This is going to be a somewhat bizarre request. My daughter has an old Sears and Roebuck catalog fron the 1930s. (Not the actual catalog, but a reprint). She loves browsing through it, seeing what clothes people used to buy, how much they cost, what toys kids played with, what furniture was being sold, etc.
Is there anything you can think of that’s in the same vein? Maybe something that shows what life is like for people, maybe in different times or different cultures? Not really looking for a chapter book, but something that can be browsed through.
by distinct_frequency
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Have you seen those Discovery Kids Eyewitness books? They make them about all sorts of topics and they’re mostly pictures with captions. Check your local library. They probably have some.
It’s not illustrated, but On this day in history shit went down by James Fell is history told in a funny way broken up by the day. If your kid is allowed to be around swear words I think they would love it.
Depends how old your daughter is – if she’s still a young child, the following rec may not be suitable – it’s best for age 12 and older as originally it was written for young women leading independent lives and working in offices [the first generation of American women to do this.]
Live Alone and Like It by Marjorie Hillis is a delightful little ‘how to’ book – quite short – written in the 1930s. It has chapters on how to furnish your tiny little apartment, what clothes to wear and food to serve at your parties – how to make friends, and how to date. There’s nothing in it that isn’t wholesome but still it’s better for the older child, and it was intended to be read by adults. Has lots of adorable little drawings. It really gives an idea of how people lived then, their clothes and possessions and food. You might enjoy reading it yourself! It’s very quirky and funny, I re-read it every year.
Edit: it may be out of print, but I picked up my used copy on Abe Books for around $3.
– 1930 “Remember When…” A Nostalgic Look Back in Time is a book showing advertisements and prices for food, appliances, etc. during the era. It also has little note pages to record your thoughts, like a mini journal in between the pictures and information.
– Events of 1930: news for every day of the year by Hugh Morriso is an illustrated booklet showing the major news of the 1930s.