Little Golden Books

In 1941, children's books normally sold for $2-$3; a luxury for many families. George Duplaix, president of the Artists and Writers Guild came up with the concept of developing a colorful children's book that was durable and affordable for most American families.

In September 1942 Simon & Schuster published the very first Little Golden Book. The original 12 titles included the following: The Poky Little Puppy, Three Little Kittens, Bedtime Stories, The Alphabet A-Z, Mother Goose, Prayers for Children, The Little Red Hen, Nursery Songs, The Golden Book of Fairy Tales, Baby's Book, The Animals of Farmer Jones and This Little Piggy.

They sold for 25 cents, a price point within reach of most American families. They were found in drugstores and in grocery stores. Although the details have changed over the years, the Little Golden Books have maintained 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 golden anniversary, Golden Books claimed that a billion and a half Little Golden Books had been sold.

Not surprisingly, they were snubbed by librarians as unworthy to be added to "serious" literature collections. They were not considered "real" books. However, The Poky Little Puppy has endured as a classic and is, according to Publishers Weekly, the best-selling hard cover picture book of all time with 15 million copies sold by 2001.

For many parents today, we buy a copy out of nostalgia. These books were some of the few our family owned when we were children. There is a large group of collectors for these titles. You can view collectible titles and their value at http://www.goldenbook.com/.

There are over 600 titles in the Little Golden Book collection, many are out of print but the original 12 titles are still available. They have included everything from bible stories to my personal childhood favorite The Saggy Baggy Elephant. To date, over 2 billion Little Golden Books have been printed--enough to reach the moon!

I bet you have a favorite.

Michele, Children's Librarian