Prayers for Children

Eloise Wilkin, illustrator, Western Publishing, 1952

This Little Golden Book was never that exciting of a book for us as kids because it was a collection of prayers rather than a story, but the artwork always drew me in. It reminds me of one of my favorites which I am determined to recover that focused on the seasons.

The doxology was something that we sang every week at church after the offering plate was collected and brought forward and I learned the Lord's Prayer with "temptations" rather than "debtors" though at the Presbyterian church they said debtors... my mom was determined to teach us the "right" way as she learned it in her Lutheran church.

I love that this book includes a prayer from Coleridge.

My version of the bedtime prayer ended with "If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." Pretty morbid stuff now that I think about it.

We Like Kindergarten.

by Clara Cassidy, Pictures by Eloise Wilkin
Western Publishing Company, 1965

Books about starting school and kindergarten are all over the place now, The Kissing Hand or Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten or Countdown to Kindergarten,
but when I was young, this was the book. I loved kindergarten and Carol's experience was a lot like mine or at least what I remember about it. I was so proud of my rug for naptime. It was a soft white furry carpet square with my name written on the back in black marker, and we hung them on a hook just outside the room. Other than naptime, I mostly remember games. I do know we had all day kindergarten, but we only met every other day.

Cassidy's book features all the best bits of school... classroom pets, finger painting, musical instruments, show and tell, recess on the playground, story time, and Farmer in the Dell -- a game I've not thought about in YEARS. I love how Carol comes home and "plays school" with her little sister Laurie and Rusty and Patches (pets) are her "boys and girls."

I Heart Fairy Tales.

Hansel and Gretel by Brothers Grimm
Illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
Western Publishing Company, 1954

I love this dark, somewhat violent fairy tale. I mean, when one thinks about it, it's quite scary. It really plays on one's childhood fears--evil stepmother, child abandonment, getting lost, being hungry and alone, creepy old ladies who entice you with candy but really want to cook and eat you, murdering someone even if it's in self defense. And then divorce of some sort when the evil stepmother heads for the hills and the repentant father seeks out the kids he'd traded away for his new wife. Yikes.

Wilkin's innocent illustrations soften that story considerably. Some versions have a white duck at the end. This one does not. It's how I first learned Hansel and Gretel.

The Christmas Story-- A Golden Book Comparison

Eloise Wilkin, illustrator, Western Publishing Company, 1952

The Christmas Story by Jane Werner is another book illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. My book was published in 1980. I think I came by this book while searching for another. My grandma had a book on the Christmas story that featured cut-out figurines so you could play with it like a paper doll set. I remember longing to take my scissors to the book and her telling me no. And she was right. When she died two years ago some of her books were given to me. The Christmas Manger was one of them. Below are three images from The Christmas Story. I love the vibrant colors on the angel andshepherds and the dreamy quality to all of them.

When I had a chance to inspect Grandma's book a bit closer, I realized it really is the same story just packaged differently. Well, the same story but The Christmas Manger uses much simpler language. The page with Mary sitting alone reads, "Mary was a lovely girl. She lived long ago." Read the text on the Mary image above for comparison.



The Christmas Manger is also by Jane Werner, though with a different illustrator, Steffie Lerch. The book is from 1953 and is published by Simon and Schuster. It even has that Mary Reed, PH.D stamp of approval on the inside cover. I provided the back cover to show how the style of Little Golden Books has changed over the years. If you click on the image you can read the promotional copy which also warns readers to beware of "imitators." :)

An example of how the book is set-up. Here you see an angel ready to be cut-out and assembled in your own manger scene.

This little angel pic might be my favorite illustration in the book.
It's ridiculously sweet.

Countdown to Christmas -- Little Golden Book Style

Eloise Wilkin, Western Publishing Company, 1959

Today there are simply mountains of great Christmas books published, but the ones I remember best from my childhood are the Little Golden Books. This one is another in the "Baby" series, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin, one of my favorites. Some of her books are written and illustrated by her and others are written by someone else. In this case, Esther Wilkins, her sister, wrote the book. I'd say it's a winning combination!

I love the features on the mother.
She looks young and sweet--maybe it's the pony tail?

You have to love the old-fashioned bouncy swing!

Truly, these images just tug on my heart strings!

And I do love the shameless plug for one of her other books,
right here in the illustrations!

The North Wind Doth Blow....

Eloise Wilkin, Golden Press, 1958

Eloise Wilkin (1904-1987) is one of the great illustrators of the Little Golden Books. Her work graces the pages of many of my favorite children's books. You can expect to see more of those books in the posts to come.

Other publishers she worked for were Ginn, Scibner, Little Brown, Rand McNally, Random House and MacMillian. Many early illustrations were for school books. An example is 'The First Grade Book' for Ginn. Early in her career Eloise illustrated paper dolls for Samuel Gabriel & Sons, Playtime House and Jaymar. She illustrated for 4 years before marrying Sidney Wilkin, so early works are signed Eloise Burns. Her sister Esther married Sidneys' brother and Esther later wrote books and Eloise illustrated them.

She signed a contract with Simon & Schuster in 1944 and went on to illustrate 47 little golden books, calendars, shape books,big goldens and sturdy goldens. Her illustrations show innocence of youth and wide-eyed wonder. She used her neighborhood, her children and their friends as models for her illustrations. --from Goldenbook.com

This is my original copy of Baby's Mother Goose. It's part of the Little Golden Book series, published as a "sturdy book." Hmmm.... not so sturdy. Clearly, this book was well loved!

!