My brothers and I had these, that are wonderful classic European-style children's stories graduated by age into 12 books, with great illustrations. We also had many Hardy Boys books, and a subscription series of glossy paperback books by the Smithsonian about world cultures, that were very interesting. Back then, other cultures stayed in their own countries.
Now that brings back memories. We had that set too. There was also a series called “Best in Children’s Books” that consisted of excerpts and short pieces from all sorts of children’s literature.
I’d love to get my hands on all the books we had back then. I think the parents donated them all to Goodwill or some such after we had all left home. Oh, well, there’s no way I could have kept those books and moved them around with me for all those years.
It’s funny how wonderful cultures in other countries look in the pages of National Geographic and Smithsonian.
Much different when they insist on sharing theirs with you, uninvited and unasked, in your own neighborhood.