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Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.[children's books
A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...]
in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs to
Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House.
On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...
, a subsidiary of the German media conglomerate
Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
.
History
Four years after
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.[Allen Lane
Sir Allen Lane (born Allen Lane Williams; 21 September 1902 – 7 July 1970) was a British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fictio ...]
, the idea for Puffin Books was hatched in 1939, when
Noel Carrington
Noel Lewis Carrington (1895 – 11 April 1989) was an English book designer, editor, publisher, and the originator of Puffin Books. He was the author of books on design and on recreation and also worked for Oxford University Press and Penguin Books ...
, at the time an editor for ''
Country Life'' books, met him and proposed a series of children's non-fiction picture books, inspired by the brightly coloured lithographed books mass-produced at the time for Soviet children.
[The History of Puffin](_blank)
/ref> Lane saw the potential, and the first of the picture book series were published the following year. The name "Puffin" was a natural companion to the existing "Penguin" and "Pelican" books. Many continued to be reprinted right into the 1970s. A fiction list soon followed, when Puffin secured the paperback rights to Barbara Euphan Todd
Barbara Euphan Todd (9 January 1890 – 2 February 1976) was an English writer widely remembered for her ten books for children about a scarecrow called Worzel Gummidge. These were adapted for radio and television. The title story was chosen as ...
's 1936 story ''Worzel Gummidge
Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd. '' and brought it out as the first Puffin story book in 1941.
The first Puffin editor, Eleanor Graham
Eleanor Graham (9 January 1896, in Walthamstow, England – 8 March 1984, in London) was a book editor and children's book author.
She worked for Muriel Paget's aid mission in Czechoslovakia before becoming an editor for publishers Heinemann an ...
, saw the imprint through the 1940s and the struggles with paper rationing, and in the 1950s Puffin made its mark in fantasy with tales such as ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). Among all the ...
'' by C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
and ''Charlotte's Web
''Charlotte's Web'' is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams; it was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his ...
'' by E. B. White
Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), '' Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and ''The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...
. Some other notable titles whose paperback rights were acquired by Puffin included ''The Family from One End Street
''The Family from One End Street'' is a Realism (arts), realistic English children's novel, written and illustrated by Eve Garnett and published by Frederick Muller in 1937. It is "a classic story of life in a big, happy family." set in a small ...
'' by Eve Garnett
Eve Garnett (9 January 1900 – 5 April 1991) was an English writer and illustrator. She is best known for ''The Family from One End Street'', a 1937 children's novel that features a large, small-town, working-class family.
Early life
Garnett ...
, which Puffin published in 1942, the ''Professor Branestawm
''Professor Branestawm'' is a series of thirteen Children's literature, children's books written by the English author Norman Hunter (author), Norman Hunter. Professor Theophilus Branestawm is depicted throughout the books as the archetypal absen ...
'' books by Norman Hunter (1946), ''Ballet Shoes
A ballet shoe, or ballet slipper, is a lightweight shoe designed specifically for ballet dancing. It may be made from soft leather, canvas, or satin, and has flexible, thin full or split soles. Traditionally, women wear pink shoes and men wear wh ...
'' by Noel Streatfeild
Mary Noel Streatfeild OBE (24 December 1895 –11 September 1986) was an English author, best known for children's books including the "Shoes" books, which were not a series (though some books made references to others). Random House, the ...
(1949), '' Carbonel: The King of the Cats'' by Barbara Sleigh
Barbara Grace de Riemer Sleigh (1906–1982) was an English children's writer and broadcaster. She is remembered most for her Carbonel series about a king of cats.
Family and career
Barbara Sleigh was born on 9 January 1906 in Birmingham, the da ...
(1955), and ''The Silver Sword
''The Silver Sword'' is a children's novel written by Ian Serraillier and published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape in 1956 and then by Puffin Books in 1960. It has also been published in the United States under the title ''Escape From ...
'' by Ian Serraillier
Ian Serraillier (24 September 1912 – 28 November 1994) was an English novelist and poet. He retold legends from England, Greece and Rome and was best known for his children's books, especially ''The Silver Sword'' (1956), a wartime adventure st ...
(1960). Many different genres featured in the list, e.g. ''The Puffin Song Book'' (PS 100), 1956.
1960s to 1970s
In 1961, Kaye Webb
Kathleen ("Kaye") Webb (26 January 1914 – 16 January 1996), was a British editor and publisher. She was a recipient of the Eleanor Farjeon Award.
Early life and education
Kathleen Webb was born in Chiswick, London, in 1914, the second of ...
became Puffin's second editor, as a boom began in children's publishing, and in a decade the Puffin list grew from 51 titles when she took over to 1,213 in print by 1969. Puffin obtained the paperback rights to many of the best writers of the time, including Philippa Pearce
Ann Philippa Pearce OBE (22 January 1920 – 21 December 2006) was an English author of children's books. Best known of them is the time-slip novel ''Tom's Midnight Garden'', which won the 1958 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, as ...
, Rosemary Sutcliff
Rosemary Sutcliff (14 December 1920 – 23 July 1992) was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novel ...
, William Mayne
William James Carter Mayne (16 March 1928 – 24 March 2010) was an English people, English writer of children's fiction. ''The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature'' calls him one of the outstanding children's authors of the 20th century and ...
, Alan Garner
Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native count ...
and Antonia Forest
Antonia Forest (26 May 1915 – 28 November 2003) was the pseudonym of Patricia Giulia Caulfield Kate Rubinstein, an English writer of children's novels. She is known for the Marlow series.
Life
Forest was born to part Russian-Jewish and Iri ...
, all-time classics including ''Mary Poppins It may refer to:
* ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character.
* Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers.
* ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
'', ''Dr Dolittle
Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 ''The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in the ...
'' and ''The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...
'', and originals such as ''Stig of the Dump
''Stig of the Dump'' is a children's novel by Clive King which was first published in the United Kingdom in 1963. It is regarded as a modern children's classic and is often read in schools. It was illustrated by Edward Ardizzone and has been ...
'' by Clive King
David Clive King (28 April 1924 – 10 July 2018) was an English author best known for his children's book ''Stig of the Dump'' (1963). He served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in the last years of the Second World War and then worked for t ...
. The books were promoted with flair through the Puffin Club, started by Kaye Webb in 1967 with the promise to Allen Lane that ''"It will make children into book readers"''. Though by 1987, it had become uneconomical and evolved into the schools-only Puffin Book Club, at its height the club had 200,000 subscribers and held regular Puffin Exhibitions, and its magazine ''Puffin Post'' appeared quarterly for many years, resuming publication in January 2009.
Colony Holidays (predecessor to ATE Superweeks
Active Training and Education (a.k.a. ATE Superweeks) is a not-for-profit, educational charity which provides residential holidays to children of a school age within the United Kingdom. These holidays are called Superweeks.
ATE seeks to contribu ...
) ran Children's Literature Summer Camps for members of the Puffin Book Club. Fifty or so children from all over Britain who loved reading would spend a ten-day holiday together, and popular children's authors such as Joan Aiken
Joan Delano Aiken (4 September 1924 – 4 January 2004) was an English writer specialising in supernatural fiction and children's alternative history novels. In 1999 she was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature. For ''The ...
, Ian Serraillier
Ian Serraillier (24 September 1912 – 28 November 1994) was an English novelist and poet. He retold legends from England, Greece and Rome and was best known for his children's books, especially ''The Silver Sword'' (1956), a wartime adventure st ...
and Clive King
David Clive King (28 April 1924 – 10 July 2018) was an English author best known for his children's book ''Stig of the Dump'' (1963). He served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in the last years of the Second World War and then worked for t ...
would spend a few days with them. Web continued as editor until 1979, and the 1970s saw Puffin further advance its position with hits such as ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.
The story was originally ...
'' by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
and ''Watership Down
''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural ...
'' by Richard Adams
Richard George Adams (9 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist and writer of the books ''Watership Down'', ''Maia'', ''Shardik'' and ''The Plague Dogs''. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Army ...
.
''Picture Puffins''
The range of Picture Puffins, introduced in the late 1960s for younger children, also developed rapidly. Eric Carle
Eric Carle (June 25, 1929 – May 23, 2021) was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'', first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold ...
's ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar
''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' is a 1969 children’s picture book designed, illustrated, and written by Eric Carle. The book features a hungry caterpillar that eats a variety of foods before pupating and emerging as a butterfly. It has won m ...
'' and Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Janet Ahlberg (21 October 1944 – 15 November 1994; née Hall) and Allan Ahlberg (born 5 June 1938) were a British married couple who created many children's books, including picture books that regularly appear at the top of "most popular" lis ...
's ''Each Peach Pear Plum
Janet Ahlberg (21 October 1944 – 15 November 1994; née Hall) and Allan Ahlberg (born 5 June 1938) were a British married couple who created many children's books, including picture books that regularly appear at the top of "most popular" lis ...
'' became and have remained firm children's favourites, as have Eric Hill
Eric Hill (7 September 1927 – 6 June 2014) was an English author and illustrator of children's picture books. He was best known for his puppy character named Spot. His works have been widely praised for their contributions to child literacy. ...
's ''Spot the Dog
Spot is a fictional puppy created by Eric Hill, an English author and illustrator of children's picture books. The success of Hill's books about Spot led to other media productions, including television and home video titles, music albums, and ...
'' and Jan Pienkowski
Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to:
Acronyms
* Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN
* Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code
* Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group
* Japanese Article Numb ...
's ''Meg and Mog
Meg and Mog is a series of children's books written by Helen Nicoll and illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski. First published in the 1970s, the books are about Meg, a witch whose spells always seem to go wrong, her striped cat Mog, and their friend Ow ...
'' books from the 1980s.
1980s to 1990s
The 1980s saw Puffin taking full advantage of popular culture with film tie-in publishing, forming close links with Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
and other production companies. It was at this time that Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone
Sir Ian Livingstone (born 29 December 1949) is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. Along with Steve Jackson, he is the co-founder of a series of role-playing gamebooks, ''Fighting Fantasy'', and the author of many books within that se ...
introduced the concept of adventure gamebook
A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages. Each narrative typically does not ...
s to Puffin which grew into the ''Fighting Fantasy
''Fighting Fantasy'' is a series of single-player role-playing gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The first volume in the series was published in paperback by Puffin in 1982.
The series distinguished itself by mixing Choos ...
'' phenomenon. The 1980s also saw the launch of the Puffin Plus line of young adult fiction
Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults.
The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...
, a market earlier catered for by the imprint Peacock Books. In 2010, the young adult line was relaunched as Razorbill.Nuffin Like A Puffin
''Book Brunch'', 26 April 2010. Accessed 15 August 2010.
The 1990s continued to see new writers join Puffin and in the 21st century the brand still shows heroes and heroines familiar with children such as
Artemis Fowl
''The Fowl Adventures'' is a series of eleven fantasy novels written by Irish people, Irish author Eoin Colfer revolving around various members of the Fowl family. The first cycle, ''Artemis Fowl'', follows Elf (Artemis Fowl), elf LEP Reconna ...
,
Percy Jackson
Perseus "Percy" Jackson is a fictional character, the title character and narrator of Rick Riordan's ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. He is also one of seven main protagonists of the sequel series ''The Heroes of Olympus'', appearing ...
, Max Gordon,
Mildred Hubble
''The Worst Witch'' is a series of children's books written and illustrated by Jill Murphy. They have been adapted into various films and television shows.
Mildred Hubble
:Series Duration: 1998–2001, 2005
Mildred Hubble is the titular charact ...
and
Scarlett, while stars such as
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
and
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
have written for Puffin.
''Puffin Post''
''Puffin Post'' was a children's books magazine published by Puffin Books.
It was launched in 1967 by
Kaye Webb
Kathleen ("Kaye") Webb (26 January 1914 – 16 January 1996), was a British editor and publisher. She was a recipient of the Eleanor Farjeon Award.
Early life and education
Kathleen Webb was born in Chiswick, London, in 1914, the second of ...
, editor of Puffin Books.
[ It declined after Webb retired in 1982, but was relaunched in 2009 through the bookseller ]The Book People
The Book People Ltd was a UK online bookseller founded in 1988. It went into administration in 2019 and was formally dissolved in 2022.
History
The Book People started business in 1988, initially in the Guildford, Surrey area. It expanded rap ...
as a bi-monthly magazine.[ The magazine was discontinued again with the November 2012 issue.][
The magazine contained a mix of stories, jokes, interviews, competitions and quizzes, and reader contributions.][ At its height, it had more than 200,000 readers.][ Prior to 1982, contributors to the magazine included well-known authors such as ]Alan Garner
Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native count ...
, Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
, Joan Aiken
Joan Delano Aiken (4 September 1924 – 4 January 2004) was an English writer specialising in supernatural fiction and children's alternative history novels. In 1999 she was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature. For ''The ...
, Leon Garfield
Leon Garfield FRSL (14 July 1921 – 2 June 1996) was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for children's historical novels, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books and scripted '' Shakespeare: The Animated Tal ...
and Spike Milligan
Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...
.[ After the 2009 re-launch, contributors included ]Charlie Higson
Charles Murray Higson (born 3 July 1958) is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer. He has also written and produced for television and is the author of the ''Enemy'' book series, as well as the first five novels in the ''Young Bo ...
, Cathy Cassidy
Cathy Cassidy (born 13 June 1962) is an English author of young adult fiction. She was born in Coventry, Warwickshire. For a number of years she lived near New Galloway in Scotland where she started writing her novels, but has since returned to ...
and Michael Morpurgo
Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo (''né'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as ''War Horse'' (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytellin ...
.[
]
See also
*UK children's book publishers
List of UK children's book publishers.
For UK children's authors, see Children's non-fiction authors.
A
* Albury Books
* Allen Lane
* Andersen Press
* Austin Macauley Publishers
B
* Barefoot Books - Canadian not British
* Barrington Stoke
...
*List of largest UK book publishers
This is a list of largest UK trade book publishers, with some of their principal imprints, ranked by sales value.
List
According to Nielsen BookScan as of 2010 the largest book publishers of the United Kingdom were:
# Penguin Random House '' ...
References
Further reading
*Phil Baines (2010), ''Puffin By Design: 70 Years of Imagination 1940–2010''. London: Allen Lane. .
External links
The History of Puffin
{{Authority control
Children's book publishers
Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom
British children's literature
Publishing companies established in 1940
British companies established in 1940
Penguin Random House