Saturday, August 05, 2006

The Books of My Childhood

I just spent 45 minutes writing a post about these books, and attempting to post photos and in one keystroke - I lost it all! I don't know if I have the patience to do it all again, but I will try. My Book House, the set I have was published in 1937, edited by Olive Beaupre Miller, was one of the best. It is a set of 12 volumes, each lavishly illustrated by various artists. The Owl and the Pussy-Cat was a favorite; I especially liked this drawing, which sparked my imagination even before I could read the poem. Here is a link telling about the books, the history of them and something about the woman who collected and edited the books: http://www.valerieslivingbooks.com/mbh.htm
The third drawing down came from "The Brimful Book, A Collection of Mother Goose Rhymes and Animal Stories". This one was also lavishly illustrated, even more so than the first book. "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" was a story I liked a lot. As an only child, I longed for some siblings and built-in playmates. I really wanted to live in that shoe with all those children! Those who came from big families may laugh at that and envy my position as favored only child, but I didn't see it that way. I can't show the cover of that book because it was so torn up that I had to cover it with adhesive paper and make numerous page repairs with cellophane tape. I just searched for this book and found it on ebay. Here is the link, and if you scroll up/down the page, you can see several illustrations from it, as well as the original cover:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1939-THE-BRIMFUL-BOOK-BY-PLATT-MUNK_W0QQitemZ220011423716QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting



The last one is the inside cover from "A Child's Book of Bible Stories", illustrated by Masha (she used one name). Published by Random House in 1944, I was fascinated by the Egyptian-style art. I used to draw frequently as a child, and when I couldn't draw something well - I traced it. I spent hours tracing the illustrations in this book. I tried to google this one, and Masha, but most of the entries are for subjects not pertaining to children at all.....LOL.
I still have these books (as you know, I cannot seem to throw much of anything away). I do hope that my children and their children will keep and treasure them as much as I always have.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the old fairytales and photographs styles back then. I was fasicinated by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson when I was a girl. Sorry you lost all your work. I'm sleepy and over from michele's.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

What a fabulous book this one is that was on Ebay...I saw that it sold for $51. something! Precious Indeed! I love that you still have these books Judy...and I too hope your children and grandchildren will treasure them as you have.

Shephard said...

Oh, I'm with you. I LOVE the Owl & The Pussycat illustration. That is so charming! We collect children's illustrated books for the art. Love that one!
Thanks for sharing those!
~S

my word verification: hogmtot

Maya's Granny said...

When I was growing up in the 40s we would visit my father's mother and she had his books from childhood. Since he was born in 1914, they were real treasures. He died in 1948 and I never saw those books again, but I can still remember some of the pictures from them and how good it made me feel to read his books.

Raggedy said...

I think it is wonderful that you are keeping these treasures in the family...
I am just fascinated with all the things you have kept...
Personal family history is something I do not have. This touches my heart and is special for me...
Thanks for writing and showing us the pictures of your many treasures. I love it!
Have a wonderful day!
*^_^
(=':'=) hugs
(")_ (")Š from da Raggedy one

Anonymous said...

What great illustrations. And you prodded me to go check out some great, very old, little books that belonged to my aunt's friend, Grace. Thought perhaps it's the same author but it isn't.
I can only imagine how frustrated you were to lose the work on here!

Jean-Luc Picard said...

The illustrations are so artistic. Much more so than nowadays. They are very inspiring for any young mind.

Michele sent me this way.

Panthergirl said...

Judy!! I've been thinking about scanning the book covers of the old books I've kept and given to my kids! I'm sure I had that same one of yours, with the scary Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe!!

I just love seeing all of your collections.

Here via michele today!

Florence Forrest said...

Judy, its lovely to hear how the illustrated story we read when young can have such a long lasting impact on us. In my folktale blog, Crackle Mountain, I illustrate the stories with art from those cultures that match the stories. I think it adds that extra dimension.

a good place to trace books via the great libraries of the world is librarything.com I love it:D

Here via Michele's xx

Anonymous said...

I gave all my childhood books to my niece when she was young, and now, unfortunately, they are gone.
Nice to see others are keeping them safe and cherishing them.
Here from Michele

Anonymous said...

Isn't that artwork incredible? I'm certain your offspring will value them.

poopie said...

How neat!

brendalove@gmail.com said...

Do you ever have the funny feeling that one day all the pretty art in children's books with be gone, replaced by computer-generated stuff.

Sandy said...

Glad you had the willingness to recreate the post. (I HATE when blogger eats my work!)

Among the hand-me-downs in our house, the most treasured are books. Just something incredibly enduring and perfect about a story that sparks the imagination from generation to generation.

Michele sent me over to hi today.

Chancy said...

Keep your children's books. The grandchildren will appreciate them.

I recently bought this book at our library book sale and it has been a huge hit with my 7 year old grandson and his 5 year old sister.Of course they wanted to know if gnomes are real. I told them I have never seen a gnome but many people believe they are real.

The isllustrations in theis book are priceless and almost museum quality.

Here is one review from Amazon.







http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810909650/sr=1-1/qid=1154886755/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9377334-5500723?ie=UTF8&s=books

Gnomes (Hardcover)
by Wil Huygen, Rien Poortvliet

Reviewer: Lesley West (St James, Western Australia) - See all my reviews

"Everyone should own this book - it is utterly irresistable! It has magical characters, magnificent finely drawn illustrations, and presents an overall philosophy of life that we could all learn lessons from. Please don't be fooled into thinking that it is just a children's book - it is a wonderful addition to any library.
It has a believable and detailed discussion of the food is are most loved by gnomes, how they raise their children, when they marry, where they live, what sorts of pets they have (cute mice in little baskets!) and how they tend to animals in the wild. The section which shows a cut away of their house is worth the purchase price alone - the imagination and thought that has gone into this book is amazing.

So if you want a little whimsy in your library, or on your coffee table, this is the book for you. If you want a book with magnificently detailed ilustrations, this is a book for you. Overall I think it is a book for everyone who is young at heart, or who likes a little magic in their everyday lives."

collegegirl said...

These are beautiful! Much more artsy then the Dr Sues books I grew up with.

Tracie Nall said...

What a fabulous thing to still have those books. All of my childhood books were lost in my parent's divorce....and my no-longer-relationship with my dad.

I love the way that certain books, or images from books carry with us for our whole lives.

Tracie Nall said...

Oh...I forgot--Michele sent me!

Unknown said...

I too, have problems tossing things out, but I'd NEVER throw away a book. Which is why my house looks like a messy public library. I've got a series of book from my childhood that were actually my mother's books. They're in the Maida series, Maida's Little Shop was the first, followed by Island, School, etc. I LOVE THEM.They're wonderful period stories about this very area we live in.

Your books are lovely. Keep them!

Here via michele today

Anonymous said...

Hello, Michele sent me.

Reminds me of some of the old books I have in my collection. I'll have to review and photograph some of them sometime.

Moon said...

Those old illistrations are so beautiful. So glad u redid the post for our benefit...Have a great day kenju

bornfool said...

It so surprised me to learn that you have trouble throwing things away. lol.

My float said...

Hi Judy, how funny you should post about old childrens books when I have been trying to locate a favourite of mine. It was actually my mother's and she received it in the 1940s. It was about a little girl called Pietra and it was called something like The LIttle Round Staircase (this is all my mother and I could remember about it!) It was the most beautiful book but alas, I scribbled in it when I was small and ripped off the cover, and sadly it has disappeared. But I have been looking everywhere for it, with no luck.
I have two large crates full of my old books and love looking through them. I can't wait to pass them on to my son.

Star said...

I Love the artwork. specially the Old Lady and he Shoe. As a hild i had a collection of Robert louis Stevenson poems called "A Child's Garden of Verses".I loved the poetry and the accompanying photos. I gave a copy to my oldest daughter.

Anonymous said...

These are fabulous! I have a collection of old children's books that is one of my personally held favorite treasures. These are just spectacular!

srp said...

Back home again and trying to catch up on all my reads. I absolutely love these pictures. The colors are so vivid for such old books. In New York you must look up the Books of Wonder book store on West 18th street. I'm sure they have a web site. I've bought books from them since Nyssa was a baby and they carry new and old classics. They have a section of old and collectible books, some quite costly. I saw they had a first edition of Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott and they had several of the Bobbsey Twin series. It's a great kids book store.