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Text By Ellen Gardner •
Photography by Borella & Company
For most children BORN after World War II, Little Golden Books were as much a
part of growing up as blankies and teddy bears.
The books’ roots stretch
back to the 1930s, when the Western Publishing Co. of Racine, Wisconsin, which
had partnerships with Disney, Dell Comics, and Simon & Schuster Publishing,
created the Artists and Writers Guild to develop new material.
“In 1941,
guild head George Duplaix, with the help of other guild members and Simon &
Schuster executives, proposed a series of books that would be affordable,
durable, and widely available,” says Steve Santi, author of Little Golden Books
Identification and Price Guide. “At the time, children’s books were sold only in
bookstores for $2 to $3, a luxury for many families.”
Their plan was to print
12 titles to sell in chain and grocery stores for just 25 cents. It proved to be
genius. “The first books were introduced in 1942 and sold 1.5 million copies
during the first five months on the market.” says Steve, a California-based
graphics designer.
Now owned by Random House, Little Golden Books celebrated
its 65th anniversary last year with a special edition of The Poky Little Puppy,
one of the original titles (the others were 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).
Steve owns them all, along with each of
the more than 1,300 tales published over the years.
(a) In the 1940s, books like Our Puppy and other reflections of childhood life were
common themes. In the 1950s, beloved television and movie characters like Lassie
and Walt Disney’s Lady (from Lady and the Tramp) were popular subjects.
(b) A popular volume during the 1950s was J. Fred Muggs, about the Today
Show’s chimpanzee mascot. The critter had a notoriously bad attitude and was the
bane of host Dave Garroway’s existence, but kids loved him. NBC executives said
the ornery chimp helped boost ratings during his tenure from 1953 to 1957.
(c) Since first appearing on store shelves in 1942, Golden Books have earned an
enduring place in American culture with more than 2 billion sold. Subjects range
from classics like Mother Goose (far left) to pop icons like Bambi, Barbie, and
Big Bird.
Going for the Gold page
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