CliffsNotes facts for kids
CliffsNotes are popular study guides that help students understand books and other school subjects. They come in small books or can be found online. Some people think these guides let students avoid reading the actual books. However, CliffsNotes says they want students to read the original works. They believe their guides help students understand the main ideas better.
The Story of CliffsNotes
CliffsNotes began in 1958. A man named Clifton Hillegass from Nebraska started the company. He was working at a book company when he met Jack Cole. Jack Cole owned a Canadian book business called Coles. Coles already published study guides called Coles Notes. Jack Cole sold Clifton Hillegass the rights to sell these guides in the U.S.
Clifton Hillegass and his wife, Catherine, started their business in their home basement. They began with sixteen guides for plays by William Shakespeare. By 1964, they were selling one million guides every year! Today, CliffsNotes are available for hundreds of different books and topics. The name "CliffsNotes" has become so famous that people sometimes use it to mean any similar study guide.
Over the years, CliffsNotes has been owned by different companies. IDG Books bought CliffsNotes in 1998. Then, John Wiley & Sons bought IDG Books in 2001. In 2011, CliffsNotes worked with TV producer Mark Burnett. They created short, 60-second video study guides for books. In 2012, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt bought CliffsNotes. Most recently, in 2021, Course Hero acquired CliffsNotes.
Other Study Guides
- 60second Recap
- BookRags
- Coles Notes
- Enotes
- Letts and Lonsdale
- Masterplots
- Schaum's Outlines
- Shmoop
- SparkNotes
- York Notes
