Between 1930 and 1960 a predominantly female group of editors, illustrators, authors and librarians (collectively referred to as bookwomen) resulted in many titles which are still considered as ‘classics’ today. The bookwomen reframed ideas about how children’s publishing should be approached and valued and, in doing so, laid the foundations for a subsequent generation of children’s authors and publishers who were to achieve far greater prominence. This talk celebrates the work of the bookwomen and seeks to draw attention to an important but hitherto largely ignored era in publication history.