I got to thinking about this while reading my daughter reprints of those Little Golden books. Was reading to children just not a "thing" before WWII? What's the history?
The simple answer, Look at books on fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and fables. Most were stories to educate children and entertain them. In fact reading to children was a big deal before WWII. Stories were tailored to children as soon as we could string one together.