The Sweet Public Domain: Celebrating Copyright Expiration with the Honey Bunch Series

Series by Helen Louise Thorndyke 

Edited by Sara Benson and Kaylen Dwyer 

Published by Windsor & Downs Press, Urbana, Ill., part of the Illinois Open Publishing Network (IOPN). IOPN is a project of the University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Synopsis

The Sweet Public Domain: Celebrating Copyright Expiration with the Honey Bunch Series is a celebration of the reinstatement of public domain day on January 1, 2019, after a twenty-year hiatus due to the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. This digital collection features a republication of the children’s book series Honey Bunch, which began publication in 1923, supported by essays on the book series, copyright and the public domain. The Honey Bunch series follows the adventures of four-year-old Honey Bunch, along with cat Lady Clare and doll Eleanor, as the child encounters a succession of firsts—her first visit to the city, her first days on the farm, her first little garden, her first visit to the seashore, and more. Accompanying essays provide an introduction to and history of the series, exploring its themes of domesticity, materialism, and childhood bliss within the context of the Great Depression, girls’ series books, and the Stratemeyer Syndicate. The collection is rounded off by essays on copyright and the public domain in celebration of the impact of the end of extended copyright terms on the collective imagination.

The Honey Bunch Titles Reproduced in The Sweet Public Domain

Honey Bunch: Just a Little Girl by Helen Louise Thorndyke was originally published in 1923 by Grosset & Dunlap.

Honey Bunch: Her First Visit to the City by Helen Louise Thorndyke was originally published in 1923 by Grosset & Dunlap.

Honey Bunch: Her First Days on the Farm by Helen Louise Thorndyke was originally published in 1923 by Grosset & Dunlap.

Honey Bunch: Her First Visit to the Seashore by Helen Louise Thorndyke was originally published in 1924 by Grosset & Dunlap.

Honey Bunch: Her First Little Garden by Helen Louise Thorndyke was originally published in 1924 by Grosset & Dunlap.

Copyright

The Sweet Public Domain: Celebrating Copyright Expiration with the Honey Bunch Series copyright © 2020 editorial matter by Sara Benson and Kaylen Dwyer; individual chapter copyrights by their contributors.