Heartfelt Stories of Blossoming Animal Friendships, Kindness & Love

The Little Green Armchair and Tales of Echo Forest by Lisa Luttrell

If you’re looking for a short and sweet, almost vintage-style children’s book filled with animal friends and important life lessons, then look no further than Lisa Luttrell’s The Little Green Armchair and Tales of Echo Forest.

Once there was a little green armchair that sat in the open grass. Animals of all kinds enjoyed spending time on the chair napping or eating, and many seeds and acorns fell within its timeworn cushions and rusted springs. Over the years, a lush forest grew out of the armchair — colorful fields of flowers and towering trees of every shade.

Thus was born Echo Forest, where the sounds of all animal life can be heard echoing off the foliage. It’s here, one crisp spring morning, that two unlikely sets of animals experience sentimental journeys of friendship, courage and love.

A Windy Picnic & A Thirsty Stinkbug

Primrose Possum has the perfect day planned for her ten children — a picnic! With her five little boys and five little girls strapped to her back, the family winds their way through Echo Forest on a path filled with sprinkling creek beds to splash and play in. Except one little possum boy won’t get to play.

After falling asleep on his mother’s back, Finn falls off without his mom or siblings noticing and tumbles off the path. Lost and alone, he soon befriends a friendly fox that feeds him and keeps him safe and warm. Meanwhile, Primrose has noticed Finn is missing and goes out in search of him after dark. With the help of her neighbor, an old owl named Mr. Whoo, Finn is reunited with his family — and walks away with a new friend.

But Finn isn’t the only one who made a new friend in Echo Forest.

Neville, a tiny green stinkbug, makes an unexpected friend after tumbling into a cat’s water bowl. When Nora Bumblebee sees Neville struggling, she helps him out and lets him ride on her back across the flowery fields of Echo Forest. Together they share food and water and happy hours among the flower petals, a new friendship blossoming out of a sticky situation.

Short & Sweet with Valuable Lessons

The Little Green Armchair is perfect for children graduating from simple picture books and looking for something a little more challenging but still loads of fun. The stories are short and sweet and contain valuable lessons for children about love, kindness and friendship.

The book reminds me of an anthology I had growing up called Little Life Lessons, or even of the more vintage children’s books like Winnie-the-Pooh.

The limited pictures allow children to expand the powers of their imagination as they join these animal friends on their wholesome adventures. And the dispersed illustrations by Angelina Valieva were clearly drawn with delicate care and are absolutely adorable.

Readers will have no difficulty imagining the sensation of wandering down an old dirt trail underneath a thick canopy of leaves or riding on a bumblebee’s back across colorful fields of flowers. Luttrell describes the world of Echo Forest in great detail, painting a vivid picture of the plants and animals that bring the woods to life.

Children will enjoy traipsing through Echo Forest and meeting a variety of friendly animals in The Little Green Armchair — and perhaps walk away with a lesson or two.