Looking for an old children’s book that has the words “you’re my (little) boy, my pride and joy” after each page or section.
My sister in law remembers her mom reading it every night to her little brother. Her mom passed away over 20 years ago, and the book is MIA. She always looks for it whenever she’s in thrift stores, or used book stores… we’ve searched for the keywords of the book on google and can’t find the title of it.
My SIL grew up in Northern British Columbia if that helps – might have been a small/remote publishing company?
This is so strange. I popped on Stump the Bookseller this morning just to read through some of the new inquiries. Then, totally unrelated, I went to read through some of my used children’s book collection. And I believe I found the story you are talking about. What a coincidence!
It’s called All the Henrys by Leonora Grunes. It’s included in a children’s anthology called Merry-Go-Round (Treasury of Literature Readtext Series), which is how I read it. I can’t seem to find the story as a stand-alone book at all. Is it possible your SIL’s mother had the anthology? I can’t find an image of the cover online. It’s red with an illustration of a carousel with all different animals (by Richard Scarry). It’s a thick book and I think may have been used by teachers, but the stories and poems are all clearly for very young (preschool and kindergarten) children.
Here’s a sample of some of the text . . .
“Who am I?” said Henry. “Who am I?”
“Why, you’re Henry Duncan,” Mother said.
“But who am I to you?” asked Henry.
“You’re my little boy,” said Mother. “You’re my pride and joy.”
“But when I go to school,” said Henry, “with my pencils and my books, in my blue tie and white socks, am I still your little boy?”
“Why, Henry Duncan,” Mother said, “you’re a pupil in a class, and you’re my little boy. You’re my pride and joy.”
It goes on like that, with the refrain “You’re my little boy. You’re my pride and joy,” at the end of each section. I hope this is the right story! I will be thrilled if I actually solved one of these!
I took some pictures. Visual cues are so much stronger.
Cover: http://imgur.com/b5HN7An
Page 1: http://imgur.com/WERTooo
2: http://imgur.com/fVmOVTF
3: http://imgur.com/E8D5Q4X
Oh my goodness!!! Priscilla!! Thank you!!
I’m not sure if it’s the exact one but I’m going to order it now and surprise my SIL with it once it arrives. If it’s not, I’ll be so surprised as the story is precisely what she was describing. I can’t wait to see her reaction!!
Thanks again! I’ll send another update once I receive the book and give it to her 🙂
It was the right book! Thank you so much, again, Priscilla Wright!
I am so happy to hear that! I know the joy of rediscovering childhood books.