Rootabaga Stories

Rootabaga Stories is a is a children's book of interconnected short stories by Carl Sandburg. The quirky, at times gloomy stories, which often use nonsensical language, were initially created for his own daughters. Excerpt: "There was a Potato Face Blind Man used to play an accordion on the Main Street corner nearest the postoffice in the Village of Liver-and-Onions. Any Ice Today came along and said, «It looks like it used to be an 18 carat gold accordion with rich pawnshop diamonds in it; it looks like it used to be a grand accordion once and not so grand now.» «Oh, yes, oh, yes, it was gold all over on the outside,» said the Potato Face Blind Man, «and 42there was a diamond rabbit next to the handles on each side, two diamond rabbits.» «How do you mean diamond rabbits?» Any Ice Today asked. «Ears, legs, head, feet, ribs, tail, all fixed out in diamonds to make a nice rabbit with his diamond chin on his diamond toenails. When I play good pieces so people cry hearing my accordion music, then I put my fingers over and feel of the rabbit's diamond chin on his diamond toenails, 'Attaboy, li'l bunny, attaboy, li'l bunny.'» «Yes I hear you talking but it is like dream talking. I wonder why your accordion looks like somebody stole it and took it to a pawnshop and took it out and somebody stole it again and took it to a pawnshop and took it out and somebody stole it again. And they kept on stealing it and taking it out of the pawnshop and stealing it again till the gold wore off so it looks like a used-to-be-yesterday.»