SEE THE EXHIBIT
”Golden Legacy: Original Art from 80 Years of Golden Books”
Feb. 27 to May 25
LSU Museum of Art
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Little Golden Books cost just 25 cents a piece when they debuted in 1942. They invited children into a new world of nursery songs, fairy tales and animal adventures—with several pages even printed in full color. It was revolutionary for World War II-era families.
“Books back then were really produced for those who could afford them, especially children’s books. … And there were libraries, but not really in rural areas,” explains Michelle Schulte, LSU Museum of Art’s chief curator. “Can you imagine how magical it was for the regular old family to be able to afford one?”
Starting Feb. 27, LSU MOA visitors can access the colorful artwork, too. The downtown museum’s “Golden Legacy: Original Art from 80 Years of Golden Books” exhibit features 68 illustrations rendered in gouache, watercolor, pencil, ink or new media.
Expect pieces from classics like The Poky Little Puppy, Tootle, The Little Red Hen and I am a Bunny, created by such artists as Richard Scarry and Elizabeth Orton Jones.
Families can also snap photos with life-size cutouts of the characters, sketch their own stories at drawing stations, and pause to watch cartoon clips.
Over her time working at other museums, Schulte has organized several exhibitions featuring children’s book illustrators. She says it always struck her how wide-ranging the ages of the crowds could be. Children would clutch the hands of their grandparents or great aunties and uncles.
Schulte adored watching their little faces light up, but she says it was equally special to see the emotions in the caretakers’ eyes as they revisited the images.
“How often have you said ‘I remember when I was a kid, you used to get treats in cereal,’ or ‘I remember when we watched Saturday morning cartoons?’ There’s all this nostalgia that runs through your memories,” she says. “This isn’t a show just for kids; it’s a show for nostalgia. The books have touched a lot of generations.”
The tales follow readers over the course of their lives. As a child, Schulte herself grew up reading The Night Before Christmas at bedtime. When she first got pregnant, she says she was gifted “about 7,000” Little Golden Books. She recalls how much her son connected with Grover in the Sesame Street-themed books.
This timeless quality is what has given the books such staying power—and it’s why we’re still reading them, over 80 years later.
Today’s copies of The Poky Little Puppy are nearly identical to their 1942 counterparts. Even the metallic spine, with whimsical sketches of tiny bees and flowers, hearkens back to the book’s original golden, floral-covered binding. By the end of the 20th century, this tale-as-old-as-time had become the era’s bestselling children’s hardcover book.
“The books have touched a lot of generations.”
[—Michelle Schulte, LSU Museum of Art’s chief curator]
Little Golden Books would go on to welcome readers into The Secret Garden and the land of Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger. It’s been prolific in the modern era, chronicling stories about characters from Stranger Things, Gilmore Girls and the Marvel universe, as well as musical icons like Taylor Swift and The Beatles.
“The publisher always understood pop culture,” Schulte says.
Supported by a grant from the Pennington Family Foundation, the “Golden Legacy” exhibit arrives in Baton Rouge via Texas’ National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature. It originated in 2007 and was updated in 2021.
“How long it’s been running really tells you something about it, too,” Schulte says. “Usually exhibits retire fast.”
And there’s something else that hasn’t changed: how accessible the books are to families. Today’s copies retail for about $5 each. Adjusted for inflation, that’s around the same rate as 1942.
Get with the program
Several events will complement the exhibit. Here’s a handful. Find the full schedule at lsumoa.org.
March 21
Lecture by author and illustrator Denise Gallagher
March 22
Workshop with Denise Gallagher on writing and illustrating children’s books
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March 30
Wild Style Workshop: Design an animal-inspired hat
April 6
Access for All Day: Golden Books Animals + Wild Style Fashion Show
This article was originally published in the March 2025 issue of 225 Magazine.