Olive Beaupré Miller

Olive Beaupré Miller (née Olive Kennon Beaupré) (September 11, 1883 – March 25, 1968) was an American writer, publisher and editor of children's literature. She was born in Aurora, Illinois on September 11, 1883, to William S. and Julia (Brady) Beaupré. She received her B.A. from Smith College in 1904.

The Book House for Children

In 1919 Miller established a company, The Book House for Children, to publish popular children’s literature edited by herself to meet her standards:

"First,--To be well equipped for life, to have ideas and the ability to express them, the child needs a broad background of familiarity with the best in literature. "Second,--His stories and rhymes must be selected with care that he may absorb no distorted view of life and its actual values, but may grow up to be mentally clear about values and emotionally impelled to seek what is truly desirable and worthwhile in human living. "Third,--The stories and rhymes selected must be graded to the child's understanding at different periods of his growth, graded as to vocabulary, as to subject matter and as to complexity of structure and plot."

The first volume of The Book House series was published in 1920. The series would eventually include twelve volumes.

Later versions of The Book House contained some short stories (such as Little Black Sambo and The Tar Baby) which were thought to be insensitive, and were removed from the Beaupré canon. But as late as 1950 (33rd printing), “Sambo” was still included.

The company was also remarkable for its large female staff at a time when most women did not work outside the home.

Illustrators for The Book House series included Maude and Miska Petersham, Fay Turpin, Donn Philip Crane, Hilda Hanway, Milo Winter, and Peter Newell.

Other series published by the company, The Book House for Children, included "My Travelship" and "A Picturesque Tale of Progress." The Book House for Children was sold to United Educators in 1954.