A Golden Age

A Golden Age

17 August 2011 by · 6 Comments

Golden Books have had such a well deserved resurgence in the market over the last couple of years. As a series they have been around for 65 years – can you believe it and we all have our favourites don’t we? What are yours?

Created as books for children that were to be low cost and high quality so as to make literature accessible to children of poorer parts of the US. Random House US have a great website devoted to Little Golden Books where you can find some great printables and activities as well as more history of the series.

SO you all know how much Katie and I LOVE Golden Books! We have written about our love on the blog numerous times – you can find the collection of our Golden Book posts here.

Now the wonderful Jackie from My Little Bookcase has issued a challenge to the blog world. She wants ideas on how to up cycle Golden Books that have seen better days and she invited us to take part.

We have been collecting very old and bedraggled Golden Books for a while now so we have a fair collection…

This is just a little pile!

Most of them have pages like this….

Scribble!

Or look like this….

Very grotty!

So we have been having fun using them as bunting. The first lot of bunting I made was for Ned’s 3rd birthday in his favourite colour – yellow.

Then I started to make some that we sold and also used as display at Magnolia Square...

I think I have a soft spot for the  Christmas bunting because it just looks so Christmasy!! There’s nothing better than displaying your love of books around the house – they are my favourite accessory.

We have also been using our collection to make gift tags for our online store orders. This has been really fun, because even in the tattiest book you can find the most divine illustrations to use on a parcel…

Filed Under: book related cool stuff, Borrowed and thrifted, Classics, Illustrators, Ned, Picture books, Uncategorized
Borrowed and Thrifted – and Gifted!

Borrowed and Thrifted – and Gifted!

11 February 2011 by · 2 Comments

A little while ago I was gifted a divine little book by my aunt. She’d found it while having a clean up and it had originally been at my grandma’s house. The little book is ‘A Pixie Book’ called Happy Days that was published in 1954.

The ‘Pixie Series’ was printed in Great Britain by Collins – “Publishers For The Children”. There is a sweet little bit of text on the inside jacket that reads – “The Pixie Book Series. Ask your bookseller to show them to you, and build up your own Pixie Library”.

Some of the other titles in the series sound interesting, for example Kittie-Poosies?

The illustrator is simply listed as Eulalie and with a bit of searching I have found that it is Eulalie Banks a prolific and beautiful UK artist. She published her first book when she was 18 and worked extensively from the 1920′s through to the 1970′s. She was highly respected in the publishing world it seems, and was highly sought after for pieces of her art including painting a nursery mural for Charlie Chaplin’s house.

And the thing that thrilled me the most is that she did the original illustrations for Helen Bannerman’s Little Black Sambo.

In Happy Days the story is very sweet and simple. The characters are Jack and Jill and their dog Jippy. The story, in rhyme, follows their day from waking up to going to bed.

‘The Bluebirds sing “Wake up and play.

Tweet tweet it is a lovely day.”

“Good morning Bluebirds we are ready,”

Say Jack and Jill and sleepy Teddy.’

Jack and Jill are positively cherubic, their little cheeks glow pink and their hair falls in little waves around their faces. The colours are incredible and it constantly amazes me how these gorgeous old books are seemingly still as vibrant today and they were when first published.

Eulalie Banks died in 1999 but has left behind a legacy of beautiful children’s books. There is a great bio of her here and also some beautiful flickr albums with more examples of  Eulalie’s work here and more examples from the Pixie Book Series here.

Filed Under: Borrowed and thrifted, Illustrators, Picture books, Vintage
Borrowed and Thrifted

Borrowed and Thrifted

8 June 2010 by · 3 Comments

In Justine Larbalestier’s book How to Ditch Your Fairy almost everyone who lives in the fictional city of New Avalon has their own personal fairy. Charlie the main character has a parking fairy that she is trying to ditch, hence the title. Meanwhile Charlie’s best friend Rochelle has a clothes shopping fairy who miraculously makes Rochelle always find clothes that fit, look great on her and are marked down – of course.

Justine’s fantastic young adult novel rings true to me. I have an aunt who most certainly has a parking fairy because wherever the destination she can always find a spot to park right outside or pretty close. She has had that knack for as long as I can remember. I also know friends who I know must have shopping fairies and more accurately thrifting fairies. Some of my friends can go to an op shop and find the most amazing things – designer clothes, jewellery and the cutest and coolest of things. I don’t generally have that fairy, actually really rarely do I have that fairy, except for one lucky day recently at an op shop in Newport….

I found, in pristine condition, four gorgeous little Tell-a-Tale books. Here are some photos of Little Red Hen, Jim Jump, Chicken Little and Little Bear and the Beautiful Kite…

The colours in the illustrations are not done justice by these photos.

Jim Jump is my favourite as it’s about a silly foal who jumps over all the animals in the farmyard, annoying them no end. One day the other animals dare him to jump a stream and he falls in. Not deterred he just decides to try it again.

I can’t tell you much about Tell-a Tale books. I did a google search and there are lots of secondhand copies especially in the US. It seems that the series was published by Whitman at the same time that Golden Books were born. The Tell-a-Tale books look to be a better produced and more durable series than the Golden Books with their hard covers and dust jackets.

Have a look at this site for more pictures of this beautiful series.

Whoever owned these four little books must have looked after them meticulously for they are perfect and I guarantee that I will look after them that way too.

Filed Under: Borrowed and thrifted
Borrowed and Thrifted

Borrowed and Thrifted

12 September 2009 by · 1 Comment

Book Affair in Carlton has moved, not very far, just to the other side of Elgin Street. It’s a fantastic new shop over three levels and the children’s books are in a little nook below the stairs in the basement.

There was still a lot of children’s books to unpack when I went in but I did find one gem that I love. It is a shaped board book called The Wonderful Colourful Butterfly. I can’t tell you much about the author, Gottfried Herold or the illustrator Hajo Blank because the little info I have found is in German.

The book is shaped like a butterfly and I can’t help but laugh everytime I open the book. Each page is a different butterfly illustrated comically, each with a human like face and the best expressions. My favorite is The Blue, pictured below.

 imgp1996

The author writes some text on the back of the book about a butterfly’s life cycle from caterpillar, to cocoon, to flying around the garden.

imgp1998

There is a little bit lost in the translation from German to English I think.  The last paragraph is very cute…

‘Without butterflies, we would probably be the poorer, for it’s beauty is no more than a gentle breath.

Beauty, however, makes the world a little warmer, more liveable and miraculous.’

imgp1997

Filed Under: Board Books, Borrowed and thrifted, Picture books
Borrowed and thrifted: Albert

Borrowed and thrifted: Albert

13 July 2009 by · 4 Comments

Almost can’t bear to take this one back to the library, as my library record shows: I have renewed this one to its limit and am now accruing a fine for overdue return. But must post on it before I take it back…

albert

Albert is a beautiful story about a young man. Albert is a complex character – from his upstairs apartment he listens to the noises of the day – a dog barking, children giggling on their way to school: good noises. But a garbage truck rumbling by: not a good noise. Each day there seems to be a good reason why Albert should not leave his apartment – too cold, too damp, too hot, too breezy. It seems that Albert is recluse… and as an adult you can’t help but wonder if maybe he is depressed.

albert-page-spread-11

One day an amazing thing happens: Albert sticks his hand out the window and quite suddenly a twig appears on it – and very quickly more twigs follow. Two cardinals are making a nest on his hand! Not knowing what else to do, Albert stands there – for days on end, watching the birds as they lay their eggs, keep them warm and, eventually care for their new baby birds.

Albert’s situation is described tenderly, as he and the birds learn to support each other, and as he watches the world go by on the street below the nest. A beautiful and touching ending concludes the story… Anyone whose life has been touched by depression – or knows someone who has – will relate strongly to Albert.

albert-page-spread-2

In addition to the amazing story that treats some complex and sensitive themes, the illustrations of this book are divine. Jim La Marche’s colour pencil illustrations are soft and convey rich emotion – he manages to incorporate an amazing sense of light and shadow through his illustrations, and shows the stationary position of Albert through changing perspectives as he and the birds grow closer and closer in co-dependency and friendship.

I first came across La Marche’s illustrations when Lou gave me a copy of the also stunning A Story for Little Bear by Dennis Haseley, which I love. He is also the illustrator of one of my favourite Christmas books, The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown. A great illustrator to keep an eye out for at the library…

||Albert is available from Amazon||

||An interview with Jim LaMarche||

Filed Under: Age 3+, Borrowed and thrifted, Illustrators, Picture books
Borrowed and thrifted: Seven Uncles Come to Dinner

Borrowed and thrifted: Seven Uncles Come to Dinner

29 May 2009 by · 1 Comment

seven-uncles-come-to-dinner1

This book was one of those ones that I saw on Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves and knew I had to have! As Scribbler points out, it is a must for Francophile mummies (that would be me!)…

It is also a must for anyone who loves 1960s illustrations. To say the colours are bright would be an understatement – these tones of pinks and purples and yellows could only have emerged from the 60s. Contrasting in black are stark linocut style forms which are what really characterizes the illos – and they are truly amazing.

I doubt this book was ever published in Australia, but I was lucky and managed to score a copy via an online search through Abebooks. (See my previous post on my amateur techniques of purchasing seconhand books online.) And it didn’t end up costing me a lot. The copy I got in the mail is in great condition, and it even smells great – the aroma of library shelves!

seven-uncles-street-scene

The story is reminiscent of Pat Hutchin’s Don’t Forget the Bacon (which Lou reviewed here) – with a gallic twist. A little boy, Emile, helps out his aunt by offering to buy the ingredients they need for a visit from seven uncles… 

Cherries and berries for the fruit compote,
Green beans and tangerines… shall I make note?

No, says Emile, I’ll remember everything…

Nine little sausages and a leg of veal,
A Sainte Honorine tart and some orange peel.
Seven brioches and a long thin bread,
And any flowers, so long as they’re red.

But of course, poor Emile gets confused, and instead of asking for ‘Cherries, berries and tangerines’ he asks for ‘Tomatoes, potatoes and nectarines’. Instead of brioches and a long thin bread, he asks for ‘A round fat loaf with seeds on top, seventeen cream puffs and a chocolate drop.’ With the help of his friend Gerard and his cat Philomene, he comes home with his string bag full – of all the wrong things. 

Luckily Tante Louise is a true French cook, and manages to make the best of it…

seven-uncles-at-dinner-table

The text is long in this book – but lots of fun, and I can’t rave enough about the illustrations, which have so many authentic French details – street signs, price tickets, and cobblestone streets. I’m in love…

Filed Under: Age 2+, Borrowed and thrifted
Borrowed and Thrifted 2

Borrowed and Thrifted 2

12 May 2009 by · 4 Comments

ebay-parcels

Further to our first Borrowed and Thrifted post last week, I thought I would share some of my methods for buying secondhand books…

I do not consider myself an expert on thrifting books online – by any stretch – but reading blogs like Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves provides so much inspiration for finding vintage or out-of-print books. My experience has been that there are only so many titles I can keep in my head (or on a list) for next time I’m at a secondhand bookshop or sale. So these are some ways I’ve been using to make the most of the internet to find secondhand books, instead of relying on my brain cells…

1) Using Ebay for buying secondhand books

If I know a book is out of print or hard to find, I do a quick search on Ebay. Usually the book will not currently be available, but I use my original keyword search to set up a saved search. You can do this for a particular title or for an author. I use the email facility so that Ebay sends me an email when a book I’m looking for comes up for auction. I’ve found some great picture books via Ebay, and recently I’ve picked up a few for 99 cents – one was even signed by the author! My saved search was the reason I found these books and became the only bidder.

Fairly obviously for regular users of Ebay, once you find a book you want to purchase, you can also view the seller’s other items. Often sellers of children’s books – whether they are doing a home clean-out or operating on a bigger scale – have multiple picture books, so it’s worth having a look at their other books and potentially ‘save’ some money with combined shipping.

2) Australian online secondhand book sites

I also use Books and Collectibles, which is an Australian-based online secondhand bookstore. From what I can tell, their database includes numerous vendors, so by searching their site, you are searching the databases of many stores at once. Compared to some other online secondhand bookstores, the books here generally seem to be reasonably priced.

I have just discovered that you can click on ‘Add Your Wants‘ on this site, and you will then be emailed if the book you are searching becomes available at one of the vendors.

There is a secondhand bookstore specialising in children’s books here in Melbourne called Nanny’s Web, and I have found some lovely books there.

3) International sites for sourcing secondhand books online

I have also used are Abebooks, which sources books from sellers around the world, and I particularly like the way you can filter searches on this site. 

Are there any other book thrifters out there? What are your tips for sourcing secondhand books – either online or in person? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Filed Under: Borrowed and thrifted
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