Mid-Cenury Value Life Lessons From Our Childhood Bookshelf

Everything I Need to Know I Learned From A Little Golden Book was just too cute to pass up. Bound like a classic Golden Book, complete with gold printed spine, the book was only $9.99. It is filled with great illustrations from the books.

I was a toddler when Mom started bringing home Golden Books from the grocery store. I would run excitedly to met her to see what she had brought me. Looking back, it was quite a luxury because we did not have a lot of money.

The illustrations alone kept my attention for hours, even when Mom was not reading the book to me. I had amassed a long shelf full of Golden Books before childhood ended. I went away to college and they disappeared. When our son was born I started recollecting classic and new titles.

 Some of my favorite books included:

I Can Fly by Mary Blair, an artist who is well known for her concept art work for Disney animated films including Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Cinderella. She designed Disneyland rides like It's a Small World. Blair's work has garnered much attention in recent years.

I Can Fly by Mary Blair

Frosty the Snow Man. The kids looked like me and my cousins, at least that's what Mom told me as she read it. I thought it was truly about us kids--Linda, Stevie, Elaine and I.

Frosty the Snow Man illustrated by Corinne Malvern

The Blue Book of Fairy Tales has some of the most marvelous illustrations.


The Blue Book of Fairy Tales illustrated by Gordon Laite

Lucky Mrs Ticklefeather has a pet puffin who goes to great lengths to fulfill her sickbed wish.
I loved J. P. Miller's art in all the Golden Books.


Lucky Mrs Ticklefeather by Dorothy Kunhart and illustrated by J. P. Miller

 Pantaloon has high hopes to become a pastry chief. The illustrations were some of my favorites.

Pantaloon by Kathryn Jackson and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard

An article with pictures from the books can be found at:
http://americanhistory.si.edu/documentsgallery/exhibitions/goldenbooks/

For information on the illustrators:
http://www.thesantis.com/who_who/illustrators___authors.htm

Diane Muldrow is a Random House editor for Little Golden Books. She looked at the world today and thought that we needed to revisit the basic values found in the Golden Books of our childhood.

She chose classic illustrations from the books and added tips for life.

"Is your life starting to feel like a circus? Don't panic...Today's a new day!"

As she wrote in the forward: "Maybe these books can help you. After all, Golden Books were first published during the dark days of World War II, and they've been comforting people during trying times ever since."

Don't Let the Parade Pass You By

Richard Scary illustrator

  Be open to making new friends...even if you are very, very shy.

Those words from The Shy Little Kitten by Cathleen Schurr and illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren must have been written for me, for I was a very shy child.

I dare say I took this advice to heart. I spent many an hour day dreaming!

Day Dream

from I Can Fly by Mary Blair