Book publisher and distributor Ned Waldman, 78, whose PEEF the Christmas Bear books and plush toys encapsulated the joy of the holiday season for generations of Minnesota children, while A Cup of Christmas Tea inspired their parents, died December 13.
If any family could be called the first family of the Minnesota book industry, it’s the Waldmans. The history of the extended family has been closely intertwined for the past 50 years with that of several publishing and related companies, as well as bookstores, in the Twin Cities.
In 1962, Waldman and his cousin, Norton Stillman, launched their publishing careers by co-founding The Bookmen, a book distribution company based in Minneapolis. For decades, generations of Twin Cities booksellers visited the Bookmen warehouse, located in one of downtown Minneapolis’ grittier neighborhoods, to replenish their store inventory. Tom Bielenberg, the co-owner of Micawber’s Books in St. Paul for the past eight years, who previously was a bookseller at The Hungry Mind/Ruminator for 29 years, recalled yesterday his memories of cruising through the aisles of the Bookmen warehouse with a shopping cart. “It was a luxury in those days to have a warehouse here where we could see the books and get them the same day,” he said. “Ned and Norton contributed so much to the success of the independent bookstores in the Twin Cities and in Minnesota over the years.”
In 2002, The Bookmen, which by that time was headed by Waldman’s son, Brett Waldman, was sold to Ingram. The warehouse soon shut its doors.
Not content with merely distributing books to regional booksellers, Waldman founded Waldman House Press in 1978. The company specialized in publishing inspirational books for both adults and children. Waldman House’s biggest bestseller was A Cup of Christmas Tea by Tom Hegg, illustrated by Warren Hanson, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies since it was first released in 1982.
“There aren’t many Minnesota publishers who made a book a New York Times bestseller,” Stillman, who founded Micawber’s Books in 1972 and is now publisher of Nodin Press, a regional press, he founded in 1967, said yesterday. Norton described highway billboard buys Waldman made to promote A Cup of Christmas Tea, as well as PEEF the Christmas Bear. “He really was something when he stuck his neck out.”
Waldman retired in 2003. Brett Waldman, who launched Tristan Publishing in 2002 and acquired Waldman House after his father’s retirement the following year, currently publishes many of Waldman House’s most popular titles, including A Cup of Christmas Tea and PEEF the Christmas Bear. A stage production of PEEF the Christmas Bear is being performed this month at a Minneapolis theatre.
“We’re proudly carrying on his legacy,” Sheila Waldman, Tristan Publishing’s vp of sales, marketing, and relationships, and Waldman’s daughter-in-law, said yesterday. “It’s our honor and our joy. He was an inspiration to us and still is.”
Services will be held for Waldman at Adath Jeshurun Congregation Synagogue, Services will be held for Waldman at Adath Jeshurun Congregation Synagogue, 10500 Hillside Lane West, in Minnetonka, Minnesota on Friday, December 16, at 1:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Ronald McDonald House, the National Association of Crohn’s Disease or the charity of choice are requested. Shiva will be held at the home of Brett & Sheila Waldman, 2731 Kipling Ave. South, St. Louis Park, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. Saturday, December 17th and Sunday, December 18th.
