Everything I Need to Know About Love I Learned From a Little Golden Book

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book

by Diane Muldrow

Next in the EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW... series comes a book perfect for your valentine, your family, or YOU. Charming and witty as ever, this new treasury of insights reveals that, for all the love-related mystery and confusion we face as adults, those Little Golden Books may have had the answers all along.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Romance, Picture Books, Love, Adult, Childrens

96 pages, Library Binding

First published December 23, 2014

About the author

Diane Muldrow grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She later attended Ohio University, where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Magazine Journalism and a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts: Dance. After her graduation, Diane moved to New York. She spent several years performing as an actress and dancer in New York’s downtown avant-garde performance scene. She also danced in a performance at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and had her own one-woman shows.

Diane has also had a successful career in publishing, both as an editor and as an author. She has written over 100 books for children. Diane lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she enjoys trying new recipes and eating in local restaurants.

Reviews

[Negin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute, but I didn’t like it nearly as much as the first one.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diane Muldrow’s Everything I Need To Know About Love I Learned from a Little Golden Book I found among my books in a room off the MBR. What a lovely surprise! As I read this cute Golden Book, I noticed the first double page illustration with the first question on page 2, “Is your love life going off the tracks?” that the engine looked to me as though it was The Little Engine that Could, but it is actually Gertrude Crampton’s Tootle (1945). I was hooked anyway. The next page states “Always the bridesmaid never the bride?”, and the illustration is from Hilda Miloche and Wilma Kane’s The Paper Doll Wedding. (1954). This charming book continues using illustrations and quotations from children’s books from the forties and fifties such as The House That Jack Built (1954), Daddies (1953), and Little Red Riding Hood (1948). After a few pages, the book uses the following quotation “One day a handsome stranger may appear out of nowhere.” ( The Wild Swans, Hans Christian Anderson 1838). The book continues with the positive aspects of love with quotations and illustrations mostly from the fifties. Upon finishing this Little Golden
Book, I felt warm all over.4.5 stars.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

The answer was there the whole time in the Little Golden Books you read as a child. Here is your chance to let your inner child help the outer adult you have become! This is a great gift book for someone - sure to bring back memories if they read LGB when they were a kid. A nice trip down memory lane!

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book for grown-ups who love Little Golden Books. The story is not for children. It is a sweet story about grown-up love, about feeling like you'll never meet the right person, how dating can be glamorous but sometimes the simple dates are the best, when you do find true love don't leave your friends behind, then it discusses all the wonderful things that love is, and how love can end suddenly, shockingly, but it will come again, put on your big girl panties and take a chance on love again! So sweet and cute. Each page is an illustration from an old LGB from the 40-60s with all the famous artists represented and some I'd never heard of before. Each page tells you the book the illustration is from. I liked this just as much as the Christmas one! Lovely to browse through and such a sweet story.

[Rosanne Hawke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fun part of 'Everything I need to know about love' by Diane Muldrow is recognising the illustrations from my childhood. Love and children's picture book illustrations is a nice combination for a gift book.

[Ari Reavis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny.

[Caffeinated Fae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my Clearing the Hoard Bookwyrm Challenge. I picked this book up from Barnes & Noble a few years ago and I just never found the time to read it. This was obviously a quick read and it was absolutely adorable with some amazing messages. I loved that this book covered all versions of love, and even touched on heartbreak. This is an inspiring little book that will sure to make you smile while reading it. I also loved how the illustrations were from a wide selection of Little Golden Books. It was fun to visit some old friends.

[Naomi Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a picture book, made of pages from picture books, specifically the Little Golden Books that American middle-class kids like me were hip-deep in throughout our childhoods.

Muldrow has gone to some trouble to match adorable images to the fluffy text. But the enjoyment for me is looking at each illustration, feeling a shock of joyful recognition, and checking the teeny print at the bottom of the page to check the citation.

Ohh! The Saggy Baggy Elephant! Awww! We Help Mommy!

This time I paid extra attention to the illustrators' names. My mom must have had a fondness for Eloise Wilkin. In fact, a little web searching indicates that she was one of the most popular authors of all the Golden Books. Her luminous-eyed, round-cheeked little darlings are so cute you can almost feel the oxytocin flooding your system as you gaze.

Curl up with this if you need to reminisce about a happy childhood -- be it your own or that of those cute children drawn by Corinne Malvern.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is charming with nostalgic illustrations. I really forgot how interesting the illustrations for Little Golden Books was. The narration isn't groundbreaking, but it is nice. A very quick read and cute book.

[Mickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 3rd in a series of life lessons culled from the Little Golden Books that I grew up with. They're all amusing, quick reads, but I am really taken with this one. The illustrations are spot on and the "story" is perfect.

[Jocelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great gift book from the "Everything I Need To Know" series, just in time for Valentine's Day!

[Priscilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

So sweet and charming! I found this book in the Valentine's Day section at the bookstore with my friends. I bought it because it was so adorable. It'll be a fun coffee table book for the holiday.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love recognizing illustrations from Little Golden Books I read as a child!

[Melissa Wehunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. The illustrations were fun to see...but otherwise, not my thing.

[Mai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it ,Love illustrated with cute and adorable pictures :)

[Becky R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really cute idea using Little Golden books to create this theme of romance, but it did get redundant after awhile. I was entertained though. :)

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

How fun it was to revisit some of my favorite Little Golden Book illustrations from childhood (and from my nieces' and nephews' childhoods) in a different way! With new text to make points about love, the author used illustrations from these books, mostly dating to the last half of the 1940s and from the 1950s era. A few are later illustrations. Credits are made for all illustrations. The back cover indicates there are two others in the series--a general one and a Christmas one. I hope to be able to explore both of these in the future!

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little book that will take you back to your childhood with illustrations explaining the importance of love. It was a delightful, short read.

[Malinda Roland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little book

[Kris Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute read! The illustrations from the 40’s and 50’s were beautiful❤️Love is sometimes…cake. Agreed!

[Erin O'Riordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the three of Muldrow's Little Golden Book books I've read so far, this is my favorite. I think it's the most heart-warming. I also like the choice of illustrations. They rely heavily on classic European fairy tales such as "The 12 Dancing Princesses" and "Beauty and the Beast," and the fairy tale illustrations are absolutely stunning. I'd also never seen the King Arthur illustrations before, and those are quite impressive as well. Plus, I give it bonus points for including probably my all-time favorite Little Golden Book, 'The Color Kittens.' For its lovely message and illustrations, plus its nostalgia value, I give this book five stars.

I read this book on loan from my mother, who purchased it at Barnes and Noble. I was not obligated in any way to write this review, which represents my own honest opinion.

[Angeles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: This is a picture book for adults, not for tots. It isn't a dissection of Little Golden Books, either. It's written for nostalgia.

These "Everything I Need To Know" books are sweet, nostalgic reminders of the lessons many of us learned early in life.

The "About Love" version reminds us that life doesn't always feel like roses and sunshine. We have a responsibility to monitor ourselves, open our hearts, and step outside our comfort zones.

I did see a few lessons in here that we can all apply to our lives and relationships with others--or friends, family members, children, coworkers, and neighbors.

[Jtimko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tidbits of information along with the classic illustrations from the Little Golden Books of the past are woven together to present a book of advice about love. Goes to show that the old is relevant today!
If you have ever possessed or read any of the Little Golden books, you will recognize some of the pages from the books. This book took a lot of planning and research to weave the snippets of words and pictures together to make a cohesive book. Great for a browsing section or just to set out for nostalgia.
Recommended for optional purchase. Adult.

[Malvina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Everything I Need To Know...I Learned From A Little Golden Book series is gorgeous nostalgia, with a set of gentle sayings and wonderful illustrations from past LGB's - I recognized quite a few. This 'love' volume leans heavily on source material from fairy tales, and family. It's sweetly encouraging: When it comes to love, you can't only love a little. Love lavishly! It all might sound a bit cutesy-pie (and it is), but it's also charming.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute, short and sweet book on love especially as Valentine's Day has just passed. Great pictures from the Little Golden Books that some of us remember from our childhoods. Lots of good sound advice in the pursuit of love, the keeping of love, and the finding of new love as the cycles of our lives are always changing and throwing monkey wrenches into the works. I really liked this book and would buy a copy for each of my girls to enjoy. Recommend to one and all.

[Hal Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The text may be platitudinous and inane, but the pictures are a good reminder of what a high standard of art, in very different styles, obtained in Golden Books.

I probably wouldn't be as excited about this, except inane text plus great art is pretty much the Golden Books formula, and so this volume is cunningly mimetic.

[Thomas Andrikus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though it looks like a corny humour book, this short book is filled with pithy sayings about love, illustrated with pictures taken from children storybooks in the 1940s up until the 1960s, such as "Scuffy the Tugboat" by Gertrude Crampton and "Danny Beaver's Secret" by Patsy Scarry.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and adorable book about love told using only illustrations from some of the most beloved Little Golden Books. I very much enjoyed reading this, and seeing such great advice paired with such familiar and lovely illustrations.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the Christmas one better.

[Nurafni Eka Agustina · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Is your love life going off the tracks?
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride?
Perhaps you wonder if you'll ever find true love.
Without love in your heart, life can feel so tedious, so routine.
You feel like a castaway, a stranger in a strange land.
Perhaps you've been looking for love... in all the wrong places?
Remember that everyone feels lonely now and then.
Don't be discouraged...
New friends may be just around the corner!
One day a handsome stranger may appear out of nowhere.
He's got you under a spell!
But don't get so carried away that you neglect your friends.
Of course, there are a lot of wolves out there.
They do not have your best interests at heart.
But that doesn't mean you should give up and crawl into your shell.
Just hold out for someone nice!
Dating can be so glamorous...
The shopping, the courting!
The flowers, the consorting!
But sometimes the most memorable dates are the simplest ones.
Even if you've been married forever, never stop dating each other.
Love gives us a voice, but it needs no words.
Without love, we wouldn't know joy's true heights or the beauty in sorrow.
Love is patient and kind.
Love is sometimes... cake!
Love's got your back!
Love can be complicated or as easy as a summer breeze.
Love makes you bold!
Love waits, and love is worth fighting for.
It leads us on flights of fancy or deep into a world of our own.
There is glory and grandeur in love...
But mostly, loves blooms in life's day-to-day moments.
It lives in our memories of simple, happy times.
Love brings emotions you never dreamed you could feel.
Love reveals how strong-and how gentle-you can be.
One of the most amazing acts of love is adopting a child.
'Cause there's always room for one more!
Is there anything fiercer than a mother's love?
But sometimes love is tested by your kids...
or by your spouse, especially when you're accused of being a nag.
Sometimes you feel completely in sync!
Other times you wonder if you're from two different species.
Sometimes a love ends-shockingly, suddenly.
You're alone-and adrift.
A broken heart is no picnic.
It can leave you flat on your back...
or feeling completely upended.
You want whatever will take away the pain.
That's when you need those friends of yours!
But the best medicine for heartbreak is time.
One day you'll find you've got your sense of adventure back!
Life seems quirky and fun again.
The day finally comes when you look in the mirror and see that you're ready to start anew.
You just might meet that special someone!
Next thing you know, you're humming corny old love songs... 'cause suddenly they make sense!
That's when it's time to put on your big-girl panties.
It's time to jump in with both feet!
Because when it comes to love, you can't love only a little.
Love lavishly!
Be ready to play the hero... and the fool.
Believe that the magical moment will come when "I" becomes "we".
Be ready to take a chance... on love."