Japhet and Happy's Annual 1939 Published by News Chronicle. Unblemished throughout. Pictorial boards still very much bright. A VG+ copy. 

In this enchanting installment of the News Chronicle’s beloved series, J.F. Horrabin delivers another year of mirthful adventures with the Noah family. Japhet, the impish ringleader, and his sunny brother Happy, alongside sister Selina, steadfast tortoise Oswald, and mischievous pup Cracky, tumble through a vibrant tapestry of tales: a chaotic camping trip in a storm-swept forest, a theatrical fiasco at a village fête, and a dreamlike voyage to a pirate-infested island. Packed with over 160 pages of vivid color illustrations, comic strips, riddles, songs, and craft ideas, the annual radiates 1930s childhood glee. Horrabin’s playful art and gentle moral undertones weave a cozy escape, capturing family warmth and pre-war innocence amid looming global tensions.

This volume is a gem for collectors of interwar children’s annuals, particularly rare News Chronicle first editions with their charming pictorial boards depicting Japhet and Happy in nautical hijinks. As a high point of Horrabin’s strip, which fueled the Arkubs fan club, it rivals contemporaries like Rupert Bear. With scarce surviving copies due to wartime paper drives and fragile bindings, it’s a prized find for enthusiasts of nostalgic juvenilia, offering a vivid portal to the era’s optimistic storytelling.