Childhood Books and Toys

When I was a little kid my parents read to me every night before bed. I had books like The Pokey Little Puppy, Cheeky Chipmunk and many others.

I also loved to play with my dolls.

When I got too old for those things they were stored in the thin, wooden toy box and put in the basement. Since our home was on a steep hill, most of the basement wasn’t paved.

Decades later when I had graduated from college and got my first apartment I took the toy box there.

When I opened it, I was horrified!

It smelled terrible and everything in it was covered with mold and mildew. 

Some of my dolls, which had been made before plastic was available, had heads made of composite material that had rotted away, and their clothes were rotten, too.

Most of the books were falling apart, the pages were brown and brittle, and they smelled horrible.

Fortunately, I was able to salvage a few toys from later in my childhood that were made of plastic, and some of my books. 

I still have those today.

Do you have any toys or books from your childhood?