A classic easy reader, first published in 1961, Robert the Rose Horse features faithful, hard-working Robert, a horse who has an unfortunate allergy to roses. When Robert’s allergy, and the mighty sneezes that result from it, wreak havoc in one job, persistent Robert moves on to another job, trying to find his place in the world. Finally, of course, Robert’s sneezes save the day, foiling a bank robbery and making Robert an Allergic Hero.

I honestly don’t know what it is about this story that makes it so appealing. I might credit nostalgia since I first read about Robert back when I was an emerging reader over fifty years ago. However, I have had several library patrons, emerging readers of the twenty-first century, fall in love with Robert, too. Maybe the illustrations by P.D. Eastman, of Go Dog Go and Are You My Mother? fame, add just the right touch of whimsy and humor to the story. Or perhaps the theme of turning a liability into a super-power is a part of the attraction.

Joan Heilbroner said she got the idea for her story from observations of daily life. “‘I got the idea for Robert the Rose Horse because Fidel Castro was in town,’ she recalls, ‘and there were police horses all over the city. That has nothing to do with my story, but the horses were the trigger.”’ (Publishers Weekly) Robert the Rose Horse was Joan Heilbroner’s first book, and it was acquired and published by Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel) when he was editor of Beginner Books at Random House. Ms. Heilbroner was a school librarian, so maybe she just knew what would make those first and second graders smile. The Random House website says that Robert the Rose Horse has been in print for over fifty years. I’d say that kind of longevity qualifies it as a classic.

A couple of weird footnotes to this story: some of the copies of Robert the Rose Horse have a blue cover like the picture above, and others are red, like roses? I’m not sure why the color variation. And some people have complained that the robbers and the policemen who are chasing them all carry guns in the illustrations. Whatever.