Scan of 1942 kid's book on wartime manners
Iowahawk kindly scanned and shared his copy of a 1942 book by Munro Leaf for kids called, My Book To Help America. It encourages kids to be courteous, cleanly, and thrifty, which is good advice whether we are at war or not.
Leaf, best known for The Story of Ferdinand, also wrote many other funny and useful books to teach kids how to have good manners, including How to Behave and Why, Manners Can Be Fun, and How to Speak Politely and Why. Link
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We could rewrite this book for today's kids:
"If you're noisy, whiney or argue with grown-ups; the terrorists win."
Encourages children to be cleanly? Cleanly what?
Maybe he means wash your hands, Nelson. Not a bad idea I think.
Those slanted gaping mouths and stick hair bring in all back: I inherited "manners can be fun". Thanks for activating an old memory!
I have Safety Can Be Fun. It's probably the most violent children's book in existence.
My folks have a similar book, Little Otto's First Air Raid, that used to belong to my great-uncle. If folks are interested, I could look into scanning it and posting it on flickr.
It dealt with prepping for an air raid in a large urban area, along with other approved homefront activities, in a manner that a small child would understand.
(My uncle was probably around eight or nine when he got the book. His brother, my grandfather, was serving in the South Pacific at the time)
I'm all for that.