Childhood Book

There was a really cool big book of Fairy Tales my mom used to have for us kids. It was gray and had great illustrations and lots of stories. I haven't seen it in years and am not sure where it ended up. I have thought about it recently, wanting my kids to know the classic fairy tales. I wondered if I could somehow find a copy without knowing the name or publisher.

Yesterday my boss and I were delivering a wedding together. We got to the church and realized we'd forgotten something, so I stayed and kept setting up while she left to go get it. Unfortunately we were about 20 minutes away from the shop, so it took a while. I finished setting up and was kind of wandering around being bored. I noticed a stack of kids' books on a table with a note that said "take if you'll use!", so I started looking at them to see what was there. I bet you can see where this is going. The book at the bottom of the pile was an exact copy of the fairy tale book we had growing up! I swear my heart skipped a beat when I saw it and the illustration on the cover took me immediately back to my childhood. I couldn't believe it. I grabbed it quick as if someone else was going to take it - even though no one else was even around!

The book was originally published in 1977, and this copy has an inscription in the front that it was a gift in 1979. Right about the same time my parents probably got it. It's in fantastic overall shape, especially considering it's age.

When I got home I told my kids all about this book I used to have, then showed them the one I found. They were so excited to hear about it and read it together. We've decided we'll read a story a night until we finish it, and we started tonight. I'm so glad to share this with them!

Here are pics of both the front and back covers, as both hold strong memories for me. Are the pictures fantastic?