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Wordsworth Editions is relaunching its Children's Classics range, involving the repackaging of 55 titles and the launch of new books.
The new look, which will start filtering out in January as the old stock sells out, was designed to create a unified brand. Helen Trayler, m.d., said: "I just thought the old ones all looked dated, and also, unlike the adult classics, which are all blue and everyone knows are Wordsworth Classics, the children's ones didn't have the same feel, because they are all different."
The new covers are now all pale cream and gold, and several of the images have been replaced, either with out-of-copyright artwork or, in the case of at least 12 titles, with bespoke illustrations by artist Claire Ruddock, which will be exclusive to Wordsworth. "I saw them and absolutely fell in love with them—they reminded me of Beatrix Potter-type illustrations," said Trayler. The price will remain at £1.99.
Among the new titles are The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore, Rudyard Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill and Louisa May Alcott's Little Men and Jo's Boys. These titles will appear as one volume, as with several others including Thomas Hughes' Tom Brown's Schooldays and Tom Brown at Oxford and James Barrie's Peter Pan and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.
"This is another thing we haven't really done before," said Trayler. "We think people will like it because they are getting double the value for the same price."
She added: "I think we will probably see an increase in sales with what we've done. Because they are so cheap, when people instantly recognise them as the Wordsworth brand, they tend to collect the whole series."
Trayler is now working to improve the Adults' Classics range. Around 30% of the range's 140-odd titles will be given new images. After this has been completed, Trayler said she is considering a full repackage. The range will also see additions this spring, including James Joyce's Ulysses, Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Devils and The Karamazov Brothers and Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier.