Little Golden Books Offering Many New Disney, Marvel, Star Wars Titles

Classic and new characters are receiving the Little Golden Book treatment in early 2020, with many of the titles already available to purchase.

Little Golden Books has released three “I Am” series titles. I Am Mulan (February 4) takes a look at the iconic animated heroine, just ahead of the March release of the live action film. I Am Anna and I Am Elsa, introductions to those characters, were released January 14. Each tells the story of Frozen from one character’s perspective. I Am Olaf will follow on September 1.

While I don’t agree with the publisher’s classification of Alan Batson’s illustration as “retro”, the crisp, lineless artwork is certainly eye-catching.

Two new titles feature legitimately retro art: Walt Disney’s Cinderella and Walt Disney’s Pinocchio, reprints from 1950 and 1953, respectively. Both board books have been available since January 28.

March’s Onward movie recently (February 4) received the Little Golden Book treatment, as did Frozen 2 (October 4, 2019). Disney-Pixar Soul will be available as a hardcover on May 19. Black Widow (January 7) features the Marvel super-spy, her skills, her friends, and enemies. The Falcon follows on July 7.

What’s coming up?

A neat surprise: Bao, Pixar’s animated short about an aging mother dealing with empty nest syndrome, is getting the picture book treatment. Domee Shi’s very personal film is an unlikely candidate for such a commercial book line as Little Golden Book, but I’m delighted that the choice was made. Look for it on July 28.

Ahsoka Tano learns about the Force from her teachers in Star Wars: I Am a Padawan (April 7). The title was written by Ashley Eckstein, the character voice actor in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. She’s shared life lessons with girls in a 2018 book, but this seems to be her fiction debut. A box set recapping all Star Wars Episodes I-IX will be released September 22.

Other upcoming titles include Coco (July 7) and Jungle Cruise (July 7).

Do you collect Little Golden Books? Did you read them as a kid? Tell us in the comment section below.