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Lollipop Power

{{good article}}

{{Short description|American children's book publisher (1969 or 1970–1986)}}

{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}

{{Infobox publisher

| name = Lollipop Power

| image = Lollipop Power Inc. (logo).png

| alt = illustrated icon of a child's hand holding a lollipop set beside the wordmark "Lollipop Power Inc." in a casual script typeface

| caption = Logo as of 1973

| parent =

| status = Defunct; nominal imprint of Carolina Wren Press until {{circa|2009}}

| founded = 1969 or 1970

| founder =

| defunct = {{end date|1986}}

| successor =

| country = United States

| headquarters = Chapel Hill, North Carolina

| distribution =

| keypeople =

| publications = Children's books

| topics =

| genre =

| imprints =

| revenue =

| numemployees = 10 (1976)

}}

Lollipop Power, Inc. was a nonprofit American independent publisher of children's books. Based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the group emerged from a culture of feminist organizing as an outgrowth of a discussion group in 1969 or 1970. Operating as a publishing collective of a rotating cohort of around 10 members, the press published non-sexist, non-racist picture books for children to counter depictions of gender-stereotyped roles in mainstream children's books.

The press grew until 1975, when it got its own office but sales began to plateau. At its peak, the press sold about 1,500 books monthly. A changing publishing landscape contributed to the eventual closure of the press in 1986, when it became a nominal imprint of nearby Carolina Wren Press. The press published some of the earliest picture books with explicitly queer characters, shaping the early history of the field of LGBTQ children's literature.

History

Lollipop Power, Inc. emerged from a culture of liberal feminist organizing and independent publishing in the U.S. state of North Carolina at the end of the 1960s.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=10–13}}{{sfn|Enszer|2015|pp=44–45}} Within this context, Sara Evans and Paula Goldsmid cofounded what Evans described as the first women's liberation group in North Carolina, Group 22, in 1968.{{sfn|Evans|2003|p=10}} Based in Chapel Hill, Group 22's membership was engaged with feminist consciousness raising, especially around questions of childhood socialization, as many members were new parents or would soon become parents.{{sfn|Evans|2003|p=11}}{{sfn|Miller|2022|p=37}} Seeking an active outlet for their concerns, Group 22 developed into an independent nonprofit publishing collective, Lollipop Power, in 1969 or 1970.{{sfn|Evans|2003|p=11}}{{sfn|Gallagher|1982|p=15}} Its founding collective included publisher Judy Hogan, who would also found Carolina Wren Press in the state in 1976.{{sfn|Enszer|2015|pp=44–45}}

Lollipop Power's mission was to publish children's books with non-sexist and non-racist stories.{{sfn|Enszer|2015|p=45}} The publishing collective sought to do this to offer an alternative to the predominantly white and male stories being told in mainstream children's literature, believing that "sex stereotypes can and should be eliminated at a very early age".{{sfn|Denton|1971|p=B1}} Members operated the publisher without significant professional publishing experience; stories were accepted both from press members and outside submissions.{{sfn|Denton|1971|p=B1}} Lollipop Power members selected illustrators for the books based on illustrations they submitted for sample passages from the texts, with final approval of the books given to the press's board to vote upon.{{sfn|Denton|1971|p=B1}} Authors and illustrators were not paid as of 1972, with only the member handling mail distribution of the works receiving financial compensation.{{sfn|Sugar|1972|p=1}} By 1976, most of the collective's 10 members (none of whom were the founding members by that time) were able to pay themselves around or slightly above minimum wage.{{sfn|Smentek|1976|p=2F}}

Kathi Gallagher of the press wrote in 1982 that the founding collective envisioned the publisher as a platform to assist other feminists who desired books without stereotyped gender roles, but orders from other sources like schools, libraries, and bookstores quickly forced the collective to change their model.{{sfn|Gallagher|1982|p=15}} Its first book, Jenny's Secret Place (1970), was delayed due to lack of funds; once it was published, the company was "swamped with orders".{{sfn|Denton|1971|p=B1}} As the company grew into the mid-1970s, it became responsible for all aspects of its publishing process including design, typesetting, and printing.{{sfn|Enszer|2015|p=45}} The press reported annual increases in sales through 1975, when its monthly sales averaged 1,500 books.{{sfn|Enszer|2015|p=45}}{{sfn|Gallagher|1982|p=15}} That year, the press began to work out of an office with a printer of its own; before that, "chaos reigned. Books were stored under beds, in attics, under ping-pong tables."{{sfn|Anton|1981|p=8E}}

After 1976, sales of Lollipop Power books plateaued and then declined as the group began to release fewer works each year (including none in 1978).{{sfn|Gallagher|1982|p=17}}{{sfn|Barber|1979|p=8}} Gallagher wrote that an uptake in less gender-stereotyped works from larger commercial publishers like Macmillan Publishers and McGraw Hill may have contributed to the shift, but so too may have the public perception that the mid-1970s interest in non-sexist, non-racist children's literature was a fad or "one battle that had been irrevocably won".{{sfn|Gallagher|1982|p=17}} The press ceased operations in 1986, with its titles moved to Hogan's Carolina Wren Press.{{sfn|Enszer|2015|p=55}} It published at least one more title, Phyllis Hacken Johnson's The Boy Toy, in 1988 as an imprint of Carolina Wren Press.{{sfn|Miller|2022|p=131}} It was listed as an active imprint as late as 2012, though Carolina Wren Press stopped seeking children's book submissions in 2009.{{sfn|Sambuchino|2012|p=222}}

Legacy

{{Archival records

| qid = Q117272939

| title = Lollipop Power, Inc., Records

| dates = 1970–1986

| fetchwikidata = all

| description_URL=https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/04453/

}}

Lollipop Power published Jane Severance's When Megan Went Away (1979) and Lots of Mommies (1983), among the first picture books to depict explicitly queer characters.{{sfn|Miller|2022|p=41}} The publisher also released several other books dealing with gender-nonconforming characters, like Bruce Mack's Jesse's Dream Skirt (1979) – the first picture book about a boy who wants to wear a skirt to school – and Hacken Johnson's The Boy Toy (1988).{{sfn|Miller|2022|pp=45, 216–217}}{{sfn|Rudolph|2019|p=1}} Because so few presses in the 1970s and 1980s were publishing children's literature with queer characters, the press shaped the earliest history of LGBTQ children's literature.{{sfn|Miller|2022|p=41}} However, the press's limited distribution meant that its works were not widely available.{{sfn|Naidoo|2012|p=40}} In 1979, it was one of just seven independent presses of children's literature in the U.S., and the only one located in the Southeastern United States.{{sfn|Barber|1979|p=8}}

Bibliography

Lollipop Power published 20 picture books during its existence; two further titles were printed by Carolina Wren Press under the Lollipop Power imprint after Lollipop Power's closure in 1986. Beginning in 1972, Lollipop Power also issued an annual Bibliography of Materials on Sexism and Sex-Role Stereotyping in Children's Books that highlighted non-sexist and non-racist children's literature, toys, and educational tools from a variety of publishers and sellers.{{sfn|Froschl|Sprung|1988|p=224}}

{{Table alignment}}

class="wikitable sortable defaultleft col1center col6center" summary="All titles published by Lollipop Power, from 1970 through 1983, with two additional titles published when the press was an imprint of Carolina Wren Press in 1988 and 1996. Table lists authors and illustrators for all books."

|+Lollipop Power publications

scope="col"| Year

!scope="col"| Title

!scope="col"| Author

!scope="col"| Illustrator

!scope="col" class="unsortable"| Notes

!scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

1970

| Jenny's Secret Place

| {{sortname|Sara|Evans Boyte|Sara M. Evans}}

| {{sortname|Carol Jean|Harkey|nolink=1}}

| First publication.

| {{sfn|Denton|1971|p=B1}}

rowspan="2"|1971

| Did You Ever?

| {{sortname|Paula|Goldsmid|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Janice|Schopler|nolink=1}}

|

| {{sfn|Stone|1984|p=44}}

style="text-align: left;"| Martin's Father

| {{sortname|Margrit|Eichler|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Margrit|Bev|nolink=1}}

|

|style="text-align: center;"| {{sfn|Naidoo|2012|p=233}}

rowspan="3"| 1972

| Exactly Like Me

| {{sortname|Lynn|Phillips|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Lynn|Phillips|nolink=1}}

|

| {{sfn|Miller|2022|p=131}}

style="text-align: left;"| Joshua's Day

| {{sortname|Sandra Lucas|Surowiecki|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Patricia|Riley Lenthall|nolink=1}}

|

|style="text-align: center;"| {{sfn|Bracken|Wigutoff|1979|p=6}}

style="text-align: left;"| {{sort|Sheep Book, The|The Sheep Book}}

| {{sortname|Carmen|Goodyear|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Carmen|Goodyear|nolink=1}}

|

|style="text-align: center;"| {{sfn|Bracken|Wigutoff|1979|p=11}}

rowspan="4"| 1973

| Carlotta and the Scientist

| {{sortname|Patricia|Riley Lenthall|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Patricia|Riley Lenthall|nolink=1}}

|

| {{sfn|Stone|1984|p=20}}

style="text-align: left;"| Grownups Cry Too

| {{sortname|Nancy|Hazen|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Nancy|Hazen|nolink=1}}

|

|style="text-align: center;"| {{sfn|Jalongo|1983|p=35}}

style="text-align: left;"| Jo, Flo and Yolanda

| {{sortname|Carol|De Poix|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Stephanie Sove|Ney|nolink=1}}

|

|style="text-align: center;"| {{sfn|Stone|1984|p=27}}

style="text-align: left;"| {{sort|Magic Hat, The|The Magic Hat}}

| {{sortname|Kim|Westsmith Chapman|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Kitty Riley|Clark|nolink=1}}

|

|style="text-align: center;"| {{sfn|Bracken|Wigutoff|1979|p=9}}

rowspan="2"| 1975

| Just Momma and Me

| {{sortname|Christine Engla|Eber|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Christine Engla|Eber|nolink=1}}

|

| {{sfn|Engel|1982|p=151}}

style="text-align: left;"|Amy and the Cloud Basket

| {{sortname|Ellen|Pratt|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Lisa|Russell|nolink=1}}

|

|style="text-align: center;"| {{sfn|Stone|1984|p=36}}

1976

| {{sort|Lost Bellybutton, The|The Lost Bellybutton}}

| {{sortname|Margaret|Morganroth Gullette|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Leslie|Udry|nolink=1}}

|

| {{sfn|Jones|1979|p=221}}

1977

| {{sort|Clever Princess, The|The Clever Princess}}

| {{sortname|Ann|Tompert|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Patricia|Riley|nolink=1}}

|

| {{sfn|Bracken|Wigutoff|1979|p=17}}

rowspan="3"| 1979

| When Megan Went Away

| {{sortname|Jane|Severance}}

| {{sortname|Tea|Schook|nolink=1}}

|

| {{sfn|Miller|2022|pp=216–217}}

style="text-align: left;"| Jesse's Dream Skirt

| {{sortname|Bruce|Mack|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Marian|Buchanan|nolink=1}}

|

|style="text-align: center;"| {{sfn|Miller|2022|pp=216–217}}

style="text-align: left;" |María Teresa

| {{sortname|Mary|Atkinson|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Christine Engla|Eber|nolink=1}}

|

|style="text-align: center;"| {{sfn|Stone|1984|p=25}}

rowspan="2"| 1981

| In Christina's Toolbox

| {{sortname|Dianne|Homan|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Mary|Heine|nolink=1}}

|

| {{sfn|Naidoo|2012|p=60}}

style="text-align: left;"|I Like You to Make Jokes with Me, but I Don't Want You to Touch Me

| {{sortname|Ellen|Bass|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Marti|Betz|nolink=1}}

|

|style="text-align: center;"| {{sfn|Sang|1994|p=605}}

1983

| Lots of Mommies

| {{sortname|Jane|Severance}}

| {{sortname|Jan|Jones|nolink=1}}

|

| {{sfn|Miller|2022|pp=216–217}}

1988

| {{sort|Boy Toy, The|The Boy Toy}}

| {{sortname|Phyllis Hacken|Johnson|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Lena|Shiffman|nolink=1}}

| Published as an imprint of Carolina Wren Press.

| {{sfn|Miller|2022|pp=216–217}}

1996

| Puzzles

| {{sortname|Dava|Walker|nolink=1}}

| {{sortname|Cornelius|Van Wright|nolink=1}} and Ying-Hwa Hu

| Published as an imprint of Carolina Wren Press.

| {{sfn|Anderson|2014|p=31}}

References

{{reflist}}

=Sources=

{{refbegin}}

  • {{cite book|last1=Anderson|first1=Byron|date=2014|title=Alternative Publishers of Books in North America|edition=6th|publisher=Library Juice Press|isbn=9781936117222}}
  • {{cite news|last1=Anton|first1=Denise|title=Lollipop Power powers publishers|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120648949/the-chapel-hill-news/ 1E], 8E|newspaper=The Chapel Hill News|volume=59|number=289|date=August 9, 1981|access-date=September 24, 2023|archive-date=March 11, 2023|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120648781/the-chapel-hill-news/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311200848/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120648781/the-chapel-hill-news/}}
  • {{cite news|last1=Barber|first1=Karen|date=May 24, 1979|title='Lollipop Power' publishes new kind of children's books|newspaper=The Summer Tar Heel|volume=87|number=1|issn=1070-9436|page=8|access-date=September 24, 2023|archive-date=March 11, 2023|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311195714/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120647815/the-daily-tar-heel/|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120647815/the-daily-tar-heel/}}
  • {{cite book|last1=Bracken|first1=Jeanne|last2=Wigutoff|first2=Sharon|title=Books for Today's Children: An Annotated Bibliography of Non-Stereotyped Picture Books|publisher=The Feminist Press|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED170771.pdf|date=1979|isbn=0-912670-53-3}}
  • {{cite news|last1=Denton|first1=Robin|date=June 6, 1971|page=B1|title=Lollipop Power! Children's books with a difference|newspaper=Durham Morning Herald|volume=77|number=249|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120644832/lollipop-power/|access-date=September 24, 2023|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311192102/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120644832/lollipop-power/|archive-date=March 11, 2023|url-status=live}}
  • {{cite journal|last1=Engel|first1=Rosalind E.|title=The status of the family in books for young children: A survey of literature written during the 1970s|date=1982|volume=61|issue=3|pages=143–152|jstor=45393881|issn=0009-4021|journal=Child Welfare}}
  • {{cite journal |last1=Enszer |first1=Julie R. |title=Night Heron Press and lesbian print culture in North Carolina, 1976–1983 |journal=Southern Cultures |date=2015 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=43–56 |doi=10.1353/scu.2015.0021 |issn=1534-1488|jstor=26220276|s2cid=141521348 }}
  • {{cite book |last=Evans |first=Sara M. |date=2003 |title=Tidal Wave: The Story of the Modern Women's Movement and How It Continues to Change America |publisher=The Free Press |isbn=0-02-909912-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/tidalwave00sara |url-access=registration|author1-link=Sara M. Evans}}
  • {{cite book |editor1-last=Froschl |editor1-first=Merle |editor2-last=Sprung |editor2-first=Barbara |title=Resources for Educational Equity: A Guide for Grades Pre-Kindergarten–12 |date=1988 |publisher=Garland Publishing |isbn=0-8240-0443-4}}
  • {{cite magazine|last1=Gallagher|first1=Kathi|title=Lollipop Power|magazine=Off Our Backs|pages=15, 17|volume=12|issue=6|jstor=25774468|issn=0030-0071|date=1982}}
  • {{cite journal|last1=Jalongo|first1=Mary Renck|date=1983|title=Using crisis-oriented books with young children|journal=Young Children|issn=0044-0728|pages=29–36|jstor=42643100|volume=38|issue=5}}
  • {{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=H. G.|title=North Carolina bibliography, 1977–1978|journal=North Carolina Historical Review|issn =0029-2494|volume=56|issue=2|date=1979|jstor=23534835|pages=209–239}}
  • {{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Jennifer|title=The Transformative Potential of LGBTQ+ Children's Picture Books|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-4968-4000-4|doi=10.14325/mississippi/9781496839992.001.0001|date=2022}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Naidoo |first1=Jamie Campbell |title=Rainbow Family Collections: Selecting and Using Children's Books with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Content |date=2012 |publisher=Libraries Unlimited |isbn=9781598849608|url=https://archive.org/details/rainbowfamilycol0000naid|url-access=registration}}
  • {{cite news |last1=Rudolph |first1=Dana |date=February 21, 2019 |title=Celebrating five decades of queer-inclusive books for children and youth |newspaper=Bay Windows |volume=37 |number=12|pages=1, 3 |issn=0883-4334 |id={{EBSCOhost|134881358|dbcode=qth}} }}
  • {{cite book|editor-last1=Sambuchino|editor-first1=Chuck|date=2012|title=2013 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market|url=https://archive.org/details/2013childrenswri0000unse_f1i9|url-access=registration|publisher=Writer's Digest Books|isbn=978-1-59963-599-6}}
  • {{cite journal |last1=Sang |first1=Dorothy |title='Just say no' may not be enough to prevent child sexual abuse |journal=Social Work |date=1994 |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=603–605 |doi=10.1093/sw/39.5.603|pmid=7939872 |issn=0037-8046}}
  • {{cite news|last1=Smentek|first1=Marian|title=See Joshua run. Look, Flo, look|date=December 26, 1976|newspaper=The Charlotte Observer|issn=2331-7221|pages=[https://newspapers.com/clip/120646625/the-charlotte-observer/ 1F]–2F|volume=91|number=247|url=https://newspapers.com/clip/120646796/the-charlotte-observer/|access-date=September 24, 2023|archive-date=March 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311194811/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120646796/the-charlotte-observer/|via=Newspapers.com|url-status=live}}
  • {{cite book|last1=Stone|first1=Karen|title=Bibliography of Nonsexist Supplementary Books (K–12)|publisher=Oryx Press|date=1984|isbn=0-89774-101-3|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED244743.pdf}}
  • {{cite news|last1=Sugar|first1=Harriet|title=Lollipop: Books stress child liberation|date=November 29, 1972|newspaper=The Daily Tar Heel|page=1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120645698/the-daily-tar-heel/|volume=81|number=69|access-date=September 24, 2023|archive-date=March 11, 2023|url-status=live|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311193058/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120645698/the-daily-tar-heel/|issn=1070-9436}}

{{refend}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1969 establishments in North Carolina

Category:1986 disestablishments in North Carolina

Category:American companies established in 1969

Category:American companies disestablished in 1986

Category:Book distributors

Category:Book publishing companies based in North Carolina

Category:Children's book publishers

Category:Lesbian feminist literature

Category:Publishing companies established in 1969

Category:Publishing companies disestablished in 1986

Category:Feminist book publishing companies

Category:Non-profit publishers

Category:Small press publishing companies