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There were many multiple-volume productions, and many serialized stories that appeared in children's magazines were, later, published as novels (Optic's "Winning His Way" is one example that comes to mind). In the 20th century there were Little Golden Books which are still around today. One HBC reader recalls the Encyclopedia Jones series with some affection.
There were many multiple-volume productions, and many serialized stories that appeared in children's magazines were, later, published as novels (Optic's "Winning His Way" is one example that comes to mind).
In the 20th century there were thev Little Golden Books. I remember reading them in the 1940s.
While books for younger children, they in fact had a profound impact on American publishing. [Marcus] They have helped succesive generationsof Americans learn to read. And tgey are still working their magic today.
As a boy in the 1950s, I recall reading a series of books called the Lardmark Series. They wre a series of books on important figures in Ameican history. If I remember correctly they often went into some detail on the person's childhood.
The Bobbsey Twins areone of the best known series in American's children's literature. The author Laura Lee Hope, only there was really no such person. The real author was Edward Stratemeyer who wrote the first book in 1904. The last book in the series was published in 1979. Actually it may have been the only one of the series that he actually dis write. Stratemeyer was believed to have written the first three books. He then began hiring ghost writers to write the rest of the books published in the Bobbsey Twin series. He prepared notes for the actual writers to follow. There were eventually 72 books published. When Stratemeyer died in 1930, his daughter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams began managing the Stratemeyer Syndicate.
One HBC reader recalls the Encyclopedia Jones series with some affection. "Encyclopedia" is the creation of Donald Sobol, who began writing this "children's mystery" series in the early 1960's to fill what he thought was a void in this genre. Leonard Shortall's pen and ink drawings for this series make fine illustrations of clothes from the early 1960s-80s. "EB" debuted in the early '60s (I believe) in children's books written by an author named Sobol, first name escapes me. Each "EB" mystery story - no more than a few pages each - ended with the title character solving the mystery, and the reader
was asked how he did it. At the end of the book, the clues that gave "EB" the solution are revealed. This series was realized on film for PBS (I believe) a few years back. Leonard Shortall illustrated many of the stories with nice pen and ink drawings.
The Hardy Boys series was written by Franklin W. Dixon published between 1927-85. There were a total of 85 books. This was another of the Stratemeyer books.
Nancy Drew was written by Carolyn Keene between 1930-85. There were 78 volumes in all. This was another of the Stratemeyer books.
The Rover Boys were the first serices of children's books created by Stratemeyer. He used the pen name Arthur M. Winfield. The 30 volumes of the series were written between 1899 and 1926.
Tom Swift was written by Victor Appleton. It was another series produved by Stratemeyer. The first book was published in 1910 and the lat in 1941. here was a total of 40 books. There was also a Tom Swift, Jr. series, by Victor Appleton II.
Marcus, Leonard S. Golden Legacy: How Golden Books Won Children's Hearts, Changed Publishing Forever, and Became an American Icon Along the Wy (Random House Children's Books, 2007), 256p.
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