Ben Hatke

Dec 27, 2024 | nytimes.com | Ben Hatke

I'm on an overnight train, rolling westward. I'm traveling from Harpers Ferry, W.Va., to Chicago - off to see my daughter's college play, an alchemical reimagining of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" as a circus. Along the way, as the scenery fades to dark, I read two picture books. Both are journey books. Both are clever concoctions of seemingly disparate elements that, when combined, crackle with life. A good journey book, after all, captures the almost indescribable flavor of life on the move.

Sep 13, 2024 | nytimes.com | Ben Hatke

AMAZING GRAPES, by Jules FeifferAt the end of May I found myself on a voyage across the Atlantic aboard the Queen Mary 2, a mere week before the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Among the passengers were several World War II veterans. Four of them were well over the century mark, and another four were 99. My own grandfather was in Normandy in 1944, so to be traveling with the veterans was humbling, to put it mildly.

Dec 15, 2023 | nytimes.com | Ben Hatke

Several years ago my daughters came back from hiking and announced that they’d found the entrance to an undiscovered cave, perhaps even a whole system of caverns. I was skeptical. After all, they were hiking a maintained trail in a national forest, just 10 minutes from our house. There were even picnic shelters close by. Still, I went with them for a look. They showed me where they’d gone off the trail, sliding down a steep bank of leaves.

Jun 15, 2023 | publishersweekly.com | Adam Rex |Kate Messner |Remy Lai |Ben Hatke

The Story of Gumluck the Wizard (Gumluck the Wizard #1)Rex (A Little Like Waking) deftly wraps big themes—friendship, honesty, justice, self-awareness—into an absurdly silly and heartfelt series launch chronicling a wee wizard’s quest to become a helpful hero.