Some of the Most Valuable Children’s Books
Finding a dusty box of treasure in a creaky attic sounds like the start of a children’s story. Fittingly, the books our children outgrew and we packed away could now be worth a small fortune.
Classic children’s books are highly collectable, for several reasons. There is nostalgia: these stories take us back to an age of innocent wonder. There is the standing of the author or illustrator. Above all, there is rarity. The books collectors want are usually first editions, often printed in small numbers to test the market, especially for an unknown writer.
Condition is everything. Torn dust jackets, sticky fingerprints and crayon on the pages all reduce value, and many children’s books were given as presents with an inscription inside. But a fine early copy of a classic can be worth a great deal, which is one reason we recommend having household contents valued regularly.
Here are five to look out for.
Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling’s seven books turned a generation of children into readers. More than 500 million copies have been printed, so to find one that is valuable you have to go back to the very beginning.
The first three titles, The Philosopher’s Stone, The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban, are the ones that matter in first edition. Most valuable of all is the original Bloomsbury hardback of The Philosopher’s Stone. Only 500 were printed, around 300 of which went to libraries. Look for the number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the imprint page and ‘Joanne Rowling’ in the copyright line.
Prices have risen sharply. In 2021 an unread copy sold at Heritage Auctions in Dallas for $471,000, a record for any work of modern literature.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A film adaptation usually lifts interest in a book, and Roald Dahl’s tale of Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka has had two. First published in the United States in 1964, its first printing of 10,000 copies sold out within weeks. Copies from that printing, above all if signed by Dahl, are the ones collectors want.
Many of Dahl’s other books are collectable too, and copies signed by Dahl or by his illustrator, Quentin Blake, are in strong demand.
Winnie-the-Pooh
A.A. Milne’s bear first appeared in book form in 1926, published by Methuen, and has since been translated into dozens of languages, Latin among them. First editions in good condition are hard to find, and copies signed by both Milne and his illustrator, E.H. Shepard, command a premium.
Shepard’s drawings are almost inseparable from the stories, and his originals are highly prized. In 2018, his map of the Hundred Acre Wood from Winnie-the-Pooh sold at Sotheby’s for £430,000, then a record for a book illustration.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Perhaps a surprise, but Eric Carle’s 1969 picture book is one of the first many of us remember. It has been translated into more than 60 languages and has sold over 50 million copies.
True first editions are rare, and the book has been widely counterfeited, so provenance and careful checking matter. A fine first edition can be worth thousands of pounds, and in 2019 one of Carle’s original illustrations for the book sold for $20,000.
The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien is regarded as the father of modern fantasy, and The Hobbit, published by Allen & Unwin on 21 September 1937 in a first printing of just 1,500 copies, is where it began. Most are in private collections and come up for sale only rarely.
In 2015, a first edition inscribed by Tolkien in Old English sold at Sotheby’s for £137,000. First edition sets of The Lord of the Rings, published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955, can also make tens of thousands of pounds.
Do you have one?
Few collectables hold the same charm as children’s books, and few are so easily overlooked. If you own early copies of any of these titles, it is worth having them valued so that they are properly insured, and before any family books are given away or sold.
Coram James values books and libraries for insurance, probate and sale. Call 020 7305 7360 or contact us.
First published in 2020, updated October 2026.
