Noddy Goes to Toyland was published by Sampson Low in November 1949, and it was the product of a deliberate commercial collaboration between Blyton and the Dutch illustrator Harmsen van der Beek. The publisher had introduced them with the specific aim of creating a character for very young children (ages 2–5) that could be merchandised across multiple media. The result was Noddy — a little wooden boy with a blue hat that jingles and a head that nods — who lives in Toyland with his friend Big-Ears (a gnome), drives a little car, and has simple adventures that teach basic moral lessons.
The first book tells how Noddy is carved by a toymaker but runs away before he is finished, arrives in Toyland, and is befriended by Big-Ears, who helps him find a home and a job as a taxi driver. The story is simple enough for a three-year-old to follow, and van der Beek’s illustrations — brightly colored, cheerful, and packed with detail — give Toyland a visual identity that is instantly recognizable.
Noddy was a phenomenon. Twenty-four books were published between 1949 and 1963, and the character appeared on toys, clothing, tableware, and stationery throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The BBC television series (produced with stop-motion animation from 1955) reached millions of children. By the time of Blyton’s death in 1968, Noddy was the most commercially successful children’s character in Britain.
The character has also been Blyton’s most controversial creation. The golliwog characters in the early books (who were sometimes depicted as criminal or untrustworthy) led to charges of racism, and they were removed from later editions. Critics of children’s literature dismissed Noddy as insipid and commercially cynical — a product designed to sell merchandise rather than to develop children’s imagination. But the books’ popularity with very young children — who respond to the simple stories, the bright illustrations, and the reassuring world of Toyland — has never waned.
Collecting Noddy Goes to Toyland
First edition (Sampson Low, London, 1949): Illustrated boards, dust jacket by Harmsen van der Beek.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $200–$800
- Without jacket: $40–$100
- Complete first-edition set of 24 titles: $1,000–$5,000
- Modern reprints: $3–$8