How to use this Page

“O come with me across the sea
To a beautiful palm fringed isle,
Where row on row the coconuts grow –
Yes the coconuts mile on mile
And if you feel hot, you are very soon not
If you plunge in the waves awile;
And if you feel cold, on the sands of gold
You can bask in the sun and smile.”

“The mermaids there, with golden hair.
Sing melodies low and sweet,
The murmuring caves and the winds and the waves
Their magical songs repeat.
And I have come o’er the white sea foam,
Little earth-child, to your feet.
Oh come with me across the sea,
Where the birds wing fat and fleet.”

For this weeks When We Were Little Sunday post skip lighty over to the beautiful blog Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves - the MOST amazing blog and now an Etsy store as well. So much Joy!

This was my favorite of all the Miffy books when I was little. When our family went to the beach, we would all yell ‘I see the sea’, excitedly, just like Miffy.

I love the Dick Bruna website where Miffy is described as ‘uncomplicated and innocent’, don’t we all need more of those qualities these days! Dick Bruna is the master of creating beautiful simple characters that yet have so much personality. I was interested to find out that he has always used the same colours through all his work and never varying. His trademark  use of solid blocks of colour and his use of white as well as strong black lines are instantly recognisable.

On the Bruna website I discovered that it is only when he has finished the pictures for a book that he starts the text, ‘For Bruna is first a painter and illustrator and second an author’.

Even the text in his books is clean and simple, they are perfect to read aloud to children and they may even read them back to you before long.

Recently Madman in Australia have released the original Miffy animation series onto DVD. The packaging they have chosen is gorgeous, it’s cardboard and has been designed to look like a book.

Have a look at this sweet little clip, it’s in Japanese and so cute!

The Japanese have really embraced Miffy because she is so kawaii. They have Miffy licensed product galore, like on this site.

The selection of which vintage kids’ books are labelled as ‘collectables’ always seems a bit arbitrary to me, and I’m often surprised to discover how coveted some books are.

The gorgeous Ant and Bee series of 13 books by Angela Banner was published in the UK in the 60s, and republished in the late 80s and 90s. I love these books, but it seems incredible that even the newer editions are selling for extraordinary prices on Amazon and the secondhand book sites. Do people really pay hundreds of dollars for these?!

The books are some of the smallest you’d fine - and gorgeous hard backs editions. They are quite long - my one is 96 pages. Nevertheless - somewhat incongruously - they are intended for pre-schoolers and typically introduce basic concepts of the alphabet, numbers, shapes and colours. Key words are printed in red to help beginner readers associate the words with the illustrations, and sometimes pictograms are used.

When I first picked up my copy of Around the World with Ant and Bee (bought new, in the late 90s) it was a strangely familiar series. I still can’t quite put my finger on where I read this book when I was little, but it definitely left a strong impression. I had to buy the copy I found immediately…

The illustrations are very distinctive: it’s almost a naive style - flat, simple shapes, and Ant and Bee themselves have simple ’stick’ legs and faces. Yet, there are also instances where the illustrations have great detail: in Around the World, there are beautiful images of different landscapes and cultures. The colouring is impeccably done - in gorgeous contrasting limes, reds, yellows and oranges.

The text is unusual and also quite distinctive - very repetitive (I guess to reinforce the teaching theme) and at times the turn of phrase is almost awkward, but I think this is one of the very endearing aspects of the books.

In Around the World with Ant and Bee, Bee loses his treasured umbrella, which somehow gets blown away and ends up on a plane and taken overseas. Ant and Bee must travel the world to find the umbrella, and through their visits to different parts of the world, we learn the name and shape of different countries and some distinctive features of the culture there.

I love the excitement of the journey Ant and Bee take and all the details of how they travel. There is something magical about holding a small book in your hands, and imagining the existence of even smaller creatures and their adventures.

To me the Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories are like being wrapped in a big warm blanket and being hugged by my mum. They are comfy, cosy stories written about a time long ago, that are still relevant and adored today. Joyce Lankester Brisley first wrote about Milly-Molly-Mandy in 1928, she is a little girl growing up in a lovely little English village where she can roam and play without a care. This was obviously one of the things that really appealed to me at 6+ about the books was Milly-Molly-Mandy’s freedom to explore and experience new things in the village.

I loved that she lives in a thatched cottage with her extended family of Grandmother and Grandfather, Aunt and Uncle and Mother and Father, how wonderful to live with all those people to love you and look after you. I can also remember feeling embraced by the sense of community in the stories as Milly-Molly-Mandy attends fete’s and parties organised for the children of the village, she helps keep shop and gets to know the teacher, she helps thatch a roof and attends the blacksmiths wedding.

Brisley’s beautiful line drawings accompany the text perfectly, even though the illustrations were never in colour I could still vividly imagine Milly-Molly-Mandy in her pink and white striped dress. The end papers are a gorgeous map of the village which I loved pouring over to see where Milly-Molly-Mandy was in each story. Every couple of pages within the text there is a glorious illustration of a scene, full of quaint detail that you could look over again and again.

Although the stories could be twee I don’t believe that they are even today, they are certainly sweet but not sacrine. Milly-Molly-Mandy is an adorable character but she is also strong and confident. Joyce Lankester Brisley was a trailblazer, creating a strong female character who can certainly still sit beside recent strong little girl characters like Hannah created by Libby Gleeson, Sophie by Dick King-Smith and of course Lauren Child’s Clarice books.

Recently there has been an edition of Milly-Molly-Mandy released that is illustrated by Clara Vulliamy (Daughter of Shirley Hughes) and it has just been rereleased in a gift box with a doll.

You need go no further than Facebook to discover the cult following of this vintage Australian classic. Believe it or not, at last count Grug had 25,659 friends!

It would have been a rare Australian primary school in the 1980s that didn’t have a copy of some of the Grug books on their shelves. The first four books in the series by Ted Prior were first published in 1979, and the colours and design give it that unmissable 70s style.

Grug is a small creature who began life as the top of a Burrawong tree, which one day fell off, and gradually morphed into Grug. He has a unique view on the world; he’s a bit of a loner, but occasionally sets out to interact with the world in his own special way.

I remember taking some of these books home as readers, and have a very nostalgic feelings towards little Grug - he’s so industrious, but also so sensitive and considerate …

There were about 25 books in total published in the Grug series,

issued right up to the late 80s and early 90s. One of Grug’s many fans includes Australian author, Marcus Zusak, most famous for writing The Book Thief.

Harry the Dirty Dog, originally published in 1956, is another book that I vividly remember from childhood and as a testament to its appeal it remains a huge seller in bookshops today.

Harry is a little white dog with black spots who has an aversion to baths (what dog doesn’t?). One day when he hears the water running he buries the scrubbing brush and runs away from home. Gradually during his very adventurous day around the city he becomes a very dirty dog: ‘In fact, he changed from a white dog with black spots, to a black dog with white spots‘.

When Harry returns home his family doesn’t recognise him as their dog. Then the real fun begins as Harry tries to convince the family that he belongs to them ending with…a bath!

Husband and wife team Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham created several Harry books together; No Roses for Harry, Harry by the Sea and Harry and the Lady Next Door, all with simple story lines about Harry getting in - and out of - trouble. What really makes me love these books now as an adult is the illustrations by Bloy Graham and their lovely warm 1950s style. There is always so much happening in her artwork, I love the people with their wide eyed expressions, and Harry of course just has so much personality in his up turned nose.

This is one of those books that everyone I know always adds to their ‘must have’ children’s book list and rightly so, it’s a classic.

Written in 1977 by Shirley Hughes, Dogger is a timeless classic, especially in my heart. Dogger is about a toy dog, “a soft brown toy dog…with his fur worn in places because he was quite old. He belonged to Dave.” Dave takes Dogger everywhere and he is his special toy. Dave’s baby brother Joe is teething so he likes hard toys to bite and Dave’s big sister Bella (I love that name) takes seven teddies to bed every night but Dave only wants Dogger.

One day Dogger goes missing and turns up for sale on the toy table at the school fete. A little girl buys him much to Dave’s horror and he cries and cries until big sister Bella comes to the rescue swapping her lovely big new teddy with the little girl in return for Dogger.

I think what I really loved about this picture book was the reality of the story for me. My little brother had a toy Snoopy that he loved carrying around with him and I can remember cramming my bed with teddies, making sure each one was snug. Bella’s kindness has really stuck with me all these years, such an incredible thing for a big sister to do, to give up her wonderful new prize to get Dogger back.

Warmth radiates from Shirley Hughes’ illustrations, I love Mum with her cool ’70s head scarf and the ‘Darlek’ costume at the fancy dress parade. The double page spread of an aeriel view of the fete is mesmerising, the bunting flapping in the breeze and fresh sponges on the cake table. Her illustrations actually barely need words because the expressions of the characters are so perfect that they convey every emotion, this is equally apparent in her wordless picture book Up and Up, which I posted about here.

But don’t for one minute think that this book is outdated; Dogger is endearing every time I read it and I hope in a couple of years Ned will really enjoy it too. (It is quite texty so will probably be better for him when he is over two). I also know he will identify with Dave and his special toy, Ned has Hutch! This is an old photo of them together when Hutch looked new…

Dogger won the Kate Greenaway Medal, awarded for distinguished illustration in 1977. If you love/loved Dogger too, read this wonderful interview Shirley gave to the Guardian last year about the real life Dogger.

I know Lou reviewed a Berenstain book for When We Were Little Sunday last week, but a golden photo opportunity this evening means a repeat mention is required.

The book is Old Hat, New Hat by Stan and Jan Berenstain. It was, I am told, my very favourite book as a toddler - one of those ones that I knew every word of and could tell straight away if a page was skipped (which means, of course, that I made my parents read this book over and over ad nauseum…) Although I don’t remember this experience in detail, the book held fond memories for me, and it was one of the first books I bought when I began working in a bookshop.

The book tells the story of a bear who goes hat shopping, entering a store with his ‘old hat’ and surveying a display of new hats. The shop assistant provides a range of many hats to try, and models showcase still more, but every hat has a problem.

The repetition and rhyme are great fun and as a read-aloud it lends itself to indignant tones, at an increasing pace, as the bear becomes more fussy and the shop assistant more and more exasperated. I think one reason toddlers love this book is because it allows them to imagine being able to refuse and complain as much as they like! In the end, inevitably, the bear realises that sometimes a new model can’t replace trusty old favourite.

At dinner with my mum and dad and two sisters tonight, we were discussing Dr Seuss and Berenstein Bear books and I brought out my copy of Old Hat, New Hat. Rowan had it read to him for the first time. I think he enjoyed hearing it almost as much as I did as a toddler, but not quite as much as much as my dad enjoyed reading it again. That was, until the fourth reading, after which Rowan still called out, ‘Again!’

When Ned was born his dad insisted we get a copy of Bears In The Night because he remembered it from when he was little.

Bears in the Night is one of the Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners series written by Stan and Jan Berenstain. There’s not much to this skinny little book but Ned’s dad can remember it word for word. The text is great because it matches exactly what is happening in the illustration and is repetitious which aids children in memorising the story - one of the first steps to reading. There are only 24 words used in the story but repeated over and over and over again.

There is also an exciting build up as the bears sneak out of bed late at night - what’s going to happen? - and then a big BOOO and back you go through the text until the bears are safe in bed again. It is quite fun to read aloud as you can use lots of different tones and speeds with your voice.

There are now so many Berenstain Bears books in print I’ve lost count (I think there are over 250),  although I do remember the favourite of my brother and I was The Bike Lesson. The Bears now have their own TV series and website.

When I was little, we spent lots of long weekends and school holidays at my grandparents’ house in Myrtleford, in country Victoria. They had a big set of shelves in the playroom at the back of their house, containing books dating from my dad’s childhood. I spent many hours reading the books from those shelves. It felt like I was rediscovering them afresh each time we visited.

My very favourite book was called A Big Ball of String, written and illustrated by Marion Holland, and published in 1958 in the Random House Beginner Book hardback range.

It’s sometimes strange to revisit a book you loved as a child because there are certain elements you forget and others that stand out more prominently in your memory than appear on re-reading. My memory of A Big Ball of String is that a boy who is sick and confined to his bed becomes very inventive, and uses a big ball of string to rig up all sorts of contraptions in his bedroom. Even though I have read this book again in recent times, I was still somewhat shocked when I picked it up again today to discover that in fact this sequence does not occur until page 46 of a 64-page book!

The simple yet endearing illustrations use just three colours, and the images are contemporary to the time of publication. I wonder now whether my fascination with this book was related to watching countless Leave it to Beaver repeats on TV at about the same time. There are certainly a few similarities between the both the physical appearance and the escapades of Beaver and those of the protagonist of A Big Ball of String.

“I had a little string. It was no good at all. I went to look for more string to make a string ball.”

And so the boy starts his adventures collecting pieces of string from wherever he can find them to make a BIG ball of string. Then all that remains is to find some good kind of thing to do with the string!

But getting back to page 46, our new friend eventually comes down with a cold, at which point he realises he can use his string to make his day stuck in bed more interesting:

“NOW I know what will be a good thing! I can stay in my bed with my big ball of string! I can play in my bed! I can do ANYTHING!”

And so this resourceful and inventive boy ties string to his darts so he can get them all back again. He rigs up a string and box on a pulley system between his bed and his shelves so that he can get his books. He ties string to his window blind, to his light switch and to his door. He even ties some string to a toy mouse so that he can play with his cat.

Looking back, I reckon it was partly the independence of this boy that held such strong appeal for me: on his own and without the intervention of adults, he strives and succeeds. And throughout all his misadventures he has complete faith that he can achieve ANYTHING. And after a little while, it’s hard for some of his attitude not to rub off on you.

It's highly gratifying to know that something I wrote has brought such pleasure to someone else. While I would love it if there was such an enthusiastic response to one of my stories, it's nice to know that my critical writing is being used for good! So yes, I will print this out and keep it safe with the fan letters I got when "The Golden Lion" appeared in Cricket.

But I think it's safe to say that there will be no appreciative missives from Joyce Carol Oates, after what I wrote about her book. I always try to review from a position of honesty, and if a book is rubbish, I try to offer concrete evidence as to why I think is belongs in the bin rather than the stacks. The same with a favorable review. If I'm going to gush, I gush responsibly!