Little Golden Books is a series of

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

, published since 1942. ''

The Poky Little Puppy ''The Poky Little Puppy'' is a children's book written by Janette Sebring Lowrey and illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren. It was first published in 1942 as one of the first twelve books in the Simon & Schuster series Little Golden Books. The copyri ...

'', the eighth release in the series, is the top-selling children's book of all time in the United States.. Many other Little Golden Books have become bestsellers, including '' Tootle'', '' Scuffy the Tugboat'', ''

The Little Red Hen ''The Little Red Hen'' is an American fable first collected by Mary Mapes Dodge in '' St. Nicholas Magazine'' in 1874. The story is meant to teach children the importance of hard work and personal initiative. The story A hen living on a farm fin ...

'', and '' Doctor Dan the Bandage Man''. Several of its illustrators later became influential within the children's book industry, including Corinne Malvern,

Tibor Gergely Tibor Gergely ( August 3, 1900 – January 13, 1978) was a Hungarian-American artist best known for his illustration of popular children's picture books. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics ...

Gustaf Tenggren Gustaf Adolf Tenggren (November 3, 1896 – April 9, 1970) was a Swedish-American illustrator. He is known for his Arthur Rackham-influenced fairy-tale style and use of silhouetted figures with caricatured faces. Tenggren was a chief illustrator ...

, Feodor Rojankovsky,

Richard Scarry Richard McClure Scarry (June 5, 1919 – April 30, 1994) was an American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million worldwide. He is best known for his ''Best Ever'' book series that take ...

Eloise Wilkin Eloise Margaret Wilkin, born Eloise Margaret Burns (March 30, 1904 – October 4, 1987), was an American illustrator. She was best known as an illustrator of Little Golden Books. Many of the picture books she illustrated have become classics of ...

, and Garth Williams. Many books in the Little Golden Books series deal with

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

stories,

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From ...

s, and

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

titles are published every year. Some Little Golden Books and related products have featured popular characters from other media, such as ''

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

'', ''

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompas ...

'', ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

'', ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...

'', ''

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

'', ''

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise '' Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS E ...

'',

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British ''Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, ...

, and others. Film, television, and movie properties have been particularly popular source material.

Hopalong Cassidy Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He wa ...

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called '' Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another ...

, Rin Tin Tin,

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television progra ...

Mister Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), commonly known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterianism, Presbyterian Minister (Christianity), minister. He was the creator, showrunner ...

, and Donny and

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and p ...

have appeared in Little Golden Books. The line has also published occasional biographies; examples include

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of Golden Age of Television, early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work i ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album ...

and

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by Presiden ...

. The series started with publishing firm

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

; Western Printing and Lithographing Company in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

was Simon & Schuster's partner in the Little Golden Books venture, with Western handling print operations. Ownership and control of the series have changed several times since; today,

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...

is its current publisher. Despite changes in detail, the Little Golden Books maintain a distinctive appearance. A copy of ''The Poky Little Puppy'' bought today is essentially the same as one printed in 1942. Both are readily recognizable as Little Golden Books. At the time of the series'

golden anniversary A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...

in 1992, Golden Books claimed that a billion and a half Little Golden Books had been sold. Although the Little Golden Books have remained the backbone of the product line, the enterprise that produced them has created a variety of children's books in various forms of media, including records, tapes, videos, and toys and games. Some titles have appeared in several different formats (including "A Golden Book").

History

Georges Duplaix, who in 1940 was head of Artists and Writers Guild Inc. (a division of Western Publishing), first came up with this idea when he created new books for children. Meanwhile, a shared printing plant led Western and Simon & Schuster to develop a close relationship. In 1938, Western and Simon & Schuster released their first joint creation, ''A Children’s History''. Duplaix had the idea to produce a colorful, more durable and affordable children's book than those being published at that time which sold for $2 to $3. With the help of his fellow Guild colleague Lucile Olge, Duplaix contacted Albert Leventhal and

Leon Shimkin Leon Shimkin (April 7, 1907 – May 25, 1988) was an American businessman who helped to build Simon & Schuster into a major publishing company. Shimkin was responsible for many self-help bestsellers turning Dale Carnegie's lectures into t ...

with his idea (Albert and Leon work for Simon & Schuster, and Albert serves as the company's vice president and sales manager). The group decided to publish twelve titles for simultaneous release in what was to be called the Little Golden Books Series. Each book would have 42 pages, 28 printed in two-color, and 14 in four-color. The books would be staple-bound. The group first discussed a 50-cent price for the books, but Western did not want to compete with other 50-cent books already on the market. The group calculated that if the print run for each title was 50,000 copies instead of 25,000, the books could affordably sell for 25 cents each. Mary Reed, Ph.D., a professor at the

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

, served as initial editor of the series. The first 12 titles were printed in September 1942 and released to stores in October: #'' Three Little Kittens'', by Marie Simchow Stern #''Bedtime Stories'', illus.

#''

Mother Goose The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howeve ...

'', by Phyllis Fraser, illus. Gertrude E. Espenscheid #'' Prayers for Children'', by Rachel Taft Dixon #''

'', illus. Rudolf Freund #'' Nursery Songs'', by Leah Gale, illus. Corinne Malvern #'' The Alphabet from A to Z'', by Leah Gale, illus. Vivienne Blake and Richard Peck #''

'', by

Janette Sebring Lowrey Janette Sebring Lowrey (March 2, 1892 – March 17, 1986) was an American children's writer, best known for the book '' The Poky Little Puppy''. ''The Poky Little Puppy'' was the single all-time best-selling hardcover children's book in the U.S. ...

, illus.

#'' The Golden Book of Fairy Tales'', by Winfield Scott Hoskins #'' Baby's Book of Objects'' #'' The Animals of Farmer Jones'', by Leah Gale, illus.

#'' This Little Piggy and Other Counting Rhymes'', by

Phyllis Cerf Wagner Phyllis Cerf Wagner (born Helen Brown Nichols; April 13, 1916 – November 24, 2006), also known as Phyllis Fraser, was an American socialite, writer, publisher, and actress. She was a co-founder of Beginner Books. Early life Fraser was born H ...

, illus. Roberta Harris Pfafflin Petty Three editions totaling 1.5 million books sold out within five months of publication in 1942.

editor Dorothy A. Bennett also worked with Duplaix on the Little Golden Books. Bennett became the editor of the franchise, producing books by such authors and illustrators as

Margaret Wise Brown Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was an American writer of children's books, including '' Goodnight Moon'' and '' The Runaway Bunny'', both illustrated by Clement Hurd. She has been called "the laureate of the nursery" fo ...

Clement Hurd Clement Gazzam Hurd (January 12, 1908 – February 5, 1988) was an American artist. He is known for illustrations of children's picture books, especially collaborations with writer Margaret Wise Brown including ''Goodnight Moon'' (1947) and '' The ...

Edith Thacher Hurd Edith Thacher Hurd (September 14, 1910 – January 25, 1997) was an American writer of children's books. She published 70 books in her lifetime,Saxon, Wolfgang''The New York Times'' (July 25, 1997). fifty of them illustrated by her husband, Clemen ...

, and Garth Williams. Bennett authored several Golden Books, and introduced some of the first recorded books for children with

Little Golden Records Golden Records was a Simon & Schuster record label based in New York City. It was conceived and founded in 1948 by the Grammy Award-winning children's music producer, Arthur Shimkin, then a new recruit in the S&S business department. Shimkin ...

in 1948. The series underwent an expansion when Lucy Sprague Mitchell (educator and founder of Bank Street Nursery School now Bank Street College of Education) joined. A strong supporter of realistic children's literature, Mitchell created the Bank Street Writer's Laboratory. Works coming from this institution became the new basis for the Little Golden Book series, with characters and situations often inspired by the very locale of the Bank School. As historian Leonard S. Marcus writes: In 1958,

sold its interest in Little Golden Books to

Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...

. The price of Little Golden Books rose to 29¢ in 1962. Western introduced a line of Big Little Golden Books for slightly older children aged five and up. Some titles from this series range from brand new stories (such as ''The House That Had Enough)'' to reprints (such as '' The Monster at the End of This Book''). In the 1980s, Golden Books introduced Golden Melody Books. Titles from this series included a long-lasting electronic chip that played music when readers open those books. Songs featured in this series range from popular children's songs such as ''Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,'' to songs from children's TV and family movies including'' People in Your Neighborhood'' from ''Sesame Street'' and ''Heigh-Ho'' from ''Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.'' In the year 2000, Encore Software produced a series of "Little Golden Books" titles for CD ROM, including ''

'', ''

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Co ...

'', '' The Velveteen Rabbit'', '' Tootle'', and '' The Saggy Baggy Elephant''. These six individual titles were some of the first major software releases to be produced entirely in Macromedia Flash. In 2001,

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

acquired Little Golden Books for about $85 million. At that point, nearly 15 million copies of ''The Poky Little Puppy'' had been sold, including copies in various languages. In 2015, with the release of Little Golden Book adaptations of the first six installments of the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' saga on August 25, the Little Golden Book adaptation of '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'' became the first-ever Little Golden Book in history to come from a film that was rated PG-13 by the

MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distrib ...

. Months later, on April 12, 2016, a Little Golden Book adaptation of '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'', the next film in the saga, also rated PG-13, was released. This release opened the door for further Little Golden Books that drew upon PG-13 rated licensed film properties; some adaptations in this criteria include the 2016 reboot of ''Ghostbusters'', characters and storylines from the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

, and ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

''.

Writers and illustrators

Many popular authors and illustrators have worked on Little Golden Books and related products, including:

In popular culture

Contemporary art

The Golden Book Gown by Ryan Jude Novelline

In 2010, Ryan Jude Novelline revealed the "Golden Book Gown", a "one-of-a-kind fairytale-inspired gown almost entirely from Golden Books... eaturinga 22,000-square-inch page-turning skirt and a form-fitting bodice made from the spines".Diane Pham
"High Fashion as Eco-Friendly Child's Play"
, ''Chevrolet News'', 10/1/2012

Homages

In 2015, during the Diamond celebration at ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

'', the Disney Imagineers went to bring the Little Golden Book story, Little Man at Disneyland from 1955 to life by featuring a recreation of Patrick Begorra's home in a tree trunk somewhere in Adventureland at the park if visitors were to keep an eye out for it.

References

Sources consulted

* "A Birthday Celebration for Golden Books..." ''Publishers' Weekly''. 221(15):24. April 9, 1982. * "Simon & Schuster Inc." ''International Directory of Company Histories''. 4:671-672. 1991. * Greason, Rebecca. ''Tomart's Price Guide to Golden Book Collectibles''. Radnor, PA: Wallace-Homestead Book Company, 1991. * Santi, Steve. ''Collecting Little Golden Books: a Collector's Identification and Price Guide'', 3rd Edition. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1998. * Marcus, Leonard S. ''Golden Legacy: How Golden Books Won Children's Hearts, Changed Publishing Forever, and Became An American Icon Along the Way''. New York: Golden Books, 2007.

Notes

External links

Penguin Random House Series Little Golden Book website
{{Penguin Random House Book series introduced in 1942 Series of children's books Early childhood education . Penguin Random House DreamWorks Classics franchises Bertelsmann franchises Western Publishing

History

Writers and illustrators

In popular culture

Contemporary art

Homages

See also

References

Sources consulted

Notes

External links