Kid's Books From When I Was a Kid, vs Now

[Joseph Cummings]

They actually explained the machines

 

Now we have this

Read by this

[mowerman]

First book I ever read in my life I was in a bookstore a few years ago, and I was really surprised that they still carried it I think my mom bought it for me way back around 1963.

[mowerman]

Oh, by the way, yes I did get your point

[Joey Mack]

one of my first little golden books  was named. Big Joe's trailer truck...  I wish I still had it today..   I do have my charlie brown books, but non of my Dr. Suess books.. 

[mowerman]

You might be surprised Joey a lot of that old shit is still in print was it so long ago I could be very entertained with a bat and a ball or a kite

[Mark T]

I have a book by that Zaffo guy. The artwork can't be fully appreciated by a kid. Mine has trucks and one is a Gerosa Autocar.  I had no idea what that stuff was when I got that book. 

[The Heinz]

Being born in the late 90's gives me a unique perspective on media of the time, especially considering we weren't exactly rich growing up. I had a lot of kids books similar to the modern example above, and I also had several like the older book up there. Being into big trucks and construction equipment growing up gave me plenty of opportunities to read books with very detailed info that went over my head, until it didn't lol.

The huge difference in media between even my generation and the newest is the intent. 99% of modern child entertainment is created solely to grab and hold their attention to generate revenue, with most of the left-adjacent messages existing only because that brings even more revenue through kickbacks and such. The only good kids' show I know of is Bluey, but I only know what friends and family have told me about it, I don't have kids. As a kid, my shows were made to either teach lessons or skills like simple problem solving, or because the creators had a vision they wanted to share. Corporate greed has killed creativity, and in its stead we have the garbage that is the modern entertainment industry. 

[other dog]

25 minutes ago, mowerman said:

You might be surprised Joey a lot of that old shit is still in print was it so long ago I could be very entertained with a bat and a ball or a kite

This is true! When I was a kid, many years ago, we stayed in the woods when we played. We played army a lot, or cowboys and Indians, and our guns were sticks. And every time you got "killed" you could be somebody else and keep right on going. I was always Sargent Saunders from the TV show "Combat!". And as we got older we played baseball in a cow pasture or hay field. We never actually had enough people to have 9 players on a team, but it didn't matter, we still had fun.

[Joseph Cummings]

[Joseph Cummings]

[Joey Mack]

AWESOME.

[other dog]

36 minutes ago, Joey Mack said:

one of my first little golden books  was named. Big Joe's trailer truck...  I wish I still had it today..   I do have my charlie brown books, but non of my Dr. Suess books.. 

We had about all the Dr. Seuss books when I was a kid too. One of my childhood favorites was called "Go Dog Go". I liked it so much I bought a copy for my son when he was little and one for my grandson too. 

[BOBWhite]

Lots of time and talent to make those old books but man they are captivating. All the kids stuff now is made by AI so we will never see illustrations like that again!

My favorite book as a kid was probably Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel as well as go dog go. They say whatever art style you read/watched at a kid is how your imagination and dreams work as an adult, I feel bad for the kids today. 

[Joey Mack]

I agree.  Big Joe's Trailer Truck was mine,,  and well......  Here I am. 50 years later..  You read my mind BOBWhite...

[bulldogboy]

When I was a kid (1950s) there was a series of books about trucks and other equipment. I can't remember the name but they featured actual photos. The fire truck one had a picture of Grosse Pointe Farms, MI Fire Department's Mack "L" model quint. I can't find a picture of that truck anywhere.

 

[davehummell]

When I was about 11 0r 12 my mother took me to the library and I found the book Bulldozer by Stephen W Meader years later about 50 or so I found you could buy that book new and the book T model Tommy and several others from this author. My uncle worked at Cleveland Brothers and it was a very big deal to go with him to the shop and go for a ride on a loader or bulldozer at my young age

[Mark T]

1 hour ago, Joseph Cummings said:

That's the one .

[Mark T]

Funny thing, I went home and found that book in minutes. I couldn't tell you where or even if I have a high school diploma.

[GA_Dave]

The "Airport Fire truck" in the pictures above is an excellent representation of a late 1940's American LaFrance  700 Series that served Hancock Field in Syracuse, NY.

[Red Horse]

5 hours ago, Joey Mack said:

one of my first little golden books  was named. Big Joe's trailer truck...  I wish I still had it today..   I do have my charlie brown books, but non of my Dr. Suess books.. 

I can't tell you how many times I read Big Joes to my sons, one now 49 and the other 47.  As a matter of fact, since my wife passed away 11/21, I finally decided I have to go through a huge collection of kids books and pick out a few to save..for my great grandsons!😎

[Mark T]

Then on the other end of the spectrum, there's good mothers like mayor pete reading stories like ( my two dad's ) to kids.   Boy this thread has really made some of us think. 

[mowerman]

16 hours ago, Joey Mack said:

AWESOME.

right,,,,im about pissing myself at 68 lol.....bob

[mowerman]

16 hours ago, other dog said:

This is true! When I was a kid, many years ago, we stayed in the woods when we played. We played army a lot, or cowboys and Indians, and our guns were sticks. And every time you got "killed" you could be somebody else and keep right on going. I was always Sargent Saunders from the TV show "Combat!". And as we got older we played baseball in a cow pasture or hay field. We never actually had enough people to have 9 players on a team, but it didn't matter, we still had fun.

we mostly played in the street ,,,dead end,,,and im sure most of you fellas remember,,,everyone had one car,,,that the old man had at work,,,,mothers all stayed home,,,,,so my street was dead all day,,,,only thing that would come thru was milkman and mail man,,,bob

[mowerman]

11 hours ago, Red Horse said:

I can't tell you how many times I read Big Joes to my sons, one now 49 and the other 47.  As a matter of fact, since my wife passed away 11/21, I finally decided I have to go through a huge collection of kids books and pick out a few to save..for my great grandsons!😎

sorry about your wife

[Joseph Cummings]

13 hours ago, GA_Dave said:

The "Airport Fire truck" in the pictures above is an excellent representation of a late 1940's American LaFrance  700 Series that served Hancock Field in Syracuse, NY.