The B. Blaine Pennington Collection was gifted to LaBudde Special Collections by Pennington in 2003.The collection provides insight into the world of children’s literature and examples of the process of publishing such work. Included are original manuscripts by Pennington; correspondence with several authors, publishers and even U.S. Presidents; signed posters, prints and other artwork from authors and illustrators; and miscellaneous ephemera of the literary and publishing world.In addition, one of the jewels of the collection is several hundred celebrity photographs and movies stills from the “Golden Years” of Hollywood.

The collection also contains over 200 children’s books; many are autographed and many others are illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Books from this collection have been cataloged and are listed in the UMKC Library Catalog using the subject search: B. Blaine Pennington Collection.