My Book House

Underock1

Underock1

Senior Member
Location
Suburban NJ
This is probably for the older oldies here. I grew up with this twelve volume set of chidren's books.
Each volume was geared to a certain age. My Mom read me the nursery rhymes from volume one. The last volume brought you up to pre-high school. A wonderful set. Fantastic illustrations by the great illustrators of the day, like Pyle and Rackham. It contained snippets from many great classics. Don Quixote, Shakespeare, etc.
I credit it in large part for my life long love of reading and learning. The best single thing Mom ever did for me.
I still remember the favorites she used to read to me. Haven't thought about her for some time. Thinking about her now with gratitude. "Run, run, run. Catch me if you can. You can't catch me. I'm the Ginger Bread Man!"
Thanks Mom!
 

Underrock, oh my I had a similar set called "Childcraft"! They were so wonderful and gave me countless hours and even years of fun and delight. Even just a year ago I browsed through a few which I have always done although infrequently, and felt the same old thrill.

I am happy you had the same experience with your books!
 
RadishRose said:
Underrock, oh my I had a similar set called "Childcraft"! They were so wonderful and gave me countless hours and even years of fun and delight. Even just a year ago I browsed through a few which I have always done although infrequently, and felt the same old thrill.

I am happy you had the same experience with your books!
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I'm glad you had that Rose. As I mentioned, I hadn't thought of Mom in quite some time. Those stories are an instant Re-connect.
"My Book House" was a land mark publication. It went through many editions. It may actually still be in print. My older brother made off with our original set, but I found a later edition, which I pull out occasionally just to jog through some happy times again. The illustrations were true works of art and are still sought after today. I thought I might get a few responses to this thread, but you are the only one. As I said in my OP this may only connect with a few of the 80 plus crowd.
 

Underock1 said:
I'm glad you had that Rose. As I mentioned, I hadn't thought of Mom in quite some time. Those stories are an instant Re-connect.
"My Book House" was a land mark publication. It went through many editions. It may actually still be in print. My older brother made off with our original set, but I found a later edition, which I pull out occasionally just to jog through some happy times again. The illustrations were true works of art and are still sought after today. I thought I might get a few responses to this thread, but you are the only one. As I said in my OP this may only connect with a few of the 80 plus crowd.
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I know what you mean about your books and stories therein reminding you of your mother. My books also remind me of both my parents who read them to me, what nostalgia, huh? And even though my set was later the illustrations were still beautiful....1949 I think.
 
As a small kid, my Mother once decided we needed a big, old, solid wood bookcase with three glass doors; it was too tall for me to reach the top shelf! How it got moved into our house, I do not remember. Over the following years, it accumulated first the books we already had, among them the Childrens Book of Knowledge, and quite a number of originally-printed Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Those I read with interest. Later, one by one, came the Hardy Boys mystery series by Franklin W. Dixon.

Eventually, maybe when I was 14 or so, I spotted a paperback in there that I knew my Mother had read earlier, and rather surreptitiously: "Peyton Place"! I began reading it, a fact she found out soon enough, but she did not rebuke me, nor encourage further reading. I read on. The story line everyone knows, but the fact that Grace Metalious possessed talents way above and beyond average, was evident. An example I recall, was the setting which described the old men who sat together gossiping about townsfolk. One day one of them mentioned a gardener, Kenny Stearns, remarking Kenny had a remarkable green thumb, but that he and his wife wished for, but had gotten, no children. Whereupon, the wit of the group, and I cannot recall his name (!), remarked, "Old Kenny Stearns would be better off with a green pecker instead of thumb." Metalious was rumored to have committed suicide, bur Wiki says otherwise. imp
 
Pappy said:
As a child, I had many of these big, little books. Now, they are a collectors item.
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Oh, Wow, Pappy! Yes! Did you have the ones with the thumb flip movies in the corner. I remember one with a plane taking off, flying and landing again. Maybe pn an aircraft carrier.
 
imp said:
As a small kid, my Mother once decided we needed a big, old, solid wood bookcase with three glass doors; it was too tall for me to reach the top shelf! How it got moved into our house, I do not remember. Over the following years, it accumulated first the books we already had, among them the Childrens Book of Knowledge, and quite a number of originally-printed Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Those I read with interest. Later, one by one, came the Hardy Boys mystery series by Franklin W. Dixon.

Eventually, maybe when I was 14 or so, I spotted a paperback in there that I knew my Mother had read earlier, and rather surreptitiously: "Peyton Place"! I began reading it, a fact she found out soon enough, but she did not rebuke me, nor encourage further reading. I read on. The story line everyone knows, but the fact that Grace Metalious possessed talents way above and beyond average, was evident. An example I recall, was the setting which described the old men who sat together gossiping about townsfolk. One day one of them mentioned a gardener, Kenny Stearns, remarking Kenny had a remarkable green thumb, but that he and his wife wished for, but had gotten, no children. Whereupon, the wit of the group, and I cannot recall his name (!), remarked, "Old Kenny Stearns would be better off with a green pecker instead of thumb." Metalious was rumored to have committed suicide, bur Wiki says otherwise. imp
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Yeah. Tarzan was big back then. I never really took to it though. My own kids had The Book of Knowledge. I read to my boys and my grandsons when they were little. Nothing like it. I wish I had thought to get them the Book House. My grandkids will probably remember "Good Night Moon". though.
 
As a young girl, I loved the Nancy Drew books, and read 'em all. I also loved a similar series about a nurse, the Cherry Ames books. I read everything I could get my hands on, having discovered the joy of reading at a very young age.

I still clearly remember the absolute delight I felt when I learned to read. I remember watching my dad read the paper (he used to read the "funnies" to us on Sunday mornings) and wishing so that I could do it, too. I seemed a magical thing, to look at marks on paper and read stories from them. When I began to learn to read, I remember sort of a "Wow! I can do this, too!" moment. We had a little book called "Tatters" at school, it was about a dog, and I read it over and over, quite amazed I could do it. From then on, I read everything. Still do.

Funny how certain things are such bright and shining memories, when some days I can't even remember where I put my car keys.
 

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