Category Archives: Kiddo Bookshelf

The Vintage Bookshelf.

Vintage Books


Hello friends! It’s time for a peek into some of my favorite vintage children’s books—I usually like to pick books with a great story, but sometimes lets face it….it’s the super groovy illustrations that make my heart sing.

This week we have a sweet little ABC book. I only picked a few letters of the alphabet, but you get the idea. If there are any letters you’d like me to post, I’m happy to do so. And um, yeah….I forgot to scan “W”. Don’t tell Wolfie!

That owl….love him. I know owls are all over the place, but really….you kinda can’t go wrong with a animal in overalls, am I right??

This next one especially charming, I think:

This lil cutie was printed in 1951 with illustrations by Cornelius Witt. I love the name Cornelius, by the way….so Planet of the Apes, eh?

Kiddo Bookshelf :: Rocket Trip to the Moon!

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Howdy howdy howdy folks! So this week I have something a little different for you. Typically when I’m showing off my favorite vintage children’s books, I like to pick the ones that have the most fabulous illustrations. Our book today, while fabulous, has NO illustrations. Instead, it has PUPPETs.

Back in the early 1960s, legendary Japanese stop-motion film animator Kihachiro Kawamoto started a company called Shiba Productions. In addition to making extraordinary films, he produced a wonderful series of storybooks with his friend Tadasu Izawa. What made them so unique was that the tales were actually “illustrated” with doll-like puppets. In the late 60s Tadasu Izawa and Shigemi Hijikata took over production of the story books.

While most of the books were fairytales, there were a handful that were not. This is one of them. It’s called A Rocket Trip to the Moon, and was written by Geraldine Russell in 1970. The amazing “pictures” are of course by Shiba Productions.

It is the story of five daring astronauts and their dog Astro, who (surprise surprise!) take a rocket trip to the moon. I think you’ll love it!

Um….the crew drank chocolate milk shakes from squeeze bottles??? Aw yeah! It’s quite possibly the cutest space ship ever. And what is that, a juke box up there in the control room??? I love this book.

Hurray! Splash-down! Nothing beats a dog in a space suit. The Shiba books are so very charming. This one reminds me of that British TV show in the 60s, Thunderbirds. The other stories feature “puppets” that are a little more childlike, and usually feature a lenticular cover (aka a great scratchy-3D photo!). Here’s a little peek at one that has that sweeter style to it:



You’ll notice that these are called Puppet Storybooks and there is a specific reason for this! In a 2004 interview, creator Kihachiro Kawamoto explained:

“Dolls are children’s toys, or things you dress up and display. Puppets, or marionettes, are things that act. This is a crucial difference. There’s no such thing as doll animation.

When I started, I was making dolls. I started making puppets at around the age of 25. At this age I met Tadasu Iizawa, and we formed a group making puppet storybooks, illustrated books featuring puppets. Even though these were really dolls, I call them puppets because they were actors within the books.”

I love that. These books have become quite collectible and I’m fortunate to have a small stash of them. One of the most popular is The Little Mermaid, from 1966. (Alas, I don’t own that one!)

You can still find them on eBay. If you’re on the hunt, look for Shiba Productions, T.Izawa (as he was the art director behind most of them). There is also a selection of these books published under the name Rose Art Studios. I believe they were a rival studio but I couldn’t find much information on them! I hope you love these little puppets as much as I do….next week we’ll be back to more classic mid-century illustrations, but I think I’ll be showing off some more Puppet books in the not-so-distance future. Now if you’ll excuse me I suddenly have a craving for a chocolate milk shake.

Vintage Book Shelf :: Romper Room Book of Manners

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It’s time to browse my book shelves again! Art Seiden is one of my tippy top favorite children’s book illustrators. This book is a Wonder Book from 1960 entitled “The Romper Room Do Bee Book of Manners.” For all you younguns, Romper Room was a kid’s show that ran from the 50s thru the mid 80s. This book is so dang cute. It teaches preschoolers good manners (“Do bee polite and helpful!”) but it’s Art Seiden’s illustrations that are really the tops!

How awesome are the little boy’s clothes?? The stripey shirt…the groovy lil bow tie. I also love his little stance…check him out on the phone and then lifting that crazy strong man barbell!! Loooove it.

Mama is fetching too in her sweet dressies.


I love that the Do Bee is *so* cheerful and happy, even when he’s lifting bar bells in a ski sweater! Here’s to always being a Do Bee and never a grouchy ol Don’t Bee!

Images: My copy of The Romper Room Do Bee Book of Manners by Nancy Claster. Pictures by Art Seiden. 1960.

The Most Charming (vintage) Xmas Book Ever.

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Since we were just talking about Christmas Pixies earlier this week, I wanted to share with you a new book I recently acquired. I hope you guys will love these illustrations as much as I do!

The drawings are so sweet and lovely….I love the little girls and the amazing owl….but the last one is almost my favorite! So simple. Images are from the book “Christmastime in Pixieland” by Dennis Burley. Illustrations by Felicitas Kuhn. 1970.

Vintage Bookshelf :: The Animals’ Merry Christmas

Kiddo Bookshelf, Vintage Books

I love books. And I have a big collection of vintage children’s books. In addition to adorable stories, the illustrations are always tops! I used to do a feature called Storytime Tuesdays on Strawberry Lemonade (where I showed off some of my favorite books in my collection) and I was thinking it would be fun (and appropriate!) to move it over here. Except, of course, it’s not Tuesday. It’s Wednesday. A minor detail.

This sweet book is called The Animals’ Merry Christmas and was written by Kathryn B. Jackson in 1950. Of course it’s the Richard Scarry illustrations that get me. There is something about animals in little scarves that gets me every time! Here are some of my favorite pages.


From the back cover: “The Animals’ Merry Christmas is as bright and gay as a Christmas tree. All the animals have a happy holiday in this charming collection of stories and poems, delightfully illustrated by the ever-popular Richard Scarry.”


As they went they sang:
“Rabbits in the snow,
Off to Grandma’s house we go –
Holly, pudding, popcorn, toys,
Shining candles, lots of noise:
Off to Grandma’s house we go –
Sing for Christmas, sing for snow!”


Santa Claus said he simply could NOT be everywhere at once. He said it was no use trying. Mrs. Santa Claus thought very hard.
“Your helpers will be glad to go to the stores and ring the bells for you,” she said. “I’ll fit them all out in your old Santa Claus suits!”


Then arm in arm, the Hedgehog family hurried through the snowy twilight, heading for the lights of London town, and the wonderful Christmas sights they would see.


The puppy grabbed the Christmas ribbon and began jumping towards the door of the house.


When he saw some boys throwing snowballs, he ran right up to them. “Who wants a puppy for Christmas?” he barked.


And Donner and Blitzen sang a sort of song:
“Through the snow,
Bringing toys
To the good
Girls and boys!”
But Prancer shook his head in the naughtiest way.
“Not me!” he said. “I’m not going this year.”


Ooooh, cliff hanger!! Haha. Truly, how cute was that?? I just love it. I think I’m going to make Storytime a regular feature. Stay tuned for another post later today!