As I one-time teacher of both primary kids and middle schoolers(not to mention being a parent) his books have been very important part of my life for many years. His stories were gentle, funny, and had a wonderful sense of amazement about them. His illustrationswere even more wonderful--
I saw a documentary about him made back in th 70's, and was delighted to discover that the places and people in his stories are real--Not so sure about the doughnut machine though--