VINTAGE CHILDREN'S BOOKS : Oz Junior Editions

     I think one of the best things about people who work in libraries (the ones who are truly library-minded) is that they understand the importance of preservation. Books can be time capsules and treasures if they end up in the right, appreciative hands.

     Before I started working in a school library, I worked in a public library, in the children's room. I loved it, and I still have friends there. One of them occasionally rescues books that are about to be discarded or sold for pennies in one of those indiscriminate library sales. Which are exciting and fun, don't get me wrong! But some books rate better treatment.

The Land of Oz Junior Edition by L. Frank Baum, 1939 (front cover)

The Land of Oz Junior Edition by L. Frank Baum, 1939 (back cover)

     My friend knows I'm a fan of the original Oz books, so she sent me these two time-worn little books. They're obviously not in good shape, one of them is missing the spine and back cover, and they both are marked "5" on the cover. At first I thought it meant $5, and then realized it probably meant 5 CENTS. Poor, sad little old books.

     I'm sure to a collector these are practically worthless because of their condition, but I'd never seen them before, and love them.

     

Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse of Oz by L. Frank Baum, 1939 (front cover)