If you're looking to build a great home library for your child, keep an eye out for CHILDREN'S CHOICE BOOK CLUB editions of classic storybooks. These books, part of a subscription series sold during the 1970s and '80s, were part of a carefully curated list of classic children's titles, beginning with books as early as 1928's Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag and carrying forward to include recently published titles from the 1980s.
Authors and titles featured by the book club include children's literature legends like Margaret Wise Brown, Paul Galdone, Harry Allard, Russell Hoban, Ruth Krauss, Virginia Lee Burton, H.A. Rey, Alvin Tresselt, Munro Leaf, Rosemary Wells, Don Freeman, Marjorie Flack, Bernard Waber, Margaret Bloy Graham, Maurice Sendak, Mercer Mayer, Taro Gomi, Ludwig Bemelmans, Ezra Jack Keats, Louise Fatio, Steven Kellogg, Judith Viorst, Kevin Henkes, Harry Zion, Alice and Martin Provensen and Brian Wildsmith.
The books were intended for an audience of children in the two to seven year old age range.
These cardboard-cover books are easily identifiable by their rainbow-spectrum spines, most also have a solid-color rectangular "mat" frame around the cover illustration. The spine, back cover and "bookplate" of each Children Choice's Book Club edition features a of a mysteriously mustachioed monster. On the spine and the back cover of the books, he is tipping his hat. He appears in black and white on the spine, and in various colors on the back cover. He also appears on an inside page of the book reading a book in a hot-air balloon. CCBC editions were all originally issued without dustjackets.
Children's Choice was owned by Educational Products Inc. from the 1960s through 1986, when it was acquired by Macmillan Book Clubs Inc. Scholastic Inc. was also a distributor of the Club books for a time. The Club ceased to exist by approximately 1990.
Children's Choice Book Club editions remain widely available on the used book market and are generally available at "garage sale prices" of .25-$1 per copy. However, there are a few of these books that are unique to the series or otherwise out of print that go for more.
Two of the most valuable Children's Choice Book Club books are Albert Lamorisse's The Red Balloon (adapted from the short film) and Louise Matthews' Gator Pie (a book about fractions that is popular with homeschooling families). Rex Parkin's The Red Carpet is out-of-print and is a part of the Before Five in a Row reading list so it sells at a premium as well.
Children's Choice Book Club Titles, Partial List
Authors and titles featured by the book club include children's literature legends like Margaret Wise Brown, Paul Galdone, Harry Allard, Russell Hoban, Ruth Krauss, Virginia Lee Burton, H.A. Rey, Alvin Tresselt, Munro Leaf, Rosemary Wells, Don Freeman, Marjorie Flack, Bernard Waber, Margaret Bloy Graham, Maurice Sendak, Mercer Mayer, Taro Gomi, Ludwig Bemelmans, Ezra Jack Keats, Louise Fatio, Steven Kellogg, Judith Viorst, Kevin Henkes, Harry Zion, Alice and Martin Provensen and Brian Wildsmith.
The books were intended for an audience of children in the two to seven year old age range.
These cardboard-cover books are easily identifiable by their rainbow-spectrum spines, most also have a solid-color rectangular "mat" frame around the cover illustration. The spine, back cover and "bookplate" of each Children Choice's Book Club edition features a of a mysteriously mustachioed monster. On the spine and the back cover of the books, he is tipping his hat. He appears in black and white on the spine, and in various colors on the back cover. He also appears on an inside page of the book reading a book in a hot-air balloon. CCBC editions were all originally issued without dustjackets.
Children's Choice was owned by Educational Products Inc. from the 1960s through 1986, when it was acquired by Macmillan Book Clubs Inc. Scholastic Inc. was also a distributor of the Club books for a time. The Club ceased to exist by approximately 1990.
Children's Choice Book Club editions remain widely available on the used book market and are generally available at "garage sale prices" of .25-$1 per copy. However, there are a few of these books that are unique to the series or otherwise out of print that go for more.
Two of the most valuable Children's Choice Book Club books are Albert Lamorisse's The Red Balloon (adapted from the short film) and Louise Matthews' Gator Pie (a book about fractions that is popular with homeschooling families). Rex Parkin's The Red Carpet is out-of-print and is a part of the Before Five in a Row reading list so it sells at a premium as well.
Children's Choice Book Club Titles, Partial List
- Allard, Harry, Miss Nelson Is Back
- Allard, Harry, Miss Nelson Is Missing!
- Allard, Harry, The Stupids Step Out
- Allen, Jeffrey, Mary Alice, Operator Number 9
- Aarderna, Verna, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
- Armour, Richard Willard, A Dozen Dinosaurs
- Bemelmans, Ludwig, Madeline's Rescue
- Bennett, Jill, Days Are Where We Live, and Other Poems
- Berenstain, Stan and Jan, The Bears' Nature Guide
- Blos, Joan W., Martin's Hats
- Bornstein, Ruth, Little Gorilla
- Bright, Robert, Georgie and the Robbers
- Brown, Marc, Arthur's Nose
- Brown, Marcia, Stone Soup
- Brown, Margaret Wise, Little Chicken
- Brown, Margaret Wise, Little Fur Family
- Brown, Margaret Wise, The Indoor Noisy Book
- Brown, Margaret Wise, The Runaway Bunny
- Brown, Margaret Wise, Wait Till The Moon Is Full
- Burningham, John, Mr. Grumpy's Outing
- Burton, Virginia Lee, Katy and the Big Snow
- Burton, Virginia Lee, The Little House
- Burton, Virginia Lee, Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel
- Cauley, Lorinda Bryan, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
- Chalmers, Mary, Come To the Doctor, Harry
- Chalmers, Mary, Throw a Kiss, Harry
- Chess, Victoria, Alfred's Alphabet Walk
- Coats, Laura Jane, Marcella and the Moon
- Cole, Joanna, My Puppy Is Born
- Dauer, Rosamund, Bullfrog Grows Up
- de Brunhoff, Laurent, Babar and Father Christmas
- de Brunhoff, Laurent, Story of Babar
- De Regniers, Beatrice Schenk, May I Bring a Friend?
- Dee, Ruby, Two Ways to Count to Ten
- Dubanevich, Arlene, Calico Cows
- Dubanevich, Arlene, Pig William
- Ericsson, Jennifer A., No Milk!
- Ets, Marie Hall, In the Forest
- Ewing , Carolyn, Wake Up, City!
- Fatio, Louise, The Happy Lion
- Flack, Marjorie, Angus and the Cat
- Flack, Marjorie, Angus and the Ducks
- Flack, Marjorie, Angus Lost
- Flack, Marjorie, The Story About Ping
- Freeman, Don, A Pocket for Corduroy
- Freeman, Don, Beady Bear
- Freeman, Don, Dandelion
- Freeman, Don, Norman the Doorman
- G'ag, Wanda, Millions of Cats
- Galdone, Paul, Rumpelstiltskin
- Galdone, Paul, The Elves and the Shoemaker
- Galdone, Paul, The Frog Prince
- Galdone, Paul, The Monkey and the Crocodile
- Galdone, Paul, The Little Red Hen
- Galdone, Paul, Puss-in-Boots
- Garelick, May, What Makes a Bird a Bird?
- Gibbons, Gail, Check It Out!
- Ginsburg, Mirra, How the Sun Was Brought Back to the Sky
- Gomi, Taro, Bus Stops
- Graham, Margaret Bloy, Be Nice to Spiders
- Graham, Margaret Bloy, Benjy and His Friend Fifi
- Graham, Margaret Bloy, Benjy and the Barking Bird
- Graham, Margaret Bloy, Benjy's Boat Trip
- Graham, Margaret Bloy, Benjy's Dog House
- Gundersheimer, Karen, Happy Winter
- Hall, Donald, The Ox-Cart Man
- Hazen, Barbara Shook, Fang
- Henkes, Kevin, Jessica
- Hennessy, B.G., The Missing Tarts
- Hennessy, B.G., The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Backyard
- Hoban, Russell, A Baby Sister for Frances
- Hoban, Russell, Bedtime for Frances
- Hoban, Russell, Best Friends for Frances
- Hoban, Russell, Bread and Jam for Frances
- Holl, Adelaide, The Rain Puddle
- Hurd, Thacher, The Pea Patch Jig
- Joerns, Consuelo, The Lost and Found House
- Johnson, Crockett, Harold and the Purple Crayon
- Johnson, Crockett, Harold's Circus
- Jonas, Ann, The Trek
- Karlin, Barbara, Cinderella
- Keats, Ezra Jack, A Letter to Amy
- Keats, Ezra Jack, Pet Show!
- Keats, Ezra Jack, The Snowy Day
- Keats, Ezra Jack, Whistle for Willie
- Keller, Holly, Geraldine's Big Snow
- Keller, Holly, Geraldine's Blanket
- Kellogg, Steven, Much Bigger Than Martin
- Kellogg, Steven, The Mysterious Tadpole
- Kent, Jack, Round Robin
- Krasilovsky, Phyllis, The Cow Who Fell in the Canal
- Kraus, Robert, Leo the Late Bloomer
- Krauss, Ruth, The Carrot Seed
- LaMorisse, Albert, The Red Balloon
- Lasker, Joe, The Do-Something Day
- Leaf, Munro, The Story of Ferdinand
- Lewis, Shari , One Minute Animal Stories
- Livermore, Elaine, Looking for Henry
- Lobel, Arnold, Ming Lo Moves the Mountain
- Lobel, Arnold, A Treeful of Pigs
- Low, Alice, The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches
- Maestro, Betsy, Big City Port
- Marshall, James, George and Martha Back In Town
- Marshall, James, George and Martha Encore
- Marshall, James, George and Martha One Fine Day
- Marshall , James, Goldilocks and the Three Bears
- Marshall, James, The Three Little Pigs
- Matthews, Louise, Gator Pie
- Mayer, Mercer, There's a Nightmare In My Closet
- McCloskey, Robert, Blueberries for Sal
- McCloskey, Robert, Lentil
- McCloskey, Robert, Make Way for Ducklings
- McGovern, Ann, Little Whale
- McGovern, Ann, Too Much Noise
- McNaughton, Colin, If Dinosaurs Were Dogs and Cats
- McPhail, David, Pig Pig Grows Up
- Morgan, Pierr, The Turnip
- Most, Bernard, If the Dinosaurs Came Back
- Most, Bernard, My Very Own Octopus
- Murphy, Jill, Five Minutes' Peace
- Newman, Shirlee P., T ell Me, Grandma Tell Me, Grandpa
- Parkin, Rex, The Red Carpet
- Parrish, Peggy, Amelia Bedelia
- Payne, Emmy, Katy No-Pocket
- Peet, Bill, Randy Dandy's Lions
- Pinkwater, Daniel, Aunt Lulu
- Piper, Watty, The Little Engine That Could
- Provensen, Alice and Martin, The Year at Maple Hill Farm
- Rey, H.A., Curious George Gets a Medal
- Rey, H.A., Curious George Rides a Bike
- Rey, H.A., Curious George Gets a Job
- Roy, Ron, Three Ducks Went Wandering
- Rylant, Cynthia, The Relatives Came
- Samton, Sheila White, Tilly and the Rhinoceros
- Samuels, Barbara, Duncan & Dolores
- Schultz, Charles M., Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
- Schultz, Charles M., It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown
- Segal, Lore, Tell Me a Trudy
- Selsam, Millicent, Sea Monsters of Long Ago
- Sendak, Maurice, Chicken Soup With Rice
- Sendak, Maurice, Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue
- Shulevitz, Uri, One Monday Morning
- Slobodkina, Esphyr, Caps for Sale
- Small, David, Imogene's Antlers
- Spier, Peter, Erie Canal
- Steig, William, The Amazing Bone
- Steig, William, Roland, the Minstrel Pig
- Steig, William, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
- Stevenson, James, Could Be Worse
- Stevenson, James, If I Owned a Candy Factory
- Stevenson, James, Quick! Turn the Page!
- Stevenson, James, There's Nothing To Do
- Stevenson, James, We Can't Sleep
- Stevenson, James, We Hate Rain!
- Taylor, Mark, Henry the Explorer
- Thayer, Jane, Quiet on Account of Dinosaur
- Titus, Eve, Anatole
- Titus, Eve, Anatole and the Piano
- Tompert, Ann, Little Fox Goes to the End of the World
- Tresselt, Alvin R., The Mitten
- Tresselt, Alvin, White Snow, Bright Snow
- Tyler , Linda Wagner, The Sick-in-Bed Birthday
- Viorst, Judith, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
- Waber, Bernard, An Anteater Named Arthur
- Waber, Bernard, Ira Sleeps Over
- Waber, Bernard, Lovable Lyle
- Waber, Bernard, Lyle and the Birthday Party
- Waber, Bernard, Lyle Finds His Mother
- Waber, Bernard, The House on East 88th Street
- Wells, Rosemary, Benjamin and Tulip
- Wells, Rosemary, Noisy Nora
- Wells, Rosemary, Timothy Goes to School
- Westcott, Nadine Bernard, The Emperor's New Clothes
- Wildsmith, Brian, Professor Noah's Spaceship
- Wolf, Pearl, Gorilla Baby: The Story of Patty Cake
- Yashima, Taro, Crow Boy
- Zion , Harry, Harry by the Sea
- Zion , Harry, No Roses for Harry
- Zolotow, Charlotte, Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present
- Author Unknown, The Teddy Bear Book
Did you have Children's Choice Book Club books in your home as a child? What were your favorites?
