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Reading Room:  Beautiful and unusual Children's Books  |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 09 2004 : 1:07:42 PM
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| 20 years ago at my local library I was perusing the picture book section for children for my then toddler daughter. I happened across a small baby blue bookm called Rabbit Seeds by an unknown French author named Bijou Le Tord. It was filled with simple black line drawings and simple text of a rabbit whose parents gave him a few carrot seeds to plant his first garden. The story taught the rabbit to be patient with nature... to water and weed his carrots and then the final reward is an enormous carrot he carrys away in his tiny wheelbarrow. It was hands down my daughters favorite book of her young childhood. It was published in 1984. I highly recommend this lovely book to all new moms and grandmothers with toddlers. |
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n/a
deleted
57 Posts
Judith
Rockford
IA
57 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2004 : 9:12:38 PM
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| Not so unusual, but certainly beautiful. I read Tasha Tudor books to my younger sister (when we were small). Then, I bought several of her books for my children. I gave them as gifts to nieces and nephews, and grandchildren. My 34 yr. old niece surprised me recently when she told me she is now reading a Tasha Tudor book I had given to her -to her daughters. That left me with a very special feeling. |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Aug 10 2004 : 10:06:23 AM
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| grammaj I love Tasha Tudor also!!! I bought a few for my girls. They loved the alphabet book. Her paintings are beautiful. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Aug 10 2004 : 6:22:55 PM
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I am a big fan of hers too! I have a copy of Corgiville that I love even though some kid before I bought it has done some drawing in it...it makes it even more special to me.
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2004 : 11:59:56 AM
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| I don't know if any of you know about Chinaberry books. It is a catalog on recycled paper that has the BEST description/critiques of children's books.Their selections are filled with wisdom, kindness, love of nature, conscience, humor, and a lot of hard to find books you thought were out of print. It was a pleasure to order from them and also use the selections as a great reference source for my kids at school. You won't be sorry! Bramble |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2004 : 1:19:04 PM
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Hi Bramble! Yes I have heard of Chinaberry Books! I ordered from them several times for my toddler and myself. I loved their selections! You are right they have the most precious illustrations and descriptions of their products. I haven't received the catalog recently and miss it.
Time Flies |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2004 : 1:23:17 PM
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| I went online, Bramble, and filled out a catalog request. They are somehow associated with the Isabella catalog, which I absouletly love, so I can imagine this will be just as nice. Love a good resource for books for my grandkids! Thanks much! |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2004 : 8:02:41 PM
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When my daughter was 8 or 9, we went to a used book sale, and I found three books for one dollar apiece. They were titled A Home, A Farm, A Family. Each one was beautifully illustrated by Swedish artist Carl Larsson, and written by Lennart Rudstrom. What beautiful books! All about life in Sweden at the turn of the last century. So loving and gentle. The paintings by Carl Larsson are exquisite.
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 05 2004 : 07:17:37 AM
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Your welcome it's a great source! There is a book that I know all of you will just love for kids, but especially when there is a new little one on the way. ALL THE PLACES TO LOVE by Patricia McLaughlan.
A little boy is waiting for the birth of his baby sister and his grandparents share their tradition of carving the name of each new family member on a beam in the barn. After she's born it shows the family climbing a hill to pick berries looking down on all the places they love. I just loved this book but warning... some kleenex near by wouldn't hurt! It is just a dear ,sweet book.
For the reluctant readers (boys in particular...you might want to try
the MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN trilogy. Roughing it, endangered species,
intrigue what more could you want?! MY son (11) has read them twice and loved every word. We are fortunate to be in an area near a marsh that now shelters peregrine falcons and other birds of prey. We saw a pair this summer and it was just breath taking! We are also on a hawk migratory path so we have also witnessed a kettle of hawks.
When books come to life for children...divine! Bramble |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Oct 05 2004 : 1:58:15 PM
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Dear Bramble, Like all the other wonderful people who post here you and I are kindred spirits too! I ordered the book All the Places to Love for my daughter from Chinaberry 10 years ago when she was 2! We love that book! It was one of Alexandra's favorites. You are right about having the kleenex close by. The sense of peace and family and tradition and love from that book is amazing. It is a treasure. Another book i got from Chinaberry was Peach and Blue. About the friendship between a toad and a peach that drops from a tree. They have several sweet days of adventure together and toad shows peach the beauty of the world, but it is brief because peach's time is short. It teaches children that every life is precious and good but it cannot last forever. Another tearjerker from Chinaberry! Wow I love those books! I'm so glad you found this site and contributing!
Time Flies |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 05 2004 : 5:08:57 PM
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| MEADOWLARK--I'M GLAD THE MENTION OF THAT BOOK BROUGHT BACK THE WARM FUZZIES FOR YOU TOO! ZACK AND I STILL HAVE DISCUSSIONS OF ALL THE PLACES WE LOVE AND SOME ARE NOT UNLIKE THE ONES IN THE BOOK! ALTHOUGH HE IS ALWAYS QUICK TO POINT OUT THAT WE HAVE MANY YET TO DISCOVER! HAPPY JOURNEYS IN BOOKS AND LIFE! BRAMBLE |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Oct 22 2004 : 7:53:55 PM
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Jenny, Can you tell me where published and what publishing company I might look for the book Rabbit Seeds? It isn't available at china berry books at least on line it did not turn up.Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Oct 23 2004 : 07:52:37 AM
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Eileen, You can order Rabbit Seeds by Bijou Le Tord at www.alibris.com The copies are used but the cheapest I saw was 2.95!
Time Flies |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Oct 23 2004 : 6:31:52 PM
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Thankyou!
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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Idahospud
True Blue Farmgirl
67 Posts
Nikki
Emmett
Idaho
USA
67 Posts |
Posted - Oct 24 2004 : 8:17:07 PM
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My favorite book as a child was _Miss Suzy_, about a little squirrel who gets kicked out of her treetop house by a band of red squirrels; she then takes up residence in a dollhouse in the attic of an abandoned house. She finds a box of toy soldiers who help her reclaim her old house.
I despaired of finding this OOP book until eBay. I have bought many copies since then, for my siblings who also loved the book, and I am acquiring one for each of my own children, as well. Other OOP ones I loved were _Little Black, a Pony_, and _Old Black Witch_. I was very fortunate as my mom and maternal grandmother were first-grade teachers, and my paternal grandmother was a school district librarian. Books and read-alouds were always a big priority, and I have carried on that tradition. I love these quotes:
I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. -- Ann Quindlen NYT 8-7-91
And similarly:
Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house. -- Henry Ward Beecher
Do any of you get the catalog, "A Common Reader"? The bibliophile who writes it does such a good job of talking up the books in the catalog that you want every one! I have discovered several good books that way, including children's books. Here is the URL:
http://www.commonreader.com/cgi-bin/rbox/ido.cgi/home.html |
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Idahospud
True Blue Farmgirl
67 Posts
Nikki
Emmett
Idaho
USA
67 Posts |
Posted - Oct 24 2004 : 8:42:42 PM
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Eureka! Jenny, I followed the link you provided to Alibris to look for Miss Suzy. As of this summer, it has been reprinted as a 40th Anniversary edition, so I can buy it NEW! I'm going to order a copy and hope, hope, hope that it has not been changed from the original. Thanks for that GREAT link!
---Nikki, doing the HHBD (happy happy book dance!) |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 24 2004 : 9:35:06 PM
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This is not an especially beautiful, or unusual book, but I have been looking for quite awhile for a book that was really special to me when I was a child. A very special teenaged babysitter got it for me when I had the chicken pox, during my horse crazy years...they lasted a long time and she was horse crazy too. It is called Casey the Clumsy Colt. It was just a little childrens book and nothing special, I don't remember the author. I would love to have a copy..even an old one if any of you all have seen one. I have checked ebay..no luck. I even named my second son Casey. When I told him where he got his name he wasn't all that excited though.
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2004 : 05:33:15 AM
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Aunt Jenny, Follow the link to alibris I gave to Eileen on the previous page on this topic. I found Casey on it! 15 used copies! IdahoSpud also found a book. It's a great source for hard to find books.
Time Flies |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2004 : 1:44:20 PM
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Hooray!! Thanks so much!!!!!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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Reading Room: Beautiful and unusual Children's Books |
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Beautiful and unusual Children's Books
