This is a complete list of the 149 Puffin Story Books published for children from 1941 to 1960 by Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, England.
Introductory remarks
Brief information about the content of the books is contained in the notes, where it is available. However, the content of some books is self-explanatory as in the case of biographies and books of poems by R.L. Stevenson (PS 22), Hilaire Belloc (PS 67) and Walter de la Mare (PS 70).
The sequence of PS numbers does not always coincide with the sequence of dates of publication. For example, Fell Farm Holiday by Marjorie Lloyd was first published in 1951 but its PS no. is 54 so that it appears among the sequence of books published in 1949. The discrepancy between PS nos and publication dates is presumably because some books take longer than others to prepare for publication. Fell Farm Holiday was in fact commissioned in 1947 though it didn't appear till 1951.[1]
The story of children's visit to France to find out about Jean-Henri Fabre, who first understood the ways and habits of insects by long and systematic watching. Introduction by Walter de la Mare
The Ruggles live at No. 1 One End Street in the heart of the fictional town of Otwell, located on the Ouse river. Josiah Ruggles works for Otwell council as a dustman, and his wife Rosie takes in washing. They have seven children, so life is hard, but they are a happy family
The story of the training of a carrier pigeon and its service during the First World War, revealing the bird's courageous and spirited adventures over the housetops of an Indian village, in the Himalayan Mountains, and on the French battlefield
Translated from the Dutch by Marie Kiersted Pidgeon
PS 18
Palaces on Monday
Marjorie Fischer
Richard Floethe
1945
An amusing account of a brother and sister who travel through the Soviet Union on their way to meet their father, an American engineer employed upon an important project
The scene is conquered Norway, the characters are three young people, brother and two sisters; their mother, an English woman who had married a Norwegian. The story is about their escape from Nazi occupation.
An unusual story of the adventures of four children who are adopted by an Australian uncle, a miser with a heart of gold. The characters have much more individuality than is usual in books of this kind.
Cover illustration by Grace Gabler. A holiday, a secret passage, and a discovery. An unusual family story, amusing yet realistic
PS 32
Red Ruff
Mortimer Batten
A. H. Hall
1947
The life story of a fox. A first-class story that rings true and tells a great deal about the lives and characteristics of the foxes in the British Isles
The wonderfully nutty, fabulously entertaining mishaps of Professor Branestawm. He's madly sane and cleverly dotty. He is the most absent-minded inventor you'll ever meet and no matter how hard he tries his brilliant ideas never seem to keep him out of crazy scrapes
The South Country's secrets are about smugglers, wishing wells, Roman villas, and such strange things as a wall made of bullock horns. "Klaxon" was the pseudonym of Euphan's husband John Graham Bower
The story of a crane migrating from the Ostashkov swamps to the Upper Nile. The book combines an interesting story, geographic descriptions of the places the crane flew and illustrations by the author. Cover illustration by Sylvia Dyson
Relates the fortunes of three adopted sisters who take dancing and stage training, one to become an actress, the second a ballerina, and the third an aviatrix
An English girl among the Red Coats. Susannah stays with a relative while her parents are posted elsewhere in the British empire of the 1890s. In this case the relative with whom Susannah is sent to stay (with virtually no notice whatsoever) is a bachelor army officer posted in the wilds of Canada. She is not welcome. However, despite a sad habit of disobeying the rules, Susannah soon wins the hearts of minds of those around her, including those of both her uncle and the fort commander.
A first rate family story with more than a mere spice of adventure in it. The five Mackie children had the rare good luck to find, in a house taken for the holidays in Devon, a secret passage leading to a smuggler's cave.
PS 48
Golden Island
Denis Clark
---
1948
Though this is a strange tale of adventure long ago, it is also a stirring lively story of elephants
The grey goose sets off to market to see the world and finds Sheila, a young girl working in one of the inns in Kilnevin. Sent to get 3 lbs of butter from Bridgie Swallow, Sheila and the goose embark on an adventure, strange and magical enough to rival Alice in Wonderland.
Two American children on holiday in France John and Anna were bored with all the sightseeing on their summer holiday but one night they slipped out by themselves
PS 54
Fell Farm Holiday
Marjorie Lloyd
William Grimmond
1951
The five Brownes and their domestic and holiday adventures in the Lake District.
Dickon was an English boy, sole survivor of a wreck, who was thrown up on the coast of Virginia, country then of the Lenape Indians
1950–1955
No.
Title
Author
Illustrator
Date
Notes
PS 57
Ditta's Tree
Jean Gordon Hughes
Mary Willett
1952
A sprite who lives in a tree in an Indian village is upset when the arrival of a red automobile makes the villagers forget to bring him the customary offerings of food and flowers
Living in a hut out in the fields alone with his dog, watching the wild life about him, exploring round about the woods and fields by night as well as by day, in winter as well as in summer – that is what makes this book different from many other story-books of natural history
This famous story of an otter is as true as long observation and keen insight could make it. It lets you live with Tarka and see at his level the wild life of that stretch of Devon country which runs from Dartmouth to the sea
Tom Sawyer, a young scamp, who used to play truant and find his fun along the shores of the Mississippi. He shared it with Jim, the escaped Negro slave boy, and Huckleberry Finn, who, as son of the village drunkard, was very much of an outcast
The Radium woman was Madame Curie, the great scientist who discovered Radium. This account of her life is inspiring and can be read simply as a magnificent story, as well as to see how a child grew to be one of the modern world's most famous scientists
Poor Mary! She was a forlorn, unwanted, disagreeable child when, after cholera had carried off her parents, she was brought from India to live at the great lonely house on the bleak Yorkshire moors. Wandering in the gardens, she found one that was walled in. The book tells the story of how she got inside and what happened to her there.
This is a sound and practical guide to bird watching for beginners of any age, easy to read and very clearly expressed. There is sensible advice on the elements of the hobby, and on the first need of all – to be able to identify your bird – on useful reference books, local museums and societies. It emphasises that bird watching is the study of the living bird, and has nothing to do with the collection of stuffed birds or blown eggs
The King Arthur stories have been told afresh from the original sources, vividly so that the simple plot emerges plainly and is exciting to follow through all the detail of feasting and jousting and the fearful impact of knights in armour
PS 74
Five Proud Riders
Ann Stafford
Charlotte Hugh
1953
The proud riders were on New Forest ponies, and this is the story of their first riding holiday alone in the New Forest. There were five of them, boys and girls between 10 and 14
Classic 19th century story. The novel follows the lives of four sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March – and is loosely based on the author's childhood experiences with her three sisters
PS 77
The Wanderings of Mumfie
Katharine Tozer
Katharine Tozer
1955
Mumfie is a 'nelifunt', a toy that is put into Tommy's stocking by Father Christmas. On Christmas morning, Mumfie realises that Father Christmas forgot to put his best friend Scarecrow in Tommy's stocking so Mumfie decides to search for Scarecrow. The novel is the subject of an animated movie and television series by Britt Allcroft called Magic Adventures of Mumfie
This is a fine story of adventure, swift moving full of colour, violent action, set in the time of Christopher Columbus. The Moor is fourteen when the tale begins and eventually he sails with Columbus on the Santa Maria to the Americas
Huck was the disreputable boy in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He was 14 when got away from his drunken father and, running for his life, met old Jim, also on the run. Together on a raft they tumbled in and out of fantastic experiences that were part of the life of the great, busy Mississippi which the author knew so well
Elizabeth, Anne, father, mother, and Uncle Bob make up the family party which set out for a sailing holiday in the 'Tessa'. No one could have foreseen all that happened on the eventful cruise or that they would have to rescue two Frenchmen out of the sea at dead of night.
There is a sparkling freshness and humour in these tales of the animals of the Borneo jungle, where no animal was permitted to kill. The animals were worried because the White Man was coming closer and closer to their haunts, chopping down the trees and burning them
Garnet Linden, a nine-year-old girl who lives on a farm in Wisconsin with her two brothers. After finding a silver thimble, a drought ends, and she begins to have delightful adventures: being accidentally locked in the town library; hitchhiking to the nearest city, New Conniston; entering her prized pig into a regional fair.
PS 90
Malay Adventure
J. S. Phillips
Stanislaus Brien
1955
A 19th-century tale of pirate war boats and of British sailors rowing up tropical rivers to smoke the pirates from their stockades
The Dunnet children's parents leave suddenly to see to the ailing grandmother somewhere in Europe. They tell the children that they are old enough to look after themselves - rather that Susan (aged 13) and Bob (aged 11) are quite capable of looking after twins Joseph and Samuel (aged 9) and baby of the family Alice (aged 6). Quickly evicted from their rented cottage, the children set up home in a nearby barn where the adventure rapidly becomes a saga of survival against starvation and the attentions of local busybodies
PS 92
The Puffin Quiz Book
Norman & Margaret Dixon
John Woodcock
1956
PS 93
Boy of the Indian Frontier
Wray Hunt
Alfred Hackney
1955
The exciting story of the son of a native officer who saves the regiment from annihilation
The story of a brother and sister, Peter (aged 12) and Santa (aged 11). When their aunt dies, there are plans to send them to orphanages. They don't want to be separated, so they run away to their Uncle Gus, who works for a circus. During the summer, in travelling with the circus, they mature and find their places in the circus community.
Translated by Eileen Hall. This is the classic story of the little girl who goes to live with her grandfather who lives in seclusion. She charms and softens her grumpy grandpa and later helps a crippled girl to regain her health and walk again.
Norman and Henry Bones, the boy detectives, famous in the B.B.C.'sChildren's Hour, in four stories of mystery and detection. The boys are cousins, who live the same Norfolk village. Henry is fourteen, Norman two years older. They cycle around, and know everyone within miles of their homes. They are on pleasant terms with the local police - and they always play fair!
Further adventure on the Romney Marsh with the characters dealing with the effects of a severe storm on their village. They must deal with floods, homelessness and other misfortunes.
A thriller about a flight to the Moon, a race between the genuinely scientific party and a gang of crooks who need to get there first in order to claim control for the sake of its rich mineral resources. This is a shortened version of the original edition leaving out lengthy technical discussions
Cover illustration by Betty Middleton-Sandford. A collection of nineteen Greek myths and legends including such tales as The Story of Prometheus, The Wanderings of Heracles, The Quest for the Golden Fleece, and The First Fall of Troy
The Good Master is set in the Hungarian countryside before World War I and tells the story of wild young Kate, who goes to live with her Uncle's family when her father can't control her.
A young boy, working on his uncle's farm in Vermont, finds wild horse that had been badly treated first. He slowly tames Snow Cloud which saves a man and becomes a hero
Richard Williams, PUFFIN STORY BOOKS, PS 1 - PS 148, 1941–1960, British Paperback Checklist No. 33, 2010. This checklist contains valuations, publisher information, names of illustrators, and alphabetic lists of books, authors and illustrators. Available at http://www.abebooks.com/richard-sylvanus-williams-1976-north-lincolnshire/465871/sfAccessed 2014-07-15
References
^According to Phil Baines, Puffin by Design: 70 Years of Imagination 1940–2010, London: Allen Lane, 2010, p.66.