Here at Farmhouse Magic Blog we usually don’t review coloring books, but I’m making an exception for the “Around the World with Hob” booklet.
While “junking” in a secondhand store, I found this slim booklet with the title of, “Around the World with Hob”. It is a 44-page staple bound booklet published in 1931 by The Quaker Oats Company. Although online, I see some earlier editions of the book were published in 1929.
At that time, the coloring booklet was free of cost for use in schools. The reading level of the booklet was for the primary grades.
Review of the Booklet
“Around the World with Hob” was written by Grace T. Hollock and the illustrator was Electra Papadopoulous. The story, told in verse, is about Hob who is a “little man” who lives in the mill. Bob Robin, his bird friend, gives him a lift and away the two fly to world adventures. On the cover, you will see Bob Robin flying in the sky with Hob on his back. The two check the breakfast routines of children eating oatmeal around the world.
As the story goes, there are slight variations on how the children of the world eat their oatmeal. So we learn that, Andy eats his oatmeal in oatmeal cakes, Yuki eats her oatmeal with chopsticks, and Bingo sits on a log while sharing his oatmeal with his Jingo, his pet dog.
Bob Robin and Hob visit children in the following countries:
- Jill from America
- Andy from Scotland
- Lucy from England
- O’Neill from Ireland
- Gretchen from Holland
- Otto from Germany
- Oscar from Sweden
- Yuki from Japan
- Mary from Australia
- Rita from Argentina
- Bingo from the West Indies
- Pedro from Mexico
Listing of Animals in the “Around the World with Hob” booklet:
- Dogs
- Cat
- Donkey
- Pig
- Goat
- Sheep
The below photograph shows a portion of the book cover. I’m also wearing my white gloves when handling this old coloring book to preserve it.
The coloring book also gives directions on what colors to color each page. For example, the butterflies on one outfit should be colored yellow.
Depression Era
Looking back on history, this booklet came out in Great Depression, so a free booklet to students and teachers was exciting.
In checking out the Quaker Oats online site, their time line goes back to 1850. In 1877, Quaker Oats trademark is of a man in “Quaker garb” to symbolize honest value and a good quality product. Quaker Oats was the first brand to publish a recipe on its box for oatmeal bread back in 1891. In 1901, the American Cereal became the Quaker Oats Company.
I think I might be doing another blog on Quaker Oats regarding their recipes for overnight oats and perhaps that tasty sounding oatmeal bread.
Ending Thoughts on the 1931 Coloring Book “Around the World with Hob” Comments
In conclusion, It’s nice when we can tie in a vintage coloring book in with a breakfast of oatmeal.
www.papergreat.com, Wikipedia and www.quakeroats.com online sites were used to research today’s blog.