Five Children and it : Penguin Drop Caps - Jessica Hische

Five Children and it

Penguin Drop Caps

By: Jessica Hische (Illustrator), E. Nesbit

Hardcover | 20 November 2013

At a Glance

Hardcover


RRP $69.99

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Five Children and Itcontinues to be one of our most enduring stories, as fantastical and as it is true to the wonders of childhood.


From A to Z, the Penguin Drop Caps series collects 26 unique hardcovers-featuring cover art by Jessica Hische

It all begins with a letter. Fall in love with Penguin Drop Caps, a new series of twenty-six collectible and hardcover editions, each with a type cover showcasing a gorgeously illustrated letter of the alphabet. In a design collaboration between Jessica Hische and Penguin Art Director Paul Buckley, the series features unique cover art by Hische, a superstar in the world of type design and illustration, whose work has appeared everywhere from Tiffany & Co. to Wes Anderson's recent film Moonrise Kingdom to Penguin's own bestsellers Committed and Rules of Civility. With exclusive designs that have never before appeared on Hische's hugely popular Daily Drop Cap blog, the Penguin Drop Caps series debuted with an 'A' for Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, a 'B' for Charlotte Br nte's Jane Eyre, and a 'C' for Willa Cather's My ntonia. It continues with more perennial classics, perfect to give as elegant gifts or to showcase on your own shelves.

N is for Nesbit. While exploring the environs of their summer home, five brothers and sisters find a Psammead, or Sand-fairy, in a nearby gravel pit- "Its eyes were on long horns like a snail's eyes, and it could move them in and out like telescopes; it had ears like a bat's ears, and its tubby body was shaped like a spider's and covered with thick soft fur; its legs and arms were furry too, and it had hands and feet like a monkey's." The Psammead is magical and, every day, the ancient and irritable creature grants each of them a wish that lasts until sunset. Soon they find their wishes never seem to turn out right and often have unexpected-and humorous-consequences. And when an accidental wish goes terribly wrong, the children learn that magic, like life, can be as complicated as it is exciting. Five Children and Itcontinues to be one of our most enduring stories, as fantastical and as it is true to the wonders of childhood.
Industry Reviews
Winner of the 2012 Fifty Books/Fifty Covers show, organized by Design Observer in association with AIGA and Designers & Books

Winner of the 2014 Type Directors Club Communication Design Award

Praise for Penguin Drop Caps:

"[Penguin Drop Caps] convey a sense of nostalgia for the tactility and aesthetic power of a physical book and for a centuries-old tradition of beautiful lettering."
--Fast Company

"Vibrant, minimalist new typographic covers.... Bonus points for the heartening gender balance of the initial selections."
--Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

"The Penguin Drop Caps series is a great example of the power of design. Why buy these particular classics when there are less expensive, even free editions of Great Expectations? Because they're beautiful objects. Paul Buckley and Jessica Hische's fresh approach to the literary classics reduces the design down to typography and color. Each cover is foil-stamped with a cleverly illustrated letterform that reveals an element of the story. Jane Austen's A (Pride and Prejudice) is formed by opulent peacock feathers and Charlotte Bronte's B (Jane Eyre) is surrounded by flames. The complete set forms a rainbow spectrum prettier than anything else on your bookshelf."
--Rex Bonomelli, The New York Times

"Drool-inducing."
--Flavorwire

"Classic reads in stunning covers--your book club will be dying."
--Redbook

Other Editions and Formats

Paperback

Published: 29th December 2018

Paperback

Published: 13th June 2019

Penguin Drop Cap Classics

Moby-Dick : Penguin Drop Caps - Herman Melville
Pride and Prejudice : Penguin Drop Caps - Jane Austen

RRP $55.00

$45.75

17%
OFF
Five Children and it : Penguin Drop Caps - Jessica Hische

RRP $69.99

$48.50

31%
OFF
Jane Eyre : Penguin Drop Caps - Charlotte Bronte
My Antonia : Penguin Drop Caps - Willa Cather
Great Expectations : Penguin Drop Caps - Charles Dickens

RRP $59.99

$45.75

24%
OFF
Middlemarch : Penguin Drop Caps - George Eliot
Lord of the Flies : Penguin Drop Caps - William Golding
Siddhartha : Penguin Drop Caps - Hermann Hesse
Leaves of Grass and Selected Poems and Prose : Penguin Drop Caps - Walt Whitman
Joy Luck Club : Penguin Drop Caps - Amy Tan
Cannery Row : Penguin Drop Caps - John Steinbeck
Sky Burial : Penguin Drop Caps - Xinran