The Boy in the Dress
The sharp and funny first novel for children from bestselling publishing phenomenon David Walliams. More
Howl’s Moving Castle
This popular novel stars one of the most beloved and charismatic characters in children’s literature. More
Harry the Dirty Dog
Classic dog story; childhood favorite that has charmed readers for more than fifty years. More
Francesca Lia Block
It has been said that only two things helped survivors of the Holocaust: 1) massage and 2) telling their stories. More
Kevin Henkes
Ursula Nordstrom
When Anne Carroll Moore, the powerful and opinionated superintendent of children’s work at the New York Public Library, asked Harper & Brothers editor Ursula Nordstrom why she felt qualified to produce children’s books, Nordstrom said only this: “Well, I am a former child, and I haven’t forgotten a thing.” More
Eric Carle
I read to understand. More
Cammie McGovern
As the younger sister of an adored (sometimes overly perfect) sister, discovering Ramona and Beezus and the gang on Klikitat Street was a life-changer for me. More
Rita Williams-Garcia
My childhood reading helped to build me from the inside. More
Where the Wild Things Are
This winner of the 1964 Caldecott Medal changed the face of children’s literature. More
The Butterfly Lion
A moving story of enduring friendship, this is the award-winning favorite from a master storyteller. More
Letter from Arnold Lobel regarding Frog and Toad Are Friends
This handwritten letter from Arnold Lobel to Ursula Nordstrom, head of the Harper Children’s division in the U.S., accompanied the submission of his manuscript for the now-classic Frog and Toad Are Friends. More
Michael Bond
I was brought up in a house where books were an essential part of the furnishings. More
Garth Nix
Reading is to live More
Katherine Paterson
I read because I want more than one life, and books give me a limitless number of lives—lives that are different from the one I was born into. More
Original cover artwork for a 1965 edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
This original illustration by Italian artist Giorgio de Gasperi was used as cover art for a 1965 edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe published by Collins in the U.K. More
Letter recommending Sounder for publication
Harper editor Ferd Monjo wrote this letter to the head of the U.S. Harper Children’s division, Ursula Nordstrom, regarding a manuscript he had received in July 1968. More
1932: Laura Ingalls Wilder publishes Little House in the Big Woods…
Virginia Kirkus, inaugural department editor of Harper’s Department of Books for Boys and Girls, launches Laura Ingalls Wilder with the publication of Little House in the Big Woods. More
I Can Read!
Inspired by an occasion in which she attempted to find an appropriate book for a young boy who had just learned to read, Boston librarian Virginia Haviland telephoned her friend Ursula Nordstrom, the head of children’s publishing at Harper & Brothers. More
Kiera Cass
Reading has always been a safe place for me. More
Judith Kerr: Beyond The Tiger Who Came to Tea
Collins author Judith Kerr may be best known in the UK for her classic children’s picture books The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Mog the Forgetful Cat, but she is also renowned for her powerful autobiographical novels about her childhood and young adulthood. More
Sabriel
A revolutionary story that made Nix a rising star in the fantasy genre. More
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
A child’s perspective as a refugee during the rise of Nazism; now a modern classic. More
1926: The Department of Books for Boys and Girls is established at Harper & Brothers…
The Department of Books for Boys and Girls is established at Harper & Brothers. More
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
Garner’s celebrated children’s fantasy novel has become a cult classic of children’s literature. More
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia #1)
First book written in the world-celebrated Narnia series; captivating readers for more than sixty years. More
Marketing and publicity brochure for Charlotte’s Web
This 1963 marketing and publicity brochure for Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White includes a letter from White explaining how he got the idea for the story. More