The World Is Round

This classic children’s book is “a treasure trove for admirers of [Stein’s] singular vision and Hurd’s always charming artwork” (Publishers Weekly).

Written in her unique prose style, Gertrude Stein’s The World Is Round chronicles the adventures of a young girl named Rose—a whimsical tale that delights in wordplay and sound while exploring the ideas of personal identity and individuality. This volume replicates the original 1939 edition, including all of Clement Hurd’s original blue-and-white art printed on the rose-pink paper that Stein insisted upon. Also featured here are two essays that provide an inside view to the making of the book. The first, a foreword by Clement Hurd’s son, author and illustrator Thacher Hurd, includes previously unpublished photographs and sheds light on a creative family life in Vermont, where his father and mother, author Edith Thacher Hurd, often collaborated on children’s books. The second essay, an afterword by Edith Thacher Hurd, takes readers behind the scenes of the making of The World Is Round, including the numerous letters exchanged between Hurd and Stein as well as images of Stein with the real-life Rose and her white poodle, Love.

“The perfect mix of Gertrude Stein’s painterly words and Clement Hurd’s elegant illustrations make The World Is Round an unforgettable treasure.” —Todd Oldham

“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

© 2023 Harper (Ebook): 9780062311061

Release date

Ebook: December 15, 2023