Oh the things you can find if you just keep your eyes peeled! The inside of this old library book was stamped DISCARD! Which was probably how it found its way into the book bin at our local thrift store. The cover was well worn, but often these are the books that contain the greatest treasures.

One peek inside the well-worn cover reveals a treasure trove of beautiful illustrations by the infamous Alice & Martin Provensen. (You can read a little more about them here!) Let’s take a look!

Hmmm….don’t those leaves look familiar???

Here, lets take a better look at those beautiful drawings:

Aw, that little curley-haired boy reminds me of Wolfie….

Yay for well loved library books!

A Child’s Garden of Verses – by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Alice & Martin Provensen (1951).

My friend Laura brought this book over for me to look at the other day….and I was HOOKED! I have several vintage kiddo cook books (I shared the fabulous 1964 edition Fun to Cook children’s cookbook with you earlier this year!) but I’d never seen this one before—and you know I love new discoveries. This one was published by Golden Books in 1974 and the illustrations are fantastic. Very psychedelic and colorful. They remind me so much of School House Rock. Let’s take a lil look!

haha, remember it WAS made in the 70s….I’m not sure that poem would fly today! The book is filled with all kinds of fun little puzzles in addition to easy recipes.

LOVE this so much! I poked around online and you can still get your own {used/vintage} copy of The Lip-Smackin’ Joke-Crackin’ Cookbook for Kids, here and here!

In honor of Dottie’s new lil chickadees, I wanted to share this sweet little book. Three Baby Chicks by Ruth Jaynes (1967). It’s part of the Bowmar Early Childhood Series published in the late 60s/early 70s. I just love seeing these three cute kiddos so intrigued by the hatching of the lil chickens!

Aw, they’re so cute aren’t they? One of my favorite things is seeing my friend Jenny’s beautiful chicken’s on Instagram. She’s the ultimate chicken mama and her birdies are gorgeous and quirky and lay such amazing eggs (pastel colors even!). I can’t wait to see Dottie’s chickadees grow too….I just know it’s going to be so much fun for the Peach to have them in her own backyard!

Oh happy Friday! I wanted to share this cute lil book with you guys. SPECTACLES by Ellen Raskin. Ellen also illustrated the book. It’s about a super cute little girl who realizes that she sees the world slightly differently than other people!

Before she wears glasses, Iris has is seeing things strangely. What she thinks is a dragon, is really her Great Aunt Fanny:

And a giant bird? Oh that’s just her friend Chester.

And the chestnut mare? Well, that’s her babysitter.

Her mama decides Iris needs a snazzy pair of glasses!

And so little Iris gets her spectacles!

And everything looks like it’s supposed to look….well, except for that rhino with a tulip in his ear!

It’s not just the illustrations of old books, it’s the details…like how all the cars and clothing are of the era. Just check out this little gem!

This is CARS by Bob Ottum, illustrated by William Dugan (Little Golden Book, 1973)

I just love that station wagon paneling!

How about the grooviest house everrrr? (sorry some of these photos are not as crisp as they could be. Kind of a no-no….but I wanted to share and didn’t have time to retake!)

I was in a teensy thrift store a while back…you know the ones that are run by really sweet little old ladies? I usually find that I will walk away with absolutely nothing, or something really awesome. There’s not much middle ground. This time I didn’t find much, but as I was making my out of the shop I spied a stack of old year books. This one in particular caught my eye. It was for an all girls school in Minnesota (yes I found it in California). I think these are so fun to look at. C’mon, lets take a peek!

The senior class had some really cool looking young ladies.

haha. i love that she is a “record, boy and clothing collector”!

Yes. Her nickname is SHOTSY. Love that!

Each section had a special hand pressed (hand colored?) page tipped in—so fun! And how cute is this:

But what about the staff?? I have to say that Headmistress Ethel Pease looks like a good ol gal!

But that Gertrude Kelsey? Shelooks like a tough old bird, eh?

I have several other yearbooks that I’ll be sharing with you guys—the co-ed ones are especially fun because they have great photos of DANCES! (And lets not forget the autographs….)