the softer side of pensiero

This past Christmas, while serving in our church’s cafe, I ran into one of our elder’s wives.  She was on her way to teach sunday school and she had a book in her hand.  It was the little book you see right up there.  It looked really scrumptious on the outside and the illustrations looked comfortingly familiar (it was tucked under her arm and I couldn’t see the whole thing) so I asked her if I could see it…and when she opened it, I almost died.

That’s right. Pop-ups. POP-UPs, people!

But not just any pop-ups.  This little treasure of a book had the most intricate, adorable pop-ups, all crafted with great care and precision, making it absolutely too charming. As a side note, I wish I had access to a Mr. Roger’s (or some sort of show) that has a “making-of” on pop-ups. Can anyone help me out there? Anyway, on top of all the cute details, it was by Tomie de Paola.  One of my favorite authors from when I was in elementary school.  Swoon. (Strega Nona, anyone?)

I knew I had to have it for my collection.  I, like many many teachers, love and adore children’s books and have a little budding collection going.  Plus, have you seen the little red ribbon that ties this book together?  How could you not want a book with a red ribbon and a barn door-like front cover that’s all about Jesus’s birth?

When I mentioned that I would like to find a copy for myself, the woman said that if I did she’d like me to grab two extra copies for her grown daughters.  She then went on to tell me that she had purchased the book when her daughters were very young, but since then had not been able to find it in bookstores.  Knowing she was not the ebay type, I casually mentioned (with smug over-confidence and a wave of my hand) that we could find it on ebay “no problem“.  Since when can you not find things on ebay, right?

I’ll tell you since when.  Since it’s very out-of-print and sells for upwards of $100.  Wow.  I forgot that beloved out-of-print books can be a pricey item and, more importantly, I hadn’t realized it was first printed in like 1982.  But guys, now that I knew the book was the same age as I was, I wanted it EVEN MORE!  I told myself that they were probably only selling for so much money because it was Christmastime.  After Christmas people wouldn’t want to make such a high profit, probably.

Snicker. But a regular eye on ebay and four months later, I have done it.  After months of scouring and watching, I have finally found one!  And by finally found one, I mean finally found three copies that are hopefully in some sort of decent condition for less than the going ebay rate of $100.  In fact I found them for considerably less.  In fact, you would not believe how inexpensive they were. On amazon.  Apparently, in all my excitement, I had checked pretty much everywhere BUT amazon…which is really unlike me, considering I do almost all my Christmas shopping exclusively on amazon.  (In my defense, they are sold by book stores on amazon and not amazon itself, so they might not have been there at the times I was checking anyway.  You’ve got to time these things just right.)  But none of that matters now because the preciouses are on their way.  I have ordered them and am salivating at their impending arrival.  I feel like I’ve just sent away for a cereal box prize that will take four to six weeks to arrive, only this prize should be much better and arrive much sooner.

Now we just wait.  And you can wait with me if you want.  We wait to see what kind of condition a 25+ year old pop-up book could be in.  I only ordered ones that were “good” or “very good”; even so, I expect a generous amount of wear and tear.  The suspense is palpable!  In the meantime, which of you teachers wants to let me order off of your scholastic book club order? Sadly, substitutes do not get such privilege.