Warton and the Traders

Russell E. Erickson is the author of seven Warton and Morton books, originally published from 1974-1988. He is a lithographer whose other interests include photography, printing, carpentry, fishing, and puttering around in his vegetable patch and woodland garden. Among his neighbors are toads, owls, blackbirds, moles and other little creatures who populate his delightful stories. He lives in Bristol, Connecticut.Lawrence Di Fiori is the distinguished illustrator of all seven of the Warton and Morton books, more than 70 other books and countless magazine pieces. A Fine Arts graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art, his extensive works include painting, sculpture, comics, fine ink drawings, and exhibits in numerous museums. As a mentor and a scholar, he taught in art school and followed his curiosity toward beauty and aesthetics throughout his life. He died in 2022.Lawrence Di Fiori is the distinguished illustrator of all seven of the Warton and Morton books, more than 70 other books and countless magazine pieces. A Fine Arts graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art, his extensive works include painting, sculpture, comics, fine ink drawings, and exhibits in numerous museums. As a mentor and a scholar, he taught in art school and followed his curiosity toward beauty and aesthetics throughout his life. He died in 2022.

"Setting out (as in a previous adventure) to exchange home-canned goodies with his Aunt Toolia, toad Warton discovers that a wildcat has been terrorizing the area and that his aunt has vanished. He finds her in the dreaded Bog, nursing a starving fawn who was wounded fleeing the wildcat; and, always the good samaritan, he digs in to help her. This requires bargaining with a pack of trader wood rats--Warton's part is to help them get rid of the wildcat, which he does eventually though his original hare-and-hedgehog-style race into the quicksand fails to do the trick. The rats are committed traders who will neither accept nor give favors; every transaction must be a swap--and their strict adherence to this code adds some spark not provided by the stock predator threat and the goody-goody toads." -Kirkus Reviews April 1, 1979