| Children's column - out of print, not out of mind |
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| Children's |
| Written by Nicolette Jones |
| Friday, 28 November 2008 10:45 |
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Rumours (if exaggerated) that Houghton Mifflin was no longer commissioning struck fear into the hearts of authors, illustrators and agents everywhere. And yet – though I would never recommend mainstream publishers doing only this – children’s publishers know there is a plus side to giving attention to what has already been published. All children’s publishers have rolling programmes of rejacketing and reissues, since with each passing year children grow into books they used not to be old enough for. Some houses already specialise in resurrecting the out-of-print, such as Jane Nissen Books, Barn Owl, and Catnip, which is increasingly good at discovering lost gems, including, recently, Berlie Doherty’s Carnegie-winning Granny Was a Buffer Girl and, forthcoming, Joan Lingard’s The File on Fraulein Berg. (Meanwhile there are still nine out-of-print Carnegie Medal winning novels to consider, including two of Jan Mark’s.) And there seems to be a fashion for bringing back out-of-print picturebooks and illustrated books - for a nostalgic market, for those interested in the history of illustration, and to reintroduce the timeless. Orion has just republished The Land of Nursery Rhyme (1932) in which the quaint skill of the illustrations by Charles Folkard outweighs the datedness of some of the improving choices of rhymes among old favourites. Last year from OUP came Clarke Hutton’s A Picture History of Britain, first out in 1945 and only a bit squeamish about, for example, Nell Gwyn and Mrs Simpson, both described as “friends” of royalty. It was followed up this year by Hutton’s A Picture History of Great Discoveries (1954). In the summer Phaidon embraced 1960s classics with celebrated graphic designer Bob Gill’s A Balloon for a Blunderbuss (1961) and What Colour Is Your World? (1967), and Jean-Jacques’ Sempé’s Martin Pebble (1969). This autumn Pavilion has brought back Ralph Steadman’s Fly Away Peter (1967). And National Maritime Museum Publishing has revisited Rotten Island (1969) by William Steig (creator of Shrek). The brains of Martin Salisbury, of Anglia Ruskin’s MA in Illustration at Cambridge, with his expertise in the history of 20th-century illustration, would be worth picking for more artists not to be lost. A word of warning, however. Egmont did wonders in 2006 by republishing Brian Wildsmith’s deserving and innovatory picturebooks, including his Greenaway-winning ABC (1962) and Jungle Party (1974). Though published in the US by Star Bright Books, both are now out of print in the UK again. And now, don’t all rush at once: Phoebe and the Hot Water Bottles, by Terry Furchgott (Picture Lions 1980), goes for between £30 and £120 in paperback when copies come up on eBay. Comments (2)
  written by Ben Cameron, November 28, 2008
Being involved with a couple of these myself (as the Publisher of Steadman's Fly Away Peter and the Publicist for Steig's Rotten Island) I find it interesting how some of these books are being republished as 'retro' books, that look like old books and are aimed mostly at nostolgic parents, and some are old books packaged as if they are new books aimed at the children. Either way, I hope it is more than a trend and that we can keep the best books from the past in print.
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Just a tiny word of correction on Brian Wildsmith - Egmont republished just one of his books, Jungle Party (and a very beautiful edition it was too). Here at OUP we have 16 of his wonderful books still in print, and an ongoing reissue programme which will see more coming back into circulation over the next few years. The latest addition is Brian Wildsmith's Animal Gallery, just out in September, with Brian Wildsmith's Favourite Nursery Rhymes coming next in March. ABC is on our list and we hope to bring that one back before too long, too!