Title: Yonie Wondernose, Henner's Lydia, Bright April, Thee, Hannah!, Skippack School, and The Door in the Wall
Format: Clothbound Hardcovers - these are all library editions
Author: Marguerite De Angeli
Illustrator: Marguerite De Angeli
Copyright Years: various
Publisher: Junior Books for Doubleday & Company, Inc. and Junior Books for Doubleday Doran & 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.
This is a wonderful set of living history books as only Marguerite De Angeli can tell and illustrate. Bright April was the first book to bring light racial prejudice in America in the 1940's. A Door in the Wall is the 1950 winner of the Newbery Award. All but The Door in the Wall feature local Pennsylvania history.
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 because they are wonderful stories and built to withstand kids being kids!
