Truly Golden Little Golden Book

from The Boy with a Drum

Several years ago, my family inherited my mother-in-law's, my husband's and his siblings' Little Golden Books. I do not remember reading many Little Golden Books growing up and the Little Golden Books that, as a young mother, I had seen sitting on grocery store shelves did not intrigue me. In fact, I viewed most of the modern Golden Books as pure twaddle and avoided them. Our Little Golden Book inheritance caused me to view Golden Books in a whole new light. There was a time when Golden Books were written and published to help children learn, grow in virtue, and wonder.

We Help Daddy

My first delight came when I found out that the original edition of The Christmas Story, by Jane Werner Watson and illustrated by Eloise Wilkin, contained the "Magnificat" in its entirety. How could this be? Well, in days gone by, the publishers at Golden Book obviously didn't mind including Catholic content. It probably helped that they had Mary Reed working with them too. I have long suspected that Mary Reed was none other than Mary Reed Newland (or her mother), but that is a topic for another day. Unfortunately, in later publications of The Christmas Story, the "Magnificat" has been removed. Like The Christmas Story, other truly golden Little Golden Books have also been republished. However, as with the Christmas book, some of the republications are revised which means some of the text is omitted and/or some of the illustrations have been changed.

from The Poky Little Puppy (1942 edition)

A few of the Little Golden Books that my young children enjoy are:

Home for a Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Garth Williams
Pussy Willow by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
We Help Mommy by Jeanne Cushman, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin (out of print)
Nursery Songs arranged by Leah Gale, illustrated by Corrine Malvern (out of print)
The Boy With a Drum by David Harrison, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin (out of print)
Busy Timmy by Kathryn and Byron Jackson, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin (out of print)
Little Mommy by Sharon Kane
The Poky Little Puppy by Janet Sebring Lowrey, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren
My First Counting Book by Lillian Moore, illustrated by Garth Williams
The Bunny Book by Patricia M. Scarry, illustrated by Richard Scarry
We Help Daddy by Mini Stein (out of print)
A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin (out of print)
Wonders of Nature by Jane Werner Watson, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
Baby Listens by Ester Wilkin, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
Good Little Bad Little Girl by Ester Wilkin, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin (out of print)
Baby Farm Animals by Garth Williams

from Nursery Songs

Some of the out-of-print Little Golden Books mentioned above can be found in Eloise Wilkin Stories (A Little Golden Book Treasury).

from We Help Mommy found in Eloise Wilkin Stories

Busy September Daybook

Outside my window

The sun is setting. Planes are flying overhead and the branches of the trees are swaying with the gentle breeze.

I am wearing

a denim skirt, a brown t-shirt, and a fleur-de-lis flexi clip.

In the kitchen

I am so thankful to a friend and fellow parishioner who has been giving us Italian prunes, heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, and three overflowing boxes of apples.

In addition to eating the apples out of the box, we have also been making dried apples, applesauce, and apple pies.

Outside

Between our parish picnic and our State Fair, we have been spending a lot of time outside. Each year, our children look forward to our parish picnic. Our pastor, assistant pastor, the Knights of Columbus, and the young adults all work together to ensure that the children have a great time.

Like all of the other games, Tug of War is enjoyed by both young and old at our parish.

Our youngest daughter participated in her first egg race this year. She didn't quite understand the rules of the race (notice the egg), but she had a great time. She is such a sweet child.

This is the first year that we have all gone to the State Fair with "Daddy".  The younger children enjoyed some of the free activities like:

riding the tractors,

helping the ducks get to the other side

and running through the maze.

The children also had fun going on the rides.

We all had a great time.

I am thankful for

the Catechetical series that my pastor, Fr. S., started this month. I was happy to go to the first class in this series.

I am hearing

my children playing outside.

In our learning home

I am having a tough time so far this year. Please pray for me.

I am reading

Padre Pio: The True Story. Fr. V. recommended this book in one of his sermons and I decided that it was about time that I start to read it. My mom had a devotion to St. Padre Pio (he was Blessed Padre Pio at the time), and I read Stories of Padre Pio by Katarina Tangari, based on her recommendation, shortly after my mom died. It is good to be learning more about this great saint.

I am listening to

Modesty of Dress: You are Your Brother's Keeper

I am pondering
this quote from Bl. Mother Teresa that Cay Gibson shared on A Beehive of Spiritual Activity.

"If you are discouraged, it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own power. Your self-sufficiency, your selfishness and your intellectual pride will inhibit His coming to live in your heart because God cannot fill what is already full. It is as simple as that.”

 ~ Bl. Mother Teresa ~

Board Books

Yesterday, I was inspired by Jen to place a few of our board books in a basket for my little ones. Kieran saw me doing so and he immediately started to help. He carried the basket out to the living room and proceeded to have me read to him. After I was finished reading, and sometimes rereading a story, he would happily return the book to the basket.

The books that Kieran helped me choose for his basket this week are:

Babies by Gyo Fujikawa
Baby Animals by Gyo Fujikawa
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
1 Is One by Tasha Tudor

If you haven't already read it (and even if have), I highly recommend visiting Wildflowers and Marbles and reading about Board Book Delights and Good Book Habits.

Story-Killers

HSLDA recommended watching "Story-Killers: How the Common Core Destroys Minds and Souls" a few months ago. My pastor recommended doing so in our parish bulletin yesterday. It is well worth watching.