Dandelion Cottage

Dandelion Cottage by Carroll Watson Rankin is a lost treasure, bound to the past by those who believe that old books are not good ones. It is when I come upon books such as this that I really feel my fear of eventually running out of good books to read is truly idiocy. I find it really sad that there aren’t many nice bindings of ‘Dandelion Cottage.’ There are so many beautiful copies of well-known books such as “Little Women” and “Anne of Green Gables” and “The Secret Garden” but so few pretty copies of this gem, “Dandelion Cottage”. Thankfully, most good readers know to look past the cover before judging a book, after all, they do say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” The storyline to this book is sweet and innocently simple, a wonderful break from tangled plot lines and complex character arcs of other more tedious books. A group of four girls, all wonderful friends, decide they want a playhouse. The perfect solution to this desire is right in front of them, an abandoned parsonage, but they have to convince the landlord to let them have it. An agreement is made that if the girls weed out all the dandelions in the yard, they can have the cottage for their playhouse for the summer. After countless weeds are pulled, the girls set up housekeeping in their cottage. But even though it should all be fun and games it isn’t, for while there are some wonderful things, like a boarder and an approaching dinner party, there are also terribly bad things, like an annoying and unwanted girl, who leads them into trouble. This book is a quick read, but definitely worth your time. Plus, “Dandelion Cottage” was inspired by a real cottage that still exists!