Little Golden Books

Who doesn’t have fond memories of Little Golden Books from their childhood? Well now those Little Golden Books are very collectible and can be worth quite a bit!

Little Golden Books first appeared in 1942 for 25 cents each. Previously, children's books sold for two to three dollars each and were considered a luxury. Little Golden Books changed the children's publishing industry forever.

Little Golden Books have featured many children's popular culture characters over the years including: Captain Kangaroo, Lassie, Mister Rogers, Sesamie Street, The Lone Ranger, Howdy Doody, Raggedy Ann, Smokey the Bear, and many more.

Timeline (randomhouse.com):

• 1942: The original 12 Little Golden Books:
• 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
• This Little Piggy
• 1944: First Walt Disney Little Golden Book, Through the Picture Frame, is published.

• 1951: Doctor Dan, The Bandage Man is released with Johnson & Johnson® Band-Aids glued to the right side of the title page. This marked one of the first ventures into book and product joint packaging. First printing is 1.75 million--the largest first printing of any Little Golden Book to date.
• Mid-1950s: Top-selling Little Golden Books center around children's TV shows and westerns (The Roy Rogers Show, Howdy Doody, The Lone Ranger, Captain Kangaroo, etc.).
• Early 1960s: A large number of new Little Golden Books focus on popular Saturday morning TV shows such as Huckleberry Hound, The Bullwinkle Show, Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, and Bozo the Clown.
• 1992: Little Golden Books celebrates its golden anniversary--50 years! In recognition of this milestone anniversary, a permanent Little Golden Books exhibit is given to the Smithsonian Institution. The exhibit, titled Little Golden Books and American Culture 1942-1992, can still be viewed there.
• June 2001: Little Golden Books Classic line is launched to great success (many titles have sold over 200,000 copies in just over a year!) The new line brings back popular vintage Little Golden Books titles based on consumer demand. The first six titles in this new library include:

• Richard Scarry's Good Night Little Bear
• Animal Orchestra
• The Lion's Paw
• The Fire Engine Book
• The Little Red Hen
• The Good Humor Man

So how do you know the value of your Little Golden Books?
With Little Golden Books it can be hard to determine the edition number. Here are some tips (auctionbytes.com):

1. Look at the bottom of the title page. Some LGBs have the edition listed, or there might be a series of letters, with the letter farthest to the left designating the edition. Example: c d e f g h i j = 3rd.
2. Check the bottom corner of the last page, near the spine. A letter or double letter corresponds to the edition. Examples: A = 1st, B = 2nd, CC = 29th, etc.
3. If the book has been published since 1991, it may have Roman Numerals at the bottom of the title page in addition to the copyright date. If the Roman Numerals are preceded by an A, it is a First Edition. An R preceding the numerals indicates a Revised Edition.
4. Remember Classics Illustrated? You could pretty much figure out when an issue was printed by the last title listed on the back. The same with LGBs. If your copy of Three Little Kittens has a 1942 copyright date, but the last title listed on the back board (cover) is Little Mommy, then it had to have been printed no earlier than 1967.

You cannot rely on edition number alone when determining value. As with any collectible, condition is a huge factor.

Also, rarity plays a big part. Some of the less common and highly sought after titles include Little Mommy and Little Black Sambo.

We have lots of Little Golden Books at the shop right now. Stop by and take a look. Now that you know how to value them you never know what you might find!