George and Martha

I have no idea if James Marshall read Arnold Lobel's work; I have a feeling he did.

In 1979, Lobel published "Alone," in which Frog worries Toad by going off to sit on his own. Toad thinks Frog has some dark secret. In fact--in a gentle Lobel-ish twist--Frog reveals that he is really quite happy, and wanted just to sit and reflect on his happiness and on his great friendship.

So sweet, so sweet, yadda yadda. But I wonder if James Marshall was consciously rewriting "Alone," in 1986, when he published "The Misunderstanding."

Here, George the hippo reveals he wants to be alone. Martha is hurt. She goes off and mopes. Eventually, she picks up her saxophone and entertains herself, and she becomes so engrossed that she doesn't hear the phone when George calls to reconcile. George concludes that Martha is royally pissed. We might expect a reunion, but that's not how the story ends. It ends abruptly--subversively!--with this misunderstanding.

I appreciate the warmth and heart in Lobel's work, but I like Marshall's wickedness. Sometimes, there are weird, awkward misunderstandings. This reflects life as I know it.

Who kcan imagine what interesting fights might have occurred if Marshall and Lobel had ever tried to collaborate?

P.S. In one of Marshall's pictures, you can see several books. (Marshall has drawn these books.) The authors on the spines are "Jane Austen," "Tomi Ungerer," "Sendak," "Lobel" ........

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