vintage book musings

BE NICE TO SPIDERS

I’m a naturalist at heart and, together with my children, enjoy collecting fascinating nature finds. We have many shoe boxes filled with spider and snake sheds, various insect and crustacean carcasses, arrowheads and rock fossils . . .

RICHARD SCARRY’S BUSY WORLD

Richard Scarry is my co-pilot, What does that mean? I have family in Cincinnati and when my children were very young, we would fly to Ohio a few times a year (we now drive). I realized early on that . . .

NANCY DREW

I was a huge Nancy Drew fan as a kid and would choose which books in the series to read based entirely on the creepiness of the cover image (didn't we all?!). I still own my childhood copies and these three are my favorites. . . .

alice provensen

Alice Provensen (born August 14, 1918) and her husband, Martin Provensen, were collaborators, illustrating more than 40 books over the course of their 43-year marriage. They also co-wrote 19 of their picture books . . .

one, two, where’s my shoe?

Over the weekend I picked up a terrific find at a library book sale — One, Two, Where's My Shoe by Tomi Ungerer. Originally published by Harper & Row in 1964, this picture book is a playful game of "find-the-shoe" . . .

little witch

I bought this book at a summer library book sale mainly because I loved the art on the cover. My seven year old daughter loved the title. We read Little Witch together and adored it. Originally published in 1953 . . .

giant john

Giant John by Arnold Lobel was a favorite book of mine as a child. It’s a heartwarming tale of friendship between a giant and the royal family he meets on his journey to find a job. The illustrations are some of Lobel’s best . . .

the man who lost his head

Here's a terrific opening page from THE MAN WHO LOST HIS HEAD, written by Claire Huchet Bishop in 1942 and illustrated by none other than "MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS" Robert McCloskey . . .

guinness book of world records

The other day my daughter asked me if I knew how much the heaviest man in the world weighed. I instantly pulled out of my head 1069 pounds. She looked at me with total surprise and asked how I could possibly know . . .

patty and jo, detectives

I have had this book face out in my office for years simply because I love the jacket—it's so fabulous. Who can resist jacket illustration from the 1950s and 60s?! An online search didn't turn up much about the author, Elsie Wright . . .

the stupids take off

The other night my daughter let me choose what book to read with her before bed time. Her only request — "pick a funny one." I reached for The Stupids Take Off by Harry Allard, illustrated by the great James Marshall . . .

sniglets

 A few weeks ago, after the last eastern snowfall, I was clearing the snow from the car with the help of my kids. At one point I asked my nine year old to kick off the fenderbergs. "What's a fenderberg?," he asked . . .

gus the ghost

Last weekend I went to a local library book sale and found a Gus the Ghost book to add to my collection. I absolutely loved these books as a child and have found them to be equally loved by my kids. Gus, a very benevolent ghost . . .

a very young gymnast

For a good number of years, I was an aspiring gymnast and obsessed with Nadia Comaneci who had scored several perfect tens in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. When I was in grade school I knew, just by looking at my fellow gymnasts . . .

shaun cassidy

I keep a lot of memorabilia, and old LPs are among the mix. A few weeks ago I was looking through my album collection with my seven year old daughter when she came across my Shaun Cassidy "white album," as I like to call it . . .

flowers in the attic

Between the ages of nine through fourteen, I spent two weeks every summer at a camp in the foothills of the Berkshires. I remember loving the process of choosing the books I would bring to read . . .

little mommy

I grew up on a healthy dose of Golden Books. As the third of four children, I inherited at least 200 Golden Books from my sister and brother— it would seem my mother bought a Golden Book to occupy the attention of . . .

veronica

Every morning, there is a mad rush in my household as two adults attempt to get three children dressed, fed, and out the door before doing the same. The five minutes of calm I look forward to comes when . . .

the sky was blue

Among the many love-worn books we took home from the Pequot Library Book Fair, the gem of the day was uncovering The Sky Was Blue by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Garth Williams and published in 1963 by Harper . . .

the swans of ballycastle

This book, published in 1954 by Farrar, Straus, & Young is really a gem.  It’s the story of three children — Deidre, Kevin, and Michael — growing up in the Irish seaside village of Ballycastle in the late 1700s . . .

miss lollipop’s lion

My family was a regular subscriber to the Weekly Reader Children's Book Club.  Every month we would receive a book in the mail and this book would inevitably make its way through the four kids in the house . . .

US Open fever

I love playing tennis and am always trying to pick up games on the weekend. And I love watching the sport -- it has been somewhat of a family tradition since I was a kid. I was watching  . . .

Running and Writers

I've been running all my adult life. I used to do it primarily for exercise, now I find I do it mostly for the peace of mind it gives me. My love of running has gotten more intense with age . . .

Christy manhole cover

It's always fun to receive photos from authors. April Henry sent me this photo she took of a water meter with my name on it. I love that it was a water meter and not a sewer or a manhole cover . . .

 music biographies

Friends often ask me what I read for fun. That’s easy — biography. My favorite in the genre are books about musicians and songwriters . . .