I n Wendy Cope ’s poem “The Orange”, she buys herself… a very big orange. One so huge that she laughs at it, then shares it with her friends (Robert and Dave).

David Lehman, who conceived the series in 1987, launched it in 1988 and has overseen it with a rotating list of guest editors ever since, made it clear that the decision to shutter the book series was ...

Q. Which are some of your favorite book covers? I love children’s book covers from the 1920-1950s – illustrations by Garth Williams, Tasha Tudor, Clement Hurd, Virginia Lee Burton. Q.