This week is a very special celebration for all of us
here at Peachtree—it’s
Children’s Authors and Illustrators week! We are very grateful for all of the authors and illustrators
we've worked with over the years, but today, we wanted to focus on
a different set of authors and illustrators (we think our talented colleagues
will understand).
We took some time this week to talk about the books,
series, authors, and illustrators that influenced our own childhoods. As a group
that now works to bring quality children’s books to a new generation of tiny
readers, it was our childhood favorites that initially sparked our love for books and eventually
inspired careers in children’s book publishing. With lots of funny stories and
reminiscing, we collected the following list to share with you.
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Viking Press |
Katie, our Marketing and Advertising Manager, did not
hesitate a second when she chose
Blueberries
for Sal by author-illustrator
Robert McCloskey as her favorite, adding that “every time I went to the library, I pulled that
one out.”
Melanie, our Production manager, said that she has always loved “all the old-fashioned mysteries.” Her favorite girl detectives were
Nancy Drew, originally published by Grosset & Dunlap and primarily written by
Mildred Wirt Benson, and
Trixie Belden, published by Western Publishing and written originally by Julie Tatham.
|
Viking Press |
Melissa, our Conference Coordinator and Publishing
Assistant, didn’t have any trouble choosing. She named Corduroy by Don Freeman,
saying, “Dad used to read it to me as a kid, and it was hands down my
favorite.” The stories of Corduroy are continued by other authors and
illustrators today.
Farah, our Subsidiary Rights Director and Trade and
International Sales Manager, could not decide right away. We left her alone for
a little to dig up her old favorites, and finally the winner emerged—the Grimm
Brothers’ original tale of Sleeping Beauty. However, Farah used to listen to an
audio version, and she listened in French. La
Belle au bois dormant is the French title, and Farah recalled, “I could
listen to that recording all day long!”
|
World Publishing Company |
Elyse, our Publicity and Marketing Assistant, remembered
countless readings of
The Very Hungry
Caterpillar—written and illustrated by
Eric Carle —and staring at the
bright colors in the illustrations. She had even made her own hungry
caterpillar out of a stuffed stocking to follow along with the story when she
read it.
Vicky, our Senior Editor, responded almost before I’d
finished the question. She chose
Alice in
Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll and published by
Macmillan Publishers “hands down.” She also explained that she had had a copy with
the original illustrations by John Tenniel, and she “liked the pictures almost
as much as the story.”
|
Methuen Publishing |
Nicki, our Creative Director, had a little trouble
choosing a favorite. I’m sure many of you can relate to this problem of having so many favorites, but Nicki’s dilemma was a little different. She told us that she had rarely read books for fun because there were so many mandatory books for school! However, after a little more thought and some aggressive Googling, she re-discovered some old series that she had really loved: the
Malory Towers series and
Claudine at St. Clare’s, both
written by
Enid Blyton.
Niki, our Associate Publicist, chose the
author-illustrator
Jan Brett .
She particularly remembered how in all of Jan Brett’s books, there were these
wonderfully illustrated borders around every spread. Niki explained that she
always liked following the other characters as she read through each story.
Kathy, our Vice President and Associate Publisher, reeled
off two titles immediately. Her favorites were
Harriet the Spy written
by
Louise Fitzhugh and originally published by Harper and Row, and
The Phantom Tollbooth written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer.
When we asked Courtney, our Sales and Marketing Customer
Support, she said that she had been “obsessed” with the
Babysitter’s Club series by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic. However, she gave two other
titles as her “all-time favorites”—
The
Westing Game written by Ellen Raskin and published by Dutton, and
Number the Stars by
Lois Lowry and published
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Finally, when we spoke to Emily, our Sales Marketing
Assistant, she chose the
Dark is Rising
series by
Susan Cooper.
Emily explained that she had just recently re-read the series, and she was so
refreshed by how Cooper did not “dumb down” her books. She even confessed that
she was “looking up words in a book meant for 12-year-olds.” She loved that
these books were still a great experience for her after so many years.
It was a fun little trip down memory lane for all of us.
Again, we are so grateful for all the authors and illustrators who made such an
impact on us when we were kids. And we strive each day to publish books that
will bring the same amount of joy to young readers today.
Let us know what your childhood favorites were and
celebrate all children’s book authors and illustrators with us!
Labels: Authors, Children's books, Illustrators