Childcraft, also known as Childcraft – The How and Why Library, is a multi-volume illustrated encyclopedia for children, which originated in 1934.
Childcraft, also known as Childcraft – The How and Why Library, is a multi-volume illustrated encyclopedia for children, which originated in 1934.
The Childcraft series was first published in 1934 by W. F. Quarrie & Company, then publishers of the World Book encyclopedia. The title was Childcraft – The How and Why Library.
Childcraft was created as an encyclopedia for young children with simple texts and illustrations designed to make learning fun. Each volume addressed different subjects, including literature — such as short stories and poetry, including fairy tales and nursery rhymes — as well as mathematics and the sciences.
Starting out as seven volumes in the late 1930s, the series was re-issued in a new edition every few years, sometimes incorporating new volumes and re-arranging existing ones. It grew to 15 volumes in the 1950s, and remained there, though further changes were made in later editions. An Italian translation, published by Field Educational Italia between 1964 and the late 1970s, was called I Quindici, I Libri del Come e del Perché ("The Fifteen, The Books of How and Why"); "Fifteen" referred to the 15 volumes comprising the English edition of Childcraft – The How and Why Library at the time.
The Childcraft set also added a separate, optional, special annual volume each year, starting in 1965. Some of these were later incorporated as regular volumes.
In addition, by the 1980s the series had broadened its reach to a dozen foreign language editions, with editions shipped to over 50 countries around the world.
The 2025 edition consists of the following 10 unnumbered volumes:
The 2011–2013 edition consists of the following 12 unnumbered volumes:
The 2000-2007 edition consists of the following 15 volumes:
The 1985–1996 edition consists of the following:
The 1973–1982 edition consists of the following:
The last several volumes of the 1954 edition were aimed at parents-to-be and the parents of young children, rather than the children themselves. The full fifteen-volume set consisted of the following:
The following "Childcraft Annual" volumes were released.