Having rediscovered the sleeping beauty I decided to look for the rest of the series. I've now added the bells of London town, the three little pigs and snow white to my collection. Other books in the series are the house that jack built, fun in the frozen north, the three bears, Jack and the beanstalk, the water babies and Hansel and Gretel. There could be more but these are the only titles I’ve come across so far.
What little girl wouldn't want to be the sleeping princess in this magical bedroom
Do you have a childhood favourite you remember to this day?
Update July 2012. Thanks to 'Jo' I can now include The Water Babies in my collection. Jo emailed to say she had a copy and would I like it - my reply "yes please"!
Oh Barbara these are just too, too beautiful. I would love to be able to page through them, even today. There was something about the way books were illustrated and arranged for children during the early to mid decades of the 20th century (I'd say the 20's to the 60's) that was truly magical. These are such wonderful examples and still give me a tingle of pure delight when I look at them. Its something that I think has been lost in the years since then. I don't think it is just because we grew up but that the world itself has changed.
ReplyDeleteHello Sharon, that is exactly how I feel! It took ages to do the photographs as I found myself looking into the pictures just like I did all those years ago. There is something about them that reaches out and draws you right into the story. Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteSleeping Beauty is my favorite and has always been. It's a darling story with a sweet romance.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. My favourites are Beauty & the Beast and Cinderella!
ReplyDeleteHello Selina, I would love to find beauty and the beast and Cinderella in this series - they would be so pretty. Thanks for calling in and following.
ReplyDeleteDonna, I could not agree more - it is a beautiful story.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! Love the colors and illustrations. :O)
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them, thanks for visiting.
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful illustrations! These are the types of books that made my imagination soar as a child! I think I read that same version of Snow White! I always loved snuggling up with my mom or my grandmother and having them read to me. The stories flowed and I loved looking at the pictures and imagining the words. I could stare at this version of Sleepign Beauty forever! The details! You always have the most magical books to share! I just love coming here!
ReplyDelete~Jess
http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com/
Hi Jess
ReplyDeleteThe illustrations are beautiful and full of detail; I think that’s why I remember them so well. Thank you for your lovely comment. I appreciate your visits very much. It’s lovely to be able to share the memories with you.
Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteHave three left from when I was little and am adding those that fell to pieces! I also loved the Sleeping Beauty, but the House that Jack Built and the Bells of London Town were my favourites. Another book that fell to pieces was the Huge Adventure of Little Mut by Ivy Wallace. It took 2 years to find another copy!
ReplyDeleteI didn’t have any books by Ivy Wallace when I was little, but I know I would have lover her Animal Shelf and Pookie books. I bet it was a thrill for you when you finally found the Huge adventure of Little Mut. Thanks so much for calling in and leaving a comment. Barbara
ReplyDeleteIndeed they are! Thanks for calling in.
ReplyDeleteI have the Snow White book. Just ran across it while cleaning our attic.
ReplyDeleteHello Rebecca, what do you think of it? Are you a fan? I love them, but I think that's because I had some of them when I was small.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Molly B Thomas pages. I had the complete series as a small child.
ReplyDeleteHello there, thank you for calling in and leaving a comment. They really are lovely books, I remember them from my childhood too. I'm still trying to get a complete set for my collection. Barbara
ReplyDeleteI have a few of these too, including The Three Bears which I don't see mentioned here, they really are beautiful little books, thankyou for your blog, I have collected vintage childrens books for over 30 years now.
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DeleteHello Tory, thanks so much for your comment and for mentioning the three bears –another one I need to look for. I’ve been collecting for a good while too. I set out to replace all the books I owned when I was a girl, I’ve not got there yet, but I have found a lot of other ‘new’ favourites along the way. Barbara
Beautiful Images Barbara ..specially of the bedroom with vines of pink blooms!
ReplyDeleteBut the books I associate with childhood are Russian books of 'The Giant Turnip' , 'Grishka and The Astronaut ' and many more .... Cinderella and snow-white, entered a bit late in my life and like all girls around the world, I was immediately fascinated by them. I absolutely loved The 3 little pigs...its my mum's favourite too :)
Thanks fro the share dear ..stay happy :)
Thank you Kokila. I so enjoyed hearing about your favourite childhood books. Much Love, Barbara
ReplyDeleteI have the Noah's Ark one! I am going to sell the three books I have, but if you would like the Noah's ark I can just send it to you since you really enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteHello Cheryl, it is very kind of you to offer to give me Noah’s Ark, but perhaps I could buy all three books from you? Do you have a price in mind? You can email me by clicking on the email button on the right hand side on any page of this blog (you will find it under the picture of the children looking into a shop window)
DeleteThank you so much for writing this - as a child in the 70s I read my older sibling's copy of Hansel & Gretel, and just recently found a copy online. I've never seen the rest of the series, and this post is the only information (other than booksellers offering copies) I've been able to find about them. I love the internet!
ReplyDeleteHi there, I love the Internet too & I love this series of books. I really must update this post one of these days as I’ve found a couple more of the books since writing it. I’ve also ' one of them because a lady contacted me and literally begged me to sell it to her. She wanted it for an elderly friend who was seriously ill in hospital. How could I say no? The trouble is I miss it and haven’t yet been able to replace it. Barbara
ReplyDeleteI have copies of Snow White and the severn dwarfs (Kiddie Kut Book (1950s)
ReplyDeletealso a copy of Hanseland Gretel
and a Cinderella No.503 comic book. willing to sell {Give ma a bid}
Thanks for the offer but I already have those in my collection.
Delete"unknown", If there is anyway you will see this, I would be so grateful if I could purchase your copy of Hansel and Gretel. I have been on the hunt for 2 years since my copies were mistakenly thrown out by a family member. My grandfather read me these books every time I visited him and this one was my favourite, he read it to me endlessly. I would mean the world to me if I was able to have some of that feeling back.
DeleteHello, as you probably know, I am no longer selling books having retired several years ago. But my advice would be to keep looking on eBay as copies of Hansel and Gretel do turn up from time to time. You could also try ABE books https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/kiddie-kut/ Best wishes, Barbara
DeleteThank you for replying Barbara!
DeleteI did read about it in your post and I am happy that you yourself were able to have some childhood memories fulfilled!
I was hoping the original commenter who offered to sell you her copy of Hansel and Gretel would possibly see my comment, however unlikely.
I appreciate your advice :) Thank you
Anything is possible. If not, I hope you manage to find a copy soon. Best Wishes Barbara
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