Do you remember Little Golden Books from your childhood?
They have a familiar shiny golden border along the left-hand seam. They always have great illustrations! And have a large catalog filled with beloved titles that generations of children enjoy and that also includes many, many Disney movie titles as well.
They have been around since the 1940s and the most collectible versions are First Edition printings. The dates can be checked on the first two pages of the publications. Visiting the Little Golden Books website exclaims “75 Years of Timeless Publishing”! These gems have been going strong since 1942 when they began!
Classic Titles
The Poky Little Puppy was a personal favorite of mine! This version from 1945 had a special blue edging on its seam. According to Wikipedia, The Pokey Little Puppy is the best-selling children’s book of all time!
The Shy Little Kitten is a classic title among the Little Golden Books Series.
In 2017, Golden Books celebrated its 75th Anniversary of stories and books for children in the USA and around the world.
Here is a video celebrating its history! There have been many popular authors and illustrators in the Little Golden Book family including Margaret Wise Brown and Patricia and Richard Scarry.
Finding Little Golden Books on eBay
On eBay, a collector can buy single copies ranging from one dollar to fifteen dollars on average. The first editions usually sell for more money and often they are sold in lots of ten, twenty, fifty and more. If you are looking for a particular rare title like Mr. Bell’s Fix-it Shop or The Little Red Hen, you may be a slightly higher price from an eBay seller.
Library Sales
I have been collecting Little Golden Books for years and have found most of my titles at my town’s local, monthly library sales. Head to the Children’s section and you will see them sorted among the larger picture books. They can often be purchased for 25¢, 50¢ or $1. Most librarians will price the more sought after first editions for more!
Garage Sales
If you are a garage-saler you might be able to find Little Golden Books at your local garage sales! Kid’s books often sell for pennies on the dollar, especially if you lot them together and ask for a good buying price! The Little Golden books are easy to spine by the spine. See the photo below with the recognizable attribute!
Topics
The contents of a Little Golden Book are wide-ranging: Bible stories, classic nursery rhymes, nature, science popular movies and TV shows like Star Wars and Sesame Street. They were originally all published with forty-two pages in color and sold for a quarter. Christmas Little Golden Books are very popular too!
Publishers
The original publishers were Simon and Schuster and printed by Western Publishing Co, their partner in the operation. Later in 1962 Simon and Schuster sold Little Golden Books to Western Publishing from Racine, Wisconsin and the single book prices rose to 29¢ each. Random House acquired Golden Books for $85 million dollars in 2001. At that point, The Little Poky Puppy’s sales were over 15 million worldwide, including sales in many languages besides English.
Worldwide Sales
According to the Little Golden Book website there have been over two billion books printed by 2002, its 60th year anniversary. Millions and millions of books have been purchased over the years at affordable prices. The average book price in 2017 was $4.99 a book, which is still a bargain for a children’s book.
LGB a Highly Collectible Book Series
I have come across an ultimate Little Golden Books collector as I was doing research for this post. The title of her blog is Always a Collector and she shares her life long collection of Little Golden Books in words and images here: “Collecting Little Golden Books…Striking Gold”.
Is eBay a Good Place to Sell LGB?
I would say yes! I have decided to begin selling my personal collection and I’m listening as singles currently, but after reviewing eBay sales under the “advanced search bar – SOLDS”, I see that lots of books are fetching decent prices! Whichever side you are on: a buyer or a seller, Little Golden Books are great books to collect or sell!
Going down memory lane, I remember the one about the little red hen. Wow, how time flies. Thanks so much for sharing this information with us about eBay and taking us down memory lane to our childhood days.
Thanks for the comment Norman! It’s fun to go down memory lane now and then! ANNE Z
Hi, Oh you bring back good memories here. Those little books, my daughter loves them so much when we start teaching her English we took those books to read to her and she was so happy. This is way back for me. Thank you for sharing this information I appreciate it reading it.
Lyne
Hi Lyne-
Thanks for your comments and sharing your memories about Little Golden Books! They are so varied and fun! I am sad to be parting with my big collection, but others will be able to enjoy! Best, ANNE Z
Thanks for this informational post. It really took me back in time. I remember I used to read a lot of these and I still have them in my childhood house. Thanks for sharing about the opportunity to sell them on eBay
Hi Delyana! I appreciate your visiting my site and making a comment! Little Golden Books are part of many of our childhoods! Take care, ANNE Z
Thanks so much for the memories. I really appreciate vintage items of all kinds. All the Best.
Thanks for the comment Joseph! ANNE Z
Sure does bring back some memories of being a kid and the Janet and Mark books. I remember the Little Hen as well. Haven’t thought about selling any of these on Ebay but sounds like they would sell pretty well there. Great post.
What a wonderful post to take me back to childhood! I made my parents read The Poky Little Puppy so many times I think I had it memorized. Growing up in a family of readers (my mother was a librarian), the Golden book series was a great foundation.
Your site is a resource for those of us who might want to sell our Little Golden Books. I know I have them somewhere! ?
You have inspired me to keep weeding out stuff as I strive to become more minimal.
Thank you,
Barbara
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment Barbara! I love the Little Golden Books! ANNE
Yes they do!