But Those Colors!

I am a sucker for vintage books!  Recent local book sales have netted me two fantastic books. One is an old reader called "I Know A Story".  Aren't the colors stunning? SO vibrant! 

How fun to learn to read using a book that others have used for decades! 

The next one is a 1913 copy of Grimm's Fairy tales, illustrated by Hope Dunlap. It's a companion to this book, which I hope to buy soon.  

Look at THOSE colors!  And the detail!  You just can't get books like this anymore!  Teaching your children to respect books enough that they can enjoy vintage copies like these is habit worth cultivating.  Care should be taken, of course, so as not to damage them in the reading, but the feel of vintage is so special, each child should enjoy it throughout their childhood.

My mother had a special set of books that she rescued from a house that was being renovated.  It was published in the early 1920's. I spent HOURS looking over the poems, fairy tales, literature selections, antique science articles, and craft ideas.  I think my love of vintage books was born in those pages.  I'm so glad my mom saved those books.  They grace my living room bookshelf now!  

Get to a book sale or book store.  Buy an inexpensive vintage children's book.  Give it to your child and read it together.  You won't regret it.  

The Overall Boys

This is a sweet little Primer I found at a thrift store. The Overall Boys and the Sunbonnet Girls were quite popular in the 1900's and far beyond. In fact, in the 1960's, my grandmother made a Sunbonnet Girl quilt for my baby sister who, sadly died at 6 weeks old.  I have that quilt now and it is precious to me.  I tucked each of my babies with it. The original copyright on my book is 1905, with a later copyright date of 1915.

The Overall Boys follows Jack, Joe, Tim and Ted as they explore their world. The text is not dumbed down and the Boys have REAL adventures!

Like the Sunbonnet Girls, their faces are hidden by their hats much of the time. 

Don't you just love the bodysuit swimwear?

Boys will be boys and have FUN!

My copy included this precious inscription, which documents my copy as being given as a birthday gift in 1919.

What a great find!  I love visiting thrift stores and discovering treasures.

When Hannah Var Eight Yar Old

It's been a while since I did a vintage book review. I came across this story when it was mentioned on a Homesteading board on Facebook.  It is the story of Hannah, an eight year old Swedish girl who later immigrated to America.  It was published in September 1915, written by Katherine Peabody Girling and beautifully illustrated by Alfred James Dewey. There's little information available on the author or illustrator, but what work I saw of the illustrator was beautiful!

Sweet Hannah is a young woman worthy of praise!  Her mother is ill and she needs to step in and step up, and she does a marvelous job of it. This is a bittersweet short story of a mother's great love, a daughter's faithfulness and the sturdy hardiness of the immigrant people who made our nation great.

Here's the complete book, with original illustrations, to enjoy with your children!

When Hannah Var Eight Yar Old

Odds and Ends Regarding The Book House

I have been collecting My Book House books for a long time. I have need of just ONE more to have the complete set!  If anyone has a spare Volume 1 with a light green cover laying around, please let me know.  I looked through my new-to-me Volume 2 last night, just randomly reading bits and enjoying the pictures.

I so love the colors of vintage books. You just don't get them with reproductions!  Speaking of reproductions, Dover is reprinting My Book House. I have seen that the first two volumes are published and ready for purchase. Volume One Volume Two If you can't get the originals, these seem to be a suitable substitute.  I haven't seen them in real life to compare the quality of the illustrations, though.  Do use Amazon's "Look Inside" feature in the links above. They have nice samples available.