In addition to reading children’s books, I also like to read about children’s books. I just finished reading Golden Legacy by Leonard S. Marcus, a book all about the history of Little Golden Books. And when I say all about the history, I mean ALL about the history.
This book is SO rich in detail. It has information for everyone with any interest in Golden Books whatsover, whether it’s behind-the-scenes dirt about the publishing business, the origins of your favorite Little Golden story, or biographical information about the many talented authors and illustrators who have been published by Golden Books over the years.
It’s obvious from reading this book that Marcus, an expert in children’s literature, did extensive research, including the use of letters, memoirs, and interviews of scores of people connected with Golden Books. I have to admit that at times during the reading of the book I felt a little bogged down by the overload of information. But it was worth it to discover interesting little tidbits, like the fact that Golden Books illustrator Eloise Wilkin designed a doll in the 1960’s that was high on Nikita Khrushchev’s shopping list when he visited the States for a United Nations summit during the Cold War.
But the absolute best thing about this book is the treasure trove of illustrations and book covers reproduced from the many, many Golden Book archives. The artwork brought back so many wonderful memories from my childhood reading.
As a child, my favorite Golden Book was probably
The Monster at the End of This Book.
What was your favorite Golden Book?
I feel that BEST LITTLE WORD BOOK EVER! is probably the best ever little word book. There are so many little words in it!
I think my favorite Golden Books were The Poky Little Puppy and Cinderella, which got mangled under our garage door one day. Eva has a copy of it now, but the cover art is different than how I remember it–in addition to not being mangled.
I saw Golden Legacy come through for someone on hold and thumbed through it. It is a beautiful book. I had forgotten to add it to my list of books to check out until reading your post. Thanks! By the way–now that I work at a library, I find my list of interesting books somewhat impossible to shorten!
I really look forward to reading your blog!
The Monster at the End of this Book was my favorite too! I remember reading it over and over at Nana’s house. I was so glad I found it for Garrett and Meghan this Christmas. Do you also remember the one about the dirty house and Nana went through and changed the names to Hayley and Erin? Ha!
Well you know very well that “The Monster at the End of This Book” was my favorite as well. And not just my fav little golden but my fav book in general in early childhood. My Mom and I talked about it when she was down last. My copy she still has is covered in crayon marks and very well loved. She said she had it memorized. I would make her read it again and again. And of course in her Grover voice!