Title: Copper-Toed Boots and The Door in the Wall
Format: Clothbound Hardcovers - these are library editions
Author: Marguerite De Angeli
Illustrator: Marguerite De Angeli
Copyright Years: 1998 and 1949
Publisher: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Condition: Cover and spine wear noted around the edges. Being ex-school library books, all books have stamps, notations and markings associated with school library books. They also have page wrinkles and smudges from years of being read by many children. No missing pages noted. A page tear or two have been noted. No writing other than library notations and stamps are noted. Copper-Toed Boots has a name written on the inside cover and no other markings noted - a very clean edition inside.
This is a wonderful pair of living history books as only Marguerite De Angeli can tell and illustrate. A Door in the Wall is the 1950 winner of the Newbery Award. Copper-Toed Boots is a story about de Angeli's father.
Let's chat about Library books for a moment. Library bound books were published specifically for school and public libraries. They often lacked dust jackets and had simpler cover designs than the same book published for the public. But here is the beauty in them - these workhorses were built to last. The covers almost seem indestructible, which is good because they were meant for many hands to read them during their time in schools - whether a classroom or library. So, while these may seem like the ugly ducklings of children's books, we should call them Ugly Treasures (as my friend, Robin from The Children's Legacy Library refers to them as), because they hold wonderful stories and are built to withstand kids being kids!
