EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 18 © 2017 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

78 via the Puffin Club , which boasted some 200,000 members at the height of its popularity. 'Puffineers' could communicate their ideas and opinions via a monthly newsletter and could advertise their allegiance to the series via badges, diaries and other associated merchandise. It was inevitable that rival publishers would latch onto Lane and Carrington's initiative and publishers such as Collins and Pan launched their own series under the banners of Armada Lions and Piccolo Books respectively. Puffin Books are still with us. They were the start of a publishing revolution that created the ability for children to allocate their own resources to owning books that would otherwise have only been available to them via their local local library or as a birthday or Christmas gift. "Sold in good bookshops everywhere", they are still a favoured companion for children's bedtime reading. ● ● A beautifully illustrated guide to the history of Puffin Books written by Phil Baines and titled 'Puffin By Design' is published by Allen Lane. Online information on Puffin Books can be found at: www.penguinfirsteditions.com LEFT & BELOW: Covers by C. Walter Hodges and Elizabeth Grant for 'The Silver Sword' and 'Children of the Oregon Trail', two books that put children at the forefront of adventures in times of world changing events.