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| “Easter Headdress” by Jack Hamm, circulated to newspapers April 1952. This clipping is from The Houston Post, April 05, 1952 |
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| Growing Up With Jesus: The Muffin Family Growing Up WithGod Series by V. Gilbert Beers with illustrations by Helen Enders, 1987. This was the first Beers book that I acquired around 2016. |
For many years while hunting for vintage Bible instructional media, the name V. Gilbert Beers would appear frequently on colorful children’s book covers.
Victor Gilbert Beers (1928 - 2024) was a prolific and highly influential American author and editor who is best known for his extensive development of Christian educational materials and literature.
Beers was educated at Wheaton College (graduating in 1950) and pursued advanced theological and academic study at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary and Northwestern University. Beers served as a pastor and later became an editorial leader at David C. Cook, where he helped shape influential children’s curriculum and Bible resources.
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| Jesus Is My Guide: Learning to Read From My Bible, Reader 4 by V. Gilbert Beers, with illustrations by Robert Boehmer, 1973 |
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| Coco’s Candy Shop by Beers, with art by Marlene Short. 1973. |
Across five decades, Beers authored or developed over 150–160 books (some sources say over 200), with more than 125 written specifically for children, or 55 - 75% of his publishings. His works collectively sold over 13 million copies worldwide, reaching audiences in more than 100 countries. His writing emphasized early childhood religious formation, presenting biblical narratives in accessible language for toddlers, preschoolers, and families.
Many of his works are still being published and older titles are still widely accessible and easy to find today. For my Beers collection, copies were purchased from library book sales, Christian and secular thrift stores, and used book stores. I began collecting the works of Beers, Mary Alice Jones, Tessa Colina and other children’s authors for inspiration into how to reach and preach to young children in print.
As of this writing, the Beers Collection includes 12 of his books. The goal is not to have a complete set (there would be 110+ more to go), but to create a way to highlight his work along with other legacy creators of historic Christian children’s media.
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| “Divine Understanding” by Jack Hamm, clipped from the Longview (WA) Daily News April 23, 1963. Newspapers.com |
For more study with this scripture please visit BibleRef: https://www.bibleref.com/Psalms/31/Psalm-31-7.html
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| Geraldine and Ricky c. 1970. 12” inch LP record album, signed by Geraldine Murray. From the Blogger’s Collection |
Over the years I have been blessed to find many unique treasures which tell multiple stories of creative evangelism and worship across the last 100 years.
Believe it or not I found the pictures signed copy of “Geraldine and Ricky” at a thrift store. I could not have paid more than .99 cents for it!
Gearldine Murray Ragan (1948 - 2024) was a ventriloquist whose talent for God emerged after she dedicated her life to Christ in her early teens. She travelled throughout the Southern United States with her companion “Ricky”.
I have had this album in my collection for at least seven years. I was not aware at the time it was still possible to contact Mrs. Ragan. She has since gone home to Glory.
One unfortunate aspect of studying ventriloquism and children’s gospel acts in vintage LPs is that these albums tend to be ridiculed today on the internet. This is sad, and may delude new generations from learning evangelism media history and the variety of gifts people like Geraldine Ragan shared with the body of Christ.
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This vintage puzzle from the Warner Press was likely manufactured between 1970 and 1989. It is in very good condition and came in set of similar puzzles from a Salvation Army store. I am not aware of an artist for the work.
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| The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, 1972. By Barbara Robinson. |
The story of the 6 Herdman children and how they unexpectedly starred in “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” have delighted millions for 53 years.
A treasure from the Christmas Library is a rare 1st edition of the short novel by Barbara Robinson (1927-2013). I recently acquired this copy from a missions thrift store.
As a child in the 1990s, my elementary school teachers showed the 1983 made for tv adaptation with the late actress Loretta Swit. The scenes with Imogene as Mary weeping or holding the Baby Jesus tenderly and the scene of her taking off her earrings struck me as a little boy. It was the most religiously reverent media moment of my school days, next to Linus explaining the meaning of Christmas to Charlie Brown.
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| “A Praying Princess” By James R. Stewart Jr. Prismacolor & Crayola Marker and Color Pencils. |
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| “Gathering the Boxes” by James R. Stewart Jr. Prismacolor, Prang, and Crayola color pencils. |
