1953 and January 1954. In these installments, Jimmie meets Frisky the Chipmunk and Porky the Porcupine (you were expecting maybe a Pig?). These were published in Children’s Activities magazine, written by Edith Forbush and illustrated by Ruth van Tellagen. These charmed me back then, I saved them out of a discard pile of old magazines at “Miss Bedell”‘s Bristol School library in St. Louis. I think these should provide you hopeful companionship in the winter of these fearful times in which we live. I love the welcoming prose of Edith Forbush and how she makes us feel the friendliness of the North American animals who take in the orphan Jimmie Acorn and make him feel like he belongs. I identified with Jimmie in the stories and felt less afraid of wild animals and was more interested in their natural lives as I read the stories. I still consider myself to be a naturalist and remain fascinated by the animals and birds which surround us here in Glendale. We have horned owls, raccoons, tree and ground squirrels, rats and mice, lizards and of course, coyotes. Just this past year we saw a terrific, noisy skuffle among three raccoons who made such a screeching noise that it woke us and our neighbors up at 4 AM! It was impossible to tell if they were making love, or trying to kill each other. At the end of the skuffle, they skittered up a nearby cypress tree and shook violently until they calmed down. Jimmie Acorn would have been bowled over by the raccoons’ antics.