Sooo it begins. Two years ago tomorrow, I posted my first two reviews... Space Witch and Why I Built the Boogle House. I wanted this to be a place where I could talk about and share my new-found enthusiasm for finding vintage children's books for my son. To show pictures and give descriptions so that other people could fall in love as I have. In that time, it has certainly evolved. It's become a place where former children reunite with long lost favorites. Where moms and dads find library recommendations. Where illustrators gain inspiration for their own work. Where children's book writers come to see who they are following in the footsteps of. Really, this site is a massive hobby and a huge labor of love. One of my friends often says... "Won't you run out of things to write about?" and the truth is... I doubt even if I wrote this blog until the day I die that I would ever run out of books to effuse about and adore. Seriously, there are so many classics that everyone loves as well as forgotten gems that are just waiting to be found at your local garage sale.
That said, this coming week, I am gonna ask everyone who reads this blog to comment. Even if you haven't before. To tell us what your favorite old children's book is. And why you love it. Every word we write on here spills into the collective Google memory, and provides one more stepping stone to help people find the long lost treasures they've been looking for.
The search is a good one gang. So until the day comes that I grow sick of this, I'll be here.
To celebrate this anniversary, there will be daily giveaways all next week, guests post, special editions and more. Plus, beginning Monday at 9:30 am, everything in the Etsy shop with be marked down 50% through Sunday. So, tune in kids and thank you for making this blog awesome.
24 comments:
Happy 2nd Anniversary! I've only recently discovered your blog, but it's already helped me rediscover a couple of my favorite childhood books (Scuttle the Stowaway Mouse and Attic of the Wind)...so many thanks to you - this blog makes me smile every time I visit it.
I'll add to your list (in case you haven't reviewed it yet) a truly lovely book that was one of my favorites as a child: The Magic Carousel (1967) by Dorothy Levenson. Beautiful illustrations and who can't be enchanted about a story where two girls ride carousel horses that leave the confines of the carousel and gallop them through NYC?
Happy anniversary! My favourite picture book from childhood is an OOP rarity called Tootle, by Johan Sarrazin, and illustrated by Aislin (Montreal cartoonist Terry Mosher). A shy dog makes it through his mistress's house party by observing legs under the table and befriending a young girl. The page showing Tootle nervously anticipating the party while looking out the living room picture window is stunning.
Hurray! Happy Anniversary! And THANK YOU for this site, which either sends me down memory lane or running to the library. Our recent library find by way of you was the Edward Gorey-illustrated "Rumpelstiltsken." Love it!
My favorite books in childhood were Daniel Pinkwaters, James Marshalls, and Arnold Lobels. There was one called Zigger Beans, also, that I've been searching for. Was it as good as I remember? We have a great one that my husband had as a kid, called "The Contented Little Pussy Cat." It's outrageously dated but fun; our kids love it.
I'd better stop because if I start listing my favorite childhood books there won't be room for anyone else to comment.
my favorites are some of the old golden books.... color kittens, baby's first book and bow, wow, meow. When I found them for my sons it was as if time collapsed. I still remembered every page as if I had seen them yesterday.
Happy anniversary! I love the shot of the crowded bookshelves. Bookshelves in magazines with lots of decorative stuff on them never make sense to me...they look lovely, but my shelves are crammed with books!
I find it impossible to name favorites; I have way too many. But one book that caused squeals of delighted recognition when my mom gave it to me as an adult was "When a Boy Wakes up in the Morning" by Faith McNulty. I probably loved it for the same reason the kids I read it to today do: that delightful familiar anxiety that the boy is going to wake his mother up when she said not to...but knowing she won't be too mad.
Happy Anniversary! My favorite book from my childhood is "Marigold and the Dragon" by Fred Crump. It is out of print, and I have been searching, searching, searching for a copy for years.
YAY! Happy Anni V! I've used your Blog for memories and recommendations. I love it! It even inspired me to start my own Kid's Book Blog.
One of my favorite books growing up was Mercer Mayer's "Little Monster's You Can Make It Book"... an activity book. I spent a whole Summer doing almost everything in it (it is a huge book of activities, crafts, signs, games, coloring, and more). The book was just a cover by the time I was done. Recently, I purchased 2 copies of it... one for my kids to play with, and one to cherish. I think the reason I loved it is that I learned to read and count with the Little Monster books. Mercer Mayer's 1970's books are things of beauty.
My son loves "Little Monster's Bedtime Book," and every night we say, "Good Night, Sleep Tight, don't let the Zipperump-a-zoos bite."
Happy Anniversary! I am so glad to have discovered this blog. You inspired me to track down many of my own childhood favorites for my children, and now they have a great book collection to call their own. I am always amazed at the time, dedication, and love that you have put into the upkeep of the blog. It shows!
My favorite childhood book is "Stanley" by Syd Hoff. I must've borrowed this book out a hundred times from my elementary school library when I first learned to read. Reading it as an adult, though, I am a bit curious as to why I'd loved it so much. But I did!
Keep up the great work! You are an inspiration!
Happy Anniversary! I love reading your blog--it provides me with inspiration as I scour goodwill, garage sales, and thrift shops for old books for my two year old daughter.
Never Tease a Weasel by Jean Conder Soule is one that has delighted Juliet since she was a baby. It made us laugh then and still brings on the giggles whenever we read it together.
One of my most recent favorites is We Were Tired of Living in a House by Liesel Moak Skorpen. I like it so much I read it to myself sometimes even when Juliet is not around!
Thanks for all your hard work--you are doing a beautiful job.
Happy Anniversary! Yet again I want to thank you for creating such a wonderful, well thought out blog! I love visiting here and discovering new titles and revisiting old forgotten ones! You've certainly made a very special place here!
Okay, now my favorite picture book from childhood would probably have to be Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. It just captured my imagination. I loved all the detailed illlustrations and remember poring over them for hours. I also have to give a shout out to 2 other favorites: The Best Loved Doll - a book I had forgotten about until recently and was delighted to be reunited with. Also, Greg Hildebrandt's Favorite Fairy Tales. The combination of my favorite fairy stories and Hildebrandt's lush oil paintings captivated me as a child. Oh, oh and one more - D'Aulaires Greek Myths! Ack! There are more, but I have to stop somewhere!
I was recently trying to find some information online about The Wuggie Norple Story. I happened across your blog and have checked it regularly ever since. It's marvelous. Unfortunately, many of the titles you mention aren't to be found in our entire county library system. And too often the cost of purchasing these out-of-print titles is prohibitive. But I'll keep my eyes open for them.
When I was growing up, I loved a couple of Maggie Muggins books that we had around the house. I've not read them in decades, so I don't know how I would feel about them now.
Congrats on your anniversary! I love your blog. You do vintage books such a great favor by reintroducing these long forgotten classics. I am grateful for being introduced to many books I would never have found otherwise.
Hello, one of my favorites from childhood, is/was 'William's Doll'. I love vintage anything, and it is wonderful to travel in time by re-visiting books I read as a kid with my kids or to see them in your blog!
Happy Anniversary!!! some of my favorite books that I had as a kid... a couple of early learning Holly Hobbie books, some earlier Sesame Street books, The Little Prince, The 12 Dancing Princesses, the Prince and the Pauper, the Secret Garden, George MacDonald books, etc... I could go on and on and on... What memories, what fun!
Oh, I forgot Pippi Longstocking, the story of Jenny Lind, etc...
Where to begin? First, as a librarian, I have to say - if your library/system doesn't have a book, ask about inter-library loan. You should be able to get books from all over your state and outside the state as well, depending on your library's ILL policy.
Now as to my favorites...I have almost 150 tagged ff (family favorite) in librarything (http://www.librarything.com/catalog/JeanLittleLibrary&tag=ff) but some that I don't often see mentioned are:
Panda Cake by Rosalie Seidler
Geraldine's Blanket by Holly Keller
Tan Tan's Suspenders by Kazuo Iwamura
Johnny Castleseed by Edward Ormondroyd
Blue Bug by Virginia Poulet
Tangle and the Firesticks by Benedict Blathwayt
Teddy Bear series by Joan and Phoebe Worthington (really, really hard to find)
These always give me warm fuzzies!
Happy 2nd! I love your blog! My son is turning 3 soon and we have a similar obsession. We read for hours every day and he has somewhere around a thousand books now. Reading your blog makes me feel like we may not be completely nuts after all -- or at least not completely alone :-)
One of my very favorites is Arnold Lobel's Mouse Tales.
Happy Anniversary! My favourites are anything by Enid Blyton. Magic Faraway Tree or Wishing Chair or any of her books really. I also loved Hans Christian Anderson when I was a child. My very favourite of his tales was The Little Mermaid. xx
Family classics (for my family anyway) include Never Tease a Weasel, The Pelican Chorus, and Fox Went Out (On A Chilly Night). Authentic travel-back-in-time books for me.
Happy Anniversary!!! Love your blog!!! I too, share your passion for children’s books, especially the vintage ones! Favorites from my childhood, that’s hard because there were many, but here it goes…… The House on East 88th Street and Amelia Bedelia.
Happy anniversary! I just started reading your blog a couple of weeks ago and I immediately HAD to add it to my blogroll.
I have way too many fav childhood books to pin it down to one. Funny enough, I can't rem the names of my very fav ones, although I can describe them somewhat(a large-sized book of Hans Anderson fairy tales that I borrowed from the child who lived next door and ended up keeping somehow; a small, square board book that MUST have been called 'I See' because each sentence on each page began with those words; and another small, white board book full of nursery rhymes)
I did love Enid Blyton's Rewards and Popular Rewards series, particularly 'The Magic Paintbrush,' 'A Hole in Her Pocket,' 'The Towers in Ho-Ho Wood,' 'The Wishing Chair,' and 'The Magic Faraway Tree' to name a few (yayyyy, great books!)
However the book that I feel must have been my VERY fav is the one that remains the vaguest to me. I just remember that I read that book over and over till the page were falling apart. Can't rem what it was about tho, yikes!
Anyway, thanks for all your hard work on maintaining the blog!
Happy Anniversary! Thank you so much for all of the time and craft that you put into maintaining this blog- I can't imagine a greater joy than sharing books both old and new with my 3 year old daughter, and your blog gives weekly fuel to this fire. :)
I have you to thank for adding a new old favorite to our queue- I was the winner of the Come Over To My House "easter egg" in your Etsy shop last year. What a treat!
I haven't yet introduced my daughter to my old all time favorite, as she's not terribly into "scary things" these days. But I can't wait to read Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak with her. This book is alternately dark and wonderful, and perfectly sums up the tangled relationship and feelings an older sibling can have for a little one. (I was an oldest!)
I hope you continue to find joy in your discoveries and sharing them with the rest of us!!!
Love your blog and the illustration inspiration that can be pulled from it. I have lots of favorites, but the one I have the best memories from is probably "Where's Wallace". I love how there are so many things to discover within the illustrations and the cross-sections of buildings.
Thank you for your blog!
Adore the blog, it adds to my library list nearly every day:)
I have an unusual name (Juniper Sage) and so some of my favorite books involve it. There is "Captain Juniper" by Margaret Ann Hubbard, Margaret Wise Brown's books that she wrote under the pen name Juniper Sage (complete coincidence) and Monica Furlong's "Juniper" (esp. with the cover by Leo and Diane Dillon:)
Your focus on illustration is what really gets me and reals me in!
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