Shabby Sunday
I have a lot of old vintage books and one of my plans when I first started blogging was to do a post every week or so that shared one of my cherished vintage books. Then I thought there might be other book bloggers out there that have some vintage books, heirlooms, or maybe some old books from childhood that they might want to share. I decided to start a weekly meme titled ‘Shabby Sunday’ for those who would like to participate and share some of their old vintage books. Do you have some shabby books you’d like to share? If so, please feel free to participate as anyone can join. Feel free to use the picture I’ve provided if you’d like to. If you decide to do this meme, please consider linking back to me so that I can see the book you’re sharing.
There’s a new participant this morning with a shabby share from her childhood! Please check out Jennifer @ jennifertarheelreader.com!
Today’s Shabby Share is:
The Bremen-Town Musicians

From Goodreads:
Once there lived a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster who had grown too old to be useful to their masters. Because their masters want to get rid of them, they run away. They meet on the road and decide to go to Bremen-Town to be street musicians.
Soon, they discover a cozy cabin occupied by robbers. The four friends have an idea and manage to scare the robbers away by making the loudest music they can. Now they can settle into a new home.
My thoughts on this book:
This book goes way back to my childhood and its honestly one of my very first reading remembrances next to the Hansel and Gretel record edition that I had. I fell in love with retellings from a very young age and to this day they’re some of my favorite reads. This isn’t my original copy from when I was a kid, but a copy I picked up at a book sale years ago for my own children.
My edition from childhood had a cassette with it that I loved to listen to. The audio is hilarious! I thought about tracking down the original, but I did find the original audio on YouTube. I’m so thankful for YouTube as it’s such an amazing tool.
The book begins with a donkey who is told by his master that he’s no good anymore. His master feels that he’s too old for work. The donkey decides to run away and he heads to Bremen-town to become a musician. On his way, he meets other animals who are in the same position as he is. Their masters have no use for them anymore either.
On their travels they come to a house. When they take a look inside the window they find robbers sitting around a table and having a good time. They decide that they’d love to have some of their food and devise a plan to kick the robbers out. They come crashing through the window and the robbers run away.
I won’t spoil the whole story for you. This is still a favorite today and my kids enjoy reading it. There are many different versions and the original Grimm tale is worth checking out!
Our copy is taped up and not in very good condition. The illustrations are still colorful though and it’s totally readable.
Find it on Goodreads and Amazon:
- Hardcover
- Publisher: Scholastic (1974)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0590758063
- ISBN-13: 978-0590758062
Other blogs who have participated in Shabby Sunday:
Nicky@ An Introverted Bookworm
TheOrangutanLibrarian
Claire@ Brizzle Lass Books
Author Didi Oviatt
Sassy Brit@ Alternative-Read
Brittany @ PerfectlyTolerable
Shari @ Sharisakurai.com
Jennifer @ Jennifertarheelreader.com
I need to dig through my Dad’s attic and see if I can pull out some of my shabby books! Great post!
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Thanks, Jessica! I hope you find some. 😘🧡
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I love this share! When I first saw it, I didn’t remember it, and I definitely didn’t own the book. But somewhere I have heard this story, whether it was at the library or at school. Such a good story! And once again, I love that your kids are loving it as you did. Thanks so much for creating this meme! ♥️ And thanks for sharing my first Shabby Sunday post! 💕 xo
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Maybe you heard the original tale? That one is a little different, but still similar. There are so many versions now! It’s crazy. 😁
Thanks, Jenn! I’m so excited that you did a shabby post. It was a wonderful start to my morning so thank you! ❤🧡❤ Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
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Thank you. Mischenko, what age would you recommend this book for. My niece is going to be 3 in 3 months. I am looking to buy books for her
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Thank you, Shalini! It’s hard to say, but I think three would be okay with an adult. It’s a simple story and with the audio, I think it would be even better for younger readers. There are so many wonderful children’s books out there right now. I can probably give you a list of recommendations! 😘❤
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I had this book too! This very same edition! Seeing those photos of the book illustrations brought back some wonderful memories. Thank you for doing this Sunday post – whenever I see another book that you and I have in common, it makes me smile!
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How amazing is that! We’ve had quite a few in common lol. 🤩 I’m so happy that you enjoy these posts, Vanessa. It makes my day. Warms my heart. 🧡❤🧡 Take care, friend!
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This story sounds oddly familiar. Now I’m curious, especially how it turned out!
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It’s really funny how it ends actually. It’s a good lesson that you may get weaker physically as you age, but you’re definitely wiser! 💚
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Sounds like another good one!! Great post!!
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Thanks, Deanna. ❤
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Oh, wow, this might make a perfect gift for my niece who is thinking of starting to read english books! Great post as usual, Mischenko ❤
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Thank you, Noriko! It is a wonderful book and the nice thing is that the audio is fairly slow which I appreciate when it comes to the younger readers who need more time to catch the words. Hope she likes it if you decide to get it. ❤
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Another great Shabby Share Jenn. I know I had this at one time. I pulled all my bins of books out of my crawl space this week and need to go through them. Maybe I will have one to share next week This one is sure a classic. I do have it in an anthology that I gave to my son to read to my grandson.
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Thank you, Carla. How cool! I hope your grandson enjoys it.
I’m very interested to see what gems you have! 😉
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I live vintage books!! I have to find some of mine to take part in this, for sure!! This one sounds cute and I love the nostalgia. 💖
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Me too! I wish I would’ve kept many of my originals, but as a teen, I guess they just weren’t that important to me.Thanks so much. ❤
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Oh, I had this!
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Cute story! I don’t think I’ve heard this before. Thanks for the video Jen. Great post.
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