Usborne
Usborne is a London children's publisher founded in 1973 by Peter Usborne, a co-founder of Private Eye, selling through bookshops and its Usborne Books at Home network.
- Editions tracked
- 30
- First editions
- 19
- Books
- 28
- Years
- 1977 to 2021
About Usborne
Usborne is a British children's book publisher founded in London on 5 December 1973 by Peter Usborne, which writes, edits and designs its books with its own in-house team.
Founder. Peter Usborne had been one of the founders of the satirical magazine Private Eye and its first managing director from its launch in 1961. He later worked at the British Printing Corporation and turned to children's books after learning he was to become a father, founding his own firm in 1973. He died on 30 March 2023, aged 85.
Notable series. Its series have included the Usborne Puzzle Adventures and the Usborne Spinechillers.
Selling. Besides bookshops, Usborne sells through Usborne Books at Home, a multi-level direct-selling network set up in Britain in 1981. In the United States, Educational Development Corporation runs direct sales (through PaperPie, renamed from Usborne Books & More in 2023), while HarperCollins handles distribution to the retail trade.
We have not yet written the guide to Usborne's first-edition conventions. Until we do, check each book's own page: we list its points where we know them. Know how Usborne marked its firsts? Tell us.
Authors
Published by Usborne
Frequently asked questions
How many Usborne books does MyVolumes track?
We track 30 editions published by Usborne, 19 of them first editions, across 28 books.
Where these facts come from
- Usborne Publishing, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Peter Usborne, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Usborne Publishing (Q3552538), Wikidata (wikidata.org)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 19 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.