MOWMT March 18: Danna Smith Mines for Gold
Mining for Gold: Exploring Little Golden Books
by Danna Smith
Most of us can remember growing up reading Little Golden Books with their bright covers and distinctive gold foil spines. The first twelve titles hit the shelves in 1942 during wartime when picture books were expensive, and money was scarce. At .25 cents, they were affordable for almost everyone! Today, with 788 titles available in many subjects (seasonal, family issues, famous places, counting, holidays etc.), they continue to delight and are still affordable—at about the price of a greeting card!
To get an idea of what goes into a successful little golden book, let's look at the format and text of five current titles, each in a different subject category:
Category: Roadtrip Reads/Children’s Travel
Writing Style: Prose
Text per page: 1-2 short paragraphs
Page Count: 24
Excerpt: My favorite area, of course, is the fish market! People come from far and wide to watch the fishmongers throw fish. My fishy friends and i have made Pike Place Market world famous!
Little Golden Books on famous places are the perfect way to introduce young readers to the world around them! This isn’t an encyclopedia dump of information. The author used select facts, employed creative and lively language, and chose a surprising narrator as the travel guide— a friendly fish. Short sentences and paragraphs as well as accurate and sometimes silly artwork (a bucket wielding salmon in a sun hat at the tide pools of Golden Gardens Park) make learning about new places fun!
Category: Children's New Experiences (in the "I'm a" series)
Writing Style: Rhyme
Text per page: 1 couplet or a four-line stanza.
Page count: 24
Excerpt: Classes start this afternoon . . .I'll become a gymnast soon!Mommy helps me brush my hairand find a leotard to wear.
Simple language, spot-on rhyme, and bright, friendly illustrations make this book that introduces young readers to gymnastics a winner. The playful, bouncy language is a great format to present exciting and adventurous topics.
Category: Science and Nature
Writing Style: Prose
Text per page: 1-2 short paragraphs
Page count: 24
Excerpt: Look! Down on the ground— it's a superhero! What? Where? That little ant?
Yes! An ant may be tiny, but it is very strong. An Ant can carry 50 times its body weight that's like a three-year-old child carrying a cow!
Such lively and engaging text can't help but draw a child in! And the illustrations are as bold and beautiful as nature itself! A winning combination! Speaking of illustrators, Little Golden Books works with some fantastic talent, whether you are an author, an illustrator, or an author/illustrator.
Category: Family Life
Writing Style: Prose
Text per page: 1-2 short paragraphs
Page count: 24 (I see a pattern here 😊)
Excerpt: Kisses come from the way your eyes shine like two suns when you open them in the morning...
And from your smile, sweet as Maple syrup
This book is an excellent example of anthropomorphized animals going through a day in a child's life. Different parent animals, from foxes to elephants to mice, are depicted showing affection for their babies. Can you imagine this book with human characters? Would it have worked as well? Something to consider.
And here is an example of one of my Little Golden Books…
Category: Seasonal (in "The Colors of” Series)
Writing Style: Rhyme
Text per page: 1 sentence
Page count: 24
Excerpt:
Pg 1: YELLOW are the leaves falling to the ground.
Pg 2: GRAY is the tractor that makes a rumbling sound.
Pg 3: GOLD are the hay bales sitting side by side.
Pg 4: PURPLE is the wagon that gives us all a ride
The simple rhyme scheme of one line per page (a couplet per page spread) is perfect for little ones when they are ready to read themselves, and sparse text leaves room for Jessica Gibson's bold, colorful autumn landscapes— the reason for the story. Had I used more text, it would have gotten in the way of the simplicity, beauty and fun of the colors.
I reached out to Andrea Posner-Sanchez, Editorial Director of Little Golden Books and she has kindly shared this message: “Little Golden Books have been beloved for over 80 years. Their popularity is due to the classics that have never gone out of print, as well as the new books published every year that speak to today’s children. The hope for every book we publish is that it will become a part of our successful backlist. Keeping that in mind, we often look for stories about evergreen themes and topics that children and caregivers are drawn to.”
I will add that LGB does not accept biography manuscripts. Instead, they reach out to authors and illustrators directly.
PRIZE: Danna will be giving away a four-book bundle of my Little Golden Book titles and swag —a Rocket-Bye Baby Door Hanger and a set of Little Golden Book 75th Anniversary Collector Pins! Share your favorite Little Golden Book in the comments.
BIO: Danna Smith is an award-winning author known for her delightful and informative children’s books. She has written over twenty-five books for children, including “The Hawk of the Castle” (Candlewick), which was a 2018 Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year, and “Rooftop Garden” (a Barefoot Books sing-along). Her works range from board books, novelty books, and Little Golden Books for the youngest readers, to fiction and nonfiction picture books for older readers. She also has a poetry book “How Do You Haiku?” with activities that guide kids to create powerful haiku and a novel “The Complete Book of Aspen” that delves into the emotional journey of a girl named Aspen as she discovers a family secret that challenges her identity.
Danna Smith’s upcoming works include “The Colors of Fall” (A Little Golden Book) releasing on August 6, 2024, “The Colors of Spring” (A Little Golden Book), two board books (Little Simon) releasing in Spring 2025, and a picture book (Workman Kids) releasing in 2026. Every page turned is an adventure waiting to unfold! 📚✨
Learn more about Danna Smith and her books at www.dannasmithbooks.com and visit her poetry blog at www.poetrypop.com. Follow her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dannasmithbooks/
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