Happy Throwback Thursday, everyone! For this week's post, we're celebrating the official start of summer (the Summer Solstice was this past Monday!) with some vintage books all about this sunny season.
(Look at those beautiful covers!)
Our librarian Deimosa found May Garelick's Down to the Beach for me. This beautiful hardcover book was published by the Scholastic imprint Four Winds Press back in 1973. This book is all about what happens during a day at the beach – swimming, making sand castles, watching seagulls, etc. Barbara Cooney's sweet watercolor paintings are absolutely stunning and are as soothing as laying under a big beach umbrella on a hot, sunny day.
Next, Seventeenth Summer and Summer at Ravenswood caught my eye from the shelves. Seventeenth Summer was written by Maureen Daly. Here's a blurb about Maureen from the back cover:
Maureen Daly won literary recognition when her short story SIXTEEN was awarded first prize in the Scholastic Writing Awards. Before she was twenty years old, SEVENTEENTH SUMMER, about a girl's pre-college romance, won her the Dodd, Mead Intercollegiate Literary Fellowship contest, and quickly became a best-seller.
Although Seventeenth Summer wasn't originally published by Scholastic, the paperback edition I found in our Archives features a photograph by 17-year-old Maurice Sanders on the cover, and, that photo won a Scholastic Photography Award in 1967!
The cover for 1977's Summer at Ravenswood by Marilyn Granbeck features a young girl caught in the wind as she stares at a large, looming house. That young girl is Carol Martin, who goes to work for the summer at her father's elderly aunt house after he dies. There, she encounters an unfriendly housekeeper and her daughter; a noisy, old house; and other mysterious occurances. It's an engaging and quick mystery, complete with moody illustrations; perfect for the summer.
The last book, 1981's The Cool Kids' Guide to Summer Camp, was written by someone familiar – R.L. Stine! Actually, on this book he's credited with his earlier pen name from when he was a humor writer: Jovial Bob Stine. You'll also notice the name Jane Stine listed as one of the authors; not only is Jane R.L. Stine's wife, she's also his editor!
The book features funny illustrations, quizzes, and tips for kids going to summer camp for ths first time. Some sections of the book include:
- The Cool Kids' Guide to Counselors
- What You Missed Today on Daytime TV
- Guaranteed Homesickness Cure
- Visiting Day: A Warning
Special thanks to Scholastic librarian Deimosa Webber-Bey for her help with this series!
Gina Asprocolas
