Do you know what I'm going to do next Saturday?

DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO NEXT SATURDAY?
Helen Palmer ~ photographs by Lynn Fayman
Random House, 1963

Ah, Virginia and its blessed antique malls. In keeping with the photo kids' book theme of yesterday.... I've been searching out a copy of this little ditty, and I scored one for $2.50 just down the street from my mom's house. (I won't even mention the pristine 60s Fisher Price Little People Farm I nabbed for $6.) Like Ms. Seuss' other books, it features often hilarious photographs by Lynn Fayman.

It is easy to see why there's a small controversy swirling around this book, as it's not often that you find a children's title with a full quarter of its text featuring the US Marines ~ where the main character little boy sports a selection of handguns and rifles on various pages. If you can step outside your modern day PC momma mindset, I have to imagine that a generation ago, little boys would have loved reading a book where one of their own gets to don a machine gun. (I've been hestitant myself to linger too long on those pages as I'm loathe to purchase so much as a water gun for my son. Irony at this point is still slightly beyond his grasp.)

But for those who love camp and all things old school, you'll find this title a must-have for the serious kids' book collector. Plus, the story is pretty crazy and fun. You see, there's this cocky little boy who is bragging to his buddy....

Do you know what I'm going to do next Saturday? Well sir....... let me tell you! I'm going to do some things no one ever did before. First of all, I'm going to eat a big, big breakfast. Next Saturday is going to be a big, big day. Next Saturday... wow! I'm going to do some tricks no one ever saw before. I'm going to dive some dives no one ever dived before. yes, sir! That is the kind of thing I'm going to do next Saturday.

Yes, from a kinder and gentler era... looking back longingly on that time when grownups were allowed to smoke in books for kids under 15. Those were the days.

Also by:
I Was Kissed By a Seal at the Zoo
Why I Built the Boogle House

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