The World is Round

Author(s): Gertrude Stein

Gifts & Gift Books

The World is Round is Gertrude Stein's only children's book and tells the story of a young girl named Rose who contemplates about who, what, and why she is - often expressing herself through rhyme and song - eventually making a long solo journey up a mountain. As with many of her writings, Stein plays with words and language throughout the book, incorporating her most famous line, Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose, several times in the story. Honoring the graphic beauty of the first publication, this edition is an exact facsimile - just slightly smaller in trim size - and features all of Clement Hurd's stunning blue and white line art printed on the rose pink paper that was so important to Stein. Hurd, best known for his work in Goodnight Moon, was selected by Stein herself from a field of competitors. This edition showcases numerous highlights including: a revealing foreword by Clement Hurd's son, illustrator and author Thacher Hurd; an afterword by Clement Hurd's wife and erstwhile collaborator, Edith Thacher Hurd, which also sheds light on the children's book publishing scene in the 1930s; and images from the Hurd family archives such as Stein in France at the time of the book's writing, the real-life Rose, Clement Hurd at work, as well as with his wife and son, and correspondence between Clement Hurd and Gertrude Stein during their collaboration. Visually breathtaking and eternally modern, this special edition of The World is Round will appeal to new and old readers of this unique children's classic.


Product Information

"a book. a beautiful book. arrived. it is pink and it is smart and it is beautiful. bring that book over here so i can look at it. would you like some tea?"--Maira Kalman

Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) worked under the pioneering psychologist William James and later studied medicine. An important patron of the arts, she acquired pictures by many contemporary artists, most famously Picasso, while her home became a popular meeting place for writeres and painters from Matisse to Hemingway. Her books include Three Lives, Tender Buttons, and The Autobiograpy of Alice B. Toklas. Clement Hurd is best known for illustrating Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, the classic picture books by Margaret Wise Brown. He illustrated more than one hundred books, including the Johnny Lion books, The Day the Sun Danced, and The Merry Chase. Thacher Hurd is an author and illustrator of children's books. Among his books are Art Dog, Bad Frogs, and Bongo Fishing. His book Mama Don't Allow won the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award. He and his wife Olivia divide their time between Vermont and Berkley, California.

General Fields

  • : 9780062203076
  • : HarperCollins Publishers
  • : HarperCollins
  • : 01 September 2013
  • : United States
  • : 01 November 2013
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Gertrude Stein
  • : Hardback
  • : English
  • : [E]
  • : 128
  • : 2 Colour Throughout