Collecting children’s books can be great fun for everyone - young and old alike.

By Amy Whorf

The Secret Garden, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Wizard of Oz, Tales from Grimm, Anne of Green Gables, The Wind in the Willows: all treasured stories that have endured through the generations. Children’s books today now represent one of the fastest growing segments of the publishing market. Thanks to the record-breaking Harry Potter phenomenon in recent years, young people and books are more inseparable than ever. It is not only enthusiastic readers who welcome the plethora of offerings, collectors also have discovered the charms of children’s books.

“Collecting,” says Kenneth Gloss, proprietor of Boston’s Brattle Book Shop, successor to the oldest continuously operated antiquarian book shop in America, “is always a personal choice, so there is really no right or wrong way to collect, especially in the field of children’s books which is so broad and diverse.”

Among the less than obvious collectibles that Gloss would include as “children’s books” are old Horn Books, New England primers, old readers and tract society publications. He notes a renewed interest by collectors in the boys’ series such as Horatio Alger, Tom Swift and The Hardy Boys. And some collectors, adds Gloss, “acquire many versions of a particular story, like Robin Hood or A Christmas Carol, which has been retold and re-illustrated over the years. Others collect only Caldecott and Newbery winners. My advice to anyone beginning a collection would be to specialize, give a focus to the collection.”

One way in which collectors give focus to their library, says Gloss, is by collecting first editions, limited editions, or signed editions. Renewed appreciation for the classics has spawned a flurry of reprints that in turn have piqued interest in the original edition. “First edition is a key term that people hear. I point out that most books that came out in a first edition never came out in a second and probably should not have had a first edition to begin with! First edition really means something if the book is distinguished by its author, its subject, or its illustrations. In other words, there must be some appeal to collectors that puts the book in demand. Ultimately, it comes down to supply and demand. First editions of children’s books can be quite rare and valuable because children’s books were generally not published in large numbers.”

“Condition can also be very important in assessing the collectibility of a book,” says Gloss, “but a less than perfect condition can be overlooked if the book is a rarity. The slightest mar in the dust jacket of a modern book can reduce the value of that book to a fraction of what it might be worth if the jacket were in mint condition. Other intrinsic characteristics that make a book collectible are beautiful illustrations or high quality leather binding. I have to stress that each book must be appraised on its own merits, as an individual item. Every collector must determine his or her own reason for collecting. Not everyone cares about investment value. Many people collect for aesthetic, sentimental or historical reasons.”

For whom one will be collecting, be it a toddler, pre-teen, young adult, or oneself, is another consideration. When the time comes to introduce books to children, parents often return to the favorites from their own childhood. “That sentimental journey made by many new parents,” says Gloss, “is a good way to begin to give a child’s library a focus.” The pleasures in recollecting one’s own, childhood reading memories are a positive way to impart to a child the excitement and joys of reading.

Gloss believes that the correct introduction to books can make all the difference. He tells the story of a five-year old in East Boston who was read adventure stories by his teachers. So entranced was the child by tales of heroic deeds, mischief, and travel that after school each day he retold the stories to his young friends. This five-year old was Gloss’ late father, George Gloss, who made books and the Brattle Book Shop his life.

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the field of children’s books, and you know what you want to collect, go to book shows and browse the children’s section of a good bookstore or a library. Do not neglect second-hand book shops such as the Brattle Book Shop that offer patrons a vast changing inventory of general fiction, fairy tales, mystery, folk tales, adventure, poetry, humor and animal stories.

Send for catalogues and publication lists of publishers and subscribe to magazines that review children’s books. Consult trade publications, classic book lists at libraries, librarians, the Internet’s vast resources and other parents.

Now, if you happen to run across one of the first editions of Harry Potter books, please call Ken. He says that today they sell for $20,000 and up! Remember his guideline about rarity? Not many were printed, as the publisher had no idea it would be such a runaway bestseller.

The Brattle Book Shop is located at 9 West Street in Boston’s Downtown Crossing section and open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. More information is at www.brattlebookshop.com or call 800-447-9595. Ken is often seen as a book appraiser on PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow.”

Amy Whorf is a Hingham-based writer and photographer and author of My Provincetown.