Collecting Childrens Picturebooks

In a previous post, we provided the first edition identification points for Dr. Seuss's If I Ran The Zoo. The key identifying point is the absence of the line "Based on Material Originally Appeared in Redbook Magazine" on the copyright page. The true first printing of the book omits this line.

We thought some Seuss-o-philes would be interested in the Redbook Magazine appearance of If I Ran The Zoo:

We count sixty lines in the Redbook poem, while the story replicates that in the book. The Redbook poem starts:

"If I ran the zoo," said young Gerald McGrew

"I'd make a few changes, that's just what I'd do"

While the book begins,

 "It's a pretty good zoo," said young Gerald McGrew,

"And the fellow who runs it seems proud of it, too."

"But if I ran the zoo," said young Gerald McGrew,

"I'd make a few changes, that's just what I'd do..." 

The Redbook includes illustrations of many of Seuss concoctions featured in the book, including the Elephant-Cat, the Ten-Legged Lion, the Obsk, the Bippo-no-Bungus, It-Kutch, Preep-Proo, Nerp, Nerd, Seersucker, Fings, and of course the giant Gwark. The Redbook illustrations are unique to the magazine--Seuss re-did each illustration for the book. The 'look' of the creatures are very much the same between the magazine and the book, although curiously, the 'facing direction' is reversed in the book, i.e. if left facing in the magazine, the creature is right-facing in the book, and vice-versa.

If I Ran the Zoo is credited with inventing the word "nerd" with the lines:

"And then, just to show them, I'll sail to Ka-Troo

And Bring Back an It-Kutch a Preep and a Proo

A Nerkle a Nerd and a Seersucker, too!"

These same lines appear in the magazine, which was published prior to the book. So, if you are a 'pop culture technophile', the magazine might be the more appealing. It certainly would be less expensive to obtain, since the first edition If I Ran The Zoo has a market value of $1600 (in very good condition) according to the Children's Picturebook Price Guide).

Gerald McGrew, the principal character and narrator in If I Ran The Zoo, is the first of several McGrew's to appear in Dr. Seuss works. Young Mayzie McGrew is the principal character in Daisy-Head Mayzie, and her parents are Mr. & Mrs. McGrew. We do not know if they are related to the Zoo's Gerald. A Dr. McGrew appears in You're Only Old Once! at the Golden Years Clinic. And, lastly, a Mr. McGrew appears in Seuss's I Can Draw It Myself, as a man who needs whiskers, "some eyebrows and eyelashes, too"

Linda and Stan Zielinski, authors of the Children's Picturebook Price Guide, are "serious collectors having fun with fun books."

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Posted by Stan Zielinski at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There’s an amusing article at Fuse#8, "Fat Insufferable Cats", about the OCLC list we posted a couple of days ago. The article laments the inclusion of the eh, how shall we say, ‘less literary’ children’s books on the OCLC Top 1000, beginning with #15, Garfield. Indeed, a fat insufferable cat.

Recall that the OCLC list “contains the Top 1000 intellectual works that have been judged to be worth owning by the ‘purchase vote’ of libraries around the globe.” (Likely the first time a Garfield book has been labeled an “intellectual work”, even in this back-handed manner.)

It is satisfying to see twenty-four Newbery Medal books on the OCLC Top 1000, although one wonders why more libraries are not stocking the other sixty award winning books. As one might expect, Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time is the foremost Newbery in the OCLC Top 1000, coming in 257^th overall, with nearly 10,000 libraries worldwide carrying the book.

It is a bit surprising that Mildred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry is the 2nd Newbery on the list (and 373^rd overall). Thunder/Cry hasn’t received the pop culture notoriety of a number of other award winning books, and yet comes in ‘ahead’ of such stalwarts as Holes, Caddie Woodlawn, Sounder, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. 

Linda and Stan Zielinski, authors of the Children's Picturebook Price Guide, are "serious collectors having fun with fun books."

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The information offered on the website and blog is offered free of charge. If you find the information useful, then kindly link or share the post with a parent, teacher, librarian, bookseller, or collector. Thank You.

Posted by Stan Zielinski at 02:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Every Seuss-o-phile must read Professor Philip Nel's new book, The Annotated Cat: Under The Hats Of Seuss and His Cats. From Newsweek's article, '236 Perfect Words', by Malcolm Jones:

Nel’s line-by-line annotations illuminate precisely how Seuss created his masterwork (Nel also includes annotation for “The Cat in the Hat Came Back,”). We are treated to rough sketches and first drafts. The antecedents (comics of all kinds, of course, but especially “The Katzenjammer Kids,” “Krazy Kat” and “Felix the Cat”. Nel even delves into the differences between the book and the animated cartoon of the same name made by Seuss and Chuck Jones. As delightful as the cartoon is, it offers a singular lesson in economy. The book, lacking music, lacking animation, lacking extra scenes and lines, is still better.

Whatever we make of “The Cat in the Hat,” we cannot call it an accident. Watching Seuss revise is a lesson any writer or artist could benefit from. When the cat says he knows some new tricks and offers to show them to Sally and Whatsisname, Seuss began by making him say, “I can show them to you.” He crossed out “can” and substituted “Let me.” Then he crossed that out and penciled in “I will.” Suddenly, the cat is in focus—and in command.

Showing us how Seuss worked—showing him assemble the cat line by line in ink and print—is the coolest gift this “Annotated Cat” could give us. Looking over the shoulder of a master (but a master of the unconventional and the subversive—Seuss, according to Nel, identified most strongly with his most mischievous characters: his license plate read GRINCH), we learn the true meaning of the words “It is fun to have fun, but you have to know how.” Boy, did he know how.

Professor Nel teaches at Kansas State University, and has authored a number of articles and books on children's books. He is currently working on Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: A Biography, the husband and wife duo, Johnson the creator of Harold and the Purple Crayon, and Krauss a celebrated children's book author.

Nel manages several children's book related websites, notably extensively linked pages on The Crockett Johnson Homepage, and Dr. Seuss On The Web. At KSU, Professor Nel teaches an undergraduate course on children's literature, and an upper-level course on Dr. Seuss, where the curriculum includes Horton Hatches an Egg, Horton Hears A Who!, the Cat In The Hat, along with numerous other Seuss classics.

Linda and Stan Zielinski, authors of the Children's Picturebook Price Guide, are "serious collectors having fun with fun books."

Links Are Our Friends

The information offered on the website and blog is offered free of charge. If you find the information useful, then kindly link or share the post with a parent, teacher, librarian, bookseller, or collector. Thank You.

Posted by Stan Zielinski at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The "Top 1000" titles most widely held by Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) member libraries—the intellectual works that have been judged to be worth owning by the "purchase vote" of libraries around the globe. The OCLC web site presents the top books most widely held by libraries, with thematic sublists, sample cover art, "Find in a Library" links, comparisons to other lists, and download files. A key to entries is available.

The list is derived from WorldCat, a library catalog of items held by 53,000 libraries in 96 countries.

OCLC Top 1000

Fun facts about the updated OCLC Top 1000

Because it reflects the decisions of many libraries over many years, the list would not be expected to change much from one year to the next. And, in fact, this year's list is substantially the same as last year's. What changes there are in individual rankings are due as much to continuing refinements in the list-building methodology as to changes in the system-wide collection actually held by libraries.

How do libraries choose?

Deciding what items to add to a library collection is part of what librarians call collection development. Libraries have written collection-development policies, which are based on the mission and goals of the library, the needs and requests of the community it serves, and the level of resources the library has to work with. Libraries also rely heavily on book reviews. A decision to purchase a single item is rarely made in isolation.

What does this list say about libraries?

Libraries are rich, deep, resources for preserving cultural heritage and indispensable resources for the communities they serve. By and large the list reflects true classics and canonical works of western culture. The list also shows the extent that libraries strive to meet the needs of their readers, by offering books in high demand any given year. The list contains classic works such as the Bible, utilitarian works such as the U.S. Census and also popular works such as Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation.

How the list was made:

WorldCat + FRBR + manual intervention + holdings + sorting

In a nutshell: we made a master list of all the items held by libraries around the globe. We tweaked it to bring together different printings and editions and translations, and then we counted the number of libraries that own each title. We ranked the titles in descending order by the number of items held by libraries. Then we provided some additional categories to create sublists of fiction, drama, children's works, and so forth.

Top Children's Books Held By Libraries 

The following is the list of children's books found in the OCLC Top 1000: