As the self-appointed cultural guide in my family, I’m always looking for something for us to do. An ad in my local paper’s weekend section featured an exhibit coming to town entitled: Golden Legacy: Original Art from 65 years of Little Golden Books.
I had to go. I read and owned several of these books when I was little and even bought them for my sons. I had to take advantage of this enriching opportunity and take Handsome. Handsome was reluctant. But I plied him with his favorite hamburger and off we went. Disapointed? Heck, no!
The exhibition presented the most extensive public showing ever of original illustration art from the Little Golden Books which celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2007. (I apologize for glare on some photos.)
In 1942, the Little Golden Books were made available at very affordable prices—initially 25cents. Some of the artists included Garth Williams, Feodor Rojankovsky, Tibor Gergely, Gustaf Tenggren, Martin Provensen, J. P. Miller, and Mary Blair (think Disney’s It’s a Small World!). Other artists from America were Eloise Wilkin, Elizabeth Orton Jones, Richard Scarry, and Hilary Knight.
These books changed publishing forever. Not only did wehave the beloved and familiar books, we had various formats like records, tapes, videos, toys and games.
Three Little Kittens
Bedtime Stories
Mother Goose
Prayers for Children
The Little Red Hen
Nursery Songs
The Alphabet from A to Z
The Poky Little Puppy
The Golden Book of Fairy Tales
Baby's Book of Objects
The Animals of Farmer Jones
This Little Piggy and Other Counting Rhymes
As Handsome and I wandered through the exhibit, we found many selections we remembered from our childhood: The Pokey Little Puppy, Tootle, Home for a Bunny. The art work was truly amazing.
Did you have Little Golden Book/s when you were little?
4 comments:
I still have my tattered copy of "The Poky Little Puppy."
Hi, Angela! What a wonderful treasure. I wish I could remember what I had. I only have a hazy memory of a red Santa dancing on the cover with red surrounding him. Hugs!
Vicki, I mentioned this on your FB page. I had the most amazing collection of Golden Books for my kids. And what made me almost as happy as reading to them for years, was donating them to our day care center so lots of other children could enjoy them.
To be sure, Angela ... "The Poky Little Puppy" was a favorite :)
Hi, Florence! You did say so. I wish I had your collection. I didn't have that many when growing up. I would love to read them all. Hugs!
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