By Rebekah Absalom and Jessica Green For Mailonline
14:50 10 Mar 2024, updated 14:55 10 Mar 2024
They are often cleared out to charity shops or left to gather dust in the attic, but your favourite books from childhood could actually be worth a fortune, experts have revealed.
A perfectly intact copy of the first edition The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969) could fetch more than £12,000, while a first edition of Dr Seuss‘s The Cat In The Hat (1957) could be worth £13,300.
It comes after a misspelled proof copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone which cost just 13p sold for £14,432 when a private UK buyer made the winning bid at Hansons Auctioneers at Bishton Hall in Staffordshire.
The novel – which was bought at a second-hand book shop in 1997 as a ‘throw in’ with a couple of other novels for a total of 40p – misspells JK Rowling‘s name as ‘JA Rowling’ on the inside cover and uses the author’s full first name ‘Joanne’.
Could your children’s book be valued for thousands of pounds? Find out what the novels on your bookshelf could be worth below:
THE CAT IN THE HAT
Most adults will have happy memories of reading the Dr Seuss stories as children, with their whimsical rhymes and magic illustration.
‘Books and stories can really shape us as children, and classic stories such as these hold a lot of really special memories for us as adults,’ Oxbridge’s Head of Digital, Riman Verma, previously told MailOnline.
It might be time to make a new memory, as a hardback first edition (1957) of Dr Seuss’s The Cat In The Hat could get you a staggering £13,300, depending on the condition of your copy.
A first edition (1957) was recently valued at £13,300.
THE HOBBIT
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien remains popular today and is regarded as a classic in children’s literature.
Set in Middle-earth, the novel follows Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, on a quest to reclaim his home from the dragon Smaug.
If you have a first, second or second revised edition of the story, you could be sitting on a fortune as research shows that copies of this book can reach up to £45,000 in value.
The 1,500 first edition copies published in the UK in 1937 by Allen & Unwin are the most sought after. A 1937 first edition sold for £45,050 in 2003.
THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR
A perfectly intact copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar could fetch more than £12,000.
The plot follows a caterpillar who eats a variety of food before pupating and transforming into a butterfly.
British antiques expert David Harper, who conducted research in 2019 in collaboration with HomeProtect Insurance, explained that unlike obvious investment pieces like vintage watches or rare designer handbags, children’s books are more likely to be overlooked.
‘A children’s book worth hundreds or thousands of pounds, may have an old price ticket inside the cover of just a couple of pounds,’ Mr Harper previously explained.
‘It could be that it’s a bit thumbed and looks valueless, so it’s likely to be thrown away or given to a local charity, only later to be discovered by an eagle-eyed collector.’
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is considered Lewis Carroll’s best work.
The story is based on a young girl who falls asleep in a meadow and dreams that she follows the White Rabbit down a rabbit hole – where she meets a number of eccentric characters, such as The Mad Hatter.
But only 2,000 copies of the 1865 edition were printed as illustrator John Tenniel disliked the print quality.
Subsequently, these coveted editions now come with seven-figure price tags.
The following edition, released in December of 1865 but dated 1866, only had 4,000 copies – and also carry high price tags.
HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
The first book of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, which spanned seven books and eight films, was released in 1997.
It has since gained worldwide popularity, selling more than 500 million copies worldwide, having been translated into eighty languages.
If you have one of the original versions, you could have up to a staggering £95,000 sitting on your bookshelf.
The first paperback edition first impression, published in 1997, could be worth £30,000.
A true first hardcover edition, also published in 1997, was valued to be worth around £95,000.
But it is only worth the five-figure sum if it is a hardback copy with the numbers 10 to 1 printed down the back of the title page, Matthew Haley, director and head of books and manuscripts at auction house Bonhams, previously told MailOnline.
THE WINNIE THE POOH COLLECTION
A. A. Milne’s Winnie The Pooh stories were some of the most popular to read to children.
The author wrote and published the books in the 1920s, with publications between 1924 and 1928.
Do you remember reading the original stories and poems from the classic Winnie-the-Pooh collections, before Disney’s version became the more well-known image?
If so, check your bookshelves as the full collection of the four books (Winnie The Pooh, The House At Pooh Corner, When We Were Very Young, and Now We Are Six) could be worth around £17,500.
The first editions, published between 1924 and 1928, could get you up to £17,500, while a first edition, single book, published in 1926, could get you £5,000.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Charles Dickens’s Christmas tale of Scrooge and his three Christmas Ghosts is a classic which returns every festive season.
A true first edition of the 1843 novel could get you up to £33,000 with specialist sellers.
A second US edition (1844) could be worth £8,750 while a hardback first edition, first issue (1843) is estimated to be worth £12,500.
Meanwhile, a true first edition, first printing, also published in 1843, is expected to fetch around £33,000.
THE GREMLINS
Roald Dahl’s first children’s book was written for Walt Disney Productions in 1943.
The UK first edition from 1944 and US first edition from 1943 are sought after by collectors of both Dahl and Disney.
The book tells the story of the mischievous creatures, part of Royal Air Force folklore, who use them as an explanation of mechanical mishaps.
Their motivation for sabotaging British aircraft is revenge for the destruction of their forest home, which was destroyed to build an aircraft factory.
Estimated as the most valuable of all the author’s works, if you find one of these lying around it could fetch you £12,500.
THE BFG
One of Roald Dahl’s most popular novels, many millennials read the story of The Big Friendly Giant during childhood.
The plot is an extension of an earlier book – Danny, Champion of the World – and follows an orphan named Sophie as she goes on an adventure with the BFG.
For a 1982 first edition and first impression copy of the book, collectors are willing to splash £3,250.
‘Any damage or missing pages can decrease value significantly,’ Mr Harper said. ‘Most 20th century books also need to have their original dust-jacket to be of collectable value.’
THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT
Beatrix Potter’s The Tale Of Peter Rabbit (1901) follows a mischievous young rabbit called Peter as he ventures into the garden of Mr McGregor.
It has remained popular among children for more than a century and has seen many adaptions through new book editions, TV series and films.
This beautiful classic from Beatrix Potter can reach almost £15,000 if you have a version sitting on your bookshelf.
A first UK edition (1903) could be worth £1,500 while a first deluxe issue (1907) could get you £2,500.
A first trade edition, deluxe issue, was valued at £12,500, while a hardback first edition, first printing, could be worth a whopping £14,700.
THE VELVETEEN RABBIT
The Velveteen Rabbit tells the tale of a stuffed toy who wishes to become real through the love of his owner.
Both the US and UK editions were published in 1922, featuring seven full-page illustrations by William Nicholson.
A US first edition sold for £11,055 in 2013.
‘If you have an extremely old, rare or a book similar to the ones on this list, which is in good condition, you really could be looking at a small fortune,’ Mr Haley told MailOnline.
