Thursday, February 27, 2014

Vintage Children's Books



I know that many of you like vintage books. There seems to be something comforting about the look and feel of those old hardcovers  with their color plates and quality binding.



Having homeschooled for many years, I managed to acquire quite a collection of old children's readers, history books, storybooks, science books, and many books that have titles like, 'Stories Far and Near' or 'Tales of Long Ago.'

Looks just like my husband, doesn't it!
(see THIS POST)



Isn't this a sweet illustration for the cover!




With enough books of England thrown in
and some chocolates to sustain me as I read

Does this mean that I wouldn't tolerate the newfangled Kindle? Not a bit.
I keep my Kindle at my bedside.

So how about you? Are you a book collector? Do you have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to cut up a book to make some craft out of it?


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Happy Birthday to Angela. :-)



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This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Mosaic Monday and Barn Hop and  Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  The Marketplace  and  and  Market Yourself Monday and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and Le Chateau des Fleurs and   Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and   Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Treasure Box Tuesday and Knick of Time Tuesday and  Creative Showcase and   Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Adorned From Above and  Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Saturday Nite Special

36 comments:

  1. I Like those old school books. I have always loved books. Some times I'll read a children's book for my own pleasure. Nellie at Berries and More, has a great collection of books also. Blessings, xoxo,Susie

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  2. my mom has many of them. i enjoyed looking at them as a kid. not lately. i guess the problem or the tough part is - how do you keep them living like that? without getting in worse condition? because with time, being on the shelf & what will folks do with them in the future is the ??! because they will continue to age no matter what. unless you have a water tight, air tight kind of chamber? say like where they keep the constitution? ( :

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  3. Those books are fantastic! I adore old books and have even collected some for my own shelves... as you said, there is truly something comforting about them. And yes, I think anyone that cuts them up for art projects is insane!! Books are so precious, I don't understand that at all. But, I'm also digging my heals in and not buying a kindle either.. lol.. I love holding books and smelling them and you just don't get that with a kindle!!!

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  4. I love books and especially love old ones! Your books are just awesome. I don't have a kindle...yet! Have a great day!
    Nancy

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  5. Very nice books! I am guilty of using old ones for paper crafting, but usually it's damaged books.

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  6. i love the pictures in the ones you showed here, even though i am not a collector.. it is good there are people like you who will collect and save them for the future to see what used to be. if the world were like me, we would be in big trouble on the what used to be...God bless collectors..
    i got an F on a book report when I was in grade school, because the pictures in it were not from old magazine but from an old children encyclopedia my mother gave me...teacher failed me because i cut up the book, mother and i were shocked...

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  7. Beth, if I had any amount of moisture in this house, I wouldn't dare try to keep old books. But as long as they're kept dry, they're just fine. I have some books from the late 1800s and although they're a bit yellowed and brittle, they're surviving nicely. Now if I had a copy of the Constitution, I'd probably take better care of it. :-)

    And here's the deal with the Kindle: I resisted for a long time. But when I found out that the Kindle gives me control over line spacing, that was a huge motivator to purchase one. Also, with the backlight, I can read it anywhere, anytime. It's perfect for travel because you can have several books, guidebooks, maps, etc. in that one slim volume that doesn't require WiFi. When I can't sleep at night, I pick up my Kindle (and don't have to turn on the bedroom light to read!)

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  8. Oh goodness yes! Books are so easy to collect. We were just talking about this with a friend. Growing up we had the most wonderful library that was stocked in the 1950s. We have been collecting our favorites when we find them. A recent find was three of the Five Little Peppers books.

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  9. Love love love old vintage books (or books of any kind really!) You have such a great collection! Don't have a kindle yet, but hopefully soon! Enjoy your day!

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  10. I love old books - especially children's books. I collect the "Childhood of Famous Americans" books and have written about them. Whenever you spot a book you had as a child, you immediately recognize it!
    Your books are beautiful.

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  11. I love those old children's books. Have you noticed that children were expected to read at a much higher level?

    Most of our books are used.

    I have not cut up a book, but my daughter has so many copies of Alice in Wonderland. Her annotated one had so much use that it fell apart. So when I bought her a new one, we put the pages around the room.

    I don't like e readers, except for free classics that are in the public domain. My spouse liked my Kindle so much that it his now. It travels well. My daughter has and i-pad, and I'm sorry I bought it, because it is a distraction. The Kindle is better in that respect, because it does less.

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  12. Oh I love old books, your children's books are adorable. I always pick them up when I see them at sales, adore the pictures.....Happy Birthday wishes to Angela, sweet picture, Blessings Francine.

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  13. I can't believe it - school books from before MY time!! You have a wonderful collection of "vintage" Readers!!

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  14. I love old books and illustrations. I only have a few. Thanks for sharing yours today. I also enjoy the kindle. Great idea to keep chocolates handy, too!!!
    Happy Birthday to Angela. She's beautiful.
    Have a great day.

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  15. BTW- A very Happy Birthday to Angela. Love the picture with the horse!! With many, many more Happy birthdays!

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  16. Depends on the book...I've chopped up quite a few discarded, ratty old books....not children's readers, though! Heaven forbid.

    And I can not get used to reading a book on the Kindle or iPad. I think it's because I can not gauge my progress through the physically held book.

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  17. Funny thing, we have a house guest right now and as he looked at our old books he just went on and on of his love for old books. He said he likes how they look, how they smell, how they feel to the touch. Yes we love old books in this house and have (too) many.

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  18. I love my kindle..
    But no way could it ever replace those beautiful old books.
    Love old children books.
    Not to mention chocolates.
    Woolie Hugs

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  19. Hi there, I love vintage books and have a number of children's ones-someday, after our move, I'll have to post of them. I too love holding a book in my hand but also will use my Ipad when I need to. Hubby isn't a reader so he doesn't understand my passion.
    O.k. so here's a question for you-I went to the store today to get McCormick Perfect Pinch Mediterranean seasoning and couldn't find it-so came home and googled it but it isn't on McCormick's site. Then on Amazon it said it has been discontinued. So is it possible for you to email me the specific ingredients so I can duplicate it tonight, as I'm making the chicken pesto. I could just add Italian seasonings but sure it must have more than that in it. Thanks so much!!!!
    Hugs,Noreen

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  20. I, too, have a number of old children's books around...some from my childhood, others from my homeschooling days. Some are early Amish readers gifted to me by Amish friends, and others are from my great-uncle who was a teacher and elementary school principal. I cherish them and think cutting up old books in good condition is a travesty.

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  21. I collect old children's books too and I'm always amazed at the beautiful illustrations! Readers are my favorite find at the thrift store. I've never cut up an old book...but never say never! lol Love your new profile pic on your sidebar! Now I can see you! Hugs!

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  22. I used to be a book hoarder, and when I just HAD to thin out my collection, I took them to local senior living places, for their libraries. I fought getting a Kindle for a long time. Now the book shelves have other collectibles on them and my Nexus7 (Joe now has my Kindle) has over 800 books on it. I keep the Bible by my bed and the Nexus goes with me in my purse, and rests next to the Bible on my bedside table.

    Times, they do keep changing!!

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  23. I love old children's books for their wonderful photos and graphics. They are so interesting. I have quite a few that were my mother's so it's not like I've collected them but rather, inherited them. The photos you shared of your books are wonderful.

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  24. Thank you for the birthday wishes! That picture was taken...oh, nearly 30 years ago! :-o

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  25. Well you have struck a chord with fellow book lovers! You have a very nice collection. I have the fondest memory of my old grade school readers although I have never come across any. I think they were my first inspiration to travel. I still don't quite warm up to my Kindle.

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  26. Judy, I just read through several of your recent posts (and enjoyed them all!), but I chose this one as the place to leave my comment because I, too, love children's books! Love.

    You have a lovely blog! Your pictures of England are amazing. I love the stone, too, but I love the sheep more. I adore sheep.

    Thank you for your sweet, encouraging comment on my blog this morning.

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  27. I bought a whole box of old children's books at a barn sale, intending to use them for craft projects. The covers and bindings so badly damaged that it seemed like an okay idea at the time, but now I can't bring myself to separate the pages. Maybe someday, for the right project...

    I love reading the old, old children's series on my Kindle. It makes me feel much less guilty than carting around an 80 year old book and hoping I don't accidentally hurt it.

    As for the crafts, I'm wishing I'd kept the Harry Potter books my son managed to destroy while reading them. Those would've been perfect pages to cut up and use for Christmas ornaments and the books were already a lost cause.

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  28. I love old children books. I buy some every onw and then when I find them at yard sales.

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  29. Such precious old books! I love the vintage illustrations and bindings too. I have a few, but wish I had more! I do like the book crafts and it is a neat way to recycle those that are destined for a landfill.

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  30. P.S. I love my Kindle and now read more than ever!

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  31. I love collecting old children's books. I'll have to share a blog post about them someday too. Is that a Springer Spaniel I see as you grandson? :) We rescue and foster Springers. Just curious. Take care. Nice to meet you.

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  32. Michal, I visited your blog, but Google+ won't let me leave a comment unless I join Google+, which, on principle, because of things exactly like that, I won't do. BUT, in answer to your question, the grandpup is a Border Collie/Springer Spaniel. She's a wonderful dog. How fun that you foster Springer Spaniels! Thank you so much for stopping in at Cranberry Morning.

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  33. Looks like there are many of us that enjoy old books. I love the drawings and pictures.
    Blessings!

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  34. Judy, I love your children's book collection! They just don't make them like that anymore. Thank you for sharing. You will be one of the features today at the Anything Blue Friday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see you again at the little blue soiree. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

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  35. A reformed book collector ... What's a kindle ?! Lol

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