Books published by publisher Overlook Juvenile

From the brilliant mind of Donald Barthelme, the National Book Award-winning tale for children of all ages. One morning in 1887, Mathilda went out into the back yard and discovered that a mysterious Chinese house had planted itself there overnight. She had wanted a fire engine, but the mysterious Chinese house was intriguing too. From inside came strange sounds: growls, howls, whispering, trumpeting. Plucky Mathilda walks right in. She finds all sorts of peculiar things: a sulky captured pirate, a giant popcorn-popping machine, an elephant that falls downhill once a day—truly "every kind of flawless flourishy footlooseness." Mathilda gets to see everything in every room, guided by the hithering thithering djinn, who even arranges to leave her a souvenir that is just about exactly what she wanted. Renowned author Donald Barthelme presents Mathilda’s escapade in a witty and whacky text with collage illustrations made entirely from nineteenth-century engravings. It’s a unique, fun, and ultimately wonderful book.

Adults, children, and reviewers have embraced the stouthearted Freddy the Pig since he and his Bean Farm chums first appeared in 1927. The Overlook reissues of this classic series-with more than 150,000 hardcover copies sold-have brought these timeless adventures to a whole new generation eager for a good time and a good laugh. As a recent USA Today feature about the Freddy phenomenon noted, the Freddy books brilliantly illustrate the cardinal virtues: "fair play and a good sense of humor." In The Clockwork Twin, Freddy reprises his most famous role-as detective!-and Walter Brooks's talking animals rollick through amazing adventures. They talk, dance, sing, joke, and work out intricate problems. When a mechanical double is rigged up by Mr. Bean's brother, Uncle Ben (who is an eccentric inventor), as a friend and playmate for the Beans' adopted boy, Adoniram, a comedy of errors ensues. The Bean Farm animals then decide to look for Adoniram's real-life brother-it's a job for Freddy the detective. Illustrated by Kurt Wiese.

That clever pig returns a hero of the gridiron in Freddy Plays Football. And so what if it's all a fluke? Freddy was the best blocker and tackler the Centerboro High School football team had ever seen. In fact, he was so good on the field the Centerboro school board found itself hard put to find anything in the by-laws about preventing a pig from enrolling as a student. Between worrying about the big game against Tushville and the Bean family's troubles with the odious Aaron Doty, the stellar pig has his trotters full!

Fascinating and dream-like, this tale for children by international bestselling author Per Olov Enquist tells the story of Mina, who wakes up one night to find that a crocodile has bitten her on the bottom. Her tired parents don't recognize the seriousness of the situation, but Mina's Grandpa knows what to do. He takes Mina, her sister, and their cousins on a dangerous journey up Three Cave Mountain. What they find there will leave them changed forever. Offering a sweet and original glimpse into the mind of a perky and irrepressible child, this book will thrill younger and older readers alike.

Join Jane and her scatterbrained companion, the ever-dusting housekeeper Mrs. Deal, as they embark on outlandish adventures. Whether she’s floating away in atomic-powered luxury airships or navigating through magical castles, Jane’s hair-raising fiascos will have you on the edge of your chair. Jane can be found sinking through the pages of a book to meet all sorts of weird characters such as witches, toads, ghosts, and even fantastic; or braving a whole string of crises and narrow escapes in improbable locations such as the Swiss Alps, the Scottish Islands, an African Jungle, and the mysterious Mountains of the Moon. Now, for the first time, encounter Jane’s escapades in a single-volume collection of immensely readable and contemporary adventure-stories recalling the beloved children’s tales of the past.

The beasts are back! If you haven't heard, the whole animal kingdom is roaring its approval for Beast Friends Forever, this collection of delectable verses about animals both rascally and sweet. With delicious poems by Robert Forbes and zany illustrations of each poem by master artist Ronald Searle, these wildly playful rhymes and charmingly intricate illustrations will keep readers seven to seventy coming back again and again. The anteater (who is not a cheater), a brave meerkat named Lee, Bugsie Seagull, and Dapper Don the fox feature along with many others in this timeless collection.