1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 1: a show for those who can never know enough about history. 4 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Blusier, and in this nostalgic episode, we're looking 5 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: at the origins of Little Golden Books, the famous series 6 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: that helped democratize reading for kids all over the world. 7 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:44,280 Speaker 1: The day was October one, nineteen two. Simon and Schuster 8 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: published the first dozen titles in the long running Little 9 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: Golden Book series. This new line of books marked a 10 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: drastic change in children's reading habits and extended the ownership 11 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: of books to just about any child in America, not 12 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 1: just those with wealthy parents. By the time the series debuted, 13 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: children's books in America had become far less accessible to 14 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 1: actual children. Most of them still focused on European fairy 15 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: tales and nursery rhymes, which often included language and concepts 16 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: that went over the heads of young readers in the 17 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 1: early nineteen forties, and on a practical level, these were big, 18 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: bulky collections that were hard for children to hold comfortably. 19 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: But perhaps the worst barrier to entry of all was 20 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: that these large books were expensive, usually running between two 21 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 1: to three dollars each, or between thirty to forty dollars today. 22 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: That priced out a lot of lower income families and 23 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: raised some genuine concern that a whole generation of children 24 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: may be denied the chance to fall in love with reading. 25 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: One person particularly troubled by the state of children's literature 26 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: was the head of the Artists and Writers Guild, a 27 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: man named George do Play. He believed the way to 28 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 1: make reading more child friendly was to produce a series 29 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: of sturdy, yet affordable books that were written and illustrated 30 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: with children's interests in mind. To that end, he and 31 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: his colleagues partnered with Simon and Schuster, which already published 32 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: a children's line called Golden Books. Do Play and his 33 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: team decided to capitalize on that established brand by making 34 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: their new line a spinoff series called Little Golden Books. 35 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 1: As the name implied, these books would be smaller, with 36 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: fewer pages, more illustrations, and simpler storylines than other kids 37 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 1: books on the market. These changes would not only make 38 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,640 Speaker 1: the books easier to handle and understand, it would make 39 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: them cheaper too. When the first twelve titles were released 40 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 1: in two they cost just twenty five cents per copy. 41 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: Parent and kids alike took notice of the low price, 42 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: and after only five months on store shelves, more than 43 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: one and a half million copies had been sold. Another 44 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: change that drove the line's success was where the books 45 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: were available. Because of their small size and low price, 46 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:23,080 Speaker 1: Little Golden Books weren't restricted to bookstores. They could also 47 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: be sold in the places where families shopped, most grocery stores, 48 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: drug stores, and department stores. Since the books were relatively inexpensive, 49 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: they made for great impulse buys to help keep kids 50 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: occupied while the parents shopped. And if a kid happened 51 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: to tear the book to shreds or drop it in 52 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 1: the toilet at home, well, hey, at least it only 53 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: cost a quarter. The low cover price alone ensured strong 54 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: sales for the initial batch of books, but it was 55 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 1: the impressive quality of the stories and artwork that carried 56 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 1: many titles to their seventh printing and beyond. In just 57 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: the first three years of the line, do Play and 58 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: his team made sure to acquire well crafted stories from 59 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: emerging children's authors like Margaret Wise Brown, el Louise Wilkin, 60 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:19,359 Speaker 1: and Richard Scary. To match these strong stories, they recruited 61 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 1: an array of talented artists, including a few who had 62 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: worked in animation at Walt Disney Studios, like Gustaf Tendrin 63 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,599 Speaker 1: and Mary Blair. But the editors behind the books weren't 64 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: just relying on their own tastes when choosing which stories 65 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: and illustrations to publish. Instead, they worked with a panel 66 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: of educators and psychologists to figure out what kinds of 67 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: characters and storylines would most appeal to young readers. The 68 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: result of this collaboration was a line of books with 69 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: universal themes, such as getting a pet or attending the 70 00:04:55,480 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 1: first day of school. These generational stories were paired with 71 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: expressive artwork that was easy for kids to connect with 72 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: on an emotional level, and of course, both the text 73 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:13,039 Speaker 1: and pictures featured animals, lots and lots of animals, speaking 74 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 1: of which, it probably comes as no surprise that the 75 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: most popular title of the initial twelve Little Golden Books 76 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: was The Pokey Little Puppy, written by Jeanette Sebring Lowry 77 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 1: and illustrated by Gustav Tangrin. In fact, it's still the 78 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: top selling Little Golden Book of all time, as well 79 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: as one of the best selling children's books of the 80 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: twentieth century. Period with nearly fifteen million copies sold to date, 81 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: but plenty of other Little Golden Book originals have become 82 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: icons of the home library and their own right, including 83 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: Scuffy the tug Boat, the Shy Little Kitten, the Saggy 84 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: Baggy Elephant, Tawny Scrawny Lion, and the Little Red Caboose. 85 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: For their first two years, Little Golden Books fell into 86 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: one of two catagor glories. New takes on classic fairy 87 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: tales were completely original stories. However, in the publishers signed 88 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: a licensing deal with Disney that remains in place even today. 89 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:18,159 Speaker 1: In addition to plenty of condensed adaptations of Disney movies, 90 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:22,720 Speaker 1: readers could also find new stories featuring Disney characters, such 91 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: as The Little Man of Disneyland, which features Mickey Mouse 92 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: and friends trying to convince a lepre con to let 93 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: them build their theme park around his house in the 94 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:37,600 Speaker 1: roots of an Anaheim orange tree. He eventually agreed. Over 95 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 1: the years, Little Golden Books has continued to partner with 96 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: other kid friendly properties, including Looney Tunes, Super Mario, and 97 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: Sesame Street. Shout Out to the Monster at the end 98 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: of this book. Purists may scoff at this kind of licensing, 99 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: but it does aid the cause of getting more children 100 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,919 Speaker 1: to read, which has always been the series goal. In total, 101 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 1: more than two billion Little Golden Books, licensed or otherwise 102 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: have been sold since nineteen forty two in just about 103 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: every country on earth. They no longer retail for twenty 104 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: five cents, and first editions of the original dozen titles 105 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: can sell for well over a hundred dollars, but you've 106 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: got a good chance of finding used copies close to 107 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: that original price at local flea markets and thrift stores. 108 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:30,559 Speaker 1: But no matter what you pay for a Little Golden Book, 109 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: and the new ones still won't cost you much. When 110 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: a child opens it, they'll still find a special place 111 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: at the front to write their name. This simple feature 112 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: has been a standard of the series since the beginning 113 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: and is meant to help instill a sense of ownership 114 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 1: and the reader. It's a subtle reminder of the core 115 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: belief of the series and its creators that the joy 116 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 1: of reading should belong to everyone, even or especially to 117 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: children and need I'm Gay, Bluesier and hopefully you now 118 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 119 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 1: If you enjoyed the show, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, 120 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t D I HC Show. You can 121 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: also rate the show or leave us a review wherever 122 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts, and if you have a suggestion 123 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: for the best Little Golden book for a childless adult, 124 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: you can send it my way at this Day at 125 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: i heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for 126 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see 127 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:37,280 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in history class. 128 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the i 129 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,559 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 130 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.