Posted on 23 Comments

old kids books

Here are some more peeks at the book sale stash I mentioned the other day. As most of you know, I am a huge sucker for vintage kids books. I pore over them at every book sale, garage sale & thrift store we go to and have a fast growing collection to show for it. We were running out of room at the apartment but now that we have a basement, bring them on!

Illustrated childrens books are the one source of inspiration for my crafting that never gets tired. The colors, the stories, the outfits! It all makes me so happy.  A good batch of em, like these, really motivate me to get sewing. They also bring me back to my first months of craft blogging. I just past my 3 year mark here wee wonderful’ing and I’ve been a little sentimental about my blogging beginnings. You know, back when craft blogging and I were first dating. When we’d take long strolls, pushing baby Oscar through the streets of Oak Park dreaming about projects. When we weren’t afraid to take on anything new and jumped right into quilting and toy making with abandon.

Now we’re committed to each other. We’ve had to be responsible and make difficult decisions. We’ve had to think about our future. We’ve also weathered a few major bouts of blogger ennui and cynicism. In the end though, it’s true love. And I’m feeling the need to tackle some big projects. Maybe it’s the books, maybe we’re finally getting settled around here or maybe it’s the upcoming Fall. Fall is always a good time for me and craft blogging. Like we’re kids again.

The rest of these and more book pics will be up in my vintage books set on flickr.

23 thoughts on “old kids books

  1. I hear you on the kids books. They are a never-ending source of inspiration. Have you ever seen vintage French school posters? (In French they are called “affiches scolaires.” You can search ebay France and have a look at them. There are some real beauties.) I bought some on the street in France in April. I posted them on my blog.

  2. Some of my most valued possessions are two little First Grade school books from Germany that my father brought when he escaped during WWII. He only took a teddy bear, a couple changes of clothes, a couple photos and his school books. I want to scan the illustrations (wonderful!!!) but I’m afraid they might fall apart. I LOVE children’s books and our house is full of bookshelves!!

  3. Lovely! You know how much I love vintage children’s books 🙂 … I’m jealous!
    That last pic is from one of my favorites — I love Ruth Ruhman!

  4. I love them too. Our library always has a little book sale going and I have to restrain myself not to buy every single old kids book I see.

  5. I feel a bit better that I’m not the only one stashing vintage kids books in the basement!! My favourite find was a box of books I got for a dollar and when I sifted through I found a few from my elementary school which is now closed….ah memories

  6. Vintage kids’ books ROCK! Yours are sweet. I collect them too and love looking at yours. Thanks for sharing.

  7. i bought something the other and thought of you. i’ve been reading your blog so much i see things that i think you would buy! is that weird? probably. anyways i bought a vintage high chair and wanted to show it to you
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/kirstenschueler/1099470626/

  8. yes, Fall is like the new year to me. new schedules, new ambitions…I love it!

  9. Love antique and vintage children’s books! I just received a family heirloom turn of the century Mission bookcase and was so relieved to get some of my more fragile and rare children’s books locked behind glass. DD considers it a special treat to read one of these books with me, so I know she appreciates them too.
    BTW, my hand sewing patterns just came in the mail – yippee! They look just beautiful! Thank you!

  10. LOVE children’s books too! In fact, I’ve spent quite a bit of time tracking down books from my childhood, even when I didn’t know some of the names of them. How’s that for a bit crazy?
    One of the many, many benefits of having 8 children is that no one even questions me about buying and owning so many great, vintage children’s books!
    Love your blog. Thanks for doing it.

  11. I love it! And I’m so glad you and you craftblog are alive and well; flourishing really…
    🙂 B

  12. wonderful! I especially love the dear in the cradle

  13. I hear you on books, they’re terrific. I am lucking enough to inherit some books from when my hubby was a kid (70’s). I’ll have to add them to my flickr and send you the link. The illustrations are amazing!

  14. I LOVE the Provensens. My favorite vintage kids book of all time is Color Kittens. Margaret Wise Brown wrote it and the Provensens illustrated it.
    What a great collection. I can see how it would be inspirational.

  15. Fall is the best time of year. It’s all new beginnings. I love it!
    Your blog is a great inspiration and those cuties of yours bring me back to the days my 2 were the same ages.

  16. Your blog is delightful!

  17. vintage children’s books are so special. i love to look at them when in vintage stores…something very calming about them.

  18. Beautiful pictures! My favorite childhood book is called “Our Animal Friends on Maple Hill Farm.” Another poster mentioned the Provensen’s. They are the authors of this book, too.

  19. wow well I’ve been doing the church fairs in our local area for the last month and have found wonderful books but not as lovely as yours
    and phoebe is looking gorgeous…her hair….her little smile….I remember with keira how weird it was to be stopped by people who wanted to look at her! normally no one speaks to me at the mall!

  20. I’ve just started to have a decent collection of older children’s books (beyond what I had from my own childhood) due to a thrift store I found recently. They are so cheap, I feel as if I’m stealing them! And I love rediscovering favorite childhood stories with my children.

  21. Ooooh, I love these illustrations…beautiful!

  22. it does not get better than that! great stash!

  23. Love these… we’re all with ya!

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