In July I wrote about defining children’s classics, and here I am with a semi-related topic.  New books by authors that I already consider to be classic, which just adds to the conundrum of defining children’s classics.  Are they automatically given classic status?  At this point it doesn’t matter, I’m just excited that I’ve been able to preview some of them and that this fall they’ll be hitting the shelves.

And now that I’ve kept you in suspense for an entire paragraph, here’s what is in store:

1. Every Thing On It—poems and drawings by Shel Silverstein

Sadly Shel Silverstein passed away in 1999, but lucky for us, some of his work has continued to be published posthumously.  In 2005 a book of poetry titled Runny Rabbit was published and this September Every Thing On It, another new volume of poetry, will be published. Flipping through the small preview copy that we received brings back distinct memories of reading through the copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends that my grandparents kept at their home for me, my brother, and cousins to read whenever we came to visit (and which eventually found its way to a home on my younger brother’s bookshelf).

2. The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories by Dr. Seuss

This collection of seven short stories (accompanied by the sort of illustrations we know and love from the Dr. Seuss collection) were all originally published in magazines between the years of 1948 and 1959 . In his introduction of this collection, Seuss scholar Dr. Charles D. Cohen likens these stories to buried treasure and claims that they “were hiding in places that could be found without a treasure map,” and I, for one, am so grateful to Dr. Cohen for tracking them down.  I read through this collection and am happy to report that they are precisely what we love in the already classic Seuss stories.  I often giggled at Hop on Pop as a child and today The Cat in the Hat is still a popular story-time choice for the little girl I babysit.  Be on the lookout for The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories this September.

3. Bumble-Ardy by Maurice Sendak

In my last blog on children’s classics, I mentioned that Where the Wild Things Are was (and still is so far as my recommendations to customers) one of my favorites.  So I’m quite glad to see that Sendak is still at it with this new book about a little pig and his misfortunes with birthday parties.  This book is full of Sendak’s usual quirky creatures who are up to some sort of mischief.  A fun book with great illustrations, Bumble-Ardy will be for sale this September!

So keep these classic authors’ newest work in your mind this fall when you begin your Christmas shopping because quite frankly, you just can’t give child a better gift than a wonderful book from one of these beloved authors.  And before these books come out, perhaps you can refresh yourself on some of your old favorites from Silverstein, Sendak and Seuss.  -Kaycie

Share