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| Cat Onder | |
Catherine Onder is Senior Vice President and Publisher of the Books for Young Readers Group. In addition to overseeing HMH's children's publishing, she edits such authors as Erin Bow and Ally Carter.
One joy of celebrating anniversary editions is recognizing that these are books that have planted themselves in the hearts and minds of generations of young people. We are honored at HMH to celebrate the 75th anniversaries of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince and Esther Forbes's Johnny Tremain. In both works, the authors engaged with the questions raised by creating at a time of war. What do we fight for? What do we live for?
The 75th anniversary edition of The Little Prince showcases archival photos, sketches, and both personal and academic reflections. Most moving for me is the photo of St. Ex's ID bracelet, recovered many years after his plane was shot down in World War II. For a home address, it lists his publisher. Until his country was free again, he would call books his home.
Capturing the driving energy of Esther Forbes's storytelling is the new introduction and cover of Johnny Tremain by Nathan Hale. A fan of the book since his school days, Hale entices new readers to history and a well-known story through the fresh format of the graphic novel.
Our current times also have me reading a related theme into the 25th anniversary of Chris Van Allsburg's The Widow's Broom--making moral choices in the face of noisy opposition.
"You are a brave woman!" Mr. Spivey called out.
--Chris Van Allsburg, The Widow's Broom (read the book to find out why the widow is even more faithful than brave)
I'll close now so you can hear directly from the renowned creators of three more of HMH's anniversary editions, and a fresh perspective on a timeless classic: Janell Cannon, Kristin Cashore, Lois Lowry and Nathan Hale. I know you'll enjoy their insightful reflections.