10.10.06

Puffin Post from the Puffin Club


This should take a few people back - Vol 1, no 1 of the Puffin Post from 1967. If you joined the Puffin Club you would get a Puffin Post once a quarter - something very special to receive through the letter box. On the back cover - some of the latest puffin books published, inside - articles, stories, reviews, competitions, cartoons and illustrations, & general food for the imagination.

The Puffin Club was founded by the late Kaye Webb, editor of Puffin Books from 1961 to 1979, who did a wonderful job of making good quality, affordable childrens books accessible to the post-war generations. (Info found on SevenStories - the centre for children's books, now a missing link! The official Puffin site is about the only source of info I can find)

Here are the next three from 1967. All the drawings are by Jill McDonald, who drew many of the covers.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oooh, ooh, ooh ... I was a Puffin Clubber!

Johnnynorms said...

No way!! In that case I have only one thing to say to you: SNIFFUP! & where, what, how, when, which?

Anonymous said...

Hahhahhhahhhaaa. Won fifty puffin books in a writing/illustration comp in the mid 70's ... still have Ursula Le Guin and Tove Jansson's boxed sets!!! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh dear ... my puffins are penguins!?!

Johnnynorms said...

Your correct reply is SPOTERA! To think I remember that after all these years. Cor - I dreamed of winning a big pile of Puffin books - anon you were very talented back then too! I just won them one at a time. I wonder if I have a Puffin Post with you in?

Tove Jansson certainly rules on my bookshelf. Those delightful poetic Moomins and Snorks.

Puffins in penguin clothes?

Anonymous said...

Odd, I skipped off to find my old 'Puffin' books and sure enough they had the same little puffins and said so on the inside, but the writing says published by 'Penguin Books' on the outside! The books are confused but I have decided I was definitely a Puffin Clubber! Anon's story was published in the Puffin Post around 1975. It had possums in it and was named "Where I Live"! Would have been nice to live in Moomin Valley :)

Johnnynorms said...

Aye, the Moomin House - now that was a house! complete with verandah. Or would one go off wandering like Snufkin. Or lie in a hammock all day reading philosophy like the Muskrat. I have to read one now, but they're at my Mum's with the rest of the Puffin Posts including hopefully the one with Anon's possums.

Penguin published puffins, and pelicans. Not peewits, peacocks or peregrines though.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sorting bird pees ...

Johnnynorms said...

You have to love their little faeces.

Anonymous said...

Have you seen this?

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7947510775530054237&postID=951304317511409872&page=1

Anonymous said...

I am drowning in nostalgia! I was a founder member (no 2510) in 1967, and the highlight was going to a Puffin Club Picnic at a park in Dunfermline where the star guest was Eric Thompson of Magic Roundabout fame ( Emma's dad) I still have some of my old magazines....
My daughter aged 8 can't wait to join.....

Scotpuff

Johnnynorms said...

I joined much later than you Scottpuff, but my brother was a founder member too, and these early Puffin Posts are his.

Lucy P said...

Hi there! Stumbled upon your blog looking for reports on the Puffin Post launch party. You might like to know that the Seven Stories website is http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/home/index.php and the catalogue for the Kaye Webb collection (which I'm guessing is where your info came from) can be found by searching for Kaye Webb at http://collection.sevenstories.org.uk - the direct link is a bit unwieldy or I would give that. We have Kaye Webb's personal archive including lots of stuff related to the Puffin Club - we'd very much like people interested in children's literature to come and use the archives, so I thought you might like to know more!

Sniffup!

Lucy (PhD research student at Seven Stories)

Johnnynorms said...

That's interesting news about the relaunch of Puffin Post, Lucy - thanks for the info on your Kaye Webb archives as well. When I get a chance I'll post an update here.

Won't be the same without Kaye, Jill et al ofcourse!