I fell right down the bunny hole and ended up back at Vintage Books

Those internet rabbit trails can take you so many places and get you really off track.

I was busily updating my website with free homeschool resources with some links for free e-books.

Naturally, I had to test out the links right?

At the Guttenberg Project I found some marvelous old books that are free to download in html or other digital reader formats in the Children's Bookshelf section:

Free book from Guttenberg Project

Free book from Guttenberg Project

There were several different illustrated versions of "A Child's Garden of Verses" and this 1916 version was my favorite of the ones available here.  I loved the art deco illustrations!!

That got me thinking about some other illustrations I had seen of that book.

So then I had to go looking for those versions.

Good "Google"y moogly.  Google this book and there are zillions of illustrated versions!! Well, I guess since it was first published in 1885 and in continuous print there are bound to be a zillion versions.

 It's a virtual walk through history with the "who's who" of children's illustrators, the artist styles of the time, and a bit of cultural anthropology in observing the fashions and objects of the day.

Looking through those vintage books lead me to some really great sites with images of other vintage books which I have written about before.

Here's a trip back in time anytime you want to visit your childhood library!!

Vintage children's books on Flickr
Retro kid on Flickr
Golden Books on Flickr

Naturally I had to see how much some of the books could be purchased for.  I find some hidden gems and realized that some of my favorite books we still have are worth a pretty good penny!

I'm just thrilled that people are taking time to catalogue the text and images of of these vintage books in places like Flickr and The Guttenberg Project so the books aren't just on ebay or etsy for sale at a hefty price.

So I started posting some to my pinterest board for vintage books.

Okay, what was it I was doing in the first place again?

I guess it doesn't matter.  My little girl is ready for me to read her stories :-)

And another generation continues the love of childhood books.  I wonder what books from their childhood my kids will be trying to find when they are all grown up.

Hopefully they'll still have all their favorites too because I saved them just like my mom did for me.

Thanks, mom!!!

Retro Kid Kitch

These retro art pieces, textiles, and illustrations (some old, some new) are so delicious to me I can barely breathe! 

Some of these artists have current pieces for sale so check them out.  Other things are vintage and rare so enjoy the thrill of the chase.

Retro art from Michelle Bickford

Jared Andrew Schorr Commissioned Muppet Exhibit

Jared Andrew Schorr Post-Its Collection

Ellen Giggenbach cut paper and art illustrations

Gartner Press at the Licensing Nook

Bewitched Magic's Retro Kitch photo gallery

Eleanor Thompson illustration via Betwitched Magic

More Betwitched Magic photo collection - I think I wore some of these

Brian Wildsmith illustration via Flutterby Patch

Wall decals by NE Indiana business Off the Wall Expressions

The Elves and the Shoemaker + Make your own shoes activity

BOOK TO READ

 

I loooved the Elves and the Shoemaker book by Hilda Miloche when I was a child.  It must have been a book we lost in a basement flood since it is no longer in my parents' collection of our childhood books. So I was thrilled to find a pdf with images from the book.

 

 

SHOE MAKING ACTIVITY

 

I thought it would be really fun to read the book with the kids and have them make shoes!

 

Free slipper patterns and instructions:

• Fleece slippers from Sew Love Sew
• Room shoes from  Sew-ing
• 1 Seam Rag slippers from The Pink Slipper Project
• Mocassin slippers from Flower Girl Designs ($) though similar patterns available for free from Sew, mama, sew and Studio Cherie
• Mocassin style felt slippers from Martha Stewart
• Felt slippers from Martha Stewart
• Kids butterfly or branch slippers from Martha Stewart
• Recycled sweater slippers from Craft Stylish
• Mary Jane felt slippers from Craftbits
• Recycled blue jean slippers from Make Projects
• Handstitch felt slippers from Home Life
• Recycled blue jean baby slippers from Prudent Baby (more pattern sizes from New Conceptions)
• Recycled towel slippers from Queen of DIY
• Recycled wool blanket slippers from Sew Green

My Genre

When you go to the library to pick up reading for enjoyment where do you go?

Photo: Of Good Report or Praiseworthy

Do you go to a specific section? Fiction or non-fiction?  Books or Magazines?

Do you wander the aisles waiting for something to speak to you?

Do you gravitate toward whatever is new or recommended by the staff?

I usually wander aimlessly, searching for "just the right book." 

The problem is that I don't often know how to describe that "right book."

• A good book is enlightening and energizing. I dance around on clouds for a few days.
• The wrong book leaves me angry that I wasted my time and loathing the book. I get grumpy.
• Needless to say, finding the "right book" is high stakes!!

I've decided this is what a good reading book is for me:

• It teaches me about another culture or another time
• It is usually told from a first person perspective or reveals truths about a real person or character(s) and thus life itself
• It makes me laugh or gives me ideas
• It lets me escape in some way
• It doesn't make me angry, sad, or depressed!!

Here's what I have loved recently:

  

6 books that teach art history through hands-on activities

I love colorful picture-book style books that "sneak" in topics of "academic" importance.

Art History through Hands-on Activities

These books provide hands-on projects and activities to correspond with a particular artist and time in history.

Each activity has a bit of background about the artist and period; just enough to whet appetites for further learning.

(1) Kid Made Modern: 52 Kid Friendly Porject Inspired by Mid-Century Modern Design - by Todd Oldham

(2) Usborne Art Treasury: Pictures, Paintings, and Projects - by Rosie Dickens

(3) Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters - by Kim Solga and MaryAnn F. Kohl

(4) Dynamic Art Projects for Children: Includes Step-by-step Instructions and Photographs - by Denis M. Logan


Art History through Looking and Listening Activities

(5) Can you Hear it? - by William Lach and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Look and listen for over 40 details in 26 works of art and music included on DVD.

(6) Look Closer: Art Masterpieces through the Ages - by Caroline Desnoettes. A lift-and-learn art adventure with clues to find in each piece of artwork.

Lawns with Less Grass: Outdoor play spaces for children

We have been working to eliminate as much unnecessary grass as possible. 

If the grass isn't a space in the yard that is conducive to playing ball or some other purpose, I feel there is no need for grass which needs to be watered and mowed.

Instead, my goal is to make our yard a magical place for kids to grow and explore, even in the middle of the city.

So we added a small pond, lovingly referred to as a puddle by my neighbor, and lots of plantings.

Perennial beds, vegetable gardens, fruit trees and bushes, and paths give us lots of alternatives to grass.

Butterflies, birds, rabbits, hummingbirds, bees, and even deer come to visit our little oasis in the city.

I drew much inspiration from "A Child's Garden: 60 Ideas to Make Any Garden Come Alive for Children" by Molly Dannenmaier.  The photos are incredible.  The ideas unique and magical. I wanted to jump into each page and live there. 

The book provided ideas for creating the essential elements of an outdoor playspace including, water, dirt, sand, creatures, and places for climbing, pretending, hiding, picking, moving, learning, imagining.

Because we live on a corner lot, with lots of front yard and hardly any back yard, all our gardens are front yard gardens.  So it was wonderful to find a book all about growing in the front yard instead of the traditional back yard garden. 

I love the concept of The Welcoming Garden by Gordon Hayward, with gardens that call out an invitation to enter and gather instead of being seen as barriers or perimeter borders.

Here are the books which have been useful in thinking about how to create our outdoor environment for children and adults, keeping in mind low-maintenance goals while being on a small plot of land in which all our space is in the front.  That's a tall order!  These are some great books to help.

Easy recipes for busy families: One pot cooking

I'll admit it.  I hate hate hate to cook.  But I don't mind making soups.  I love to eat soups and I feel like I can be at least mildly successful making them.

 

I guess the truth is that I feel like I can cook when it involves putting stuff in one pot to cook.  Here are some of my favorite recipe books in the "one pot" theme.

 

5 Star Rated Soup! Hot and cold recipes for all seasons by Pippa Cuthbert and Lindsay Cameron Wilson.

 

 

Divides recipes into:

• Classic
• Chunky
• Smooth
• Chilled
• Spicy
• Special Occasions
• Further detailed classifications include sweet, savory, aromatic, cleansing, refreshing, smoky etc.

 

Just One Pot: Over 320 Simple and Delicious Recipes, from Hearty Stews to Tasty Tangines

 

 

 

Includes recipes for:

• Soup pot
• Fry pot
• Stew pot
• Boiling pot
• Oven pot
• Tabletop pot (fondues, hot pots, slow cookers)

Help for picky eaters and moms who hate to cook.

D.W. the Picky Eater (Arthur)

Many families struggle with picky eaters.  Maybe that's why our family really loves the tale of "D.W. the Picky Eater (Arthur)"

The picky eater dilemma can be overwhelming in families with children with a sensory processing disorder.

These kids are super sensitive to textures, tastes, temperatures and meal time can be very distressing to them. Trying to get sensitive kids to eat a diverse range of healthy foods can be extremely challenging.

Preparing foods can be a draining chore for the adults in the household, especially  knowing that the food might not be well-received.

There are some great tips for managing food sensitivities caused by oral defensiveness associated with sensory processing disorder, though useful for a broad range of picky eaters.

Here is one more trick in the tool bag to help beleaguered parents of picky eaters: The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals

It does sound dreamy doesn't it? Kids eating healthy stuff they can't detect in food that they won't complain about eating??

Grab the book from your library or bookstore and ponder the details outlined here:

Learn 13 Strategies for Sneaking Healthy Foods into Kid Friendly Dishes

1. Add pureed nutritious foods
2. Combine refined ingredients with unrefined
3. Use foods that hide well (don't change color, texture, or taste)
4. Substitute nutritious liquid for water when boiling foods
5. Combine foods that are nutritionally complementary
6. Identify nutritious foods that kids will enjoy on their own
7. Alter the cooking method to avoid frying
8. Cut the effects of toxins or fats by diluting with something healthier
9. Cut calories and increase volume with low-cal, nutritious fillers
10. Use slower-burning foods to avoid blood sugar "spike and crash"
11. Add visual decoys to make food look appealing and fun
12. Use kid-friendly flavor decoys to distract kids from what's underneath
13. Use kid-friendly texture decoys

Learn 13 Recipes for "make ahead" juices, purees, breading, and blends to add to foods

Learn 12 Foods to always buy organic

It's certainly worth a try. Now granted, you might have to sneak things in slowly for the kids with super-human powers of detection.

My son could always tell if the milk came from a different store (or maybe a different cow!). One mom told me about a kid who could tell which bottling plant processed the soda just by the taste.

For the man in your life here is The Sneaky Chef: How to Cheat on Your Man (In the Kitchen!): Hiding Healthy Foods in Hearty Meals Any Guy Will Love

Garden themed books

These are some books we recently checked out at the library and had a lot of fun with!

Good Morning Garden -- Beautiful paper illustrations inspire the urge to note only get out and enjoy nature but to think of new ways to be creative with paper.




Princess Chamomile's Garden -- An adorable story of determination and creativity. We ALL loved the final garden design and wished we could replicate it at our house.  It was magical and whimsical with some good lessons.




Sweet Strawberries -- This is an interesting story to stimulate discussion on the importance of a positive attitude toward others.  It shows how we can choose how to see the world and what an impact that has on our own lives.  As readers we can enjoy the thrill of the strawberry adventure and feel smug knowing we would be superior in knowing how to treat others with kindness.

Disclaimer: While others may call the husband a sour man, as a psychologist my impression was that he is a brash, abrasive, controlling, borderline abusive husband, but one who does seem to learn his lesson in the end.  If a child has exposure to violent adults in his/her life this might resonate in a negative way.  But it does offer adults the opportunity to talk with their children about appropriate ways adults should treat other adults and children.

Vintage Children's Books -- Reliving Childhood Delights

Rather than visions of sugar plums, this Christmas has me dreaming of books from my childhood.

My *wonderful* mother saved all our treasured childhood books, some of which I highlighted here.

But some were lost along the way to water damage and who knows what else.

So I'm always on the look-out for some of the "missing" books of my youth. 

I'm also looking for duplicates to pass along to the next generation of kids who have fallen in love with our tattering books.

Do any of these covers bring back memories for you?

These are some of the I'm looking for to complete my collection.

Actually a few I never owned to begin with -- Doctor Dan, Little Majorette, I want to be a beauty operator, We help mommy or anything by Eloise Wilkins -- but know I would have loved as a child!  And I'm thinking my chef son would like Billy Brown Makes Something Grand as well.

If you have some special memories of treasured childhood books, chances are that they were made by one of these popular book companies:

Popular Book Companies

• Golden Books
• Junior Elf Books
• Tell-A-Tale Books
• Tiny Tot Tales (Whitman)
• Tip-Tot Elf Books
• Wonder Books

Where to view books online

Golden Gems - A treasure trove of Golden Books with covers and complete interior pages displayed online for pure bliss that costs nothing!

Vintage Kids Books My Kids Love - Blog with highlights of vintage children's books with covers and some interior pages displayed.

Where to purchase:

Of course you can google the books if you know the title, but here are some fun stores to browse and trigger memories you forgot you had!

Inner Child Books - etsy store with reasonably priced vintage children's books

Vintage Kids Books My Kids Love - etsy store with books priced in the $10-15 range

Vintage Children Books - large selection of vintage books that can be filtered by  subject, company, and other topics

Ebay - Search for book titles, set up "wish lists" for items not available, and research prices that specific books have sold for in past auctions

Ruby Lane - Search for books across an aggregation of online and bricks and mortar antique stores

Alibris - Vast selection of all kinds of books, including juvenile, across multiple sellers

The Reading Well - Large selection of books with different filters available.

AntiQ Book -Proclaims to be "Europe's Premier Antiquarian Booksite" though many books are offered by US merchants.