COLLECTION #250: Playing Doctor

Woo hoo! Another milestone! 250 collections! (I'm not sure how many more I have, but that's pretty good, huh?)

This little collection is in honor of that age-old play pattern: playing doctor and nurse! (I mean that in a very wholesome and noble way!)  It was many child's dream to emulate the healing practitioner's art: to become a doctor or nurse. It might have started with a visit to the school nurse for a skinned knee, or maybe a trip to the hospital (like little Stevie in the book shown here) to have tonsils removed. Personally, I never had such aspirations. I was focused my whole life on being an artist, and no trip to Dr. G's office impressed me as a career path.

There's no manufacturer's information on the Nurse Kit box. It's designed like a little suitcase, with handle and clasp. It looks to be late '50s.

The inside of the Nurse Kit lid. Funky artwork, not nearly as cute as the cover!

I love the little nurse's kit. I hope you don't mind that the kit is completely empty. I bought it years ago for the graphics on the box, so it's just here to give a little atmosphere to my small collection of serious medical books.

Perhaps Nurse Nancy or Doctor Dan will bring back lots of happy memories for you. These books really bring back so many memories to me, especially of the little band-aids that were attached to the inside of the book. Colleen Malvern's illustrations are particularly adorable. They are Little Golden Books.

All the illustrations in Nurse Nancy and Doctor Dan were done by the talented Corinne Malvern

Little Stevie goes to the hospital in A Visit to the Hospital, to have his tonsils removed. This book was designed to help children prepare for their own medical traumas. I hope yours were minor! I never went to the hospital myself, until I was in my mid-twenties, and had my tonsils removed by my Uncle Harold. Fortunately, the real Nurse Nancy and Doctor Dan took good care of me!

A Visit to the Hospital, published in 1958 by Wonder Books

COLLECTION #42: Little Golden Books

 I love Little Golden Books! The ultimate Baby Boomers' memory-inducer, Little Golden Books were within everyone's financial reach. Inexpensive and sweet, these little books loomed large in my childhood memories, and maybe in yours too.  I have a modest collection of Little Golden Books. None are my own actual childhood books,  but several of these were ones I owned: I learned to tell time with How To Tell Time, and I followed the adventures of Nurse Nancy & Doctor Dan as they taught us the rudiments of first aid, with 'real Band-aid brand bandages' inside'! (The Doctor Dan book shown below, is a reproduction/ reprint)

My favorite Little Golden Books illustrator was Eloise Wilkins, and seeing her beautiful work never ceases to bring a little tear to my eye. I loved my copy of  My Teddy Bear, even though I have not managed to acquire it for my collection today. You can see her work in Prayers for Children (above), and Busy Timmy (below), Another favorite illustrator was Garth Williams, who also illustrated some of my other children's favorites: Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and the Little House books.
Corinne Malvern illustrated many of my other favorites, like Nurse Nancy, Heidi,
and Frosty the Snowman.

 I have a few Little Golden Books from the 40s, and although they aren't the ones that I owned as a child, I absolutely adore the colorful illustrations and fun stories. It's so fun to see a little slice of life and culture from the post-war years.