Thrifting: Used Children's Books

Just getting around to posting our finds from Wednesday's regular trip to the used book shop! See also my "Secret Sequel?" post about A Child's Book of Prayer in Art.

The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook, Robin Hood: A High-Spirited Tale of Adventure Starring Jim Henson's Muppets, Sesame Street: Puppy Love (a Little Golden Book) and Eloise: The 50th Anniversary Edition.

I should note that Sesame Street characters are the only TV-native characters in the house. (And in addition to being in his books, they're on his diapers and his baby toothpaste and someone gave us a Tickle Me Elmo that we've all become quite attached to.) Kid's never seen the show, but I like the books, so he knows about Grover and Elmo, although he mixes up the names. I have other books that have "characters" but it's all stuff where they based a TV series on a successful series, i.e. Berenstain Bears, Richard Scarry, et al. We also have a minor Marvel comics and/or Star Wars thing going on, but that's a discussion for another day.

I'm not gonna lie: I squealed when I saw the Fedco price-tag sticker on these two Sesame Street hardbacks, because Fedco was the Costco-style members-only emporium of its day, but the local store was looted and burned in the 1992 Los Angeles and the chain eventually shut down later that decade. To wit, anything with a Fedco price tag on it is from Ye Olden Times, whee!

The Bedtime Storybook is from the very excellent Sesame Street Storybooks series. We already have the ABC Storybook and the 123 Storybook and I'm delighted to have this book join them on our shelves.(Muppet Wikia has more on the Sesame Street Storybooks if you care to read about them.) And the Robin Hood is just outstanding. I'm kind of confused about how it never became a movie!

Here's an image from my favorite Bedtime Storybook story. Grover and the 26 Scoops is about an ice-cream shop with flavors from A to Z.

Muppet Robin Hood endpapers

Muppet Robin Hood 

Muppet Robin Hood 

Muppet Robin Hood: Can we please talk about Miss Piggy's cleavage and Princess Leia Slave Girl outfit in these pictures?! Also read the scroll for an idea of the tone of this story.

Muppet Robin Hood: Gonzo in knight gear

Muppet Robin Hood: Needlepoint-style illustration on one page, and more Miss Piggy-with-crazy-cleavage-in-another-Princess-Leia-outfit on the other page.

Muppet Robin Hood: Call me a geek, but I think this is a beautiful image. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being a family-favorite version of Robin Hood. (I gotta admit I have a soft spot in my heart for the Disney version...and the Kevin Costner version. Shameful, I know. Try not to judge me too harshly.