Cover Reveal: More to the Story by Hena Khan

I’m always so very interested in how the current era chooses to interpret and reinterpret classic works of children’s literature. There’s been a lot of talk in the news lately about nostalgia and the role it plays in how adults introduce books to kids. You want your children to love the books that you loved as a child, even as, on some level, you realize that they will never see the books through the same lens that you did. Plus, loving a book, any book, is deeply personal. It cannot be forced.

Which brings us to Little Women.

Louisa May Alcott’s best known work is having a bit of a Renaissance. More specifically, it’s getting modernized. Constantly. In 2018 we saw the cinematic modern retelling starring Sarah Davenport. Now, in 2019, two books have come out, also set in the modern day, also based on the original book. The first of these is the graphic novel Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo. You’re sure to hear more about that book in the coming months. The other? You wouldn’t necessarily know it was Little Women-based unless you were told. Say, by your friendly neighborhood children’s literature blogger.

More to the Story is the latest book by Hena Khan. Remember, Ms. Khan? If you read her middle grade novel Amina’s Voice then you may be familiar with her work. This year, on September 3rd, you’ll hear her own take on Alcott’s classic. One that you certainly haven’t seen before. Here’s the plot synopsis:

When Jameela Mirza is picked to be feature editor of her middle school newspaper, she’s one step closer to being an award-winning journalist like her late grandfather. The problem is her editor-in-chief keeps shooting down her article ideas. Jameela’s assigned to write about the new boy in school, who has a cool British accent but doesn’t share much, and wonders how she’ll make his story gripping enough to enter into a national media contest.

Jameela, along with her three sisters, is devastated when their father needs to take a job overseas, away from their cozy Georgia home for six months. Missing him makes Jameela determined to write an epic article—one to make her dad extra proud. But when her younger sister gets seriously ill, Jameela’s world turns upside down. And as her hunger for fame looks like it might cost her a blossoming friendship, Jameela questions what matters most, and whether she’s cut out to be a journalist at all…

For me, the lure of Little Women is the same today as it has ever been. It’s about family. It’s about women. It’s about finding what it is you want to do with your life. I look forward to Hena Khan’s version and I know you feel the same.

And now, the cover:

Thanks to the folks at Simon & Schuster for the reveal.

Filed under: Cover Reveal