hardback puffin classics

If you haven't seen them, there is a gorgeous new collection of hardcover editions of children's literature from Puffin Classics, the Penguin division for kids. Designed by Daniela Terrazzini, they have bright cloth covers with whimsical illustrations and nice creamy pages. They remind me of library editions of books I read as a child, but with much lovelier cover designs.

They're similar to the Coralie Bickford-Smith classics I like so much, and my favorites are probably Robin Hood, The Secret Garden, and The Wind in the Willows. The Anne one is the least faithful to the spirit of the book with its more modernized sensibility (come now, cupcakes? and all that pink!), I think, but it's still rather sweet for a young girl. The inclusion of Huck Finn is also rather unusual, since it's the only book that doesn't quite fit the whole dreamy, sweet theme of the other books and cover styles. I do like that combination of tangerine and orange in the design, though.

If you're looking to add to your collection or know a child who needs a keepsake copy, these would make really beautiful gifts. It's very strange, but I can't seem to find them for sale online anywhere, so this may be an exclusive in-store Anthropologie purchase for the time being, which they did with the last batch of Penguin classics as well.

Images courtesy of Daniela Terrazzini.