Four years after Penguin Books had been founded by Sir Allen Lane, the idea for Puffin Books was hatched in 1939 when Noel Carrington, 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. 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’s 1936 story Worzel Gummidge and brought it out as the first Puffin story book in 1941.
Many well-known illustrators and artists illustrated covers for Puffins - Charles Tunniliffe, Ronald Searle, and Edward Ardizzone amongst others.
This is part 2 of a 3 - part post on Puffin Books.
For earlier works, see part 1 also.
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| 1946 Treasure Island cover by Lake |
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| 1947 Cranes Flying South cover by Eleanor Graham |
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| 1947 Jam Tomorrow cover by Grace Gabler |
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| 1947 Puffin Picture Book No. 74 Locomotives illustrated by Paul B. Mann |
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| 1947 Puffin Picture Books No.52 Paper Birds illustrated by R.B. Talbot Kelly front cover |
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| 1947 Puffin Picture Books No.52 Paper Birds illustrated by R.B. Talbot Kelly back cover |
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| 1948 Golden Island cover by Constance Marshall |
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| 1948 The Young Detectives cover by William Grimmond |
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| 1949 Ballet Shoes |
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| 1949 Kidnapped cover by A.H. Hall |
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| 1949 Puffin Picture Book No.60 Building a House illustrated by Richard Leacroft front cover |
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| 1949 Puffin Picture Book No.60 Building a House illustrated by Richard Leacroft back cover |
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| 1949 Puffin Picture Book No.86 Airliners illustrated by John Stroud front cover |
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| 1949 Puffin Picture Book No.86 Airliners illustrated by John Stroud back cover |
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| 1949 Tarka The Otter illustrated by Charles Tunnicliffe |
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| 1949 Worzel Gummidge Againillustrated by Elixabeth Alldridge |
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| 1950 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer cover by Arthur H. Hall |
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| 1950 Woman Among Savages cover by Faith Jacques |
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| 1951 Fairy Tales from the Isle of Man front cover by John Harwood |
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| 1951 Fairy Tales from the Isle of Man back cover by John Harwood |
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| 1951 The Grey Goose of Kilnevin |
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| 1951 The Secret Garden cover by Gloria Freedman |
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| 1952 Ditta's Tree cover by Sheila Hawkins |
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| 1952 Selected Stories and Verses cover by Richard Kennedy |
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| 1953 ( 1945 illustration ) Worzel Gummidge or The Scarecrow of Scatterbrook illustrated by Elixabeth Alldridge |
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| 1953 Little Women illustrated by Astrid Walford |
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| 1955 Melissa Ann cover by Sylvia Dyson |
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| 1955 Puffin Picture Book No.98 Farm Crops in Britain illustrated by S.R. Badmin front cover |
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| 1955 Puffin Picture Book No.98 Farm Crops in Britain illustrated by S.R. Badmin back cover |
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| 1955 The Children Who Lived in a Barn cover by Mary Gernat |
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| 1956 Four Mysteries Solved by Norman & Henry Bones |
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| 1956 Heidi cover by Cecil Leslie |
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| 1956 The Circus is Coming cover by Clarke Hutton |
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| 1956 The Puffin Song Book cover by Ronald Searle |
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| 1957 Redcap Runs Away |
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| 1957 Savage Gold illustrated by Robert Medley |
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| 1958 The Story of the Treasure Seekers illustrated by Cecil Leslie |
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| 1958 The Story of the Treasure Seekers illustrated by Cecil Leslie ( 1969 edition ) |
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| 1958 The Wouldbegoods illustrated by Cecil Leslie |
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| 1959 Avalanche! illustrated by Alie Evers |
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| 1960 A Hundred Million Francs cover by Richard Kennedy |
