Words of Nostalgia

When Barbara Lyons went into business as a used-book seller in Woodland Hills a year and a half ago, she recalls, “As soon as I opened the doors, I got boomers coming in looking for ‘their’ book.” And, this last shopping weekend of the holiday season, she and her fellow used-book dealers in the Valley are expecting lots of boomers.

This is because of the ‘90s trend of buying vintage children’s classics instead of new books. The buyers are folks born between 1947 and 1964 who want to share with their children stories that were popular more than 40 years ago.

Lyons, who gave her shop the winsome name the Bookhouse, admits to being very much like her customers. “I had a favorite book, ‘The Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings,’ by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey,” she said. As with most vintage classics, it’s “peaceful, nonviolent and will give kids what boomers got when they were little,” she explained.

In a swipe at the ninja-techno kiddie books of today, Lyons said, “The new books are ‘pumped up,’ and parents find them disturbing.” As a result, she said, “I have people coming in who have never been to a used-book store.”

Another reason for the trend toward buying older books, according to Jason Kelly, who manages Village Books in Valencia, is “a dreadful transformation since the 1950s.” He’s referring to the revision and republication of classics such as the Nancy Drew mysteries, “with the big words gone. To find the last good one, you have to get one printed before 1959.”

Fortunately, there’s so much demand for good, older children’s literature that some classics have been reissued in their original versions and are available in new bookstores such as Pages in Tarzana.

Owner Darlene Daniel reports there are republished editions available of some vintage Nancy Drew stories (complete with the big words), as well as the adventures of “Freddy the Pig” and the “My Father’s Dragon” books. Only one Eloise book has been republished, but several of the original Madeleine, Curious George and Dr. Seuss books are now back in print.

Otherwise, it’s off to the used-book stores--or the Internet (www.bibliofind.com is one useful site)--if you want the likes of “The Poky Little Puppy.”

That’s the current champion out-of-print nostalgia title. This Little Golden Book, which originally sold for less than $1, is now fetching almost $20. But even that increase in price isn’t so daunting if you compare it with the price of new kiddie books.

“There’s no [reliable] price guide for [antiquarian and out-of-print] children’s books,” says Valencia’s Kelly,” so a good copy of a book you read as a child varies widely.” (Vintage children’s books also vary wildly in condition. A lot of them were loved to tatters).

There are several underground lists of boomer favorites. One provided to The Times by Caron Chapman, executive director of the Assn. of Booksellers for Children and a 30-year veteran of the trade, was accompanied by the confession, “My mother had all these books.”

Here’s that list--designed to jiggle your memory but not to make you too misty-eyed. You’ll need all your faculties working this weekend to find your exact book in time to read it to your kids during the holidays: “Goodnight Moon,” “The Runaway Bunny,” “The Little Engine That Could,” “Make Way for Ducklings,” “Millions of Cats,” “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Harold and the Purple Crayon.”

BE THERE

Shoppers’ guide--Some Valley sources for originals or reprints of fondly remembered children’s books include the Bookhouse in Woodland Hills, (818) 340-7311; Village Books in Valencia, (888) 356-4555; Bookie Joint in Reseda, (818) 343-1055; Atlantis Bookshop in Burbank, (818) 854-6467; Books on the Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, (818) 905-0988; Sam’s Book Company in Woodland Hills, (818) 999-6962; Bargain Books in Van Nuys, (818) 782-2782, and Pages in Tarzana, (818) 342-6657.