Everything I Need to Know About Family I Learned From a Little Golden Book

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book

by Diane Muldrow

Celebrate family and the 75th anniversary of Little Golden Books with the newest book in the ever-popular EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW series!
 
Have you ever wished your family were a little more . . . perfect? The brand that most represents idyllic perfection actually confirms that there is no such thing. But it does show that joy and love can be found in the imperfect! Reap the rewards of Diane Muldrow’s collection of the very best Golden Book images in this new addition to the bestselling series. Everything I Need to Know About Family I Learned From a Little Golden Book proves once again that those gold-spined tomes hold wisdom that transcends childhood.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Childrens, Humor, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Family

96 pages, Library Binding

First published January 26, 2016

About the author

Diane Muldrow grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She later attended Ohio University, where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Magazine Journalism and a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts: Dance. After her graduation, Diane moved to New York. She spent several years performing as an actress and dancer in New York’s downtown avant-garde performance scene. She also danced in a performance at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and had her own one-woman shows.

Diane has also had a successful career in publishing, both as an editor and as an author. She has written over 100 books for children. Diane lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she enjoys trying new recipes and eating in local restaurants.

Reviews

[Christy Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Muldrow’s series Everything I Need to Know about…I Learned from a Little Golden Book. This particular one focuses on family and what they mean to us. How they support us and love us. How they frustrate us and bring us joy. How each family may be different. It’s a sweet little way to see the familiar Little Golden Books in a new way.

[Negin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these Little Golden Books for adults. They take me back to my childhood. When I was in second grade in Tehran, my teacher at our international school, gave us the address for a bookstore that had the Little Golden Books. It was hard enough to find English books in Tehran, never mind the Little Golden ones. Oh, how I loved the days that my mom or dad would take us there!

[Reading Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I, like many, grew up reading Golden Books. I had Golden Books for every subject. The nostalgia from this book is overwhelming! Absolutely adored and brought back many dear memories.

[Cindy aka "The Book Fairy" · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a nostalgic trip down memory lane! It was so endearing to be able to instantly recognize many familiar illustrations having read/been read to little golden books from my childhood...and still own actually..... Such a sentimental book! Must get some more in this series (have the one Everything I learned which was also darling!)

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are the the cutest books ever. Such wit and wisdom! They make me smile

[Jocelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet book about families as seen through the eyes of Little Golden Books.

[Cathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm such a sucker for nostalgia! This is the third of Muldrow's books which I've read, and I've enjoyed them all. The sentiments are sweet, but that's not why I enjoy them. I love looking at the illustrations, taken from Little Golden Books, and then looking at the bottom of the page to see the title of the LGB and the year it came out. Wow, there are some oldies-but-goodies, some even going back to the 1940s. I grew up reading Little Golden Books (my mom bought them as a treat for me at the grocery store for 29 cents--yikes! that ages me) and I still have many of them. My own children enjoyed them, and I bought many more for them, also as a reward when we were shopping at the supermarket or Target. From The Pokey Little Puppy to the Little Red Hen and even to something as silly and retro as Mr. Ed, the Talking Horse, our family has enjoyed a lot of fun books through the years.

So kudos to Diane Muldrow for taking us back in time and celebrating the joys of Little Golden Books. She's making a boatload of money with her endeavors...but that's okay, I suppose. More power to her!

[Dione · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I see the iconic gold spine of a Little Golden Book, I smile and am reminded of my childhood. That same gold spine drew my attention in the adult nonfiction section a few days ago. After a little research, I found that October of 2017 will be the 75th anniversary of Little Golden Books. As one part of the celebration author, Diane Muldrow, has taken images from Little Golden books published in the 1940s through the 1960s and crafted a story about family. This adult picture book weaves the story of the “perfect family” that happens to be imperfect. It describes the challenges and struggles that every family faces, but ends with the thing that binds all families together, love. This is the fifth book Diane Muldrow has created from Little Golden book illustrations in her “Everything I Need to Know” series.

These timeless images invoked feelings of nostalgia for me.

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of my edition is cuter so look for this book with a family of four in a blue car with the windows rolled down!

I am a big fan of this series, especially since we who read these or had them read to us are now Social Security and Medicare age. The are colorful, nostalgic, easy to read and remember. They are cheery and remind us of our better intentions. The scary people are not THAT scary and are meant to warn, not lead us into insurrection.

Diane Muldrow has written a bunch of books but this compilation is where I started. I'm already waiting for her latest.

[Neeli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and easy read. I really enjoyed the nostalgic trip down memory lane as I looked at each of the pictures and remembered reading some of the original book as a young child. I was tempted to have a re-read of them all.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the nostalgia this book evokes with illustrations from the Little Golden books not only of my children's childhood, but mine as well. An endearing concept that is written primarily to parents, but would make a nice read aloud for children, too.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a very clever idea to incorporate past Golden Books into one book, using their lovely illustrations to accompany a narrative. The printing is high quality. This work is for a limited audience; the boomers who grew up listening to and then reading these books to their children, and perhaps for avid readers of children's books. It's a book read only once before it's shared with others who can appreciate it, partly because the gender stereotypes are out of date.

Apparently today's Golden Books are just popular licenses such as Marvel and Barbie.

I was excited to see "The House That Jack Built"; one of my childhood favorites.

It is always a pleasure to see Garth Williams's illustrations (Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, The Cricket in Times Square, the Little House Series). He was prolific!

There's also "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse", illustrated by Richard Scarry.

1952's "Fun With Decals" came with a page of 6 stickers!

1952 also featured "Mister Dog" by Margaret Wise Brown. She wrote more than Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny! (Per Wikipedia, she wrote over 100 books in her short 42 years of life.)

I'm glad I never encountered 1951's "Ukelele and Her New Doll". Ugh.

All in all, the various illustrations are a happy walk down memory lane.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenges: Brighter Winter Jan 2021 - Based on cover (1); Reading Goal Posts - 21 in 2021/Project 14/Tier Four. Little Golden Book classic icon 'Pokey Little Puppy' is on the cover in a car with the ideal family of the 50s, the decade of my childhood. Extrapolated pages from various Little Golden Book titles illustrate the importance of safety, tolerance, and family life in the trenches while idealizing the perfect family of nuclear and extended family members, vacations, annual rituals, and mileposts. A nice place to visit, even knowing that often this is not the usual family experience. Pages 'Baby Sister' and 'Book of Dogs' hold personal meaning.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about families featuring pages from different Little Golden Books. It was fun revisiting some of the books, even though some were creepy (like a father/grandfather who I think was wearing long underwear but it kinda looked like he wasn't wearing pants) and a few didn't age well (like an illustration from 1951 of a Hawaiian family eating a dinner of melons and things in which the mother is topless other than a lei).

It is a picture book. There is only a sentence per page, so it is a quick read!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite "Everything I Need to Know....Golden Book" compilation but it was cute.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't help but smile when reading these. It might just be me, but I look at the illustration and try to figure out what book there are from. I grew up on Little Golden Books.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick, easy read that will take you back to your childhood (and inspire you to be more grateful for what you have). I loved this little golden book for adults.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

sweet, wholesome and heartwarming....the good ole days

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute

[Cassandra L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cute. Second favorite out of the three I read from this series.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, sweet, and full of nostalgia.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cute book with life lessons illustrated by pictures from Little Golden Books of the past.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute short and sweet read down nostalgia lane packed with recognized illustrations from multiple golden book editions.

[Heather McC · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compendium of pages from various 'Little Golden Books' are presented here under the theme of 'family'.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun coffee table book or as a gift to new parents, a graduate, big brother or sister, etc. As I said in my review for Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned From a Little Golden Book, this is a whimsical and funny take on what it means to live life, be in a family, or have a family of your own. Normally, I'd say this seems a little juvenile, but it is the distinct purpose of this book to get readers to take a look at their lives and all of its craziness in a less serious way, and that has the power of making any burdens seem lighter and making one grateful for all the positive things in family life. It might be fun to read it as a family when all the kids are older!

[Jenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was AWFUL! I grew up loving Golden Books, but this is nothing but a collection of trite cliches that are paired with adorable illustrations from old Golden Books. I am EMBARRASSED for Golden Books to even publish this!!!!

[Christine Turner]

This is not a book for Children.

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute concept, fun little read, even if it makes for a bit of a disjointed plot. Great that it identifies the illustrations, tells which children's story they're from, & the publication Year.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet little book, lovely illus.