High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Toy book is a form of 19th century children`s book which became popular in the second half of the century during the Victorian era in England. Toy books typically were paperbound books with six illustrated pages. Early toy books sold for sixpence, and later, more elaborate editions, for a shilling. The mid-19th century saw the beginning of the idea that picture books made specifically for children, with art dominating the text rather than the traditional format of illustrations supplementing the text, could be made popular.