On Dec. 1, 2021, an article I wrote about the “Childcraft” books appeared in The Epoch Times. Several days later, a reader notified me that his grandfather and his father had both worked in executive positions for World Book, which published the “Childcraft” set as well as the World Book Encyclopedia.
His kind note brought back many pleasurable memories of that encyclopedia. My parents purchased a set for our family when I was around 11 years old. And for the rest of the years I remained at home, I often spent time on the sofa in the living room, browsing the pages, skipping from the Egyptians—I can still recollect the illustrations of their dress—to Napoleon, to whatever other topic struck my fancy. Yes, those volumes were educational and certainly helped with high school research projects, but mostly I read them for the sheer fun of it.
