How and Why Wonder Books facts for kids
How and Why Wonder Books were a popular series of illustrated books from the 1960s and 1970s. These American books were made to teach kids and young teens about science and history. The series started in 1960. Dr. Paul E. Blackwood helped edit the books. They were published by Wonder Books, Inc., which was part of Grosset & Dunlap.
Contents
Discovering How and Why Wonder Books
There were 74 different books in the original series. Each book's title started with "The How and Why Wonder Book of…". All 74 books were softcover. They measured about 8½ by 11 inches. Many titles also came in hardcover versions. These were called "Trade Editions" or "Library Editions." Most How and Why Wonder Books had 48 pages. The only exception was The Environment and You, which had 64 pages.
The softcover books were numbered starting from 5001. The last book, Fossils, was the only one that didn't follow this numbering. Hardcover books had a different numbering system.
Here are some of the exciting titles in the series:
- 5001 Dinosaurs
- 5002 Weather
- 5003 Electricity
- 5004 Rocks and Minerals
- 5005 Rockets and Missiles
- 5006 Stars
- 5007 Insects
- 5008 Reptiles and Amphibians
- 5009 Birds
- 5010 Our Earth
- 5011 Beginning Science
- 5012 Machines
- 5013 The Human Body
- 5014 Sea Shells
- 5015 Atomic Energy
- 5016 The Microscope
- 5017 The Civil War
- 5018 Mathematics
- 5019 Flight
- 5020 Ballet
- 5021 Chemistry
- 5022 Horses
- 5023 Explorations and Discoveries
- 5024 Primitive Man
- 5025 North America
- 5026 Planets and Interplanetary Travel
- 5027 Wild Animals
- 5028 Sound
- 5029 Lost Cities
- 5030 Ants and Bees
- 5031 Wild Flowers
- 5032 Dogs
- 5033 Prehistoric Mammals
- 5034 Science Experiments
- 5035 World War II
- 5036 Florence Nightingale
- 5037 Butterflies and Moths
- 5038 Fish
- 5039 Robots and Electronic Brains
- 5040 Light and Color
- 5041 Winning of the West
- 5042 The American Revolution
- 5043 Caves to Skyscrapers
- 5044 Ships
- 5045 Time
- 5046 Magnets and Magnetism
- 5047 Guns
- 5048 The Moon
- 5049 Famous Scientists
- 5050 The Old Testament
- 5051 Building
- 5052 Railroads
- 5053 Trees
- 5054 Oceanography
- 5055 North American Indians
- 5056 Mushrooms, Ferns and Mosses
- 5057 The Polar Regions
- 5058 Coins and Currency
- 5059 Basic Inventions
- 5060 The First World War
- 5061 Electronics
- 5062 Deserts
- 5063 Air and Water
- 5064 Stars
- 5065 Airplanes and the Story of Flight
- 5066 Fish
- 5067 Boats and Ships
- 5068 The Moon
- 5069 Trains and Railroads
- 5070 Ecology
- 5071 The Environment and You
- 5072 Extinct Animals
- 5073 Snakes
- 5076 Fossils
When the series began in 1960, only the first six titles were made. As the books became very popular, more new titles were added. Some titles were also updated and re-released with new numbers. For example, 5006 Stars became 5064 Stars. Even if the title was the same, the cover art and inside content were often changed. This makes it easy to tell the older and newer versions apart.
The first 69 books had beautiful Painted Covers in the 1960s. Later reprints in the 1970s used Photo Covers. Four of the last five books only had photo covers. These were Ecology, Extinct Animals, Snakes, and Fossils. Interestingly, The Environment and You only had a painted cover, even though it came out in the 1970s. Because of their cool artwork and nostalgic feel, these books are now popular collector's items.
The Mystery of Missing Numbers
Collectors often wonder about the missing numbers 5074 and 5075 in the series. It seems the publishers planned to use them, but they never did. The number 5075 was later used for a different book. The number 5074 was never assigned to any book.
New Editions by Price Stern Sloan
Later, another publisher, Price Stern Sloan, took over the How and Why series. They re-released many existing titles with new covers. They also added some new titles, such as:
- Space
- Solar System
- Living Things
- Planet Earth
- Motorcycles
- Automobiles
- Ships and Submarines
- Robots
- Radiation
- Aircraft
The first four of these new titles had "How and Why Wonder Books" above the main title. The rest went back to the original "The How and Why Wonder Book of..." style.
How and Why Activity Books
Price Stern Sloan also created a series of activity books. These books had mazes, puzzles, and games related to the topics. Some titles in this series included:
- Beginning Science
- Cats
- Dinosaurs
- The Earth
- Four Famous Dinosaurs
- Human Body
- Insects
- Prehistoric Animals
- Reptiles
- Rocks and Minerals
- Sharks
- Space
- Wild Animals
- Wild Animals of North America
The UK Series
During the 1960s and 1970s, the How and Why Wonder Book series was also published in the United Kingdom. Transworld Publishers in London released them. Most of the UK books had the same covers and content as the US versions. However, some UK versions had updated text or unique cover art. These changes often reflected European animals or local conditions.
The UK series used a different numbering system. For example, Dinosaurs was number 6501, and Stars was 6503. The UK version of Extinct Animals had a painted cover, unlike the US version's photo cover.
Here are some of the UK titles released by Transworld Publishers. Unless noted, their content and covers were like the American versions:
- 6501 Dinosaurs
- 6502 Weather
- 6503 Stars
- 6504 The Human Body
- 6505 Chemistry
- 6506 Horses
- 6507 Planets and Interplanetary Travel
- 6508 Wild Animals
- 6509 Lost Cities
- 6510 Dogs
- 6511 Fish
- 6512 Caves to Skyscrapers
- 6513 Our Earth
- 6514 The First World War (different cover art from US version)
- 6515 Explorations and Discoveries
- 6516 Mathematics
- 6517 Primitive Man
- 6518 Science Experiments
- 6519 The Microscope
- 6520 Flight
- 6521 Prehistoric Mammals
- 6522 Atomic Energy
- 6523 Robots and Electronic Brains
- 6524 Ballet
- 6525 Electricity
- 6526 Machines
- 6527 Sound
- 6528 Ants and Bees
- 6529 Light and Colour
- 6530 Reptiles
- 6531 Rocks and Minerals
- 6532 Beginning Science
- 6533 Famous Scientists
- 6534 The Polar Regions
- 6535 North American Indians
- 6536 The Lady of the Lamp (same as US Florence Nightingale book, but different title)
- 6537 Winning of the West
- 6538 Time
- 6539 Basic Inventions
- 6540 Magnets and Magnetism
- 6541 Old Testament
- 6542 Oceanography
- 6543 Building
- 6544 Deserts
- 6548 Rocks and Minerals (Revised Edition of #6531)
- 6550 Electronics
- 6551 Air and Water
- 6552 Railways (new text and cover art compared to US Railroads edition)
- 6553 Birds (revised text and unique cover art)
- 6554 Coins (new text and cover art compared to US Coins and Currency edition)
- 6555 Extinct Animals
- 6557 World War II (revised text and unique cover art)
- 6561 Wild Flowers (revised text and unique cover art)
- 6562 Trees (unique cover art)
- 6564 Fossils
- 6568 Butterflies and Moths (revised text and unique cover art)
- 6571 Insects (revised text and unique cover art)
- 6572 Robots and Electronic Brains (Revised Edition of #6523)
- 6575 Electronics (Revised Edition of #6550)
- 6579 Ships (unique cover art)
- 6580 Dogs (Revised Edition of #6510)
- 6581 Beginning Science (Revised Edition of #6532)
- 6585 Snakes
- 6586 Planets and Interplanetary Travel (Revised Edition of #6507)
- 6592 Weather (same cover as US edition, but revised content from #6502)
- 6595 Deserts (same content as US edition but unique cover compared to #6544)
Transworld also added new, unique titles to the UK series:
- 6545 The Tower of London
- 6546 Stamps
- 6547 Seashore
- 6549 Castles
- 6556 The Spoilt Earth
- 6558 Communications
- 6559 Dance
- 6560 Kings and Queens
- 6563 Photography
- 6565 Ancient Rome
- 6566 Common Market
- 6567 Volcanoes
- 6569 Vikings
- 6570 Cats
- 6573 Costume
- 6574 The Crusades
- 6576 The Motor Car
- 6577 Energy and Power Sources
- 6578 Radio and TV
- 6583 Heraldry
- 6587 Deep Sea
- 6589 Pets
- 6591 Arms and Armour
- 6596 Rare Animals
- 6597 Ancient Egypt
- 6598 Oil
- 6599 Parliament
- 6600 The Ice Age
- 6601 Arab World
Early UK editions had a checklist of books on their back covers. Later, the back covers showed photos of a random selection of books. Transworld also published two "BUMPER WONDER Books." These were activity books with puzzles, quizzes, jokes, and facts from the How and Why series. Many UK books also had an ad inside for a "Collector's Binder" to hold 12 books.
Translations Around the World
The How and Why Wonder Books were popular in other countries too!
Dutch Translations
Dutch versions were published in Belgium. They were called "HOE EN WAAROM" or "Het HOE EN WAAROM boek van." They first came out in softcover, then in hardcover.
German Translations
German translations started in 1961. They were published in Germany under the title "Was ist was". This German series was very successful. It even led to audio CDs and DVDs later on!
Creative Minds Behind the Books
Many talented people helped create the How and Why Wonder Book series. They included writers, artists, and photographers. Some worked on many books, while others contributed to just one.
Writers: Darlene Geis, George Bonsall, Jerome J. Notkin, Sidney Gulkin, Nelson W. Hyler, Clayton Knight, Norman Hoss, Ronald Rood, Robert Mathewson, Felix Sutton, Martin L. Keen, Donald F. Low, Donald Barr, Earl Schenck Miers, Esther Harris Highland, Harold Joseph Highland, Lee Wyndham, Margaret Cabell Self, Irving Robbin, Grace F. Ferguson, Robert Scharff, Gene Liberty, Jean Bethell, Dr. Gilbert Klaperman, Geoffrey Coe, Amy Elizabeth Jensen, Dr. Paul J. Gelinas, Clare Cooper Cunniff, Shelly Grossman, Mary Louise Grossman, Matthew J. Brennan and Georg Zappler.
Illustrators and photographers: Kenyon Shannon, George Pay, Robert Patterson, Charles Bernard, James Ponter, Cynthia Koehler, Alvin Koehler, Darrell Sweet, Douglas Allen, Ned Smith, Walter Ferguson, John Hull, George J. Zaffo, William Fraccio, Tony Tallarico, Leonard Vosburgh, Rafaello Busoni, Matthew Kalmenoff, Denny McMains, William Barss, Robert Doremus, Shannon Stirnweis, Shelly Grossman, Dougal MacDougal and John Barber.
Related Book Series
Two other series were similar to the How and Why Wonder Books. They were also softcover books from Grosset and Dunlap in the 1960s.
Spotlight Wonder Books
The Spotlight Wonder Book series focused on famous people or important places. They were the same size and length (48 pages) as the How and Why books. Titles included:
- 6900 The Story of John F. Kennedy
- 6901 Into Space with the Astronauts
- 6902 The Story of Winston Churchill
- 6903 The White House and the Presidency
- 6904 The Capitol and Our Lawmakers
- 6905 The Story of the American Negro
- 6906 The Story of the F.B.I.
- 6907 The Story of Pope John XXIII
The 7900 Series
The 7900 series was also similar in size and style. These books were about TV stars or fictional characters. Titles included:
- 7900 Portrait of Skipper
- 7901 Monsters
- 7902 Bewitched
- 7903 The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
- 7904 Soupy Sales
Conquest of the Moon
In 1969, Wonder Books/Grosset and Dunlap published Conquest of the Moon. This 64-page book had the same look as a How and Why Wonder Book. It included updated information from the earlier book The Moon (#5048). It also added the exciting story of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission.
