Paul Galdone's The Owl and the Pussycat

Here's another version of one of our favorite poems.  Illustrated by Paul Galdone, it has a loose, bright comical flair.   

Here are some other versions we have:

Hilary Knight's The Owl and the Pussy-cat

Jan Brett's The Owl and the Pussycat

Gertrude Elliot's The Owl and the Pussycat

The Owl and the Pussycat

Edward Lear

illustrated by Paul Galdone 1987

I kinda love this shark and rainbow picture!

Special Delivery

Special Delivery

Valjean McLenighan

illustrated by Richard Brown 1980

As a child of the 80's, Sesame Street (and the Muppets) were an important part of my little life!  These Sesame Street books were published as a whole collection and I remember having them in my elementary school and the church preschool rooms.  They're not anything groundbreaking, but the nostalgic pleasure of them can't be underestimated!  I've hung on to this one because it features Prairie Dawn as a delivery girl and aside from children's books, sending letters and packages through the mail is a great passion of mine!  The story is classic silly Sesame street, showcasing various modes of transportation as Prairie Dawn manages to get a "very important" package from Ernie to Bert.

Aladdin and the Magic Lamp

The story of Aladdin and the magic lamp originally took place in China and featured not just one, but two magic Genies.  This 1980's version with John Patience's illustrations is full of color and flair.

Aladdin and the Magic Lamp

illustrated by John Patience 1988

(I always like when the front cover picture is continued onto back cover.)

These silhouette end pages are giving me Jan Pienkowski vibes.

Sleepy Time Tales

I can't seem to track down the illustrator of this book.  It was published by Current in 1981 (they made greeting cards and stationary).  As an 80's kid myself, these pictures definitely have that 80's flavor and they are somehow both fantasy/fairytale and country cozy at the same time.  

Sleepy Time Tales

adaptations by Nan Roloff

1981

These look like they might have a different illustrator (and a bit of Holly Hobbie flair).

Wings Paws Hoofs and Flippers

 A nice large Golden Book about animals.  This is exactly the type of book as a kid I would have laid down on the floor and leisurely paged through.

 Wings Paws Hoofs and Flippers

A Book about Animals

Joe Kaufman 1981

Who doesn't love a framed formal portrait of the cat family!

The Big Golden Book of Fairy Tales

Illustrator Beverlie Manson invokes the style of the Johnstone sisters in this Golden Book collection of fairy tales.  Eleven of the most well known stories are retold, but it's Manson's pictures that make this something special.  

The Big Golden Book of Fairy Tales

retold by Lornie Leete-Hodge

illustrated by Beverlie Manson 1981

Labyrinth

For you 80's kids, a book version of the movie, Labyrinth. I must have seen it when I was 10 or 11. I have a funny nostalgia for fantasy movies made in the 80's, especially ones with Jim Henson's muppets.  (Who else remembers The Dark Crystal and The Secret of NIMH and The Last Unicorn and The Neverending Story?)  Madeleine liked the movie, though she thought David Bowie was weird!  And she loved this book because of the illustrations.

Labyrinth: The Storybook Based on the Movie

Louise Gikow 1986

illustrated by Bruced McNally

Frustrated with her baby brother, Sarah wishes the goblins would take him.  When they do, she must go through the labyrinth to the castle of the goblin king (played by David Bowie) to rescue him.