History

Franklin Watts Inc. was formed in 1942. The company was sold to Grolier

Grolier

Grolier was one of the largest U.S. publishers of general encyclopedias, including The Book of Knowledge , The New Book of Knowledge , The New Book of Popular Science , Encyclopedia Americana , Academic American Encyclopedia , and numerous incarnations of The Electronic Encyclopedia .Grolier was an...

 in 1957. When the namesake founder retired in 1967, he moved to London to start Franklin Watts Ltd. in 1969. Franklin Watts retired again in 1976.

Grolier

Grolier

Grolier was one of the largest U.S. publishers of general encyclopedias, including The Book of Knowledge , The New Book of Knowledge , The New Book of Popular Science , Encyclopedia Americana , Academic American Encyclopedia , and numerous incarnations of The Electronic Encyclopedia .Grolier was an...

 was acquired by the French company Hachette

Hachette Livre

-France:*Calmann-Lévy*Deux Coqs d'Or*Disney Hachette Edition*EDICEF*Editions 1*Editions du Chêne**E.P.A*Éditions Dunod*Editions Foucher*Editions Stock*Fayard**Editions Mille et Une Nuits**Editions Mazarine**Pauvert*Gautier-Languereau*Grasset...

 in 1988. Grolier was sold to Scholastic in 2000, along with the US rights to Franklin Watts and Orchard Books

Orchard books

Orchard Books is a publisher of children's books active in the US and UK.Orchard Books was founded in 1986 by Grolier, an encyclopedia publisher, as a children's publisher. Grolier was acquired by Hachette two years later...

. The UK branch exists today as a imprint of Hachette Children's Books.