I have always had a love for reading and a love for old things. It was inevitable that those two loves would come together then to form an appreciation for classic books. Unfortunately, my reading tastes ran towards the rather fanciful science fiction department. I thought that, surely, science fiction was a new phenomenon. I mean, I know about the classics like Jules Verne, but to really read science fiction you had to go modern, right? Well, I was wrong as I soon discovered a dust-covered treasure that was falling apart on the back shelf of an antique store.
My first foray into pre-moon landing science fiction was Tom Corbett: Space Cadet! I loved the strange story line set quiet close to my current time, and best of all there were pictures! The cover alone took my imagination for a ride to worlds I knew and yet had never seen in the light of a pre-NASA world.
From Tom Corbett I also discovered Tom Swift, and though I was never as fond of that Tom, he was a lot more prolific. The thing I loved best, however, was the illustrations and the full-color covers that came with the books. They were so fanciful and different from modern thoughts on space flight and science fiction. Here are a few examples of my favorite book covers from those Toms. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. If you get the chance, I recommend reading Tom Corbett "On the Trail of the Space Pirates". It was my first book find, and one I still love to this day.
Author Heather Smith is an ex-nanny. Passionate about thought leadership and writing, Heather regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting blogs/websites. She can be contacted at H.smith7295 [at] gmail.com
Thanks Heather. I missed out on these exciting looking books - has anyone else read them?
I think I may have read that second one. As a pre-teen I remember loving Sci-Fi and deep sea diving adventures. Weird huh?
ReplyDeleteI think these were more 'books for boys' than 'books for girls' when I was growing up and we were remarkably gender specific in those days! I haven't read any of these but I love the early Sci-Fi books and stories. They had such a wonderful exuberance about them and a real sense of adventure.
ReplyDeleteHow fun are these! You know, I forgot about these books. I don't think I ever read one, but again I love the illustrations. You have a knack for finding the best books.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun blog! It's very interesting to see some vintage chuildren's books. Thank you for following my blog, I'm now following yours.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Greg
Adventurous not weird! My pre-teen reading consisted of stories by Enid Blyton and anything about ballerinas!
ReplyDeleteNow I'm hooked! I can't recall ever seeing these books, maybe I have but being more a boys book and science fiction type I would have passed them over at book sales - not anymore.
ReplyDeleteThank you Heather for opening my eyes to these books and also to Barbara.
Hi Sharon, I think you’re right these are probably the kind of things my brother read, although I don’t remember him having any of these. The nearest I got to Sci-Fi were my brother's Eagle annuals and later my son’s Doctor Who books! I don’t think I’m going to live long enough to catch up on everything I’ve missed!
ReplyDeleteThanks Donna but I can’t take the credit for finding these. Heather found and shared them. I will be looking for copies now though!
ReplyDeleteHi Greg, thanks for calling in, commenting and following I appreciate it. Glad you found the books interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle, you will be scouring Australia, and I will be scouring the UK – I wonder how many we can come up with between us?
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to have someone else post on my blog, especially with such an interesting topic.
I have heard of Tom Swift, but not Tom Corbett. What interesting covers! So fun to see sci-fi books from before the moon landing. I would love to read one of these.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie, I’m going to a book fair on Sunday, so I will be on the look out for these. Like you, I would like to read one.
ReplyDeleteI missed out on these, too, but they look awesome. Actually, I can imagine Ray Bradbury gushing over these ...
ReplyDeleteDo you know? I think you could be right!
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