the three billy goats gruff

the three billy goats gruff was one of my favorite tales as a child. i pretty much liked anything involving trolls. anyways, this start-right elf book is darling. its diminutive size paired with amazing illustrations by george wilde just makes it perfect.

the three billy goats gruff
retold by alice o'grady and frances throop
start-right elf books, 1966, rand mcnally & co., chicago
illustrated by george wilde

on friendship: a selection

i've posted about peter pauper press before...really i can't accurately express how enamored i am with this once little press...this book, on friendship: a selection is my favorite of all. at least of the books i've seen so far. it's super special because it's illustrated by eric carle of the very hungry caterpillar fame...the illustrations are hand silkscreened, i have another copy where the pink and green used are much lighter...i love these slight differences...and all of the illustrations are magically delicious...it's just a really endearing book that would make a lovely valentine's gift, i think!

on friendship: a selection edited by louise bachelder
1st edition, 1966, peter pauper press, mount vernon, ny
illustrated by eric carle

alice schlesinger

one of my favorite illustrators is alice schlesinger. i love her almond-eyed children and she just has a way of capturing a moment that i find really special. i love all of her work. these are the books that i own which are illustrated by her. she's also a very interesting woman who was educated in austria! she has a wonderful legacy of making children happy with her art. see more here.

i'm suzy by dorotha ruthstrom
BIG tell-a-tales, 1966, whitman publishing co, wisconsin
lithographed edition
illustrated by alice schlesinger

little boy blue: finger plays old and new by daphne hogstrom
a golden book, 1966, western publishing co., wisconsin
illustrated by alice schlesinger

the big book of favorite songs for children selected & arranged by dorothy berliner commins
nursery treasure books, 1951, grosset & dunlap, inc., new york
lithographed edition
illustrated by alice schlesinger
music drawn by margaret brewster

the big book of mother goose
nursey treasure books, 1976 printing, grosset & dunlap, new york
lithographed edition
illustrated by alice schlesinger

peppermint and if i could be

vintage childrens' books are just the best. it's also my most dreaded section at book sales. at the church sale where i picked these up, i had to peek around a family of 500 with a kid screaming to his mother, "can we sell this on ebay?" now i'm not against selling a vintage book, at all. but i did find it kinda annoying. i'm just sayin'. on the other hand, if there are a zillion (i'm overinflating numbers here in case you couldn't tell) kids looking at the books. that's ok. i'm the imposter. me and a whole bunch of school teachers.

lucky for me the family of 500 were more interested in contemporary hardback picture books. i was immediately drawn to poor little peppermint. she's cute, but i fell in love with the title font.

peppermint by dorothy grider
1966, western publishing co. , wisconsin
a whitman tell-a-tale book
illustrated by raymond burns

you can see the font more clearly on the endpaper. although on the cover the coloring is white with pale pink bubbles. i'm also quite smitten with the "illustrated by." overall this is a super cute book. it has a sort of surprise ending, which i won't give away here. i have other tell-a-tales books, and i find them all rather charming.

if i could be, author not credited
1953, whitman publishing, wisconsin
illustrated by lore e. winship (?)

interestingly, an earlier whitman title. this is a short paperback book. the boy on the cover reminds me of my brother a bit. i would've guessed this book was from the '40s were it not for the date. it's super cute! short and sweet.