Jason Reynolds has a big vision for the linked short stories of his next book.
Kokila will publish the author’s The Lamplighter’s Son, the press announced in a news release. It did not provide a publication date.
Reynolds made his fiction debut in 2014 with the young adult novel When I Was The Greatest, following it up a year later with The Boy in the Black Suit. He went on to publish several more books for young readers, including As Brave as You, which won the Kirkus Prize; the Track series of children’s novels; Long Way Down; and, most recently, Soundtrack, published in April.
The Lamplighter’s Son, Kokila says, will be “an absurd, fantastical collection of interconnected short stories set in one location, This Street, as it evolves over the span of decades.”
The press compares the book to the works of Roald Dahl and Shel Silverstein. “It is a tapestry of a book, woven from the unassuming threads of each tale, and nothing short of a revelation.” Kokila told Kirkus that the book will be “middle grade but really for readers of all ages.”
Reynolds said in a statement, “I couldn't be happier to work with Penguin Young Readers, more specifically the brilliant folks at Kokila, on what is no doubt my most ambitious project to date. I’m grateful that a book like this will exist in the world, as a reminder of the power of imagination, the necessity of strangeness, and the unmatched function of story.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
