Suzuki Beane: lost 1961 beatnik kids' book from Louise Fitzhugh and Sandra Scoppettone


Zack sez, "In 1961, author Sandra Scoppettone and illustrator Louise Fitzhugh (later the author of HARRIET THE SPY) did a satire of Kay Thompson and Hillary Knight's ELOISE called SUZUKI BEANE, about a miniature beatnik. The charming tale is decades out of print (a revised version with new illustrations and 'corrected' text was done some time ago, but loses much the charm of the original), but you can read the original — albeit with a few upside-down pages — on Scribd. It's a funny and surprisingly sweet tale of class conflict and a bygone era. Interestingly, this came to my attention because someone posted on YouTube a failed SUZUIKI BEANE TV pilot produced by Desilu in 1962 — it features Victor Borge as Suzuki's father, Hugh."

Suzuki Beane

(Thanks, Zack!)