Publisher:Wonder Books

This page is the wiki-page for the publisher or imprint Wonder Books. This page may be used for extended notes about the publisher, including alternate names, changes of ownership, associated imprints, locations, etc. The link above leads to the ISFDB publisher record for Wonder Books. To discuss what should go on this page, use the talk page. For more on this and other header templates, see Header templates.

Wonder Books began publishing in 1946 (or possibly slightly before then). They were originally owned by Random House. In 1949, they began using Curtis Publishing Company for their distribution services. In 1953, Wonder Books was acquired by a joint venture company comprised of Curtis and Grosset & Dunlap. (Hence some early Wonder Books are reprints of Grosset & Dunlap titles, and were published with those earlier copyright dates.) They published books up until 1977, when Curtis Publishing shut down and its assets were sold to Kent State University. In 1981, Curtis Management Group was founded to "license publicity rights", and apparently to license remaining copyrights. Reprints were published, especially by Price/Stern/Sloan, until 1986.

Wonder Books focused on young readers, and published several series at various early reader levels. These series include "Wonder Books", "How and Why Wonder Books", "Little Wonder Books", "Wonder Book Easy Reader", "Wonder Starters", "Young Readers Wonder Books", "To Read Aloud", and possibly others. The only series with very many books of interest to us is the primary "Wonder Books" series. This series began with #501, and the last book published was #896, although the penultimate book in the series appears to be #871. At this time there does not seem to be a good list online of the books in this series so, for the possible convenience of other children's book fans, we include the full list (so far as we know it) here. This complete list is also useful for identifying the likely print dates of various editions. These books often show only the copyright dates, so for later printings (as revealed by the list of available books in most of these books) and for reprint editions (with a change in the book number), the copyright dates on the other books in the series are necessary to determine actual printing dates. We have been unable to locate any data for Wonder Books 503, 658, 670, 671, 801, 806, 809, 813, 814, 856, 861, 863, 864, and 870. Some of these, especially the later numbers, may have been planned and never published.

The list of known books, with earliest copyright dates and reprintings listed (when known) is shown below. Books that might be speculative fiction, and hence might have reason to be included in this database, are shown with a * before the number. Those books that are currently included in the database are shown with a **.

Series #	© date	Title
501	1946	Mother Goose
502	1946	The Cozy Little Farm
504	1946	The Little Dog Who Forgot How to Bark
* 505	1946	Famous Fairy Tales
506	1946	The ABC and Counting Book
507	1946	Bedtime Stories
508	1946	Why The Bear Has a Short Tail and Other Stories (reprinted as "How The Rabbit Fooled The Whale And The Elephant")
509	1946	Randolph, the Bear Who said No
510	1946	The Race between the Monkey and the Duck
511	1947	The Shy Little Horse
512	1947	The Little Train That Won a Medal
513	1947	Peter Rabbit, Henny Penny, The City Mouse and the Country Mouse
514	1947	Storytime Favorites
515	[1942] 1947	How the Baby Hippo Found a Home (original copyright from Hi-po the Hippo, Random House)
515	1949	The Little Puppy Who Would Not Mind his Mother, and Other Stories
	Apparently reliable sources give each of these last two books as #515. It seems possible, but unlikely, that the latter is a re-naming of the former.
* 516	1948	The Magic Bus
517	1948	A Child's First Picture Dictionary
518	1949	Who Lives on the Farm?
519	1949	The Surprise Doll
520	1949	The Make-Believe Parade
521	1949	Monkey See Monkey Do
522	1949	Five Little Finger Playmates
523	1950	Mr. Bear Squash-You-All-Flat
524	1950	Wheels and Noises
525	1950	Who Does Baby Look Like?
526	1950	The Too-Little Fire Engine
527	1950	The Kitten's Secret
528	1950	The Little Lost Puppy
529	1950	The Kittens Who Hid From Their Mother
530	1950	The Four Puppies Who Wanted a Home
531	1950	The Hungry Little Bunny
532	1950	Heidi: Child of the Mountains
533	1950	Three Mice and a Cat
534	1950	The Cow in the Silo
535	1950	The Puppy Who Chased the Son
536	1950	Calling All Cowboys
537	1950	Jolly Jumping Man
538	1950	Let's Play Indian
539	1950	The Noisy Clock Shop
540	1950	It's a Secret
541	1950	The Baby Elephant
542	1950	The Fraidy Cat Kitten
** 543	1951	The Wizard of Oz
544	1951	Bambi's Children
545	1951	The Copycat Colt
546	1951	Baby Susan's Chicken
547	[1946]	Churkendoose (original copyright from a Ray Bolger record)
548	1951	The Baby Bunny
549	1950	The Roly-Poly Puppy
550	1950	The Bingity-Bangity School Bus
551	1951	The Giraffe Who Went to School
552	1951	Five Jolly Brothers
553	1951	The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Fish
554	[1946]	The Blowaway Hat (original copyright from a Reynal & Hitchcock book)
555	1951	The Brave Little Steam Shovel
556	1951	The Cats Who Stayed for Dinner
557	1951	Billy and His Steam Roller
558	1951	Little John Little
559	1951	Who Will Play With Me?
560	1951	Playtime for Nancy
561	1951	The Puppy Who Found a Boy
562	1951	The Playful Little Dog
563	1951	The Brave Firemen
564	1951	The Happy Birthday Present
565	1953	Are Dogs Better Than Cats?
566	1951	How the Clown Got His Smile
567	1951	The Goose Who Played the Piano
568	1952	The Hide-and-Seek Duck
569	1952	The Wonder Book of Trains
570	1951	A Little Cowboy's Christmas
571	[1947]	The Little Train That Saved the Day (A 1952 reprint of the 1947 Grosset & Dunlap title)
572	1951	The Snowman's Christmas Present
573	1952	The Little Car That Wanted a Garage
* 574	1951	Alice in Wonderland
575	1951	The Wonder Book of Christmas (Night Before Christmas, Friendly Beasts, Jingle Bells)
576	1951	The Wonder Book of Fun
577	1951	The Wonder Book of Bible Stories
578	1952	The Magic Word
579	1952	Hoppy, the Curious Kangaroo
580	1953	The Wonder Book of Boats
581	1952	The Wonderful Tar-Baby
582	1952	The Happy Surprise
583	1953	Good Morning, Good Night
584	1952	Mr. Wishing Went Fishing
585	1953	The Christmas Puppy
586	1953	Christmas in Song and Story
587	1953	The Story of the Christ Child
588	1952	Raggedy Ann and Marcella's First Day at School
589	1952	Just Like Mommy. Just Like Daddy
590	[1933]	The Story of Babar the Little Elephant (Copyright from the first English translations)
591	1952	Sonny the Bunny
592	[1940]	Babar and Father Christmas (Copyright from the Random House edition)
593	1952	Waiting for Santa Claus: Christmas Is Coming
594	1952	Raggedy Ann's Merriest Christmas
595	1952	Black Beauty
596	1953	The Traveling Twins
* 597	1952	Peter Pan
598	1953	Who Likes Dinner?
* 599	1952	Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales
600	1953	Peter Goes to School
601	1953	A Surprise for Mrs. Bunny
602	[1933]	Babar the Elephant (reprint of #590)
** 603	1953	Tom Corbett's Wonder book of Space
604	1953	Raggedy Andy's Surprise
605	1953	Can You Guess? (Guess What?) (also, just as "Guess What?)
606	1953	Baby's First Book
607	1953	Water, Water Everywhere
608	1954	Baby Animal Friends
* 609	1954	Little Red Riding Hood. The Three Little Pigs
610	1953	My ABC Book
611	1954	Peter Rabbit and Reddy Fox
612	1954	Sleepytime for Everyone
613	1954	Picnic at the Zoo
614	1954	Bunny Hopwell's First Spring
* 615	1954	Pinocchio
616	1954	The Wonder Book of Trucks
617	[1952] 1956	The Puppy on Parade (originally copyright by World Distributors)
618	1954	Johnny Grows Up
619	1954	The Wonder Book of Nursery Songs (also as “The Romper Room Book of Nursery Songs)
620	1955	The Surprise Party
621	1954	My Poetry Book
622	1954	The Nine Friendly Dogs
623	1954	Meet The Bobbsey Twins
624	1954	Raggedy Ann's Tea Party
625	1954	The Littlest Christmas Tree
626	1957	The Pony Engine (later enlarged to The Little Engine that Could, Grosset & Dunlap, 1958)
627	1955	The Wonder Book of Finger Plays and Action Rhymes
628	1955	The Big Joke
629	1955	What Happened to Piggy?
630	1954	See How It Grows
631	1955	The Helpful Friends
632	1956	It's a Lovely Day
633	1956	Mrs. Goose's Green Trailer
634	1959	The Make-Believe Book (not a reprint of "The Make-Believe Parade")
* 635	1956	Sleeping Beauty
636	1955	The Little Duck Said Quack, Quack, Quack
637	1956	The Wonder Book of Firemen and Fire Engines
638	1955	The Wonder Book of Clowns
639	1956	Lassie Come-Home
640	1956	The Wonder Book of Cowboys
641	1956	Little Peter Cottontail
** 642	1956	The Cowardly Lion
643	[1953] 1961	Bible Treasures (Original copyright by World Distributors))
644	1956	My Book About God
645	1956	The Lonely Pony
646	1959	Who Is My Friend? (Only one seller lists this book, hence the evidence for this copyright date is scarce.)
647	1956	The Lord's Prayer
648	1957	10 Rabbits
649	1956	Wild Bill Hickok
650	1956	Silver Chief: Dog of the North
651	1956	The Twelve Days of Christmas
652	1956	Kewtee Bear: Santa's Helper
653	1956	The Most Beautiful Tree in the World
654	1958	The Quiet Book
655	1957	The Rattle-Rattle Train
656	1958	The Rattle-Rattle Dump Truck
657	1956	I Love You
* 659	1955	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (original copyright from Treasure Books edition)
* 660	1954	Cinderella (original copyright from Treasure Books edition)
661	1953	My First Book of Prayers (Original copyright by World Distributors
662	1955	Mighty Mouse — Santa's Helper
663	1953	Baby's Day
664	1953	Henry in Lollipop Land
665	1953	Felix the Cat
666	1954	Blondie's Family
667	1955	Popeye
668	1957	How Peter Cottontail Got His Name
669	1958	Who Lives Here?
672	1954	Just Like Me
673	1953	Let's Take a Ride
674	1957	Lassie's Long Trip
675	1957	The Jingle Dingle Book
676	1958	I Can, I Can, I Can
677	1953	Mighty Mouse — Dinky Learns to Fly
678	1954	Mighty Mouse and the Scarecrow
679	1949	The Little Puppy Who Would Not Mind His Mother (reprint of #515)
680	1959	Let's Pretend
681	1957	A Camping Trip with the Range Rider
682	1957	The Wonder Book of Counting Rhymes
683	1957	A Puzzle for Raggedy Ann and Andy
* 684	1956	Flash Gordon and the Baby Animals
685	1954	Henny-Penny
686	1953	Let's Play Nurse and Doctor (Original copyright from Treasure Books edition)
687	1957	The Wonder Book of Happy Animals
688	1953	The Dress-Up Parade
689	1954	What Time Is It?
690	1958	A Visit to the Hospital
691	1954	Let's Go to School
692	1957	The Counting Book
693	1958	Let's Go Shopping
694	1957	Heckle and Jeckle
695	1957	Gandy Goose
696	1958	Tuggy the Tugboat
697	1958	Popeye Goes on a Picnic
698	1958	Crusader Rabbit
699	[1951]	Frisky, the Black Colt (probably a reprint of #545)
700	[1950]	Once Upon a Time (reprint of #534)
701	[1953]	Can You Guess? (Reprint of #605)
702	1958	Count the Baby Animals
703	1958	Tom Terrific
704	1958	A Child's Garden of Verses
* 705	1958	Dick Whittington and His Cat
* 706	1958	Aesop's Fables
* 707	1958	The Brave Little Tailor
708	1958	Mister Magoo
709	1958	The Quiet Little Indian
710	1958	Little Schoolhouse
* 711	1958	The Terrytoon Space Train
712	1958	Heckle and Jeckle Visit the Farm
** 713	[1953]	Tom Corbett: A Trip to the Moon
714	[1954]	Ten Little Fingers: A Book of Finger Plays (Copyright from Treasure Books)
715	1980	The Little Red Caboose That Ran Away
716	1956	Felix on Television
717	1958	Mighty Mouse to the Rescue
718	1958	The Choo Choo Train
719	1959	There Was Once a Little Boy (Copyright from Humpty Dumpty's Magazine)
720	1958	The Littlest Snowman (1956 copyright by Price/Stern/Sloan)
721	1959	My Book of Dolls
722	[1949]	Stacks of Caps
723	1959	This Magic World
724	1959	The House That Jack Built
725	1959	The Nonsense Alphabet
* 726	1959	Good Night Fairy Tales
727	1959	Raggedy Ann's Secret
728	1959	A Surprise for Felix
729	[1950]	The Little Engine That Laughed
730	1953	The Wonder Book of Favorite Nursery Tales
731	1959	The Big-Little Dinosaur
732	1959	A Visit to the Dentist
733	1960	A Visit to the Doctor
734	1959	The Funny Mixed-Up Story
735	1959	Tom Terrific's Greatest Adventure
736	1959	A Joke on Farmer Al Falfa
737	1959	The Busy Baby Lion
738	1959	Baby’s First Christmas
739	1960	Summer Friends
740	1960	Blow, Wind, Blow
741	1959	Bootsy
742	1960	Whose Hat Is That?
743	1960	Come and See the Rainbow
744	1960	The Little Garage Man
745	1960	My First Book of Riddles
746	1960	I See the Sky
747	1960	Insects We Know
748	1960	The Runaway Baby Bird
749	[1946] 1978	The Cozy Little Farm
750	1960	The House that Popeye Built
751	1950	Hoppy the Puppy
752	1960	Let's Give a Party
753	1960	Songs to Sing and Play
754	[1952]	A Horse for Johnny (Copyright from Treasure Books, "City Boy and the Country Horse")
755	1960	The Littlest Angel
756	[1952]	The Fixit Man (Copyright from Treasure Books edition)
757	1961	The Wonder Book of Birds
758	1960	The Minute-and-A-Half Man
* 759	1960	Little Audrey and the Moon Lady
760	1960	Deputy Dawg
* 761	1960	Casper the Friendly Ghost
762	1950	Rolling Wheels
763	1960	The Romper Room Do Bee Book Of Manners
764	1955	Let's Go Fishing (The Big Joke)
765	1961	Uncle Wiggily's Adventures
766	1961	Uncle Wiggily and His Friends
767	1961	Pecos Bill
768	1961	I See the Sea
769	1961	Hector Crosses the River with George Washington
770	1961	Deputy Dawg's Big Catch
771	1961	The Donkey Who Wanted to be Wise
772	1962	Peter Hatches an Egg
* 773	1961	Deputy Dawg and the Space Man
774	1963	The Bunny Sitter
775	1961	To Market, To Market
776	1961	December is For Christmas
777	1953	The Brave Little Duck
778	1955	Henry Goes to a Party
779	1961	Who Goes There?
780	1962	Fluffy Little Lamb
781	1961	The Shari Lewis Wonder Book
782	1961	The Wonder Book of Fish
783	1961	Dondi
784	1961	The Wonder Book of Flowers
785	1962	The Wonder Book of the Seashore
786	1963	The Wonder Book of Kittens
787	1961	Baby Huey
788	1961	Herman and Katnip
789	1961	What Is That?
* 790	1976	The Jetsons: The Great Pizza Hunt
791	1962?	Popeye’s Big Surprise
792	[1954]	What Are You Looking At? (Copyright from Treasure Books edition)
793	1962	The Really, Truly Treasure Hunt
794	1955	The Moppets' Surprise Party
795	1962	Morning Noises
796	1962	Over in the Meadow
797	1963	Baby Raccoon
798	1963	Petey Parakeet
799	1962	My First Book of Jokes
800	1962	The Costume Party
802	1962	The Doll Family
803	1962	Pelle's New Suit
804	1963	The Wonder Book of Puppies
* 805	1963	Casper the Friendly Ghost and Wendy, the Good Little Witch
807	1964	All in a Day's Work
808	1963	The Romper Room Laughing Book
810	1963	City Boy, Country Boy
811	1963	The Rabbits Give a Party
812	1947	Peter Rabbit
813	1954	Peter Cottontail and Reddy Fox (possible error on this #; see #843)
815	1963	Boy Who Wouldn't Eat His Breakfast
816	1963	Freddy and the Indians
817	1963	The Animals Build a House
818	1951	Merry Christmas Mr. Snowman
819	[1953]	Polly's Christmas Present (Reprint of #585)
820	1953	The Merry Christmas Book (reprints #586)
821	1963	Buzzy the Funny Crow
822	1963	I Can Do Anything . . . Almost
823	1963	ABC and Counting Rhymes
824	1963	Alvin's Lost Voice
825	1964	The Animals' Playground
826	1964	Around the World Cutout Book
827	1964	The Wonder Book of Trees
828	1963	Muskie and His Friends
829	1964	Ollie Bakes a Cake
830	1964	A Trick On Deputy Dawg
* 831	1964	Luno, the Soaring Stallion
832	[1946]	What Am I? I’m a Churkendoose! (reprint of 547)
833	1964	What Can We Do with Blocks?
834	1964	Look Who's Here!
835	1965	Diz and Liz
836	1964	Tutu the Little Fawn
837	1965	Clyde Crashcup and Leonardo
838	1964	The Wonder Book of Turtles
839	1964	The Animals' Vacation
840	1965	Hector Heathcote and the Knights
841	1965	Silly Sidney
842	1965	Once There Was a House
843	1954	Peter Cottontail and Reddy Fox
844	1954	So This is Spring!
845	1957	Nine Rabbits and Another (reprint of #648)
846	[1950]	What's for Breakfast? (Reprint of "The Hungry Little Bunny")
847	1951	The Hungry Baby Bunny
848	[1952]	Sonny the Lucky Bunny
849	1964	Barbie the Baby Sitter
* 850	1965	Casper The Friendly Ghost in Ghostland
* 851	1965	Puff the Magic Dragon
852	1965	Wonder Book of Cottontails & Other Rabbits
* 853	1965	Astronut and the Flying Bus
854	1965	The Romper Room Safety Book
* 855	1969	Casper and Wendy Adventures
857	1965	The Wonder Book of Horses
858	1949	The Night Before Christmas (reprint of #575?)
* 859	1952	Peter Pan
* 860	1965	Soupy Sales and The Talking Turtle
862	1950	The Smart Little Mouse
865	[1952]	Waiting For Santa Claus (reprint of #593)
866	1961	How the Rabbits Found Christmas
867	1956	Kewtee Bear's Christmas (reprints #652)
868	[1952]	Raggedy Ann's Christmas Surprise (Reprint of #594)
869	1951	Christmas Favorites including Night Before Christmas
877	1949	The Little Puppy Who Would Not Mind His Mother
896	[1964]	Around the World Cutout Book