Tuesday 27 December 2011

Kiddie Kut Books from the 1950s

Some of my best childhood memories are of my dad reading bedtime stories, and later discovering books that I loved to read by myself. My favourite picture book, or at least the one that resonates most from my childhood, is the sleeping beauty. The story and images have stayed with me all my life, so imagine my delight on rediscovering my childhood favourite at a local book fair. Published by Collins during the 1950s, sleeping beauty is just one in a whole series of “Kiddie Kut” books arranged and illustrated by Molly B. Thomson.

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


or, Snow White finding the little house in the woods and spending time with the seven dwarfs?


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"!


32 comments:

  1. 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.

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  2. barbaraannefisher27 December 2011 at 15:54

    Hello 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.

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  3. Sleeping Beauty is my favorite and has always been. It's a darling story with a sweet romance.

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  4. Absolutely. My favourites are Beauty & the Beast and Cinderella!

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  5. barbaraannefisher28 December 2011 at 10:01

    Hello 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.

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  6. barbaraannefisher28 December 2011 at 10:01

    Donna, I could not agree more - it is a beautiful story.

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  7. So beautiful! Love the colors and illustrations. :O)

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  8. barbaraannefisher28 December 2011 at 16:02

    Glad you like them, thanks for visiting.

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  9. What 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!

    ~Jess
    http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com/

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  10. barbaraannefisher29 December 2011 at 15:23

    Hi Jess
    The 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.

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  11. The Desert Rocks3 January 2012 at 00:51

    Gorgeous!

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  12. Have 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!

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  13. barbaraannefisher29 April 2012 at 17:26

    I 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

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  14. barbaraannefisher29 April 2012 at 17:27

    Indeed they are! Thanks for calling in.

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  15. I have the Snow White book. Just ran across it while cleaning our attic.

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  16. Hello 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.

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  17. Thank you for the Molly B Thomas pages. I had the complete series as a small child.

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  18. Hello 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

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  19. I 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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    1. Hello 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

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  20. Beautiful Images Barbara ..specially of the bedroom with vines of pink blooms!
    But 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 :)

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  21. Thank you Kokila. I so enjoyed hearing about your favourite childhood books. Much Love, Barbara

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  22. I 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.

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    1. Hello 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)

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  23. Thank 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!

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  24. Hi 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

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  25. I have copies of Snow White and the severn dwarfs (Kiddie Kut Book (1950s)
    also a copy of Hanseland Gretel
    and a Cinderella No.503 comic book. willing to sell {Give ma a bid}

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    1. Thanks for the offer but I already have those in my collection.

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    2. "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.

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    3. Hello, 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

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    4. Thank you for replying Barbara!
      I 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

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    5. Anything is possible. If not, I hope you manage to find a copy soon. Best Wishes Barbara

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I really appreciate your comment. Thank you!
Barbara xx