We’ve been lucky enough with our book sources that we as a rule do not carry library discard books. Even so, there are certain children’s book titles that I always look for when I’m on scouting trips that I will pick up even as x-libris. These are a few author/titles that I always scout for:
Sally Watson wrote great juvenile historical novels and it has always amazed me that her books were never reprinted. I will pick up any of her books as long as they are not too mangled and have a dust jacket.
Another good book to scout is Tony Hillerman’s only children’s book, The Boy Who Made Dragonfly: A Zuni Myth. Harper & Row, 1972. Illustrated By Laszlo Kubinyi.
(This one has an ISBN # so you will have to grab fast or fight the Scoutpal users for it.)
With a nod both to the legion of series collectors and my own childhood memories:
Robert Arthur’s Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators and the Secret of Terror Castle. NY: Random House, 1964. Issued without a dust jacket. This is the first book written in The Three Investigator’s juvenile mystery series. (I loved this series as a kid and judging from the large number of fan sites I’m not the only one who remembers it fondly.)
And the big kahuna: SINBAD and ME by Kin Platt. Phila: Chilton Books, 1966. Great juvenile mystery about a boy and his bulldog Sinbad. Won the Edgar for best juvenile mystery. Not only is it collectible as a library discard, the last time I checked the Tempo paperback was going for $80 dollars or so in Very Good condition, and even it can be hard to find.
** Posted by Contributing Writer Dana Richardson of Windy Hill Books
Sidney Woolf wrote The Twins from Ceylon in the early 1900s. Sells for around $100. She wrote a follow up: More About the Twins in Ceylon. One exists in Brit Library. One in National Library of NZ. None apparently in N America. Do you know anything about it?
Romylin
Romylin,
Sorry I’m not familiar with this title, but thanks for the information, I’ll keep an eye out for it!
dana
I love the information you have provided. I love to find other people’s book favorites and look into them. I love reading and I hope I can get my children to also love reading. Thank you so much for your article. Keep posting!
I’m having a little trouble posting for some reason…I was trying to post the following: I’m always on the lookout for books like this as well. There is a nice bookstore called Pro-libris in my area that has some nice treasures. Thanks for sharing!