Once upon a time...
In 1967, Kaye Webb, editor of Puffin Books, came up with an idea of a club for children, to turn an early love of reading into a lifelong habit. By the end of its first year of existence, Puffin Post had over 16,000 members, who met up on special days out, invented their own language, attended Puffin Exhibitions where they met people like Roald Dahl, Spike Milligan and Quentin Blake - and read, read, read!
Happy memories...
At its height, Puffin Post had over 200,000 members, who were encouraged to get involved - whether by sending in their stories, jokes and artwork, attending special events or raising money for charitable causes. Money raised by Puffineers bought a mile of coastline at Bempton in Yorkshire which is still a valuable nesting site for puffins today.
Read happy memories of Puffin Post by Jeremy Strong, Jan Pienowski, Raymond Briggs, Mark Walden and Michael Bond plus former Puffin Post employees!
Puffin Post flies again...
In 2008 a decision was made to revive the club and marry the spirit of the original magazine to the likes and needs of today's young people. The response to Puffin Post's relaunch in January 2009 has been fantastic: we're thrilled by the amount of letters, emails, artwork, stories and jokes that have flooded in from our new generation of Puffineers, and our regular focus groups have given a massive "thumbs up" to both the magazine and the website.
Something old, something new...
The new Puffin Post has taken the strengths of Kaye Webb's club and added elements designed to appeal to the youngsters of the new millennium. Puffin Post is very interactive - children can email us, write to our freepost address, chat on the message board, comment on the blog and order their free books themselves - but it also has a strong editorial stance. Whether it's raising money for the RSPB, sending in eco tips, finding out about different countries or discovering new books which challenge and inform as well as entertain, Puffin Post encourages children to think, dream, create and get the most out of life.
All in all, as Puffineers old and new will agree: There's nuffin' like a Puffin!
