Book Collecting

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I grew up in a house filled with books and I mean FILLED. My father works as the Art Director for a book distributing company called Deseret Book. He would bring home new books for me to dive into and create new worlds in my mind with. He would bring home sketch books for me to write my own stories and pictures in. My mother and father both read to me growing up and my absolute favorite time we read as a family was every Christmas Eve. My father would read Twas the Night Before Christmas and make us laugh by mixing up the words and saying things like "and laying a finger inside of his nose...oh oops... and laying a finger aside of his nose." and my Mom would say "Hey!' and we would all burst into laughter. 

Reading is so important to me and when I found out I was having a girl I knew I would need all my childhood books with me about fairies, and mermaids, and ballerinas. Along the way I ended up accidentally collecting many an antique book that went along with my collection. Here I share a few and hope they dearly inspire you to start a little collection of your own. I didn't quite know my taste in books until I gathered these together. I adore little girls in cottages having adventures, dancing, lovely little animals and forests with flowers, strong female leads, nursery rhymes, and spunky old fashioned femininity! I know that if you search the titles of these books on Amazon, Ebay, or Etsy you will most likely be able to find them if you want to add to your collection. I will link as many books here as I can for you but act fast, books tend to sell out quickly! I have the sweetest doll following along with you. This was given to Lily by her Grandmother. This was Lily's Great Grandmother's doll and it has beautiful real hair, and tiny painted rosie lips, and porcelain arms, legs and face. She is truly as lovely an heirloom as these books.

Grab your cuddly socks, light a candle, pour some tea and Enjoy! xxMelissa

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The Betsy and Tacy Series 

written in 1940

Author: Maud Hart Lovelace

These were read by me over and over as I always dreamed that a little girl would move in next door and have adventures with me. Ha ha! I did not have any sisters you see, so I had to mostly get creative on my own. I don't mind. I actually love being alone with my imagination but still, everyone would highly benefit from a Tacy in their life! My mother and father gifted these to me at a young age and I would stare at the illustrations dreaming of a cloud taking me far away.

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Kitty Foyle 

this copy-1939

Author: Christopher Morley

Inscription: Judith Anderson Xmas 1946 from Santa

I was the type of child that rented black and white movies at our local video rental store Top Hat for the weekend . At a young age I was madly in love with the world of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. I thought the female empowerment of Ginger was incredible. She oozed it on screen and I am sure off screen she did her best with it in the times she lived in. I decided to try a movie called Kitty Foyle which was a drama with no dancing. My mother said she was sure I would like it so off I went. I often watched my movies alone as I had two brothers and they were always renting the latest Star Trek or Sci-Fi film that made me die a slow death. Ha ha! I love my brother's but I was very outnumbered. At first I didn't quite know if I liked the film. It was heartbreaking and raw and Ginger gave such a beautiful performance that I truly felt sad for her character. A couple years later I got sick with Bronchitis and had to stay home. Nothing sounded good and I remember feeling miserable and moaning and my Mom said, "Now what will make you feel better?".......it came to me. Kitty Foyle and a crunch bar. Off she went and came home with a Christmas circle crunch bar that had Santa and his sleigh stamped into the chocolate and the VHS. Watching it again I fell even more in love with the story and acting. The perfume store scene and her main squeeze. I nibbled the edges of the crisp chocolate circle and went into another world where I wore curls in my hair and high heels, and my lips glistened during my close up. Sigh. I adore the inscription in this book shown below. Written with such love. I think it's about time I read this again and yes I might just eat a crunch bar while doing it.

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Alice in Wonderland and 

Alice Through the Looking Glass 

the publishing date is not found inside this book

Author: Lewis Carrol

Inscription: To Judith with Love from Father Valentines Day 1941

My goodness Judith was a popular name in the 40's ha ha. I didn't even realize I had so many books with that name in it. I adore the inscriptions I find in books. It's a lost art. This lovely book has always fascinated me. The Disney movie version is my favorite! I don't care what anyone says. It's playful and vivid and weird and I adore it all. I have a rare copy of this novel as I couldn't find the exact one to link, but here are some other quite lovely versions from my favorite site to purchase books. If you are local go check out The Book Garden on Main Street in Bountiful. My friend owns it and she has an incredible collection of lovely used books! I shop there for most of my books that I do not find at the DI or Good Will. 

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Olivia's Opposites

Olivia series written in 2000

Author: Ian Falconer

My parents first introduced me to these books as a gift in High School. They said they couldn't believe how well the author had captured me. Ha ha! I adore everything about Ian Falconer and his spunky characters. This little pig is not afraid of anything. I like to think that the lion pictured below is life and there I am roaring right back at it. Talk about true feminine power! See me roar!

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Tutu Books

written in 1992

Author: Sheri Browning

These dear books were found at our public school's book fair when I was in elementary school. I adore everything ballet and knew someday I wanted to be a ballerina and then a ballet teacher like the one pictured below. I really need to go get a teaching staff don't I? Ha ha! Such sweet little books for your beginner reader. When I was reading these I use to get so upset these girls feet were not correctly pointed. You better believe I do not let one class day pass where I do not shriek "Pointe those feet!!!!!!" For those of you who do not know, yes I was a ballerina and I fulfilled my dream of becoming a teacher. Dreams do come true with a lot of hard work!

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The Secret Garden A Flower Primer

Author: Jennifer Adams

This lovely book was gifted to Lily from our dear friends. She knows Lily cannot see very well or understand how to read books but she thought the colors would be interesting and hearing my voice read and hitting the book. Well she was right! You need to go check out all the lovely board books in this series by Jennifer Adams. A must have for your collection! (you can learn more about Lily here.)

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That is all for now. Look forward to Book Collecting Part 2 soon. I hope you smiled and laughed and felt like a kid again. Hugs!

xxMelissa