Last night, I began reading to my son the classic children’s book, Robert the Rose Horse by Joan Heilbroner. Generally, browsing through the books evokes much nostalgia for my own childhood and anticipation and excitement for the future times I’ll be reading to my own child. This time spent together reading books has been a great opportunity of perhaps one-sided bonding, as well as giving me a chance to re-read some of the books that were my favorites as a child. You can find out more about this book at my son entered this world a few weeks ago, I would spend a few moments each evening reading a children’s book to him/his mother’s stomach in an effort to instill in him a love of literature. I loved sharing this book with my children, and now I’m making sure my grandchildren and students also get to enjoy it. There is so much for a child to look at while being read to, and food for the imagination even if he can read the book himself. I have always loved this sort of illustration with many different things going on at once. Eastman manages to give a wide range of endearing, human-like expressions to a horse. So I have loved it for at least 50 years. My sisters and I got this book from a monthly book club our mom joined when I was in about first grade. This sneeze is such a big sneeze that it seems it will be his last, and Robert will be able to live happily, and allergy-free, ever after.

Then, one day, there is a bank robbery! Robert must think quickly in order to stop them. He loves his job directing traffic and helping children and kittens cross the street. And every time he finds one, contrary to the doctor’s expectation Robert somehow encounters roses, devastates his surroundings with a gargantuan sneeze, and gets fired.įinally, he gets a job as a police horse.

It turns out that isn’t as easy as he had thought it would be. Assuring his mother and father that he will be all right, Robert heads to the city to look for a job. Because there are too many roses on the farm, he says that Robert must move to the city. The doctor comes and diagnoses Robert’s rose allergy.

Robert puts his nose right into a rose and takes a big sniff. They wait expectantly as Robert’s mother brings in the cake decorated with beautiful red roses. That is, until the fateful birthday party.

Robert the rose horse