The Day Snuffy Had the Sniffles

The Day Snuffy Had the Sniffles
By Linda Lee Maifair
Illustrated by Tom Brannon
1988

Hey, Kiddos! Cold season is upon us and The BOOG and I are NOT immune. This is our third day of sniffles so far and it is very taxing to say the least. On the upside, we are both in cuddle-mode, which is always nice. So while we break out the crayons and keep warm under our covers, I thought I would share a little Sesame Street Cheer.

Madeline Turns 75!

1953

Madeline has stolen our hearts for the past 75 years! 75 years of solid readership! Not bad for a picture book written in 1939.

Banned Book: Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are
By Maurice Sendak
1963

Where the Wild Things Are is a story about a child coming to grips with his emotions. Max is truly a terror and is punished for being so. Alone in his room, Max creates an alternate reality complete with tumultuous seas, sharp toothed monstrous Wild Things and deep dark forests. In this reality Max is King and enjoys romping around creating chaos, that is until he craves the comforts of home.

Banned Book: A Light in the Attic By Shel Silverstein

A Light in the Attic
By Shel Silverstein
1981

Many of Silverstein’s books have been banned quite frequently. Along with A Light in the Attic, number 51 on the American Library Association’s list of 100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999, are two other Silverstein classics, The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk Ends. These are books most of us are familiar with and yet they were all challenged at one time or another because of controversy surrounding some of their content. So why has Silverstein’s work been challenged so often?

Obscure Scan Sunday: A Day in the Woods

A Day in the Woods

National Geographic
By Ronald M. Fisher
Photographs by Gordon W. Gahan
Illustrations by Tony Chen
1975

The Boog loves BUGS! We have an extensive library on the subjects of bugs/insects/nature. Natural Science has encompassed our daily lives since she was about 4 years old. This is probably very common in little ones, as they have such healthy appetites for knowledge. What she loves more than anything though are realistic picture books. Informational picture books are at the heart of our collection right now. Stories where children interact with other children are especially gobbled up with enthusiasm.

Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle

Where Did I Come From?

Written by Peter Mayle

Illustrated by Arthur Robins

Designed by Paul Walter

1973

“This Book is all about you.
We wrote it because we thought you’d like to know exactly where you came from, and how it all happened.”

A good old fashioned birds and bees book.  I picked this up because it looked familiar to me, as I witnessed the animated version (here) of the book on vhs at the ripe age of 8. My sister and I would giggle during the bath tub scene and share crooked glances at one another during some of the more preposterous parts. Some of the key elements in the book were changed around a bit for the animated version, which Howie Mandel narrated.

Grover, Messenger of Love: The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook

The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook

Grover Messenger of Love

Written by Patricia Thackray

Illustrated by Joseph Mathieu

1978

Hey Kiddos~

Yes! I'm doing another Sesame Street post! Why? Well, because I now have another book to add to my Sesame Street collection, and I am PROUD! Along with The (original) Sesame Street Storybook and The Sesame Street 1 2 3 Storybook, I am now the proud owner of a third. The Sesame Street Bedtime Story Book is mostly about the various dreams of random Sesame Street residents, however, this particular story I chose to scan for you today is about cute little furry Grover and his quest to bring messages between two kingdoms.

THE END

All that back and forth and not a computer in sight! Very creative use of resources if you ask me....

 Also By:

The Sesame Street Story Book

The Sesame Street 123 Story Book

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Don't Be a Grouch! Be A Happy Sesame Street Watcher!

While working on next week's scans I came across this advertisement featuring my beloved Oscar The Grouch! The year of publication is 1983.

The cast was very fashion forward!



Helga's Dowry: A Troll Love Story

Helga's Dowry: A Troll Love Story

Story and Pictures by Tomie dePaola

1977

Hey Kiddos! My last Tomie dePaola post was Strega Nona, which is about a magic pasta pot and the mayhem that ensues when it falls into the wrong hands. I have several Tomie dePaola books but none more charming than Strega Nona, that is, until I added Helga's Dowry to my collection. Helga, in particular, has charmed it's way from mommy's bookshelf onto the Boog's. Admittedly, I will pretty much buy anything with his name attached to it, making Mr. dePaola one of my most fave illustrators. (Number one on my list being the late Maurice Sendak) I have gotten quite good at spotting them on my thrifting excursions. Although, after laying eyes on one of his illustrations you will pretty much agree that his work is quite unmistakable.  

Helga is the loveliest troll in three parishes but, after being orphaned as a troll child, she was also the poorest. This became a problem for her when handsome Lars asks for her hand in marriage, for it is troll law that Helga must posess a dowry. With moonstruck eyes, Lars tells Helga he will go ask old Rich Sven for some advice.

Sven's Advice? Why, marry his daughter Plain Inge. With 30 Cows, 3 Chests of Gold and a mountain pasture, Plain Inge would make him the richest troll in the land! (with the exception of the troll king of course)

Upon hearing this news, Helga decides to take maters into her own hands! She writes Lars a note asking him to wait for her and she decides to go make her own fortune to supply herself with a suitable dowry.

"SOME PEOPLE ARE ARE LAZY, SOME PEOPLE VAIN,

SOME PEOPLE ARE GREEDY;

IT'S ALL HELGA'S GAIN!"

She goes into the Land of People and bargains her way into a dowry of 35 Cows, in exchange for laundry, 4 Chests of Gold in exchange for everlasting beauty and, after clearing out the timber, a Pasture of her very own!



Upon learning that Lars was not going to wait for her and had intentions of marrying Plain Inge in her stead, she dismisses him.....

Only to receive a purposal from the Troll King himself, who is no need of riches and certainly in need of a hard working Troll wife!

What is really funny about this story, is that the Troll King has been interested in Helga all along! You can see him hiding within most of the illustrations watching Helga hard at work.



Also By:
Strega Nona

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Are You A Country Mouse Or A City Mouse?

The Hubby and I are definitely City Mice.... but this past week we decided to surround ourselves with country-like surroundings at a local farm. . . . .

 

We took a trip to Lamb's Farm this past week and schmoozed with the animals, visited their antique market and rode the carousel about a million and one times! Great fun was had by all, but mommy was happy to be home after such a long hot day spent in the sun.

As a tribute to our fun on the farm, I'd like to share a past post from the GooGooGallery's Archives:

Best Stories Ever
The Country Mouse and The City Mouse
Richard Scarry
1971
 

Earlier in the year I picked up a Little Golden book copy of The Country Mouse and The City Mouse along with two other short tales which include The Fox and The Crow and The Dog and His Bone. All three stories happen to be in the Best Story Book Ever as told by Patricia Scarry (who is not credited in the Best Story Book version) and of course illustrated by the wonderful Richard Scarry. Unfortunately, I don't think its in print any longer. I may be wrong, but after a quick look on Amazon I didn't see any new copies available. Anyhoo, we all know the story so I'll spare you the details and go straight to the illustrations, my favorite of which involves a cat!






Enjoy your Weekend Kiddos!

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Frog and Toad The Film

Out of Print Clothing

The Boog and I are huge fans of Frog and Toad. I'm almost certain that you won't believe me when I tell you that I was never acquainted with the amphibious duo, and was almost destined to never cross paths with the Lobel classics, if not for a Curious George VHS tape we picked up at the library resale shop. We actually sat down to read Frog and Toad Are friends, me never having heard of it, and The Boog knew it practically verbatim! It stumped me for quite a few days until she popped in the video. It's entirely claymation and completely mesmerising.

Imagine my Surprise when I heard that there is a movie in the works by none other than the Jim Henson Company. Perhaps Kermit is a bit green with jealousy.....

Frog and Toad are Friends

By Arnold Lobel

1970

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Obscure Scan Sunday

Sticks and Stones and Ice Cream Cones
By Phylis Fiarotta
1973

What are you all doing this weekend? This weekend we are getting Crafty! I have to say that the most craftiest person I know is my Mother (whom The Boog affectionately refers to as Oma) She inspired my siblings and I to be creative using any means possible. She inspired me to write, my two younger brothers to work with stage make up and play music and now she inspires The Boog to paint. These days I keep the tradition alive by exploring art in unconventional ways to get Boog's creative juices flowing.

This Obscure Scan Sunday is dedicated to creativity and my crafty mother :)









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The Sesame Street Storybook: The Magic Apple

The Sesame Street Storybook
The Magic Apple
Verse Adaptation by Albert G. Miller
Illustrated by Kelly Oechsli
1971

There was once a simple far boy, poor but honest as the dickens, and he worked from dawn to midnight, pitching hay and feeding chickens.

"I am poor and I am honest," said the farm boy, "but it's rough working every day till midnight pitching hay and other stuff."

Thought the poor but honest farm boy, as he leaned upon his rake,

"if I had one wish to wish for, There is only one I'd make. I would wish the trade this barnyard and this yucchy farm-boy life, for a dandy golden palace and a princess for a wife."

He was sound asleep one  morning underneath an apple tree, when he heard a great explosion that was loud as it could be. BOOM! A lady stood beside him, saying,

"Hello there, young fella. I'm your handy fairy god-ma, like the one in Cinderella."

Pointing upward in the tree, the fairy answered,

"If you pick that magic apple what you wish will come to be."

Then there came a loud explosion, and before her godson spoke, she had vanished very quickly in a cloud of purple smoke.

"I can't reach that magic apple," said the farm boy. "Not at all."

So he grabbed the tree ans shook it, but the apple wouldn't fall.

Then he got so tired from shaking that he tumbled in a heap underneath the magic apple, where he promptly fell asleep

Then his snoring shook the tree trunk from he bottom to the top and the rosy magic apple fell into his mouth- KER-PLOP!

"Glugga-mugga," said the farm boy."Argha-bargha, google-gapple."

But you couldn't understand him 'cause his mouth was full of apple.

To make a long story short, a king shows up and, as luck would have it, he had been looking fro a farm boy since the spring who possessed a magic apple. He invites the farm boy to move into his palace and marry his daughter. He even sweetens the pot by offering him his own apartment with a stove and running water! Well, how can the farm boy resist an offer like that?

The princess didn't look exactly like the princess of his dreams, but a small oversight compared to a life full of banana milkshakes and rubber duckies.

This was the first in the in a series of larger format anthologies known as The Sesame Street Storybooks.

Also By:

The Sesame Street 1,2,3 Storybook

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