A Drop of Blood

By Paul Showers and Don Madden, 1967

Lisa Brown is back with another curious recommendation:

Guest Reviewer: LISA BROWN

I have no idea where this book came from, but I am in love.

Don Madden illustrated about a gazillion other books, including tons about mathematics and my new favorite, Gravity is a Mystery. Paul Showers, who has a fantastic name, wrote 20 more books for the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out series.

 A Drop of Blood was re-published like this, presumably to catch a ride on the vampire popularity wave.

In the first scene, our hero cuts his finger, apparently whittling. His dog is intrigued. Who gives a kid a knife?

"When you cut yourself, you make a hole in your skin.
Blood leaks out through the hole.
If the cut is small, it soon stops bleeding."

Which begs the question: How large does the cut have to be to bleed without end?
 
The dog seems delighted that the boy got bonked in the nose. And now, we inexplicably turn to verse:
 
"Oh there's blood in your arms and your legs,
There's blood in your fingers and toes,
And once in awhile
When a game gets too rough,
You'll find that there's blood in your nose."
 
 Here is a design for my new favorite wallpaper pattern. The composition is gorgeous.
 
Here we get a bloody knee and a lesson about scabs. Yum! Don't pick your scabs, kids!
And we're back to rhyme:

"Sometimes I cut my finger,
Sometimes I scrape me knee.
Sometimes a drop or two of blood
Comes dripping out of me."

"'Pure poetry,' says the vampire, licking his lips." I made that part up.
 
 
 

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