Secret Lives of Walter Mitty and of James Thurber »

James Thurber (1894)-1961) created some thirty volumes of humor, fiction, children's books, cartoons, and essays in just about as many years. A founding member of The New Yorker staff, Thurber wrote and illustrated such enduring books as The Thurber Carnival and My Life and Hard Times, which have appeared in countless editions and dozens of languages throughout the world.

The WISP series (short for Wonderfully Illustrated Short Pieces) represents an ingenious marriage of two creative forces: the artistry of today's foremost children's book illustrators and the literary legacy of beloved authors of popular short works for adults. The resulting offspring of this union are captivating, full-color illustrated editions of timeless classics that readers will want to savor and collect.

For the first time ever, the series makes selected popular short works previously offered only in collections available in a unique, stand-alone format. Also for the first time, WISPs harness the talents of top children's book illustrators for the benefit and delight of a new, older audience.

The unique appeal of WISPs is brought to life in Marc Simont's The Secret Lives of Walter Mitty and James Thurber, which imaginatively renders the fantastic adventures of the famed protagonist in Thurber's beloved story, first published in 1939. Also included in this edition are Simont's renderings of Thurber's tongue-in-cheek autobiographical essay "The Secret Life of James Thurber", which first appeared in The New Yorker in 1943 and is not widely available.

These one-of-a-kind, attractively priced and invitingly formatted illustrated editions will make a great impulse buy with broad appeal.

Library Journal

Thurber's comedy classic launches Collins Design's new "WISP (Wonderfully Illustrated Short Pieces)" series. The line will take popular authors' top shorts that generally are limited to anthologies and break them out into individual illustrated volumes. Along with the two stories, this features illustrations by Marc Simont. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.