NYRB Children’s Collection 40-Book Set — Why I Bought It (and Love It)

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Post update:

Since I ordered my book set and after writing this blog post, I noticed that the NYR Children's Collection changes the content of its book set from time to time, as they published many more books from the moment when I purchased my set. 

This means that the specific book set that is on sale today may contain a different number of books than at the time of my purchase, as well as different titles.

However, most if not all individual titles are also available outside the set.

Do you want to know a secret?

No one knows about it, save my lovely wife.

But you must promise not to tell anyone else about the time that I splashed out $433.98 on a children's book set. The book order was placed on June 2, 2010... and when I received it I was not happy.

For my review of The Man Who Lost His Head
- click on image

More like ecstatic!

In this post you will find exclusive information on my most scandalous book order EVER.

The Marie Antoinette moment ("Let them eat cake") in my Read Aloud Dad career.

Even my close friends do not know about my decadency - I think they would think I lost my mind.

I  ordered a $400+ book set for kids.

But they had not seen, what I had seen.

OK, OK ... stop with the build up - just tell us what did you order and why?

The outragous New York Review's Children's Collection Set.

What is it?

For my book review of The Two Cars - click on picture

Seven years ago, The New York Review Children’s Collection was launched in an attempt to bring back the finest of children's literature that went out of print and now is unavailable to new generations.

The Collection includes books for all ages of children, from picture book offerings for preschoolers, to chapter books and novels for older children.

All the books I received - although of different sizes - are in uniform red or blue binding.

These are very sturdy hardcover editions (no dust sleeves) and are visually extremely appealing.

This is true quality.

The books seem out of this world - as if they belong to past times, when quality bound editions were issued by a dedicated publisher year after year in the same format after painstaking selection of the best books.

Yes, the quality is fantastic.

Get The New York Review Children’s Collection 10th Anniversary Set on Amazon Also at ThriftBooks

See all stores · Also on: UK · DE · CA · FR · IT

Book Gluttony - An Original Sin?

Gluttony is a lust of the mind.Thomas Hobbes

Why did I buy a set? Wasn't one or two books enough?

Because of the quality of the books and their extraordinary value.

For my book review of Wolf Story
 - click on the picture

All of them have a beautiful individuality - but they are still part of a still growing original set of sidelined classics.

I want my kids to enjoy it while they grow. To see diversity on their bookshelf selection, but to enjoy how it can all come together in a single collection.

How could one define the New York Review Children's Collection Set in three words?

It  expands minds.

The range of authors. The meticulous selection by the publisher for old gems that were no longer in print. The unexpected topics.

Can you believe it - I never read a single of these books before I ordered. Not a single one. I did not need to.

The publisher's novel idea and book quality captured my attention, but the deal was clinched when I saw the range of individual titles. It made me fall in love once again.

More than 50 New York Review Children's Classic books have been published to date, but the 40-book set that I ordered included the first 41 books that were published.

Until now, I have reviewed six gems from this collection - The Two Cars, Jenny and the Cat Club, Beyond the Pawpaw Trees, The Sorely Trying Day, The Man Who Lost His Head and Wolf Story.

Each and every one of them was amazing, original and, most importantly, made my kids smile and laugh.

For my book review of Jenny and the Cat Club
 - click on the picture

It seems that the list of books in the set varies from time to time.

The collection I ordered consisted of 40 individual hardcover titles.

So, before I made up my mind - should I order or not - what could I do?

I looked at several other leading online retailers) - but there were absolutely no customer reviews of the book set as such - not many people made a leap of faith it seemed.

I glanced today, still no reviews on Amazon.

Would I be the first one? Was it worth it?

Was this going to be the most expensive mistake in my short career as as children's book reviewer?

Well, I didn't accept to be beaten so early in the game.

So I started reading the publisher's synopses and customer reviews of the individual books.

For my book review of The Sorely Trying Day 
- click on the picture

It is impossible to give you a magical summary with all views of all the books here.

So, I will review as many of the individual books from the collection as I can, over the next few years.

And whenever I review a book, I will add a link to my review - into this page.

By clicking on any of the book covers that you see to the right side of this post, you will be taken to my review of that individual book from the New York Review Children's Collection.

Please, let me also give you an independent view of the set - I want to simply quote a sentence published in USA Today - maybe it explains the situation best:

“…a handsome collection of reprints, aimed at rescuing neglected children’s classics from ‘the dustbins of history.’” —USA Today

 "Dustbins of history" .... "neglected children's classics"...

For my book review of Beyond the Pawpaw Trees
 - click on the picture

 Well, I'm happy to be part of the salvage effort.

Anyway, after the monster package arrived, I invited my twins (who were not yet three years old then) to help me rip away the wrapping.

They thought it was the best game of the day - a good start to a life-long friendship with the New York Review Children's Collection Set.

I had spent almost $450 on the books, but I was lost for words! What a breathtaking collection.

One day, if you find that you have that kind of money to spare and wish to expand some kids library with a unique collection of alternative classics - spare the NYR Children's collection a thought.

What’s inside the NYRB Children’s Collection set

• Format & build: uniform hardcovers with classic jackets; sturdy library-friendly feel.
• Printing: crisp type; clean reprints of out-of-print gems; art reproduction varies by original era.
• Reading mix: picture books, short novels, and full-length classics—easy to ladder by age/attention.
• Age fit (rough guide): read-aloud from ~5+, independent reading ~7–12 depending on title length.

Great starter picks (family-tested)

• The 13 Clocks by James Thurber — lyrical, funny, quotable fantasy; terrific for dramatic reading.
• Jenny and the Cat Club by Esther Averill — gentle, episodic stories; perfect early-chapter read-alouds.
• Carbonel: The King of Cats by Barbara Sleigh — cozy magic + cats; bridges early chapter books to novels.

Tip: shelve a few shorter titles at kid eye-level and rotate seasonally—keeps the set feeling “new.”

I did and - six months on - I'm still ecstatic I did it.

Or else, choose individual books from the set that catch your eye - and enjoy a new type of classic.

Do you know any similar collection that I should be aware of?

If you do, please tell me in the comments section below.

I'm a sucker for great children's book collections! 

Happy reading,

Read Aloud Dad

 

Where to buy

These are affiliate links — if you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

 

Further resources for parents (opens in new window – not affiliate links):

• NYRB Kids – official collection hub: All children’s titles in one place: picture books to novels
• PRINT Magazine – “What Makes a Great Picture Book Tick?”: On founding the Children’s Collection and design ethos
• Beautiful Books – binding/style changes in NYRB Children’s (collector note): On older quarter-cloth spines vs newer printings
• NYRB Children’s book boxes (curated sets): Themed multi-book bundles for starting a shelf