new posts in all blogs
Viewing Blog: Vintage Kid's Books My Kid Loves, Most Recent at Top
Results 1 - 25 of 1,414
Reviews of vintage children's books both out-of-print and in-print.
Statistics for Vintage Kid's Books My Kid Loves
Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap: 7
Rising from the dead here to post this little tidbit from Tomi Ungerer's social media feed. Phaidon is releasing a single slipcased volume of eight of Tomi's newish and classic books, The Three Robbers, Moon Man, Otto, Fog Island, Zeralda's Ogre, Flix, The Hat, and Emile. Psyched! And in case you missed it a million years years ago, travel back in time to my interview with Tomi himself!
I miss you guys. I always have new stuff to share, but never enough time to share it. (And for those who are interested, check out my storytelling piece on Texas Public Radio.)
Happy Monday kids!
Personal fave
The Dead Bird by Margaret Wise Brown has been
released by HarperCollins with new illustrations by Caldecott-winner
Christian Robinson. Remy Chalip's original illustrations for this classic on love and loss will always be the best to me, but I do delight when a book that's been lost to generations of children gets reinvented so it can be loved once again. And Robinson is obviously skilled for the task. Other awesome books by Charlip include
Thirteen,
Arm and Arm, and
Mother Mother I Feel Sick Send for the Doctor Quick Quick Quick. And maybe Margaret Wise Brown really will live forever. Wouldn't that be something?
If you can get your hands on the December 2000 issue of Vanity Fair, there is an article about Ms. Brown that is spectacular! Not to be missed.
It's Raining Said John Twaining ~ N. M. Bodecker ~ Atheneum, 1973Danish nursery rhymes translated and illustrated by the author of the forgotten favorite
Miss Jaster's Garden. So happy I stumbled across his look in the library. I love the thin lines and intense colors, so elegant and specific.
"It's raining," said John Twaining. "Keep me dry!" said John Rye. "No I will not," said John Willmot. "You must go!" said John Slow. "Go where?" said John Square. "To Jack Crowning," said John Browning. "What for?" said John Sore. "Buy some coats!" said John Oats. "How many?" said John Penny. "Ten should do," said John Drew. "Want to bet?" said John Wett.Guinea pigs and queens. Miss Price and her mice. Trout with applesauce. This book has it all.
On a green, green hill I saw two rabbits come. One he was a piper; the other played a drum, on a green, green hill in the morning.
Also by:
In this week's edition of who talks faster than a librarian,
here I am talking about the new Dr. Seuss,
What Pet Should I Get?
The Meanest Squirrel I Ever MetGene Zion ~ Margaret Bloy Graham ~ Charles Scribner's Sons, 1962I keep coming back to
Margaret Bloy Graham's death earlier this year. Seems every time I turn around I unearth another of her books that I never shared when I was keeping this blog up daily. This one might actually be one of my all time favorites. Of course, anytime there is an unsavory, mysterious character in a children's book, it usually tends to hit the reread pile around these parts. We're spooky like that. But fear not, for all it's shady-characterness, it still falls firmly in the rated G realm. Plus it has this sweet shot of Margaret and Gene in the back flap.
Nibble was a little squirrel who lived in the woods with his father and mother. On Thanksgiving morning, his mother brought a basket up from the storeroom. In the basket were pecan nuts, walnuts and hazelnuts. "Can I play with them?" Nibble asked his mother. "Well," she answered, "if you're careful, you may. But remember, these are not just ordinary acorns. This is our Thanksgiving Dinner." "I'll be careful," promised Nibble.In what might be the ultimate "don't play with your food" morality tale, after a few rounds of "Nuts in Rows", "Nuts in Circles", and, the classic, "Nuts in Little Piles", Nibble looks up to see a stranger coming down the path. Ignoring the warning of "stranger danger" always seems to come up in forest stories such as this, so it should come as no surprise when said stranger swindles poor little Nibble out of his holiday dinner, pecans and all!
But it's when the squirrel family is forced to get their feast elsewhere that the true story moves into action. Recognize what's on the menu at The Squirrel Cafe?
Ethical questions and nightmares ensue, as the whole clan tries to figure the best way out of their nutty predicament. The theme at the end of the day is repenting for sins and what it means to have courage, two things we could all use more of even in the heat of July.
Also by:
—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
Tammy and Pepper
Kathryn Hitte ~ Mel Crawford ~ Golden Press, 1964I don't know about you kids, but we are in full-on spring mode here, just minutes away from the Texas summer. I know lots of you are still suffering in the grips of mother winter, so here's a ray of sunshine to help light the darkness. Nothing can get you jazzed about the upcoming season than Tammy and her little sister Pepper's wild island adventures, Big Golden Book-style.
Tammy and her family went to an island to spend the summer. There were miles of warm, sandy beaches on the island. There were cool pine forests, and a pretty little old-fashioned town. There was lots to do--swimming, and tennis-playing, and bicycling, and sailing in the harbor. For rainy days, there was a cozy library and an interesting museum to visit. Tammy was delighted. A whole summer on this beautiful island! What fun it was going to be!
What fun, indeed! Sunken ships and light houses, cute boys and seashells, and a scary set of circumstances that gets redeemed through Morse Code. Complete with an International Morse Code key in the back. Imagine! Like Nancy Drew just with more beach and double the blond.
Love these Mel Crawford drawings...
Also by:
Story of Harmony LaneI'm Mommy, I'm DaddyThe Chuckle BookSesame Street 1, 2, 3 StorybookTommy's Camping AdventureBoy Was I Mad—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
A few days ago I received a very thoughtful e-mail from Roy McKie's son about this father's passing. In 2011, I was lucky enough to interview Roy about his life and work..
As I said then about him and the interview...
"I might not have gotten all the facts here perfectly, but I've tried to convey a short history of an artist I admire so that his legacy can live on a bit longer. However, what I will set in stone about the man is this. Life is short. It's a beautiful thing to have used this life to create something that will live on longer than you. Something that brings joy to other people. We all make mistakes. We all make choices that lead us in one direction or another. But if nothing else, know and remember that Roy McKie was, and is, a kind man.
There is no way that someone could so beautifully visualize a world full of happy children and smiling dogs and be anything but."
RIP Roy.
Only a seven more Mystery Grab Bags left for sale... $20 a piece in my Etsy shop.
I'm gonna close the sale at the end of day on TODAY, and sort books for shipping on Tuesday, so get them while the getting is good!
Each package will include at least 4 to 5 vintage books that are super awesome. The $20 includes shipping and packaging, and will hold guaranteed awesome stuff and maybe a surprise here and there. Way, way, way over a $20 value. The suspenseful thrill alone is world hundreds! All books shipped media mail. Allow 2 weeks for delivery, though it usually taken less time for the PO to deliver. Continental United States only please. Remember, all books will be vintage, but they will be in good condition. Still an old book is not a new book, but you get my drift... If you put a note with your child's age and likes, I can try and accommodate.
Click here to sign up!
Thanks to everyone who already purchased a grab bag! We have a few more left just... $20 a piece in my Etsy shop.
I'm gonna close the sale at the end of day on Monday, and sort books for shipping on Tuesday, so get them while the getting is good!
Each package will include at least 4 to 5 vintage books that are super awesome. The $20 includes shipping and packaging, and will hold guaranteed awesome stuff and maybe a surprise here and there. Way, way, way over a $20 value. The suspenseful thrill alone is world hundreds! All books shipped media mail. Allow 2 weeks for delivery, though it usually taken less time for the PO to deliver. Continental United States only please. Remember, all books will be vintage, but they will be in good condition. Still an old book is not a new book, but you get my drift... If you put a note with your child's age and likes, I can try and accommodate.
Click here to sign up!
Hi all. Doing yet another flush of our collection and we have some excellent books that need a new home. I'm selling 25 grab bags for $20 a piece in my Etsy shop.
Each package will include at least 4 to 5 vintage books that are super awesome. The $20 includes shipping and packaging, and will hold guaranteed awesome stuff and maybe a surprise here and there. Way, way, way over a $20 value. The suspenseful thrill alone is world hundreds! All books shipped media mail. Allow 2 weeks for delivery, though it usually taken less time for the PO to deliver. Continental United States only please. Remember, all books will be vintage, but they will be in good condition. Still an old book is not a new book, but you get my drift... If you put a note with your child's age and likes, I can try and accommodate.
Click here to sign up!
"Children’s book illustrator Margaret Bloy Graham, widely known for her depictions of Harry the Dirty Dog in a series of books by her former husband Harry Zion, died January 22 in Cambridge, Mass. She was 94." More
at Publisher's Weekly.
Also by:
—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
Father Fox's Pennyrhymes
Clyde Watson ~ Wendy Watson ~ Scholastic, 1971
The beloved nursery rhyme classic written and illustrated by two sisters from Vermont about the stories a father fox tells his brood of 15 kits. We've always loved this book in our house because of how each rhyme is accompanied by an illustration that fully and precisely tells the tale, often starring one or many of the fox children. A small and busy feast for the eyes.
Mister Lister sassed his sister
Married his wife 'cause he couldn't resist her,
Three plus four times two he kissed her:
How many times is that, dear sister.
Belly & Tubs went out in a boat,
Tubs wore knickers & Belly a coat,
They got in a quarrel & started to shout
And the boat tipped over & they tumbled out.
Ride your red horse down Vinegar Lane,
Gallop, oh Gallop, oh gallop again!
Thistles & foxholes & fences beware:
I've seventeen children and none can I spare.
Thomas Thomas Tinkertoes
Upside down & away he goes!
He's off to call upon the Queen
In blue & crimson velveteen.
—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
Finally.... the winners are here, picked at random!
Gus was a Friendly Ghost goes out to Liana.
Arial will be receiving The Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature.
Loretta Mason Potts now belongs to Danzel.
Kira wins The Beast of Monsieur Racine.
And because I never did post a final day and this whole thing has kinda been half baked! I am picking a special winner of a mystery grab bag of vintage books. And it's you, cruelshoes1.... Winners can send me their mailing info to webe(at)soon(dot)com.
Anyway, thanks for playing gang!
—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
Yes! Day four of the Great (Post) Holiday Give is a new reprint from Purple House Press of the classic Gus Was a Friendly Ghost.
There was once a friendly ghost, by the name of Gus, who lived in an old house in the country. Mr. and Mrs. Scott and their twins, Susie and Sammy, lived there too during the summer. Then autumn came and the Scott family left. Which meant Gus had nothing to do but sit around.
One day, during a walk, he met Mouse, who was cold and hungry. "Come spend the winter at my house!" cried Gus.
Thus begins an unlikely but heartwarming friendship. First published in 1962, children have delighted in this story and other Gus the Ghost books for over fifty years. Seymour Fleishman's sweet, nostalgic illustrations bring Gus, the Scotts and Mouse to life.
So without further blah blah, I will be giving away one copy of this sweet, spooky book. To be entered to win a copy, simply comment on this post by 11:59 PM CT Wednesday, January 7. The winner will be announced the next day!!!!
The Great Holiday Give will run through Wednesday so be sure and check back each day to find out about a new vintage reprint and enter to win a different book. Good luck!
Great Holiday Give Day One: The Beast of Monsieur Racine by Tomi UngererGreat Holiday Give Day Two: Loretta Mason Potts by Mary ChaseGreat Holiday Give Day Three: The Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature
—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
Hey all. Welcome to day three of the Great (Post) Holiday Give! The give today is The Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature. Dover has reprinted my three favorite Berenstain books into one giant volume: The Berenstain Bears' Almanac, The Berenstain Bears' Science Fair, and The Berenstain Bears' Nature Guide. Nothing like the thin, morality paperbacks that make up the bulk of the Berenstain backlist, these books from the 1970s were massive tomes filled with busy illustrations, chock full of all sorts of useful nature and science information.
NOT TO BE MISSED!
Sooooo without further yadda yadda yadda, I will be giving away one copy of this fat book of awesome. To be entered to win a copy, simply comment on this post by 11:59 PM CT Wednesday, January 7. The winner will be announced the next day!!!!
The Great Holiday Give will run through Wednesday so be sure and check back each day to find out about a new vintage reprint and enter to win a different book. Good luck!
Great Holiday Give Day One: The Beast of Monsieur Racine by Tomi UngererGreat Holiday Give Day Two: Loretta Mason Potts by Mary Chase
—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
Unlike what some unsuspecting well wishers thought, I did not pass away over the holidays! Just merely got jammed up in the last minute minutia of it all. That said, the great holiday give will finish up anew next week, with three more gives on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
In the mean time, you can still throw your hat in the ring for the two gives that have already been posted.
Day one, The Beast on Monsieur Racine, here.
Day two, Loretta Mason Potts, here.
Winners will be announced on Thursday, January 8.
Happy New Year!!!
—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
The New York Review Children's Collection is the amazing publisher that brings long forgotten books back to life. They also have a
children's book club where books arrive in mail all the year round just like the old days.
Today's Great Holiday Give is one of my favorite in their latest picks, Loretta Mason Potts by Mary Chase.
"The poignancy of Peter Pan lingers over this fantasy, but it has its own special charm, the charm of unabashed fancy and resounding good sense, which made the author’s Harvey a favorite of adult audiences." -- Kirkus Reviews
Sooooo without further yadda yadda yadda, I will be giving away one copy of this book of magical worlds. To be entered to win a copy, simply comment on this post by 11:59 PM CT Wednesday, December 24. The winner will be announced (along with all the other winners from the week) on Christmas Day!!!!
The Great Holiday Give will run through Wenesday so be sure and check back each day to find out about a new vintage reprint and enter to win a different book. Good luck!
Great Holiday Give Day 1: The Beast of Monsieur Racine by Tomi Ungerer
—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
My all time favorite Tomi Ungerer book was reissued by Phaidon this past summer.
The Beast of Monsieur Racine.
SUCH A BRILLIANT BOOK!
So it's only fitting that this would be my first pick for the Great Holiday Give! (You know, that week before Christmas where I give away new reprints of insanely awesome vintage children's books?)
My original post on the book from 2010 is here. The new book is here. My interview with Tomi is here. And it's still not too late to order it in time for Christmas here.
Sooooo without further yadda yadda yadda, I will be giving away one copy of this magically creepy and fabulously wonderful book. To be entered to win a copy, simply comment on this post by 11:59 PM CT Tuesday, December 23. The winner will be announced (along with all the other winners from the week) on Christmas Eve!!!! This book was sent to me by the publisher to giveaway, but I don't think I need to tell you that this in no way educated my opinion of Phaidon, this book and/or the level of pure swank of either.
The Great Holiday Give will last four more days, so be sure and check back each day to find out about a new vintage reprint and enter to win a different book. Good luck!
—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
My! Have I been asleep at the wheel. I just realized we are a week out from Christmas and I haven't posted the Great Holiday Give yet. Whew. Forgive me.
If there is still anyone out there listening, I'll be running five days of giveaways starting today with the winners announced on Christmas Eve. Stand by!
—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
Knee-High Nina
Jack Kent ~ Doubleday, 1980
Not the most inspired Jack Kent of the bunch, but I am still on a mission to chronicle every last one of his books. The sweetest part of this little ditty is that it follows the classic Kent formula of a wee one wishing she/he was something other than wee. And I love love love the blue and yellow!
Nina was only knee-high. Mostly what she saw was the bottom of things. If she wanted to see anything up high, someone had to lift her up. If she wanted anything from a shelf, someone had to reach it down for her.
Life's rough when grownups are always telling you "You're wearing me out!" and you always have to study the bottom of things. Ah yes, there's always a wish, and in a Jack Kent book, wishes always come true, even if it does seem like the grass is always greener. In a freaky Friday twist of fate, everything gets flipped upside down and comedy ensues.
If you've never read the bit I did on Kent a while back in our local alternative press,
check it out. (The
post by his son, too) And if you are a newcomer to his stuff, run don't walk to your nearest used book shop and try to get yourself a copy of
Dooly and the Snortsnoot, Mr. Meebles, Just Only John or any one of his fabulous fables.
Also by:
Jack Kent's Twelve Days of ChristmasI Was Walking Down the RoadThe Grown-Up DayThe Fox and the CrowThe Biggest Shadow in the ZooThe Animobile BookJack Kent's Book of Nursery TalesDooly and the SnortsnootMr. MeeblesCindy Lou and the Witch's DogClotildaThe BlahJack Kent's Valentine Sticker BookThe Bremen-town MusiciansRound RobinJust Only JohnFly Away HomeFat CatPiggy Bank GonzalesSocks for Supper—————
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter, Etsy and Graphic Novels My Kid Loves.
Bill Martin Jr. ~ Larry Nicholson ~ Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967
I'm doing a twofer this weekend for two reasons. Children's photography books from the 60s and 70s! Yay! And apparently the photographers of that era made great parents. The photos in this book were taken mostly by Larry Nicholson, who has at least one super loving son who's a pretty sweet photog himself. No words here just a kid getting a milk mustache
, more kids eating ice cream, slurping spaghetti, candy, cake, strawberries, hotdogs.... all the things even kids today love. (Some of the food images are courtesy of General Foods and Birds Eye as you know how important children's nutrition is to those corporate giants.) The concept for this book is credited to Bill Martin Jr., author of the Eric Carle illustrated classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, giving it yet another layer of awesomeness.
Anyway, happy Sunday and behold the magic of children with food long since gone. 
The Walk
Bill Binzen ~ Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1972One of the things I've loved most about this blog is finding out the forgotten stories and people behind old books. The library where I work has a pretty dated children's book section WHICH I LOVE, and I often go down and check out the selection. The other day I came across this one from my birth year. I have a soft spot for photographic children's books of this era, most notably ones like
Why I Built the Boogle House,
Do you know what I'm going to do next Saturday?, A Very Young Dancer and
The Little Lamb. I could go on and on about all the things I love about these books, but mainly it's just fun to time machine back to a different place. I was particularly taken with this one because of its vintage photos of the streets of New York City, and a story line that reminds me of adventures from my own childhood that could never happen in my own son's overprotective suburban existence.
Charlie had waved good-bye to his friend Frank as the bus pulled away from the Boys' Club. Frank was off for two weeks at the Boys' Club camp in the country. I wonder what it's like at that camp? Charlie had thought as he walked home.
Shortly, Charlie gets a postcard from his friend telling him how awesome camp is so he and his other friend, Tony, decide to walk to the camp to see for themselves. Thus begins a journey that takes them over trash piles on Spring Street, a traffic jam on Grand, over the "Commerce Street Bridge" (not sure what that is), across the expressway to meet up with Charlie's Uncle Jack who lives in the Bronx and happens to drive his vegetable truck by the camp everyday.
Though simple in theory, this is a pretty awesome quest for these two young boys to embark on, as evidenced when Uncle Jack drops the boys on a random highway near the camp... "
It was a strange feeling to watch the truck disappear down the road."
Woven within is an implicit conservation theme frequently found in books with this early-era Sesame Street feel.
I Googled around for some info on the author. Ends up he passed away in 2010 but his family maintains
a website in his honor with a fabulous life history that includes fighter pilot, 1960s Ogilvy Benson & Mather ad-man, Life photographer and patriarch to a family with six granddaughters. His bio references his first photographic book for children,
Miguel's Mountain, about a large pile of dirt in Tompkins Square Park NYC that became a makeshift playground for all the children in the neighborhood.
A cool but quiet legacy for a dude who could take a pretty good shot.
--------------------------
Ingrid and Dieter Schubert ~ Kane/Miller 1985An early book by a husband and wife team who are two of the most famous children's book authors in the Netherlands, its cover haunted me for a while before I actually picked it up and read it. The fantastical realism inside, didn't disappoint.
Meet James. He lives in a tall apartment building, but loves to visit the pond in the woods behind his place. His folks are always getting on him about bringing frogs back to the apartment, and one day, sad and dejected missing his frog friends, James begins blowing bubbles and something strange happens.
One of the soap bubbles began to grow bigger and bigger and bigger. When it had grown so large that it completely surrounded James, it started to float out of the window, carrying him along in it!
It's not until his bubble finally lands that things get freaky. He meets a mess of grass frogs that eventually take him to Mr. Odd-and-Ends, a guy that lives by an enormous junkyard in a house made of junk, grass, rabbit hutches, and other, ahem, odds and ends.
The mysterious man makes all sorts of things... like toys made out of shoes and match boxes, button snakes, but even better, a Heli-plane; one that is missing a part that James just happens to have in his pocket.
Not really sure how the story arrives at the ending, but let's just say, James' parents don't have much of a problem with frogs anymore.
Wild, weird, and wonderful.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
View Next 25 Posts
Rising from the dead here to post this little tidbit from Tomi Ungerer's social media feed. Phaidon is releasing a single slipcased volume of eight of Tomi's newish and classic books, The Three Robbers, Moon Man, Otto, Fog Island, Zeralda's Ogre, Flix, The Hat, and Emile. Psyched! And in case you missed it a million years years ago, travel back in time to my interview with Tomi himself!
