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Children's Popular Culture

What are Big Little Books?

Big Little Books were published from the 1920s through the 1960s (roughly) and were popular with children and youth, primarily for their size and content.  Three different companies published Big Little Books: Whitman, Saalfield, and Lynn, but the format was essentially the same. Size ranged a bit, but they were small enough (3.5" - 4.5" tall) and thick enough (1-2" thick) to fit smaller hands with ease.  Each book had the same format (illustration on one side, text on the other), but genre varied widely.  The BPCL's collection as TV adaptations, comic adaptations, western fiction, mystery fiction, science fiction, and much more.  They can be found in LIbrarySearch by searching by local call number biglittleno and also by keyword using "big little books"

How to Use the BPCL & What to Bring With You

  • BPCL's hours are more limited than the main floor, but we're open late on Monday and Tuesday.
  • We're an archive/repository, so most of our materials cannot be checked out.
  • Most of our collection is not open for browsing. You need to request materials at our reference desk with your university ID or a photo ID. 
  • The reference collection is open for browsing! It's one of the best places to get started with popular culture research.
  • We have a copier and a scanner available for copying/scanning materials that cannot be checked out.  There is a fee for copying, but scanning is free.