Take a trip down memory lane with the Poky Little Puppy.
By Richard Reep
In the canon of beloved children’s literature, few equal the evocative illustrated stories of Little Golden Books. Since their first releases in the early 1940s, the series has continued to delight with new titles and reissues of such classics as The Poky Little Puppy—which remains the top-selling children’s book of all time in the United States.
The Orlando Museum of Art will feature 60 comforting (and likely familiar) images from Little Golden Books in a new exhibition, Golden Legacy: Original Art from 80 Years of Golden Books, which is on view now through November 29.
Featured will be artwork from The Poky Little Puppy (of course) as well as Tootle, Home for a Bunny, The Color Kittens, I Can Fly and many others. The exhibition—organized by The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature in Abilene, Texas—will be accompanied by some fun ancillary activities.
On Saturday, October 5, OMA’s Family Day will offer free admission for families from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. And get this: Orlando firefighters (who promise to arrive in a real fire truck!) will read The Fire Truck Book to kids in attendance.
That same day, Symphony Storytime@OMA will feature a performance by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and a storyteller from the Orange County Public Library who’ll read The Poky Little Puppy. Other art activities related to stories in the books will also take place.
On Sunday, October 20, OMA will welcome Leonard S. Marcus, a professor at New York University and author of Golden Legacy: How Golden Books won Children’s Hearts, Changed Publishing Forever, and became an American Icon Along the Way. Marcus will discuss children’s literature in general and, in particular, the legacy of Little Golden Books.
There’ll also be free docent-led tours of the exhibition available on the first Saturday of every month to Bank of America cardholders.
Little Golden Books started with Simon & Schuster and changed hands several times. Today, the books are published by Penguin Random House, from whose archives works in the exhibition were curated.
Among the artists who worked for Little Golden Books (now just Golden Books) were many of the leading illustrators of the 20th century. Mary Blair, for example, came from Walt Disney Studios, where she was considered by Disney himself to be the company’s “artistic conscience.”
Besides Blair, other illustrators migrated from Disney to Little Golden Books. Gustav Tenggren, for example, joined the company after finishing work on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The OMA exhibition will include panels from Tenggren’s The Tawny Scrawny Lion and The Poky Little Puppy.
After World War II, soon-to-be-legendary Richard Scarry joined the roster of illustrators. When he returned home from Europe after a stint in the U.S. Army, Scarry pumped out six titles including Rabbit and His Friends, which remains in print as Richard Scarry’s Rabbit and His Friends. Scarry’s work will also be on view at OMA.
The Orlando Museum of Art is located at 2416 North Mills Avenue, Orlando, in Loch Haven Cultural Park. For more information, call 407.496.4231 or visit omart.org.
