Publisher · founded 1940 · London

Puffin

Puffin is Penguin's children's imprint, launched in 1940 with Puffin Picture Books and expanded into fiction from 1941; it is now part of Penguin Random House.

Editions tracked
398
First editions
166
Books
389
Years
1942 to 2025

Search all Puffin editionsWebsiteWikidata

About Puffin

Puffin is the children's imprint of Penguin Books, launched on 2 April 1940 after Noel Carrington, then an editor of Country Life books, put the idea to Penguin's founder Allen Lane in 1939; it is now part of Penguin Random House.

Puffin began with Puffin Picture Books, illustrated non-fiction inspired partly by Russian children's books and the French Père Castor series; the list opened with War on Land. Fiction followed in 1941 as Puffin Story Books, starting with Barbara Euphan Todd's Worzel Gummidge, under Eleanor Graham, the first Puffin editor, who saw the list through the paper rationing of the 1940s.

Kaye Webb became editor in 1961 and stayed until 1979; the list grew from 51 titles when she arrived to 1,213 in print by 1969. She started the Puffin Club and its magazine Puffin Post in 1967. Under Webb, Puffin issued paperback originals such as Clive King's Stig of the Dump (1963). Authors on the list have included Philippa Pearce, Rosemary Sutcliff, Alan Garner and Roald Dahl.

How to spot a Puffin first edition

We have not yet written the guide to Puffin's first-edition conventions. Until we do, check each book's own page: we list its points where we know them. Know how Puffin marked its firsts? Tell us.

AuthorsRick Riordan (29)Gabrielle Charbonnet (19)Jeff Kinney (15)Eoin Colfer (13)Elisabetta Dami (11)Lloyd Alexander (7)Jacqueline Woodson (7)Eric Carle (6)Cathy Cassidy (6)John Flanagan (6)

SeriesDiary of a Wimpy KidArtemis FowlOz book seriesRedwallThe Heroes of OlympusPercy Jackson & the OlympiansThe Trials of ApolloLittle House on the Prairie

Books

Published by Puffin

Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

How do I identify a Puffin first edition?

Check the title page and the copyright page: a Puffin first edition gives the first date of publication with no later impression or edition stated. Each book's page here lists its own points.

How many Puffin books does MyVolumes track?

We track 398 editions published by Puffin, 166 of them first editions, across 389 books.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026.