William Maxwell

The Heavenly Tenants

60 pages; 6 full-page illustrations, ISBN 0-930407-25-3 / 978-0-930407-25-4, hardcover Parabola

Illustrated by Ilonka Karasz. This delightful, long-out-of-print children’s book was originally published in 1946. It brought together two great talents from the heyday of The New Yorker: William Maxwell, associate editor and frequent contributor, and Ilonka Karasz, whose magical illustrations graced many covers of the publication, especially at Christmas time. The story is a touching parable of a family who go away on vacation, leaving their farm, pets, and livestock home alone, to be taken care of by the signs of the zodiac.