Cape Cod Times
December 14, 2008
BOOKSHELF

"The Blueberry Pie Elf," by Jane Thayer, illustrations by Seymour Fleishman
(Purple House Press, 859-235-9970, phpress@hughes.net, $18.95)

Children's author Catherine Woolley, who published more than 80 books for children and sometimes wrote under the pen name of Jane Thayer, was born in Chicago in 1904 and died in Truro in 2005. Her first novel, "I Like Trains," was published in 1944. Truro honored her in 1996 by naming the children's reading room in the local library after her. Now, one of her delightful stories has been reissued. "The Blueberry Pie Elf" has all the charm of a storybook from the 1940s and the illustrations (by frequent Woolley collaborator Seymour Fleishman) share that simplicity. This lovely story of Elmer the elf and his overwhelming desire for a blueberry pie will appeal to kids and the adults who read to them.

MELANIE LAUWERS