There's something so warm and nostalgic about these vintage Weekly Reader books. Just the size, and pictures, and feel of the paper is comfortingly familiar to me! I completely identify with the parents in this story who have always wanted to move to the country. Roger isn't so sure about leaving their city home and his best friend, but their new property has woods and a creek and even a tree house!
I've been on a vintage book kick lately. This one came from the free book cart at the library. It's illustrated by Richard Scarry, and although I love and prefer his Busytown books, this one still satisfies with his signature charm.
There's also some fun little poems and pictures that are just perfect for slipping into lunch boxes!
Such a cozy story! Something all mothers of littles have experienced- a "mysterious" bundle under the bed blankets. What could it be? The back and forth between mother and her "bundle" is sweet and true to life. This game has been played in my house for many years and always ends the same way, with snuggles and kisses.
Here is another fairytale book we have illustrated by Ugo Fontana. It's a selection of stories by Hans Christian Andersen introduced by that other wonderful Danish author, Isak Dinesen (this is the pen name of Karen Blixen who also wrote about living in Africa in Out of Africa.) Sandro Nardini shares the illustrating credit. I've always liked the story The Tinderbox (included in this collection) because of the disturbing image of the "dog with eyes as big as teacups".
Some fairy tales with rather lovely vintage illustrations. Instead of the Grimm stories we are so familiar with, these are translated from Ludwig Bechstein's collection of German fairytales and legends. Randall Jarrell in the introduction describes the stories like this:
"A few fairy tales are like wedding cakes, a few are like old stale soda crackers, and most are like plain rye bread baked in a country oven, These three stories are rye bread."
The Rabbit Catcher
And Other Fairy Tales of Ludwig Bechstein
translated by Randall Jarrell
illustrated by Ugo Fontana 1962
(Ugo Fontana was an Italian illustrator and I always enjoy finding his work).
