Creative Kidstuff

Little Golden Books

February 26, 2009 on 7:12 pm | In Uncategorized |

Little Golden Books is one of the most memorable children’s book lines in history and this line has a connection to the Midwest! The books were first published in 1941, during a time when most children’s books cost between $2 and $3. However, this was quite expensive for most families given that the US involvement in World War II was just starting. A man by the name of George Duplaix developed an idea to sell a line of durable and affordable children’s stories.

In September 1942, the first 12 Little Golden Book titles were published. The original stories included favorites such as The Pokey Little Puppy, The Golden Book of Fairy Tales, and The Little Red Hen. Each book sold for approximately 25 cents each! The original publisher, Simon & Schuster, had the books printed at Western Printing and Lithographing Company in Racine, Wisconsin.

Many famous authors have been involved with the creation of Little Golden Books, most notably Margaret Wise Brown (Goodnight Moon), Garth Williams (Stuart Little), and Richard Scarry (Busy, Busy Town).

Random House, the current publisher, estimates that as of 2002, over 2 billion Little Golden Books have been printed- enough to reach the moon! 15 million copies of The Pokey Little Puppy have been sold! The series is such an important part of American history, the Smithsonian Institution includes Little Golden Books and artwork in its Division of Cultural History!

You may visit the Random House website to print coloring pages featuring your favorite Little Golden Book characters!

What is your favorite Little Golden Book and why? Tell us in the comments!