little farmer of the middle west

this is a cute and educational book about farming. it is illustrated in photographs...i'm guessing with that time's version of clip art...but better. this would make a good educational tool, i think. i got it because my husband is from the midwest, but he has zero interest in farming and passed it up.

the children of america stories: little farmer of the middle west by madeline brandeis
first edition, 1937, grosset & dunlap, inc.
photographs not credited

and the jackal played the masinko

this is a beautiful book...lovely illustrations and a charming story. i learned that a masinko is an ethiopian violin-like instrument.

and the jackal played the masinko by marjorie hopkins
first edition, 1969, parents' magazine press, new york
illustrated by olivia h. h. cole

**on a side note...sorry about the lack of posts lately, i am photographing several books today and will be posted them starting next week! also, have you seen this site book sale finder? i plan on attending a few of those listed in my state.

sparkle and spin

i'm happy to share this iconic book sparkle and spin by ann (not to be confused with ayn) and paul rand. to me, this is more of a celebration of bold, eye-catching and interesting graphics. particularly graphics that are interesting to children who shy away from the fairy tale, dreamy sort of pictures a lot of children books are headed towards. it is simply wonderful!

sparkle and spin by ann & paul rand
first edition, 1957, harcourt, brace and world, new york

amish moving day

i love this book...i forgot to photograph a charming bookplate too. the 3 color silkscreen illustrations are lovely. the book is letterpress in its entirety, even the illustrations...which appear to be first letterpress and then silkscreened (although here it is recorded that they are 4 color engravings, hmmm). all in all wonderful, and i'm glad to have it.

amish moving day by ella maie seyfert
first edition, 1942, thomas y. crowell company, new york
illustrated by henrietta jones

noddy and the magic rubber

my husband and i were snickering at the title of this cute book...it's part of the noddy series, popular in great britain in the '50s. the illustrations by peter wienk and robert tyndall* are wonderful!

noddy and the magic rubber by enid blyton
first edition, 1954, sampson low, marston & co., ltd., london
* illustrators not credited

the live dolls' house party

this book is one in a series. the author has written other books such as, the story of live dolls and so on (* see list below). it's a lovely book...with beautiful and under-stated illustrations by virginia keep.

the live dolls' house party by josephine scribner gates
first edition, 1906, the bobbs-merrill company, indianapolis
illustrated by virginia keep

*
the story of live dolls
more about live dolls
the doll that was lost and found
the story of the lost doll
the story of the three dolls
the live dolls' house party
the live dolls' busy days
the live dolls' play days
the april fool doll
the secret of the live dolls
the live dolls' party days
the book of live dolls
the live dolls' in fairyland
the live dolls' in wonderland

the bear facts

i picked up this book thinking it was a children's book full of facts about bears...what i got what a clever not-so-subtle "fable" all about cold war politics! this is such a very interesting book.

the illustrations are so well done in a painterly/comic book style by paul fennell.

the author's statement,
any resemblance in this fable to any person, place or thing is purely coincidental and just the result of your imagination. and mine!
...as well as, her dedication,
this book is dedicated to all alert air-minded americans to all the men who build our planes and all the flyers who man them and particularly to the rawest recruit of them all, my son, roger conant culbertson
are poignant and really show her passion on the subject.
political books aren't very interesting to me, partly because, politics aren't that interesting to me...but i do find this book a valuable bit of americana.

the bear facts by polly culbertson
first edition, 1948, the john c. winston co., philadelphia
illustrated by paul j. fennell

take a peek at another interesting political book (with a totally different viewpoint) posed as children's book here.

typewriter town

this is a rare children's book all written and illustrated using a typewriter. it's an analog celebration!

typewriter town: the nonsense of nonsense by william jay smith
first edition, 1960, e.p. dutton & co.