It
is amazing what going through closets full of junk will net you.
As
Tyler has progressed into reading, much on his own now, I was thinking of books
from my childhood that I loved. My grandparents were always wonderful
sources of books for me. Every birthday, I received a book. I had
been remembering a book that I loved, that I knew Tyler would also like.
But I was afraid that I had given it away years ago (although I cannot
image having done that - still I could not find it). It is called The Children in the Jungle by Leif Krantz.
It is about three children and their toy troll who begin to paint the
walls like a jungle, and everything they paint comes to life, leading them on a
amazing adventure. I looked for it online, thinking, "Oh, I'll just
order one." No, not happening. It was unavailable, one copy
had sold for $105. I gave up, hoping someday I would find it again.
That day has come!
I was planning on uncluttering my closet and the back porch.
Some items I had planned on putting in Robert's closet. When I
opened it, however, the closet had other ideas. Jam-packed full of stuff.
I uncluttered that and his room. Lo and behold,
I found the book! I was so happy. I read it
to Tyler that night, and he loved it as much as I did.
Here are some pictures:
1 comment:
That book was a treasure of my childhood as well. (I'm 55.) For decades I tried to remember the title, with no luck. Then just today, through the site Stump the Bookseller, I learned it ... and exactly like you I thought, "Well, I'll just find it online." And then just like you I found that the only copy recently available had sold for $100!
Here's what I just wrote on Facebook about it:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151833247287265&set=a.10150090220592265.292793.630417264&type=1
I'm happy a fellow fan of the book found her long-lost copy, and I was overjoyed to see the two spreads you posted. And honestly, given that the book is out of print and virtually no copies exist (there's apparently ONE in all of NYC's libraries, and it's at Queens College and not a public library), I don't know that anyone would mind if you posted all the pages. You might very well be saving an otherwise lost book.
I did find one copy online today of Krantz's 1967 apparent follow-up book, The Children in the Water, for $50 and ordered it. Don't know anything about it other than it seems to star the same characters.
With regards,
Frank Lovece
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