Holiday House

Holiday House opened its doors in 1935 as the "first American publishing house ever founded with the purpose of publishing nothing but children's books." (source)


They publish about 60 books, for Children ages four and up, each year. They do accept unsolicited manuscripts. (source)


As we read through the stories, we noticed that many of them had themes of acceptance, family, and friendship (often told with a dose of humor). We also noticed that Holiday House publishes a fair number of multicultural books, as well as nonfiction biographies (the later tended to have a high word count).



Getting to Know Holiday House Books

At Holiday House, Rabbits, Beasts, Twins, and Triplets | Spring 2015 Preview


President: John Briggs
Holiday House Celebrates 75 Years Making Books for Kids


VP & Editor-in-Chief: Mary Cash
Jack (and Jill) Be Nimble: An Interview with Mary Cash and Jason Low


Executive Editor: Grace Maccarone
An Interview with Grace Maccarone - Editor/Author - Holiday House


Senior Editor: Julie Amper
Editor Julie Amper - All the World's a Stage


Associate Editor: Kelly Loughman


Assistant Editor: Sally Morgridge
A Brief Biography (scroll down, it's on the left)


Director of Art Design: Claire Counihan



Books we had on hand (*indicates books we read):

*Crinkle, Crackle, Crack It's Spring! (2015); Written by Marion Dane Bauer; Illustrated by John Shelley



*Owl Boy (2015); Written and Illustrated by Brian Schatell



Swing Sisters: The Story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm (2015); Written by Karen Deans; Illustrated by Joe Cepeda



*New Shoes (2015); Written by Susan Lynn Meyer; Illustrated by Eric Velasquez



Bad Dog (2014); Written and Illustrated by David McPhail



*Cats are Cats (2014); Written and Illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev; Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Valeri Gorbachev



*But! (2014); Written and Illustrated by Tim Hamilton



Washday (2014); Written by Eve Bunting; Illustrated by Brad Sneed

*Little Puppy and the Big Green Monster (2014); Written and Illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

*There's a Pig in My Class (2014); Written by Johanna Thydell; Illustrated by Charlotte Ramel



Fix This Mess! (2014); Written and Illustrated by Tedd Arnold



*The Frazzle Family Finds a Way (2013); Written by Ann Bonwill; Illustrated by Stephen Gammell



*Senor Pancho had a Rancho (2013); Written by Rene Colato Lainez; Illustrated by Elwood Smith



*Dirty Gert (2013); Written and Illustrated by Tedd Arnold



*Rachel Carson and her Book that Changed the World (2012); Written by Laurie Lawlor; Illustrated by Laura Beingessner



*Ollie's School Day: A Yes and No Book (2012); Written by Stephanie Calmenson; Illustrated by Abby Carter



*Will Princess Isabel Ever Say Please? (2012); Written by Steve Metzger; Illustrated by Amanda Haley



*Maia and the Monster Baby (2012); Written by Elizabeth Winthrop; Illustrated by Amanda Haley



The Schmutzy Family (2012); Written by Madelyn Rosenberg; Illustrated by Paul Meisel



The Snow Blew Inn (2011); Written by Dian Curtis Regan; Illustrated by Doug Cushman



Happy Endings: A Story About Suffixes (2011); Written by Robin Pulver; Illustrated by Lynn Rowe Reed



Even an Octopus Needs a Home (2011); Written and Illustrated by Irene Kelly



The Lion and the Mice (2011); Written and Illustrated by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley



A Picture Book of John and Abigail Adams (2010); Written by David A. Adler and Michael S. Adler; Illustrated by Ronald Himler



A Picture Book of Cesar Chavez (2010); Written by David A. Adler and Michael S. Adler; Illustrated by Marie Olofsdotter










At our next meeting on September 19, we will focus on books published by Abrams Books for Young Readers.