Here we offer a roundup of some noteworthy children’s books that are making their way back into print, first in a planned recurring feature. Represented among this crop are one of Philip Pullman’s boyhood favorites, Caldecott Medalist Roger Duvoisin, and a classic text on picture books.
Fletcher and Zenobia
In this 1967 picture book, a cat finds himself stuck at the top of the tree, where he meets a doll, and the pair set off on adventures. The book is a small trim size, with full color illustrations by Chess.
An Episode of Sparrows
NYRB Kids, the paperback imprint at New York Review of Books, continues to publish the highlights of previous lists into paperback editions. In this 1955 novel from the author of The Doll’s House, members of a community are perplexed when large amounts of dirt are stolen from the neighborhood garden, from which the neighborhood children have been banned.
The Magic Pudding
First published in 1918, this is the madcap story of animal friends who find a magical pudding that can change into whatever food its owner wants it to be. The book is a favorite of His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman, who contributes an introduction to the piece. "The book was written a hundred years ago," he writes, "but you wouldn't know it; it's so fresh and lively that it might have been written yesterday. Those of us who love the story, when we meet another fan, are happy to spend a long time exchanging our favorite sentences, quoting them from memory."
The Robber Hotzenplotz
Anthea Bell translates, with original spot illustrations from F.J. Tripp, a classic from the author of The Little Witch, brought to the U.S. from NYRB for the first time since its publication in Germany in 1962. The humorous, fantasy-infused middle grade adventure novel follows a robber throughout his day seeking new victims, when he comes across two friends who may be his undoing.
Veronica
This 1962 picture book by the Caldecott Medalist (White Snow, Bright Snow) follows the story of a hippopotamus who dreams of bigger things. The Bodleian Library at Oxford’s children’s imprint brings it back into print, with alternating black and white line illustrations and full color.
Harrison Loved His Umbrella
In this picture book, originally from 1964, a boy refuses to close his umbrella, causing his parents to devise a plan to foil him. Levine, a choreographer and Broadway director, offers a lively text, paired with the late Kuskin’s (The Philharmonic Gets Dressed) vibrant illustrations.
Picture This: How Pictures Work
The 25th anniversary of Bang’s book, which Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick has called “the Strunk and White of visual literacy,” gets revised and expanded by Chronicle this August. The book has long been a standard of understanding how image composition, color, and art elements create emotion and tell story for the visual reader.
D’Aulaires’ Book of Norwegian Folktales
Originally published in 1938, this volume by Caldecott Medalists Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire, known for their books of Greek and Norse myths, has returned to print. University of Minnesota Press offers up the duo’s adapted folktales alongside their characteristic pencil drawings, which here draw inspiration from Norwegian folk art.
