collect . Little Golden Books

“There once was a very unusual school
that had for its teacher Miss Tillie O’Toole.
She taught all her lessons in riddles and rhyme,
and those who learned quickest were given a dime…
I’m sure there was never a happier school
Than the one that was taught by Miss Tillie O’Toole.”

A new school year started last week for my family, and every year, I get a little nostalgic as we begin preparing for a new year. I invariably start reminiscing about days when my kiddos were young enough to want me to walk them into school on the first day, and the children invariably roll their eyes. Still, I see the glimmer and the subtle grins, and I answer the questions when they ask me to tell them more. Sometimes, we can’t help but be curious about our own little histories, especially as we’re moving breakneck toward the next stages of our lives. Today, I thought I would share one of our collections that brings both me and my children fond and special memories… Little Golden Books.

As we’ve been adjusting to morning carpool, new alarm clocks, after school schedules, and bedtime routines, I’ve been thinking about how all those things have evolved over the years. We’ve started reading together before bed again to settle our spirits and prepare our hearts and bodies for sleep, and of course, that brings more opportunity for reminiscing. They don’t sit in my lap anymore for bedtime stories, and the chapter books we read now have a lot more cliffhangers, but I’m thankful the connection between books and bed and togetherness is still alive and well. Some of our favorite bedtime stories for my children, and for me as a child, were Little Golden Books – the 39¢ series of children’s books begun by Western Publishing Company that has opened up a world of great stories and great illustrations for generations of children.

We have a collection of about 40 Little Golden Books of varying ages, along with a few sets bound together. Some I had as a child, and the most dog-eared I can likely recite because of how often my own mother read them at bedtime. Some of the books were gifted to us by aunts and friends who knew of our love of vintage treasures and understood their staying power for children. Some are new varieties, depicting movie storylines from my kids’ favorite DVDs. They are not 39¢ any longer, but the delight is still the same.

Of the Little Golden Books that transcended both my childhood and my own children’s, three stand out as our favorites. We’ve loved We Help Mommy (©1959), My Little Dinosaur (©1971), and my inspiration for this post and this season of the year, The Wonderful School (©1969). The power of the illustrations in those books have stayed with me for over 40 years now, and I’m convinced if I saw them independently somewhere I could easily name the book. As I introduced them to my children, our copies have required tape and care as they requested them over and over again.

Miss Tillie O’Toole in The Wonderful School bribed her students with dimes, let them swim with crocodiles and took them grocery shopping for math class! Martha and Bobby in We Help Mommy didn’t share their Mom with a job, but they worked, none-the-less, on learning something each day about how houses run and the satisfaction that comes from chores and caring for things. The boy in My Little Dinosaur brought a pet dinosaur home that would likely grow to break through the walls of their house. Still, the unusual pet was welcomed at school, tea parties, and playgrounds, even though he was different! Generations move on, but the power of words and pictures in this special little format stays.

Starting new things isn’t always easy, and I’m incredibly proud of my crew for the grace and perseverance they show as they sort through all the changes. And, while they aren’t likely to have a teacher like Miss Tillie O’Toole, I hope the delight, curiosity, exploration, and wonder inspired by these classics still finds its way into their 5th, 6th, and 8th grade days.

“When nighttime comes and I go to bed, my dinosaur lies down by my head. Together we look at a dinosaur book.
And when I get too sleepy to see, my dinosaur will turn out the light for me.”