Re-issuing forth this spring are a bouquet of fresh editions of old favorite titles for young readers. Anniversary editions of contemporary YA, paperback reprints of long out-of-print classics, as well as new packages for persistent sellers are all blooming this season. Read on to see what you should pick!

Emile: The Helpful Octopus

By Tomi Ungerer (Feb. 11, Phaidon, $18.95, ISBN 978-0-7148-4973-7).

The renowned rebel author-illustrator Ungerer died last month, leaving an oeuvre of children’s books full of mischief and wisdom. This picture book, first published in 1960, is being reprinted by Phaidon, recounting the story of a multi-talented octopus.

Pinkerton, Behave!

By Steven Kellogg (Feb. 12, Puffin, $8.99, ISBN 978-0-451-48152-8).

One of Kellogg’s most recognizable characters from among the more than 100 books to his credit, Pinkerton has endured in print since his debut in 1979. This volume is newly revised and re-illustrated—Kellogg removed a burglar’s gun, for example—and the Great Dane is ready to fail all over again at obedience school.

City Green

By DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan (Feb. 19, Harper, $7.99, ISBN 978-0-06-290614-4).

The 25th anniversary of DiSalvo-Ryan’s book centered on a community garden is now repackaged in paperback, just in time for Earth Day.

Hold Still

By Nina LaCour (Feb. 26, Penguin, $10.99, ISBN 978-0-525-55608-4).

Ten years after it was first published, LaCour’s YA novel is reprinted with a new jacket. The book follows a teen learning how to heal from the grief experienced after her closest friend’s suicide. The volume includes a new essay by LaCour.

Fantastic Toys: A Catalogue

By Monika Beisner (Mar. 12, NYRB Children’s, $17.95, ISBN 978-1-68137-311-9).

First published in 1975, and since out of print, this picture book about magical toys by the German designer is newly reissued.

The Swish of the Curtain

By Pamela Brown (Mar. 12, Pushkin Children’s, $12.95, ISBN 978-1-78269-185-3).

This British series about seven children eager to become stars of the stage inspired generations of actors, including Dame Maggie Smith. The first volume was written in 1938 when the author was 14, and was ultimately published in 1941. The series is now brought back into print in the States. Also forthcoming in the Blue Door series: Maddy Alone (May 14, paper, $12.95, ISBN 978-1-78269-187-7), Golden Pavements (June 25, paper, $12.95, ISBN 978-1-78269-189-1), and Blue Door Venture (July 23, paper, $12.95, ISBN 978-1-78269-191-4).

Ox-Cart Man

By Donald Hall, illus. by Barbara Cooney (Mar. 19, Viking, $18.99, ISBN 978-0-451-48127-6).

The 40th anniversary of this Caldecott winner about seasons on a New England farm gets a new edition with a foreword by Anita Silvey. 

The Story of Captain Nemo

By Dave Eggers, illus. by Fabian Negrin (Mar. 25, Pushkin, ISBN 978-1-78269-208-9).

A new series by Pushkin called Save the Story publishes children’s book classics retold by contemporary writers, including illustrations and afterwords by the authors on the origin of the story. In the first of three this season, Eggers retells Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.

The Story of Antigone

By Ali Smith, illus. by Laura Paoletti (Mar. 25, Pushkin, ISBN 978-1-78269-089-4).

Part of the first English-language releases of the Save the Story series is Smith’s version of Sophocles’s Antigone.

The Story of Gulliver

By Jonathan Coe, illus. by Sara Oddi (Mar. 25, Pushkin, ISBN 978-1-78269-207-2).

Continuing the first round of Pushkin’s Save the Story series, Coe offers his own take on Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.

The Village by the Sea

By Anita Desai (Apr. 16, NYRB Kids, $12.99, ISBN 978-1-68137-351-5).

Desai’s survival story set outside of Bombay was first published in 1982. Long out of print, NYRB now reprints it under its Kids imprint in a paperback edition.

If I Stay

By Gayle Forman (May 14, PRH/Penguin, $10.99, ISBN 978-1-984836-50-2).

Forman’s bestselling YA novel—which was adapted for film—is reissued for its 10th anniversary with an additional chapter from the protagonist’s perspective.

Move Over, Rover!

By Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Jane Dyer (May 14, HMH, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-328-60635-8).

First published in 2006, this picture book shows a menagerie of animals crowding in on a dog’s house during a rainstorm. The picture book is here reprinted in a shaped board book edition.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle

By Hugh Lofting (May 21, Racehorse, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-63158-267-7).

The Newbery-winning novel is now printed in a fresh edition featuring new illustrations from Ángel Domínguez. Previously adapted to film multiple times, the story of the animal-loving doctor returns to the silver screen in 2020.

The Dollhouse Murders: 35th Anniversary Edition

By Betty Ren Wright, illus. by Leo Nickolls (June 4, Holiday House, $8.99, ISBN 978-0-8234-3984-3).

A glow-in-the-dark jacket and new foreword by R.L. Stine will do little to reassure frightened readers on the 35th anniversary of this Edgar-nominated middle grade novel about a haunted dollhouse.

Hot Day on Abbott Avenue

By Karen English, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe (Jun. 4, HMH/Clarion, paperback, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-328-50006-9).

Reissued in celebration of its 15th anniversary, this picture book about friend enduring a hot summer’s day from Coretta Scott King Honoree English and Caldecott Medalist and Coretta Scott King Award winner Steptoe sizzles in its new paperback edition.

Prince Bertram the Bad

By Arnold Lobel (June 11, Macmillan/Holt, $18.99, ISBN 978-1-250-14366-2).

Out of print since it was first published in 1963, this picture book by the creator of Frog and Toad, about a badly behaved prince, is reissued.

The Smallest Elephant in the World

By Alvin Tresselt, illus. by Milton Glaser (June, Enchanted Lion, $16.95, ISBN 978-1-59270-261-9).

Written by author and graphic designer Tresselt, and illustrated by acclaimed designer Glaser, this 1959 picture book is now brought back into print by Enchanted Lion. The book follows a tiny elephant in search of a place where he belongs.