Puffin Books was derived more than sixty years ago from Penguin Books, which came from the great mind of Allen Lane. In 1935, Allen Lane created the paperback from which came Penguin Books and grew into Puffin Books, which has since changed the world of childrens poetry as well as children’s books for good.
In 1939, Noel Carrington proposed the idea of a series of non-fiction childrens books to Allen Lane. He liked the idea and thus began Puffin Books and the future of children’s books. The first of the Puffin Books was a story about a man who had broomsticks for arms.
In the beginning, it was difficult for Puffin Books to get up and running. Paper was being rationed due to the ongoing war and the libraries only wanted hardback children’s books. Therefore, the editor of Puffin Books, Eleanor Graham, vowed to turn children on to reading and came up with her own Puffin Books title list.
The fifties was the decade of children’s books, with great Puffin Books like C.S Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Philippa Pearce’s Tom’s Midnight Garden as well as E. B. White’s favored Charlotte’s Web.
Even still to this day, you can rely on Puffin Books for the best children’s books.