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A couple of years I go I decided that I was going to start a collection of children’s picture books. I also decided that I was going to be really really picky about what goes into this collection. Mostly vintage, mostly the ones I remember from my childhood. I started with the intent of buying one book a month, but sometimes that doesn’t happen because I forget, or because I find three I really really want and can’t resist and buy them all at once.
I thought maybe I’d share them with you once in awhile. Those really really good ones-which happen to be the old ones-are hidden in the dark recesses of old libraries, or attics or the old toy cupboard, lost forever, discarded for the shiny new (and often much less stellar in my opinion) picture books. I usually find these old copies on Amazon, and buy them from a bookstore that sells them used. I love the “Used” books. They are sometimes old library versions, worn, with buttery pages or a little scribble here and crayon mark there. That doesn’t bother me at all.
Here’s one of my favorite purchases I just made recently. This is a copy of the book of classic tales that my mom used to read us often, by Watty Piper.
..”they will no way instill fear or vicious thoughts in young minds”…
That means that during the tale of the three little pigs, the pigs don’t actually get eaten by the big bad wolf but just chased away.
Here’s a few of the stories:
My personal favorite story-The Little Red Hen.
Aren’t the illustrations beautiful?
What a great book – thanks for the idea! I have a question for you – do you have any quality favorites that feature an African American kid as the main character? It's a bit of a random thing to ask, but my husband and I adopted African American twins this fall and I never realized until now how few quality books feature an African American kid as a main character. Of course we'll read the classic picture books together, but I'm having trouble finding even a tiny group of books that feature a main character of their race as anything other than a sidekick. Of those, it's hard to find any that aren't only about Civil Rights. So far Ezra Jack Keats ("The Snowy Day", "Peter's Chair", etc.) has been my only quality find of an author who assumes that OF COURSE some regular stories about regular kids would be about African American kids. Any ideas or resource suggestions?
Corduroy.
Amazing Grace (by Mary Hoffman &Caroline Binch) isn't a classic, but it's cute story of a little girl who has a great imagination and wants to be Peter Pan in the school play.
Also, the Jamela series by Nikki Daly is sweet, and set in a South African village.
My son is biracial but even if he wasn't I feel it's important for children to be exposed to characters of color. It is beyond frustrating that books get put in the African-American section just because they feature a black character even if the book has nothing to do with African-American culture. That said, 'More, More, More' is amazing, 'The Hello, Goodbye Window', 'Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears', 'Anansi the Spider', 'I Like Myself' by Karen Beaumont
My son is biracial but even if he wasn't I feel it's important for children to be exposed to characters of color. It is beyond frustrating that books get put in the African-American section just because they feature a black character even if the book has nothing to do with African-American culture. That said, 'More, More, More' is amazing, 'The Hello, Goodbye Window', 'Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears', 'Anansi the Spider', 'I Like Myself' by Karen Beaumont
I love vintage children’s books, ESPECIALLY for the illustrations. There’s nothing like going back to the basics. Thanks for sharing these!
These and the organizational posts you do are my favorites!! Well, I love all the baby Janey ones also!! LOL…she's sooo cute,..anyway, I am a total book junkie…that's where my $$ goes!! I love classics and old timer favorites…I have to make sure it doesn't become an obsession! This is the cutest book! I will now be on the hunt for this!!
I love the little red hen also. I like the pictures in the older books we grew up with much better than the new ones. Now as a Mom, I often say when asked if I have seen whatever they are looking for, I answer with "not I said the cat"
I just started shopping at "Better World Books" for used children's books. You can generally find old library copies for $3-4 and they often have %off sales. It's free shipping, and a portion of the sale goes to charities. The nice thing is that you can search by "hardcover"…have gotten so many nice old library books that way.
I see some of my favorites in your collection. Lovely!
Oh my gosh!! That's the book we had when I was a little girl! I can smell it now! Bless.
I LOVE children's books. When I had my first child, I asked my Mom if, instead of toys, my daughter could get a new, beautiful children's book for special occasions. Now, 11 years and 3 children later, we have quite the awesome collection! I cherish those books and am so happy to one day pass them down to my kids 😉
I loved Chicken Little and Little Red Hen when I was growing up being some of the first stories I could read on my own. Oh the memories!
I am a frequent reader of your blog and noticed you like vintage-y books. Two of my favorites that you may like are The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, and also Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon.
You should add this one to your list, it is an amazing book! I' m positive that you would would adore it.
http://www.amazon.com/Tall-Book-Make-Believe-Jane-Werner/dp/0060265051/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359135740&sr=8-1&keywords=the+tall+book+of+make+believe
Wonderful Post!!! xo
My very favorite as a child was, Little John Little, Wonder Books, Charlotte Steinerm. It's almost impossible to find and I can not find our copy from my childhood. I may have to start searching again.