Books of Wonder was founded in 1980 as a bookstore devoted to new and antique children's books. Located at 444 Hudson Street in New York's Greenwich Village, it rapidly outgrew its tiny 200 square foot space and moved in 1982 to larger quarters at the corner of 464 Hudson Street.

In 1984 Books of Wonder began its publishing division by establishing a joint imprint with William Morrow and Company. Starting with one title per season, this imprint has since expanded to include over 60 titles and many more under contract. With the acquisition of Morrow by HarperCollins Publishers in 1999, the Books of Wonder Classics has a new home at HarperCollins Children's Books. Also, as of the fall of 2000, Books of Wonder is also co-publishing books with the new SeaStar imprint at North-South Books.

Books of Wonder launched its mail order operation in 1985 with its first semi-annual catalogue, The Oz Collector. Two years later the company began its monthly newsletter/catalogue, Books of Wonder News. Today, Books of Wonder is recognized as "the source" for Oz books and, while many other children's book mail order catalogues have come and gone, Books of Wonder News continues to prosper and grow.

In 1986, Books of Wonder expanded to two stores with the opening of a new, larger location at 132 Seventh Avenue on the corner of 18th Street. Three times the size of the Hudson Street location, the new store quickly became known not only as the largest children's bookstore in New York, but as one of the nation's finest.

In 1993 Books of Wonder closed its Hudson Street store and expanded its 7th Avenue location to accommodate that store's ever increasing traffic. At the same time, corporate offices for the mail order and publishing division were established around the corner on 18th Street.

Most recently, in 1996, Books of Wonder moved to an even larger, better trafficked location at 16 West 18th Street. With a third more space than our 7th Avenue location, Books of Wonder has continued to grow in our new location.

Now, with the launch of our online store, Books of Wonder is set to continue serving the needs of adults and children who share our love of children's literature.