New York: The Viking Press, September 1936. First edition. First printing, with "First Published September 1936" on copyright page. A Near Fine copy. Lacking the dust jacket. Publisher's beige cloth over printed paper boards. A trace of subtle foxing to cloth at upper board. A couple of dusty finger-marks to first and last couple leaves. Overall, a very clean and appealing copy of a beloved children's story.

Ferdinand, a young, peaceful bull, just wants to sit beneath his favorite cork tree and smell the flowers. His mother worries that he's lonely because all the other young bulls like to run around, butt heads, and roughhouse together. When a committee arrives to search for the next bull for the bull fights in Madrid, a surprising turn of events sees Ferdinand on his way to the bullring. Once there, much to the consternation of the matador and banderilleros and picadors, Ferdinand has different ideas about what to do.

Published at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War and earning widespread popularity during the destruction and horrors of World War II, The Story of Ferdinand has been understood as an allegory of pacifism amid a world of violence and chaos. The much-admired story, which was adapted into an Academy Award-winning short film by Disney in 1938, is both a celebration of marching to the beat of your own drum as well as a meditation on peace. Near Fine (Item #8279)