Just because we have to grow up doesn’t mean we have to leave our childhood favorites behind. This collection of new and forthcoming nonfiction books for adults provides a new take on childhood classics and their beloved creators.
Believe in the World: Wisdom for Grown-Ups from Children’s Books
collected by Amy Gash and Elise Howard, illus. by Eleanor Davis, with a foreword by R.J. Palacio. (Algonquin, Aug. 20, $25, ISBN 978-1-64375-553-3)
Gash and Howard’s collaboration reframes the themes of children’s literature for older readers. Pulling from the works of contemporary writers such as Elizabeth Acevedo and Jason Reynolds, and classic authors such as Beverly Cleary, this collection showcases how the edifying power of children’s literature continues well into adulthood.
The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us
by Rachelle Bergstein. (Atria/One Signal, July 16, $28.99 ISBN 978-1-66801-090-7)
Few authors have had the impact that Judy Blume has had on children’s literature. For fans of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret to Blubber, this book looks at Blume’s life from a larger scope, tracing the woman and creator whose work influenced generations of young people.
How to Draw the World: Harold and the Purple Crayon and the Making of a Children’s Classic
by Philip Nel. (Oxford University Press, Nov. 27, $19.99, ISBN 978-0-19-777759-6)
Children’s literature scholar Philip Nel continues to study the formulation of children’s classics following his 2017 work Was the Cat in the Hat Black? Now Nel takes a glance at how Crockett Johnson’s 1955 book has become a children’s literature staple.
L.M. Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon: A Children’s Classic at 100
edited by Yan Du and Joe Sutliff Sanders. (University Press of Mississippi, May 15, $110 hardcover, ISBN 978-1-4968-5249-6; $30 paperback, ISBN 978-1-4968-5250-2)
Lucy Maud Montgomery is responsible for the creation of one of the most beloved tales for children, Anne of Green Gables. Du and Sanders aim to shine a light on one of the Canadian writer’s lesser-known works, Emily of New Moon, a trilogy tracing the life of Byrd Starr from young orphan to professional writer—in time for the book’s 100th anniversary.
Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words
by Boel Westin, translated by Silvester Mazzarella. (University of Minnesota Press, Apr. 30, $29.95, ISBN 978-1-5179-1729-6)
Westin offers readers a new perspective on Finnish-Swedish writer and artist Tove Jansson, who is most notably treasured for her creation of the Moomins series, which debuted in 1945. Utilizing journal entries, letters, and personal archives as well as conversations with the subject herself, this biography showcases an artist both within and beyond her work.
