Childcraft is a multi-volume illustrated anthology for children, which originated in 1934.^[1]

The Childcraft series was originally created in 1934 by W. F. Quarrie & Company, then publishers of the World Book encyclopedia. The series' title was Childcraft – The How and Why Library.

Childcraft was created as a sort of encyclopedia for young children. With simple texts and illustrations, the volumes were designed to make learning fun. Each volume addressed different subjects, including literature — such as short stories and poetry, including fairy tales and nursery rhymes — as well as mathematics and the sciences.

Starting out as seven volumes in the late 1930s, the series was re-issued in a new edition every few years, sometimes incorporating new volumes and re-arranging existing ones. It grew to 15 volumes in the 1950s, and remained there, though further changes were made in later editions.

The Childcraft set also added a separate, optional, special annual volume each year, starting in 1965. Some of these were later incorporated as regular volumes.

In addition, by the 1980s the series had broadened its reach to a dozen foreign language editions, with editions shipped to over 50 countries around the world.^[2]

The 2011-2013 edition consists of the following 12 unnumbered volumes:

The 2000-2007 edition consists of the following 15 volumes:

The 1985-1996 edition consists of the following:

The 1973-1982 edition consists of the following:

The 1954 edition consisted of the following:

The following "Childcraft Annual" volumes were released.

• World Book Encyclopedia

• World Book, Inc. Answers.com. International Directory of Company Histories, The Gale Group, Inc., 2006

• Childcraft – The How & Why Library Official site