The overwhelming success of Little Golden Books prompted a merchandizing bonanza. The market was flooded with an amazing array of items, including records, puzzles, activity books, games and coloring books associated with some of the more popular characters in the books.
The Little Golden puzzles were first introduced in the early 1950s and packaged in a box that looked similar to the book covers. The lid was decorated with a full size colorful illustration from one of the books and embellished with the familiar gold oak leaf and animals border that was the signature feature on the spines of all Little Golden Books. The illustration found on the lid was the identifying feature and the name of the story associated with the puzzle was found only on the bottom of the box along with a listing of additional puzzles that were part of the series. The seven large puzzle pieces, printed on a heavy perforated sheet of cardboard, were clearly intended for the preschooler or kindergarten age child.
This Little Golden Picture Puzzle showing a clown dancing alongside a bear and an alligator, balancing their alphabet letters, is from The Little Golden Book of ABCs written and illustrated by Cornelius De Witt.
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