Little Golden Books, the ubiquitous icon of children's readership
I spent my first 5 years living in the Vanderveer section of Brooklyn, NY. My very earliest memory in life was of a large stack of Little Golden Books that sat on the floor, next to a big 1950's style sofa. Not too far away was the metal pedal car I shared with my older brother and the five siblings that would follow. At age 18 my mother was told that she would not be able to have children. I guess she had to prove the doctor wrong. Books were ever present in our household. My mother was never without a long reading list herself. Her passion for books instilled a love of reading in me.
It seems like every time I mention Little Golden Books someone says they read them as kids and are reading them to their kids now. At lunch the other day I mentioned that I was going to do a blog post about them and a friend replied that she read them to her children when they were young. That reminded me that I'd read them to her grandchildren myself!
Little Golden Books began publication by Simon and Schuster in 1942, at a cost of 25 cents each. The low cost made them affordable to most families. In addition to bookstores, they were available in other locations such as department stores, which was a departure from how books had been sold. Despite paper shortages in WWII, the books were a huge success. Over one and a half million were sold within the first five months. Since their inception, more than two billion have been sold worldwide.
The subjects of the books range widely from literary classics to spin offs from popular TV shows. In the Golden Books version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears there was an illustration where Goldilocks had sat on the too soft Mama Bear's bed and sank up to her neck. As a kid I remember being fascinated by that image, now I think Mama Bear must have had back trouble in her later years. The books have also included Howdy Doody, Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Tootle the Train, The Saggy Baggy Elephant, Scruffy the Elephant, Bozo, Captain Kangaroo, many Disney characters, Santa Claus, many occupations, such as firemen and doctors, and the Poky Little Puppy which has remained virtually unchanged through the years. A book about Doctor Dan came with a real Band-aid. In later years, various Sesame Street characters have been featured, as have Barbie and friends. The continuity in the series is amazing. Nothing has been changed from the original editions as far as content goes. The only difference might be the color of the binding and addition of a bar code.
Little Golden Books are very collectible. In the past I sold some on eBay, mostly to people who bought the ones they had as a child. Many are fairly affordable. Some are cross collectibles, such as Howdy Doody books. They would be sought by Howdy collectors as wells as Golden Books collectors. You can tell the edition by the small letter that appears on the last page, in the bottom, right-hand corner. There you'll see a letter. A means first edition, B is second, C is third edition, etc. I recently found a pair of Golden Books that had dust jackets on them. That is quite rare. Most were almost always published without jackets. The books came in other sizes, too, such as Big Golden Books, and a miniature series.
In this budget conscious age, Little Golden Books are an affordable collectible. While there are some scarce ones out there, the books can often be found at thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales, and on eBay. They often range from three to ten dollars. They are a fun, colorful whimsical item to collect, and for many, a way to capture an imaginative piece of our childhood.
Take a look at my gallery of Golden Books.
1 comment:
I had Bambi and Rudolph!
I also remember one about a puppy chasing a falling star...
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