Unlike most of the books on this list, it’s not the complex illustrations that make this a keeper. See more of the Orlando illustrations and read about Hale’s contentious relationship with the cat of her own creation at Clive Hicks-Jenkins’ Artlog. What is puzzling is why these beautiful books aren’t still on shelves today. In fact, it became such a big hit that the author, rumor says, became resentful that he got more attention than her other, more serious paintings. It’s not hard to see why this series was hugely popular when in came out in the 40s: it features anthropomorphized cat getting into wacky adventures (including going to the moon!) rendered in colourful, playful paintings. Orlando the Marmalade Cat series by Kathleen Hale (Often print-on-demand books are photocopies of the original pages, which can be blurry.) Check out more illustrations from this series at Harriet Muncaster Illustrations.Ħ. This looks like a perfect Halloween read.Īmazon seems to be offering this as a print-on-demand paperback, which is something, but it looks like the quality is not up to the originals. Her hat is always on crooked and her stockings never match. Besides, the idea of someone with magic who, regardless, can’t seem to figure things out, and who is still learning how to manage in the great big world is immediately appealing to kids and adults. The illustrations change throughout the series, but the simple colours combined with the cluttered backgrounds are charming, and so is little Dorrie: She is a witch. I wish I had the chance to see these in person, because they seem exactly my style.

Dorrie the Little Witch series by Patricia Coombs Others I know solely by word of mouth, and I can only vouch for the quality by saying many more people ask for these books than trade them in.ħ.

A few of these titles I’ve been able to flip through, and I can see why people remember them from their childhoods and seek them out decades later. Some of these out-of-print treasures still circulate in used bookstores, but they’re snapped up as soon as they’re turned in.

These mythical books are frequently asked for by customers, but despite the thousands of books we receive in a month, they rarely–if ever!–surface in those buys. Others, though, only make their way through word of mouth. Some of them come in sandwiched between more common books while book buying. Here’s one of the things I don’t understand about publishing: how is it that some books are so sought-after, but no publishing house is printing them? A job perk to working in a used bookstore is discovering hidden gems that you just can’t find on the shelves of a new bookstore.

Socks for Supper by Jack Kent