Though there are certainly a lot of memorable fiction books that kids who grew up in the ‘90s loved (check out our articles on Goosebumps, Choose Your Own Adventure, and The Boxcar Children), there was also another nonfiction series of books that enraptured not just children, but adults as well. That’s right, we’re talking about none other than the ubiquitous Chicken Soup for the Soul series that first debuted in 1993. Seriously, if your house didn’t have at least one Chicken Soup for the Soul book, did you really live through the ‘90s?
So where did these books come from? For that, we look to motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. While Canfield was out and about giving inspirational speeches, he would often tell stories that he had heard from other people. After his speeches, the attendees would come up and ask him if particular stories were in any books that they could buy and share with others. After being asked this many different times for many different stories, he was like hmm, maybe these people have a good idea here! Maybe I should compile the best stories I’ve heard into a book!
Canfield went to his colleague Mark Victor Hansen and pitched him the idea, and Hansen wanted in too. While Canfield originally wanted to pick 70 stories, it was Hansen who came up with the idea to include 101 stories — he learned as a student ambassador in India that 101 was the number of completion. So, they picked the best stories, wrote them up, and compiled them into a book. The book was meant to soothe and provide comfort, just like your grandmother’s cooking might, and though that could have been enough to inspire the title, Canfield has said that the Chicken Soup name came to him in a dream in which the hand of God scrawled the words “Chicken Soup” across a chalkboard.
Canfield and Hansen went to the major New York publishers to try to sell their book, but none of them were interested in their positive stories. In the end, they were able to get it published after showing it to the owner of a small health and wellness publisher in Florida named HCI, Peter Vegso. Little did they know it would soon become a phenomenon, selling 11 million copies around the world, and inspiring many additional volumes with specific types of stories, such as Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, which came out in 1997, and which I most definitely owned, and most definitely don’t remember any of the stories from.
What you might not know is that these books are still published to this day. In fact, about a dozen books are published each year, and as of 2020, there were over 250 titles published in the series! In 2008, Canfield and Hansen sold their company to William Rouhana, Amy Newmark and Robert Jacobs, who quickly decided to expand upon the well-known brand outside of just books. The new owners expanded to pet food, and a line of soups, sauces, and prepared foods. Back in 2008, the books accounted for 90 percent of sales, and by 2011 they accounted for just 50 percent of sales. The company has even expanded into the entertainment world, and own what used to be Sony’s Crackle as of late 2020. Despite all of this expansion, though, I think we can all agree that nothing quite compares to the heyday of Chicken Soup in the ‘90s.
Did you own any of the Chicken Soup books? Have you ever revisited them? Let us know in the comments! And if you want to buy any of them, here are some we’ve picked out:
- Chicken Soup for the Soul books have been translated into 43 languages, have been published in over 100 countries, and have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide.
- The original series held a spot on the New York Times Best Seller list continuously from 1994–1998.
- In 2004, Chicken Soup for the Soul launched a wholesome and balanced pet food, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul, which can be found in over 5,000 independent pet specialty stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.
- Since 2009, the number of stores selling Chicken Soup for the Soul books has expanded from 9,000 to over 30,000.
- Back around 2016, a movie based on the book series was supposed to come out, but still has not come to fruition as of 2021.
- Chicken Soup for the Soul books have been translated into 43 languages, have been published in over 100 countries, and have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide.
- The original series held a spot on the New York Times Best Seller list continuously from 1994–1998.
- In 2004, Chicken Soup for the Soul launched a wholesome and balanced pet food, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul, which can be found in over 5,000 independent pet specialty stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.
- Since 2009, the number of stores selling Chicken Soup for the Soul books has expanded from 9,000 to over 30,000.
- Back around 2016, a movie based on the book series was supposed to come out, but still has not come to fruition as of 2021.
