This is a set of 35 Big Little Books published by Whitman in 1968. I loved these books. They were the first books I read after I out grew Dr. Seuss.
While you never really leave Dr. Seuss behind; you can only "Hop on Pop" and sympathize with Sam I Am's dietary conundrum so many times before you begin looking for more in a story. This happened to me when I was in 2nd grade.
Although I only remember owning just a few of these books myself; I had access to every one of them and I read them all.
When I was 8, my parents were friends with another couple who had 3 kids. On Saturday evenings we would go over to their house and the adults would play board games in the kitchen.
The kids were banished to the living room or the kid's playroom. After a while, playing bumper pool in the basement or "house" with the other kids became very boring. That's when I discovered that the Tolerico kids had the complete set of Whitman books.
Once I saw them I wanted to read them all. I would pick out a book when I first got to their house and find a place to sit and read it. Of course I read the series in numerical order.
The miniature hard cover books were stories about some of my favorite cartoon characters. Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, The Flintstones, Woody Woodpecker, Tom and Jerry, Popeye and Dick Tracy were some of the cartoon characters featured.
There were also some books about super heroes including: Aquaman, Batman, and the Fantastic Four.
Books based on popular TV shows like Lassie, Bonanza; Tarzan; The Lone Ranger; Gentle Ben; and even the si-fi series "The Invaders" were also part of the series.
Perhaps most obscure book in the series was based on the Mattel action figure, Major Matt Mason. He was an Air Force pilot turned astronaut.
Over the years I've thought about this series of books and wished I had held on to those few volumes I had for my own. This series helped me learn to love reading.
Because of some of the toys I saw on a new series on the Learning Channel called "Toy Hunter" I started thinking of the Major Matt Mason figure I had when I was 7.
I decided to look on E-bay and found the Major's Big Little Book for sale. The picture of the cover really opened a flood gate of memories about my childhood friends.
That's when I found this picture. I also found several pictures of the individual volumes. With each one I discovered I said things to myself like: "I remember reading that book", and "I loved this one." What a nice walk down memory lane.
Tonight was only the first episode of Toy Hunter that I've seen. I've set up a series recording on my DVR so I won't miss a single one. I can't wait to see what other toys the show's star, Jordan Hembrough finds in future episodes and what childhood recollections are sparked from seeing them again.
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