posted on 11 Apr 2022

The Man Who Didn’t Wash His Dishes by Phyllis Krasilovsky, illustrated by Barbara Cooney

Phyllis Krasilovsky (1926 – 2014) was an American children’s book author and, in her later years, a teacher of children’s literature. The Man Who Didn’t Wash His Dishes was her first published book in 1950 that was subsequently released in the UK in 1962. The edition I’ve been looking is in something like an 8”x 5” format produced by The World’s Work (1913) Ltd, a Surrey-based publisher which I don’t think is still in operation.

The story is a sort of cautionary tale for younger children and is, in all honesty, a bit surreal – which is I think the basis of its appeal to someone like me who is always on the lookout for children’s picture books that don’t quite conform to the safe and secure templates that you’ll find plenty examples of. I’ve personally never seen another copy of this on my travels and while I can only find a couple of second hand copies for sale in the UK, there are more to be found if you want to pay the shipping costs from the States. I suspect its rarity is the consequence of relatively low sales when it was released in this country and being a children’s book that will have got plenty of wear from sticky fingers, perhaps not that many have survived.

The story concerns a man who lives alone who develops an unaccountable hunger. Every day when he returns home he simply wants to eat and eat – in the process of which he uses up his crockery which he’s too tired and stuffed with food to wash-up. When all his plates and dishes are dirty and the sink is so full he can’t even reach the sink to clean them, he resorts to using any vessel he can find to eat out of – ash trays, flower pots and vases all get pressed into service..

Soon the house is completely full of dirty dishes, pots, pans: EVERYTHING you could eat or drink from. The man surveys the mess and is unhappy but at a loss about what he can do until, miracle of miracles, it starts raining. He piles all the dirty dishes onto the back of his open truck and drives them around until the rainwater does the job for him and he can take everything home and stack them back in the cupboards.

But he’s learned his lesson and now, after every meal, he’s sure to wash-up immediately and tidy all the mess away – that’s what makes him happy now.

The book has been illustrated by the esteemed children’s book illustrator, Barbara Cooney (1917 – 2000), winner of two Caldecott awards and the US nominee for the 1994 Hans Christian Andersen award. Cooney’s vision of the man is an aging, balding chap with a moustache and a spreading waistline who lives with his cat and enjoys a comfortable armchair. The drawings are seemingly naïve but have a wonderful sophistication that imparts all sorts of character and emotions.

The story is a whimsical warning against greed and laziness but the cautionary tale element really doesn’t beat you over the head and nothing too horrible happens to our little man – it’s the absurdity of the tale that will amuse you and I think it would still bring a smile to the face of modern children brought up on much fiercer messages.

 

Terry Potter

April 2022