The myriad characters who have headlined titles published by HarperCollins Children’s Books since its 1926 inception reads like a who’s-who of fictional luminaries, beginning with Mary Poppins, Mike Mulligan, Curious George, the Little Prince, Amelia Bedelia, Lyle the crocodile, hippos George and Martha, and Ramona Quimby. These and many other beloved protagonists appear on a curated list of 100 children’s titles, compiled by the publisher to commemorate this milestone and underscore the depth and ongoing significance of its children’s publishing program. The accolades bear witness: HCCB titles and creators have garnered more than 1,300 awards and honors over the decades, among them 27 Caldecott Medals (including the 2026 winner, Fireworks by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Cátia Chien), 37 Newbery Medals, and 11 National Book Awards.
A Glance Back…
Having published titles for children as early as 1836, HarperCollins formally established the Department of Books for Boys and Girls 90 years later, under the leadership of Virginia Kirkus. During her tenure, HarperCollins published such classics as 1932’s Little House in the Big Woods, which launched the nine-book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. That same year, the publisher eliminated its children’s department in a Depression-era cost-cutting move, and Kirkus left the company (and soon thereafter founded Kirkus Reviews).
After effectively campaigning for funding to revive the division, Louise Raymond, whom Kirkus had hired as her secretary, became its director and sought out new creative talent. Among the authors she fostered was Margaret Wise Brown, whose The Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon, both illustrated by Clement Hurd, were published in 1942 and 1947, respectively.
Ursula Nordstrom began her legendary tenure as director of the children’s books department in 1940, discovering and developing numerous creators of perennially beloved books, including Russell Hoban, Crockett Johnson, Ruth Krauss, Arnold Lobel, Maurice Sendak, Shel Silverstein, Tomi Ungerer, and E.B. White.
The scope and size of the HarperCollins Children’s Books list has grown dramatically over the decades, buoyed by the company’s acquisition of other publishers (Thomas Y. Crowell and J.B. Lippincott in 1977 and Harlequin and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2021), and by the 1999 merger with William Morrow, which brought into the fold books from Morrow Junior as well as Greenwillow and Lothrop, Lee & Shepard.
As the division marks its centennial, PW asked Rich Thomas, SVP and executive director of publishing, what distinguishes HCCB among the ranks of children’s publishers. In response he relayed the stories behind several iconic books.
“Before Where the Wild Things Are, picture books were largely vehicles for moral lessons or instruction,” he said. “Then, suddenly, here comes Maurice Sendak with illustrations that rivaled fine artwork, a believable child at the story’s center, and themes of deep, complicated emotions and how those feelings are processed through escapism and imagination. There had been nothing like it before, and it created a blueprint for picture books that followed.”
In another mode, C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia broke new ground in the children’s book realm, Thomas noted. “Lewis reimagined what a fantasy story could be. His books were filled with flawed characters and high stakes. And unlike most books that came before, they didn’t shy away from topics like war, social hierarchy, and what it means to be a child growing up fast in a broken world.”
Reflecting on more current pioneering releases, Thomas said that Angie Thomas “carried on this legacy” with her bestselling novel The Hate U Give, published in 2017 by then-Harper imprint Balzer + Bray, which received a Printz Honor and a Coretta Scott King Honor. “Books for young adults had long addressed issues of injustice,” he said. “But The Hate U Give, with its accessible prose and conversational voice, brought these stories into the mainstream while simultaneously garnering literary acclaim and a full sweep of eight starred reviews.”
…And a Look Ahead
Though Thomas deemed it “impossible” to select just a handful of titles from the spring list that he’s especially eager to introduce to young readers, he gave it a shot, citing A Kid Like Me by Norm Feuti (HarperAlley), a graphic novel that tells the story of a working class kid in a rural town; The Second Life of Snap by two-time Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly (Greenwillow), about a girl and a robot; Wombat Waiting (Storytide), a story from Katherine Applegate about a dog that is left homeless in the wake of wildfires; Medicine Wheels (Heartdrum), Byron Graves’s sophomore offering, about a talented Ojibwe skateboarder aiming to ride like his father; Mungo on His Own (Clarion), Matthew Burgess’s wintry new picture book, illustrated by Julie Benbassat; and Renegades: The Magic Awakens (HarperCollins), launching a new feline series by Warriors author Erin Hunter.
And looking ahead, what subject areas, formats, or audiences does Thomas envision the division expanding on in the future—or delving into for the first time? “I think the future will be a combination of honoring our legacy of groundbreaking literature, and exploring new ways to tell stories,” he replied. “If we do our jobs right and stay true to our core mission, then the books we’ll be publishing in 10 or 20 years are stories and formats that have yet to be conceived. It has always been our goal to stay multiple steps ahead of the curve and break new ground, and that’s something we’re committed to doubling down on as we begin our second century.”
