Puffins are not baby Penguins

Sometime in 2010 Puffin Books turns 70. This may or may not be the first time anything has been said of the fact, but you can treat it as news nonetheless. The Puffin imprint began in 1940, but perhaps became the kind of imprint that we think of today when in 1961 an incredible editor Kaye Webb worked to transform how Puffin published books. From our online history: Kaye Webb's belief was that children themselves needed a living relationship with books and so in 1967 she created the much-loved Puffin Club, which soon gained tens of thousands of members. "It will make children into readers" she promised Penguin Founder Allen Lane. And (here comes the cliché) the rest is as they say history.

Just last year Penguin celebrated its own 70th. Most probably remember — for some vividly — Penguin's 70th Anniversary Campaign that swept her majesty's kingdom in 2005. The campaign consisted of a special series of 70 short stories (which is currently going for only £50), a V&A exhibit, Penguin by Design by Phil Baines, a biography of Allen Lane and more. But long before any of this celebration took place, Penguin took the anniversary as an opportunity to stop and consider where it was and where it was going. Penguin stopped. Stopped and asked itself hard questions. Who or what is Penguin? What does Penguin mean to Britain or to the world for that matter? Is Penguin more than just books? Was orange the right colour? Was milk really a bad choice? (ok maybe no that last one).

Just yesterday was the first official sit down for Puffin. Publishers and editors, marketers and directors carefully assembled and put down their pointy objects in a gesture of peace, to take a pause and ask those same questions. What does Puffin mean today? What do we want to remember (well, besides all of it)? It could not have come at a better time either. 2006 is looking to be a milestone year of achievement. And while there were plenty of ideas for promos and savvy publishing projects that tell the tale of Puffin while shaking up those dusty bookstore shelves, it was obvious that these questions are not limited to the 9 or so people in the room. Not to mention that I have hardly worked here some 9 months. What do I know?

So I open the question to you. What does Puffin mean to you? What do people remember? Cherish? Judge? Criticise? And what would you like to see us do in 2010? Afterall, like Penguin, Puffin is not a brand that just sits there idly on the shelf. It is a part of us all. Or is it? What say you? And who knows, we might even pilfer your ideas.

Justin Renard, Puffin Marketing Officer

Comments

[claire]

I was brought up on books and when I was at secondary school my Mum owned a children's bookshop. Meg and Mog, Jan Pienkowski, Ryamond Briggs, Janet & Allan Ahlberg, Milly Molly Mandy and Spot all bring back very happy memories.

[papyrus]

I remember the Puffin Club and was an avid member. It didn't turn me into a reader because I was one already. But it certainly drew me into the world of books in a way nothing had previously done. I remember winning a book from the Puffin club. It was The Prisoner of Zenda, if I remember rightly. I'll probably not pick up much of the celebrations as I'm no longer living in the UK but I wish you all the best.

[Amelia]

Puffin books were such a big part of childhood and growing up - I am sure that I was in the Puffin Club (though I can't remember much about it!) Puffin books did seem to be me to be smarter, more interesting than others, "real" literature if you like.

[beeker]

Puffin was and is a badge (rather than a brand), in the best way possible. A badge of good books. And for me, of the happiest childhood memories. Reading quietly with my bookish grandpa. Being read to. Those particular books that are special when you visit someone's house, which you always pulled off the shelf with a sense of familiar anticipation. Finding new worlds at an age where everything's so new anyway that you're credulous about whatever you find.
I'd like to see Puffin (online in particular) recover some of his old aesthetic. I'd like to see the Puffin do new things - online, in schools...but I want him to look more like he did before. (I think he can afford to be a bit serious again - that's part of the magic.)

[helenltaylor]

Puffin via the Puffin Club offered my first sense of how books could connect me and give me a sense of belonging. The Puffin Club made me feel important and valued. That as a reader, I was worthy of being taken seriously. That's quite an unusual experience when you are young. I remember there being stickers.

[Robert Rees]

I was a member of the Puffin Club and fondly remember the club magazines. It did encourage me to read things that I was already leaning towards but I'm not sure it switched my interests to anything radically different.

However I do think that it helped to create a sense of belonging to something which matters to children. Particularly if other children around you are not particularly bookish.

I'm not sure the Puffin Club as was would appeal to children today but the sense of community seems as important as ever.

[Sherief Hassan]

I remember the Puffin club with great affection and nostalgia.

I was lucky enough to go to the Puffin events at the Commonwealth institute, giving me the opportunity to meet authors like Roald Dahl, Spike Milligan and Quentin Blake to name a few.

I was also lucky enough to spend some time with Kaye Webb, who I remember as a marvelous, gentle and intelligent woman who treated all of the children she met with a respect that I think is lacking in many areas of media today.

I wish something like the old Puffin club was around today - It would need a bit of a spruce up to embrace the changes in technology, but its role as an education tool to bring children into reading is as relevant today as it was then.

The current incarnation of the Puffin club is laudable as a means to provide books for schools and to engage children in the habit of aquiring books, but the creative aspect seems sadly lacking.

It should also be remembered that some of todays writers had their first work published in the pages of 'Puffin Post'.

Above all, I have to agree with the sentiments posted above - As 'Puffineers', we were part of a community that felt respected and listened to -

[Josna Rege]

I was introduced to Puffins as an eight-year-old in the early 60's, and have loved them ever since. My parents would let me collect the family's small change, and when it added up to 60 drachma, I could go out and buy a Puffin book. Then, living in India, I was allowed to choose several Puffins regularly from the latest catalogue, and when they arrived a few weeks later in a paper parcel, I would disappear into other worlds for weeks on end. As an adult I've saved all my old Puffins, and collected still more in America after my son was born here. I read all my old favorites to him, and they became his as well: Swallows and Amazons, The Family from One End Street, The Children Who lived in a Barn, Stig of the Dump, The Railway Children (and all the E. Nesbits), Friday's Tunnel (an all-time favorite), The Silver Sword, and so many more. It seemed to me that many more recent children's writers talked down to their readers, something that Puffin authors never did. To echo the previous comment, I always felt respected as a serious reader. I also loved the illustrations, and greeted familiar illustrators like old friends. I'm generally an anti-corporate type, but feel a strong identification with the old Puffin logo (pre 1970s), as well as the Penguin ones. (By the way, I like the new (post 2003) Puffin logo, much better than the one in-between.)

Thank you, all the best, and I look forward to any 70th anniversary celebrations in 2010.