Golden Books Shine at UCLA

Most children and adults of a certain age in this country have read The Poky Little Puppy, Scruffy the Tugboat, The Shy Little Kitten, or one of the many dozens of other titles that make up the popular Little Golden Books series. Founded in 1942, the Golden Books series has featured beloved authors like Margaret Wise Brown, Janette Sebring Lowrey, and illustrators like Richard Scarry and Garth Williams, and today continues to publish enjoyable and affordable books for young readers.

Now through October 15, UCLA Library Special Collections is hosting an exhibit celebrating seventy-five years of Golden Books. The show highlights the twelve original titles Golden Books published, which, in the throes of World War II, collectively sold 1.5 million copies within the first five months of publication.

A selection of Little Golden Books like The Three Little Kittens and The Little Red Hen are on display in a variety of formats and sizes. The pieces hail from UCLA's Children's Book Collection which focuses primarily on English and American children's publications before 1840 as well as runs of Newbery and Caldecott medal winners.

                                                                                                                                                                      The exhibit is free to the public. Contact the UCLA special collections library at (310) 825-4988 for more information.