Exactly when is it “all calm,” amidst a soon-to-be bustling fall and winter holiday season and a fraught and consequential national election? For me, for a moment, there’s great calm in looking at this issue’s peaceful cover art, by Kerilynn Wilson, from One Foggy Christmas Eve. During this time of year especially, there can be no shortage of picture books featuring — and centering — grandparents; you may’ve heard us call them “grandparent traps,” designed to tug at the heartstrings without really offering much narrative satisfaction. That’s not always a bad thing: sometimes reassurance is all a person needs, and shared reading can be more about the reader than the read-to. But in this picture-book adventure about braving the elements, real and fantastical, to get to your grandparents’ house, the journey is thrilling and the cozy denouement well earned.

Many of the articles in this issue spotlight intergenerational relationships. ­Outgoing National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Meg Medina’s Zena Sutherland Lecture, excerpted beginning on page 21, pays loving homage to her family’s matriarchs: her grandmother, mother, tías, and childhood caregiver, along with exploring how art can imitate life and be informed, transformed, and deepened by it. This is a theme picked up by Maurene Goo’s Writer’s Page on page 46, as the scope of her novel-in-progress about “three generations of Korean American women” had to be reimagined after the COVID-19 pandemic struck and after Goo herself became a parent. Emma Shacochis’s Horn Book Reminiscence on page 50 describes the influence of her book-loving — and Horn Book–loving (Yaya’s got good taste!) — grandmother, whose high standards and enthusiasm for storytelling act as her guides. An enterprising grandma features in Tamales for Christmas, starred on page 9, as one of our annual Holiday High Notes recommendations. These offerings, thirty-two in total, feel especially unusual and diverse this year, telling some familiar stories in unique ways, bringing others to light, and exploring ­various aspects of seasonal observance.

Concluding a year of mini-themed issues, this one’s focus is young adult, and we’re glad to present many angles on a multifaceted topic. “YA Finds Its Way” on page 36 provides a broad overview, while three fine book creators — Goo, Nikki Giovanni, and Paula Yoo — offer deep and welcome perspectives on ­fantasy/­rom-com­, poetry, and nonfiction, respectively. Yoo’s thoughts (page 39) on ­investigating and synthesizing modern history reveal her own complex ­authorial and journalistic identities. Giovanni’s poem (page 44), with its lyrical, dreamy ­musings and devastating ending, is an unforgettable model of “tough topics,” introspection, and looking beyond.

A year ago, in this issue, the Horn Book was preparing for our centennial-year journey. It has been wonderful; and there are still the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards, Evening of Dialogue, Boston Book Festival, and more to look forward to. While celebrating our own first hundred years, we learned of that same milestone, le centième anniversaire, for L’Heure Joyeuse, the first children’s library in France (see page 32). The library was founded soon after World War I and intended as a balm for young people, a just-right place that would offer imaginative exploration and creativity, healing and relief from terrifying times. The authors conclude: “We hope — and believe — it is still a place where young minds can arise to such values as tolerance, liberty, and self-construction, and to promote knowledge and imagination through children’s literature.” We fervently believe that as well — and we know you do too. The library is hosting an international children’s literature conference in Paris next spring. My French is a little rusty (Où est la bibliothèque?!), but one can always dream.

From the November/December 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine. For more Horn Book centennial coverage, click here.

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