A peek into my collection of children's books
3 books on noticing what's in & around us šļø
Iāve thrifted lots of childrenās books over the years and wanted to begin sharing some of my finds here. Yāall enjoyed my post on Japanese childrenās books, so Iām hoping this means I have readers who can enjoy these future editions on NÅto!
Math and estimations arenāt my strengths, but Iād guess that 95% of my collection was thrifted. Iām a bit picky with my book standards, so that collection has grown slowly (but joyfully) over the last 4-5 years.
When flipping through books at the thrift store, I keep an eye out for any of the following:
lovely or lively illustrations
lyrical storytelling
quirky humor & good old fun
stories about: emotions, friendships, various cultures
hardcovers (I think they display better than floppy paperbacksā¦)
less than $3
If I have extra time to spend, Iāll plop my tush on the dusty floors and purposely look for titles I donāt recognize. Todayās books were discovered this way, and Iām curious if youāve heard of (or read!) them before? These three books are all playful, make use of bold colors, and share the theme of paying attention. š
Listen! Listen!
by Ann & Paul Rand
In Listen! Listen!, Ann Rand gives a lighthearted little study on everyday sounds. Her prose is simple and almost mischievous, describing audible moments like:
Itās not too polite a thing,
but if youāll bring
your ear up close,
you can hear the breakfast noise
I like the most.
Itās the crunch crunch
of buttered toast.
Annās husband, Paul Rand,1 uses bold paper cut illustrations to help carry a scene further into oneās imagination. Maybe it isnāt a surprise that he once said in a lecture:
I like things that are playful; I like things that are happy; I like things that will make the client smile. āPAUL RAND
Together, the author and illustrator duo certainly created a book that makes me smile, and I think itāll make you or the kids in your life smile, too.
C is for Curious: An ABC of Feelings
by Woodleigh Hubbard
As Iām sure you can tell from the cover, C is for Curious is quirky and inventive. This isnāt an ordinary feelings book with only ātidyā emotions like happy and kind. It includes jealous, vain, and even xenophobic, which hopefully gives an opportunity to talk with a child about the meanings and roots of such things, no matter how uncomfortable.
One of my favorite parts about finding childrenās books is learning more about the people (authors/illustrators) behind them.
C is for Curious took on deeper significance after I learned how Woodleigh Hubbard once felt doubtful of herself:
I was born with an innate sense of joy and yet battled a stubborn sense of low self-esteem. This elemental joy and disbelief in self proved to be my greatest teacher. Feeling I didn't matter forced me to find where and how I did. False starts abounded until the day I wrapped my eager, undisciplined fingers around the body of a burgundy-silver Parker fountain pen. It was filled with a shade of such turquoise salt-water blue ink that once, when oodles of pages tumbled to the floor, I imagined I could dive in and swim away.
Have You Seen My Dragon?
by Steve Light
Seek-and-find books are such fun! In the humorous Have You Seen My Dragon?, a child gets to search for the dragon on every spread and practice counting to 20. Steve Lightās fountain pen details are impressive, and I like how he kept the pages black and white aside from the simple pops of color throughout.
I think more than anything, this book is a little love letter to life in the city, and it reminds me of how much I miss living in Atlanta.2
Thatās it for today, folks! Let me know what books youāve scored while thrifting and if you like picture books as much as I do.
Iād love to find other bookbugs! š
āE.T.
If you studied graphic design, then you might know Paul Rand created the early logos for companies like IBM and UPS. I liked looking at these sketches of UPS logo designs.
We live in metro Atlanta now, so not too far, thankfully. Aaron and I recently went on our own āseek-and-findā adventure (a paid scavenger hunt) in the city and while it was a bit boring, we still enjoyed our time together. After that, we created our own nature scavenger hunt which is extensive and a lot more fun! š¢
Ok, I am definitely going to add this to the list of things I do at a thrift store! This is a great way to start up my collection again!! Thank you for these tips and for sharing these ADORABLE books! The art is just so yummy!!!!
What a great peek into your collection! I adore "Listen! Listen!"