Sticker Books

(Nelson Doubleday, 1967)

Sticker Books have come a long way over the last forty years. I recently bought my daughter a Harry Potter Lego version which was a lot of fun and had hundreds of stickers inside. Many of the stickers are meant to be put on particular pages to complete a scene, while others are extras that kids can put wherever they like, on drawings, in their own books or on the walls...(eeek!)
   A week ago I found a sticker book published in 1967 by Nelson Doubleday. It was titled Australia's Island Territories. I opened it and was immediately transported to my childhood. Gum-backed rectangular glossy stickers, each with a white border were peppered throughout the fact-filled booklet. Each numbered sticker had a caption. As a child I had a similar book on dinosaurs and another on insects; one of my brothers had one about aeroplanes.

Sample sticker of Nauru
Source: Ronald Rose

   Australia's Island Territories is a small booklet filled with geographic and historical facts on Norfolk, Cocos and Christmas Islands as well as Nauru. It is a real snap-shot of the 1960's. I enjoyed looking at the pristine beaches and the people in the photos. There is also a double page spread of maps illustrated in orange, black and white.

Sample sticker of Norfolk Island
Source: Qantas Airways Ltd

   The format is very formal and dry but it was all we had in those days. Now kids are bombarded with facts on the TV and Internet, all presented in a fresh, engaging manner. They would overlook the old style sticker book in a nanosecond.