What’s hot in the world of picture books? Predictably, trucks, bears, and kittens prove fruitful subject matter. But the sleeper trend of the last few months? Herman Melville.
Yes, everyone’s favorite 19th-century novelist has inspired three recent picture books. With Call Me Moby (Balzer + Bray, Feb. 10), Lars Kenseth reimagines the great white whale as a gleeful, toddlerlike creature who sees the whaling ship Pequod as an enticing toy—much to the crew’s terror and Captain Ahab’s fury. Peter Raymundo’s Moby Duck (Dial Books, 2025) reenvisions the hunt for Moby-Dick as a bathtub adventure, with a giant rubber ducky as the quarry.
Meanwhile, Matt Phelan goes for a slightly deeper cut with Bartleby (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, March 3), recasting Melville’s politely obstinate law clerk as a stylishly dressed young polar bear (complete with bowler hat and tie) who greets his teacher’s every request with a firm “I prefer not to.”
Why Melville? And why now? “I’m actually surprised it’s taken this long!” says Kenseth. “Melville’s stories are so epic and imaginative, the translation into picture books feels so natural. Plus, they’re stories parents will remember. If a bedtime reading of Call Me Moby coaxes a grown-up back to the classic, I would be so happy.”
Fortunately, these creators aren’t aiming for CliffsNotes versions of Melville; instead, they focus on child-friendly elements of the stories. (Adults stymied by Moby-Dick’s lengthy chapters on cetology will be relieved.)
“I’ve always loved ‘Bartleby, the Scrivener,’ and one day I connected it with the idea of a kid who always says no to things,” says Phelan. “It’s a disarming way to say no, and like in Melville, it has an effect on everyone around Bartleby. I was interested in exploring how this might feel to both the class and Bartleby himself. And to hopefully find a happier resolution than Melville’s ending.” Indeed, Phelan’s Bartleby discovers a way to participate in a class project that lets him stay true to himself—a heartening conclusion that will speak to youngsters who march to their own beat.
With Call Me Moby, Kenseth sought to give the title character a voice. “In a book riddled with symbols, Moby-Dick is the ultimate symbolic riddle. Is he God? Fate? A comment on American imperialism? The only one who doesn’t get a say on what the whale represents is Moby. When I realized that, I lifted a conspiratorial finger to my lips and thought, What if he’s just a cute whale trying to make friends with the crew of the Pequod?”
Phelan’s not aiming to make children into instant fans of the classics. “I doubt these books will send kids racing to read Melville,” he notes, “but I do think it’s good to build some name recognition. Each generation should remember the art of the past, whether it’s Melville or Buster Keaton or Aretha Franklin.”
So what’s next? I’m holding out for picture-book versions of A Tale of Two Cities, the Odyssey, and Don Quixote—after all, these creators have proven that the sky’s the limit when it comes to kid lit adaptations.
Mahnaz Dar is a young readers’ editor.
