Why Is the Sky Blue, by Sally Grindley (our review)

This is a book we picked up either at a garage sale or at our library's monthly book sale, and was quick to make its way into our regular rotation. The book itself is light and fun to read, but seems to be hiding a few  lessons or choice tidbits about learning and education. Whether intended or not it definitely has something to say about teaching and learning methods (why won't the donkey teach the rabbit unless he sits still?), and I can be pretty sure the author meant for us to hear a note on the teacher learning from the pupil. Read the right way this could become an unschoolers statement. In any case, it's enjoyable. Here's what the little reader had to say:

Why is the Sky Blue, by Sally Grindley

[What is it about] A donkey and a rabbit. Rabbit is wondering why the sky is blue and rabbit has taught something to Eeyore [sic] about ladybugs—some have more spots than others. And then rabbit knows why the sky is blue—because it was the only color left in the paint box. Only that isn't true.

[Did he like the book? Why?] Yes. I like the pictures and the story. I like the donkey and the rabbit. My favorite part is when donkey says I will only teach you if you sit still and listen. [why?] Because I like the words in that part. And I like that donkey gives him a ride home because that's a nice thing to do.

[Would you recommend this book to others?] Yes, because it's a beautiful story.

As a note, our version of this book is an older one, but I would hope they were about the same. The only part I've been able to compare is the cover, and the price, and the only reason I mention it all is because I have seen children's books change drastically over the years thanks to over-zealous editors (I Can Fly is a good example of this, when they actually edited out half the book and we had to go through an antique book dealer to get the original 40 page version). In any case, the original edition of this book is going for $70 used and I have to wonder why.