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Books

Sylvia Townsend Warner, the author whose first book was chosen as the first Book of the Month selection in 1926, was openly involved in relationships with both men and women, a fact that scandalized readers.

Don’t Judge the Book-of-the-Month Club By Its Cover

Although today you might associate its name with staid offerings, the club’s first book was by an openly queer author

Patrick O'Brien, "Dinosaur and Volkswagen," Gigantic, 1998, oil on canvas - How big is “gigantic?” Patrick O'Brien shares his life-long fascination with the illustrations of prehistoric animals in children's books with a new generation of young readers. Other images in Gigantic compare dinosaurs with modern devices such as monster trucks, cherry pickers and tanks. O’Brien lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Art Meets Science

A New Exhibition Explores the Science and Math in Children’s Book Illustrations

The 29 artworks on display capture the wonder in nature, engineering and discoveries

What did J.P. Morgan's library smell like in 1906?

Cool Finds

Nosy Researchers Are Sniffing a Vintage Library

It’s all an effort to recreate an olfactory landscape of yore

Five Things to Know About Little Golden Books

What to know as the iconic series of children’s books celebrates 75 years

Walt Whitman photographed in 1854, two years after his serialized novella was first published anonymously.

A Graduate Student Just Discovered a Lost Work of Fiction by Walt Whitman

The serialized novella was first published anonymously in 1852

The first "phone book" (really a one-page sheet) came long before phones like this, but it was an important step towards the printed directories that were ubiquitous in the twentieth century and are now often considered outdated.

The First Telephone Book Had Fifty Listings and No Numbers

It came out less than two years after Alexander Graham Bell invented the device

Abraham Lincoln photographed shortly after the presidential election in November 1860, by Alex Hesler of Chicago, at Lincoln's home in Springfield, Illinois.

When Lincoln Was More a Politician Than an “Honest Abe”

He resorted to a dirty trick to embarrass a rival

Clifford the Big Red Dog has been delighting children for years. This collection was released by Scholastic in honor of the pooch's 50th birthday in 2013.

The Aww-Inspiring Origins of Clifford the Big Red Dog

Norman Bridwell, Clifford’s creator, was also a lot like his creation

One of the first teddy bears has been in the Smithsonian's collection for over a half-century.

Some of the Most Important (and Cutest) Teddy Bear Moments of the Past 114 Years

The American toy was introduced in 1903, and almost immediately made its mark

File this case to the "true crime" section.

Thieves Rappelled Into a London Warehouse in Rare Book Heist

The burglars made out with more than 160 books worth an estimated $2.5 million

Smart Startup

Will This App Turn More Readers On to Serialized Fiction?

Releasing a chapter at a time, Radish could have us binge reading romance and mystery novels

Mr. Darcy as depicted in a tailored blue Regency-styled suit.

Meet the Historically Accurate Mr. Darcy

A team of experts on fashion and social culture offer their take on Jane Austen’s brooding hero

A woodcut from 1482 is yours for the coloring in a book by the Bodleian Library.

Cool Finds

#ColorOurCollections Is Back, Turning Your Favorite Cultural Institutions Into Coloring Books

In its second year, it’s more vibrant than ever

Just call it "the house on Pooh corner."

Cool Finds

The House Where ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ Was Written Is for Sale

The 9.5-acre estate was once home to Christopher Robin and A.A. Milne

Beatrix Potter Books

How Beatrix Potter Invented Character Merchandising

Faced with rejection, the author found her own path to fame and fortune

Atlas of Eating

Celebrated Middle Eastern Food Writer Claudia Roden Shares Stories and Recipes From Her Kitchen

For Roden, food is a lens to understand history

Margaret at Stafford House on Cumberland Island, holding her first copy of Fox Eyes, illustrated by Jean Charlot. This story was inspired by her time on Cumberland as a teenager.

The Surprising Ingenuity Behind “Goodnight Moon”

Author Margaret Wise Brown used new theories in childhood education to write the classic children’s book

Anger is no match for Patience—no matter how large her sword.

Cool Finds

Here’s What Happens in a “Comic Book” Drawn by Medieval Monks

Psychomachia pits vice against virtue in a battle for human souls

Atlas of Eating

On the Dangers of Erotic Truffles

A 19th-century investigation into the power of the aphrodisiac

Samuel Clemens often told stories to his children, but only one has survived.

Cool Finds

New Mark Twain Fairy Tale Unearthed

The previously unknown—and unfinished—story was hiding in plain sight

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