About This Book
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 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 as well as essays on 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 she encounters as 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. Introducing the series are essays by LuElla D’Amico, “Just a Little Bestselling Series: An Introduction to the Stratemeyer Syndicate’s Honey Bunch series,” and Deidre Johnson, “Honey Bunch: Creation and History of the Series.” D’Amico discusses the series themes of domesticity, materialism, and childhood bliss while situating it within the broader context of the Great Depression and girls’ series books. Johnson’s article explores the process behind the Honey Bunch series and the role the books played in the Stratemeyer Syndicate’s success, contributing to the famous Bobbsey Twins, Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew. The collection is rounded off by essays on copyright and the public domain by Sara Benson, “The Sweet, Sweet Public Domain,” providing an overview of the significance of Public Domain Day, and Kirby Ferguson, “Allow me to Rain on Your Public Domain Parade,” reflecting on the impact of copyright term on the collective imagination.Copyright
Editorial matter and original essays in the The Sweet Public Domain are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License. The Honey Bunch series is here reproduced on the basis that it is in the public domain. Media items throughout this edition retain their respective copyright status.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.