Hitty: Her First Hundred Years for Rednesday

(Please visit Sue at It's A Very Cherry World for more Rednesday fun!)

Happy Rednesday!
I've only got a tiny bit of red to share with you this Rednesday ...
the cover of a charming book.

We went to the Long Beach Antique & Collectible Market on Sunday and one of the things I purchased was a book about a doll, "Hitty: Her First Hundred Years" by Rachel Field. I'd never heard of the book before but it looked so charming that I wanted it instantly.

We arrived at 6:40 in the morning and we had only just begun walking down the first row. A vendor was just placing three childrens books on her table, the very first things she unpacked and placed on her table. Two adorable vintage Raggedy Ann books and "Hitty". Oh! I wanted all three, right then and there!

We had only been there five minutes so with my heart in my throat, I walked away from the three books that I wanted so very desperately, promising myself that I'd get them if they were still there when we had seen the entire show. I'm not kidding, my stomach ached, leaving them behind.

It was almost four hours later when we finally made it back to the beginning of the show and the first row of vendors. The three books were still there ... but I had picked up a few other goodies along the way and couldn't justify buying all three any longer. I decided on Hitty because the first words I read from the book were so delightful (and we had come across another vendor who had the Raggedy Ann books, so those weren't the only two in existence teehee! ... hopefully there will be other chances down the road).

I'm so unobservant, I didn't even notice that it was signed and dated by the author! The vendor told me when I asked the price ... I guess I looked a bit grieved when she stated the price, upon seeing my expression she said, "It's a signed copy". It isn't a first edition but it was signed the year it won the Newbery, 1930.

I looked it up online last night ... I had no idea it's a classic and a Newbery Medal winner. It is still in print but if I understood correctly, some of the book has been changed in the reprint - I read this on the Amazon site - how very odd!

Did you read Hitty as child?

If you didn't and would like to read it online, you can find it here. (Ay yi yi ... they have a typo on the first screen ... it's the Newbery Medal, not the Newsbery.)