Data courtesy of the Grand Comics Database under Creative Commons license.

Issue Details

Issue #540
Published July 1957
Frequency Monthly
Cover Price 0.15 USD
Pages 36
Editing Meyer A. Kaplan (Managing Editor)

Cover Details - "The Tinder-Box"

Characters Princess; Dog
Synopsis A sleeping princess is carried away from her castle by a large dog.
Genre Children; Fairy Tale
Pencils Dik Browne ? (painting)
Inks Dik Browne ? (painting)
Colors Dik Browne ? (painting)
Letters typeset
Notes Front cover. Author Hans Christian Andersen is credited immediately beneath the title.

Half page promo (ad from the publisher) "Coming Next Month"

Synopsis Half-page, vertically-oriented, black-and-white promo positioned on the left side of page for the next title in the Classics Illustrated Junior series, "Snow White and Rose Red". Cover and brief synopsis are included.
Genre children
Script ? (ad copy)
Letters typeset
Notes Inside front cover.

Half page activity "What is This?"

Synopsis Half-page, vertically-oriented, black-and-white dot-to-dot puzzle positioned on the right side of page depicting a dog. Instructions for completing and coloring the puzzle are included.
Genre Children; Activity; Puzzle
Script ? (ad copy)
Pencils ?
Letters typeset
Notes Inside front cover.

28 page story "The Tinder-Box"

Characters Soldier; Witch; Three Dogs; Princess; King; Queen; Courtiers
Synopsis A soldier acquires a magic tinder-box capable of summoning three huge dogs to do his bidding. Over several nights, he orders the dogs to bring him a sleeping princess locked in a tower by her parents who fear she will marry a common soldier. When the princess's nightly whereabouts are discovered by the King and Queen, the soldier is arrested and sentenced to death. On the scaffold, he summons the three dogs and his life is saved. He marries the princess.
Genre Children; Fairy Tale
Script ? (adaptor); Hans Christian Andersen (original author)
Letters typeset

2 page story "Aesop's Fables: The Lioness and Her Family"

Characters Lioness; Mouse; Rabbit; Frog
Synopsis When several animals boast of their large families, a lioness tells them she has only one offspring - but that one is a lion, the king of beasts.
Genre Children; Fable
Script ? (adaptor); Aesop (original author)
Letters typeset

1 page text article "Hickety, Pickety"

Characters Black Hen; Gentlemen Visitors
Synopsis A black hen lays eggs every day for visiting gentlemen.
Genre children; Nursery Rhyme
Script ? (adaptor); Mother Goose (original author)
Pencils Alex Blum ? (illustration)
Inks Alex Blum ? (illustration)
Letters typeset

1 page text article "The Animal World: The Kinkajou"

Synopsis Five panel factual account of the habits, home, and diet of the kinkajou.
Genre Fact; Animal
Letters typeset

1 page activity "Color This Picture With Crayons"

Characters Soldier; Princess; Three Dogs
Synopsis Soldier, Princess, and Three Dogs in a woodland setting. Black-and-white, line drawn illustration to be colored with crayons.
Genre Children; Activity
Letters typeset
Notes Inside back cover.

1 page promo (ad from the publisher) "The Wonderful World of Fairy Tales"

Synopsis Full-page, color promo for ordering back issues of Classics Illustrated Junior. Four covers, list of current titles, and a cut-out order form are included.
Genre children
Script ? (ad copy)
Letters typeset
Notes Back cover.