Scribner’s YA/Juveniles

Heinlein Cover Art: Scribner’s YA/Juveniles

It is easy to think of Heinlein as the author of Stranger in a Strange Land, which opened the 1960s with a merciless critique of organized religion, monogamy and the nuclear family, and perhaps even apple pie, or as author of the ever-larger and more controversial novels that followed until his death.

The so-called juveniles, however—the dozen novels written for what we now would call the young-adult market and published between 1947 and 1958, plus two more non-Scribner’s in 1959 and 1963—are of perhaps equal import to the genre of science fiction, and to our culture and history in general. First, they all are quite decently written, and some are very fine indeed. While dealing with teenagers coming into the adult world of responsibility and decision and uncertainty, these books are rarely simple, and they never talk down to their audience. They encourage not only scientific competence but even cultural open-mindedness and self-reflection as well...and, most importantly, each tells an exciting and satisfying tale.

In addition, of course, apropos of this webpage, the juvies also have some particularly imaginative and exciting artwork...

Rocket Ship Galileo, 1947

Cover art by Thomas W. Voter

Interior art by Thomas W. Voter

Cover art by Steele Savage

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet—a rousing and beautiful renditioning, and as always, faithful to the text.

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

Cover art by Tristan Elwell—good facial expression, though rifle appears, incorrectly, to be the M1 carbine; for nice rendering of the correct full-caliber M1 Garand, see the Sweet illustrations above.

Space Cadet, 1948

Cover art by Clifford N. Geary

Under jacket art by Clifford N. Geary

This edition has the same Clifford N. Geary interiors as the reprint pictured directly below.

Cover unknown; interiors by Clifford N. Geary

Under jacket by Clifford N. Geary

Interior art by Clifford N. Geary

Cover art by Steele Savage

Frontispiece by Clifford N. Geary

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet. Against the strolling poses in rear, note foreground character’s posture, plus tension on the line, bringing action to the scene.

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

Red Planet, 1949

Inside cover art by Clifford Geary. Note occlusion of “First colonized in” by protractor.

Inside back art by Clifford Geary. The copyright page says, “Grateful acknowledgement is made to the Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona, for permission to use the photograph of the Mars Globe by Dr. Percival Lowell which appears on the end papers of the book.”

Cover art by Clifford N. Geary

Under jacket art by Clifford N. Geary. This edition also has the same Geary inside front and back cover art as the black-cover one above, plus interiors that printing does not have.

Interior art by Clifford N. Geary

I’m no stranger to the occasional ex-library copy, but this is the first I’ve seen from a railroad company library...and from Australia, no less.

Cover art by Steele Savage

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet—good character definition, but I am always struck by the colors and details of the canal plants as well.

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

Cover art by Barclay Shaw

Cover art by John Picacio

Farmer in the Sky, 1950

Cover art by Clifford N. Geary

Yes, indeed you will!

Under jacket art by Clifford N. Geary. Note how the color has stood up better than on the exposed dust jacket.

Title page art by Clifford N. Geary

Interior art by Clifford N. Geary

I wonder if this cover is by Paul Lehr (?).

Cover art by Lee Rosenblatt

Cover art by Bob Eggleton

A one-volume reissue of Heinlein’s first four Scribner’s juvies (see above); cover art by Bruce Jensen

Between Planets, 1951

This one lacks a dust jacket but has the same Clifford N. Geary interiors as the softcover below.

Cover art by Clifford N. Geary

Title page art by Clifford N. Geary

Back cover art by Clifford N. Geary. The listing of Have Space Suit—Will Travel shows this printing to be 1958 or later.

Interior art by Clifford N. Geary

Cover art by Steele Savage

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

For the version first serialized in the “slick” Blue Book in September and October 1951 as Planets in Combat, which includes many nice interior illustrations by Brendan Lynch, see “Serialized Novels.”

The Rolling Stones, 1952

Cover art by Clifford N. Geary (Dust jacket is a reproduction—note mismatched sections—although the book itself is indeed a first edition.)

Under jacket art by Clifford N. Geary

Interior art by Clifford N. Geary

Cover art by Clifford N. Geary. This 1967 reprint edition "V" has the same Clifford N. Geary interiors as the hardcover pictured above.

Under jacket art by Clifford N. Geary

Cover art by Steele Savage

Wraparound cover art by Gordon C. Davies

Cover art by Steele Savage

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

Wraparound cover art by Trevor Webb (One of the British releases whose cover has absolutely zero connection with the plot...)

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

Starman Jones, 1953

This version has the same Clifford N. Geary interior art as the library-binding one below, but under-jacket art is much briefer.

Cover art by Clifford N. Geary

Frontispiece by Clifford N. Geary

Interior art by Clifford N. Geary

Wraparound cover art by Roger Payne

Cover art by John Berkey

Cover art by Lee Rosenblatt

Cover art by Rick Sternbach

Cover art by Bob Eggleston

The Star Beast, 1954

Cover art by Clifford N. Geary

Frontispiece art by Clifford N. Geary

Cover art by Steele Savage

Cover art by Jan Parker

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

For the version first serialized in F&SF in May, June, and July 1954 as The Star Lummox, see “Serialized Novels.”

Tunnel in the Sky, 1955

Cover art by P.A. Hutchison (Dust jacket is a reproduction—a very nice one, however—although the book itself is indeed a first edition.)

Under jacket by P.A. Hutchison

Frontispiece by P.A. Hutchison

Cover art by Steele Savage

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

Cover art by Jean Yves-Kervevan

Cover photos by Paul Cooklin and Ryan McVay

Time for the Stars, 1956

Cover art by Clifford N. Geary

Under jacket by Clifford N. Geary

Frontispiece by Clifford N. Geary

Cover art by Steele Savage

The original Steele Savage painting, which I was fortunate enough to find at auction. Note the rich blue rather than the purple of the cover of the 1971 Ace printing, along with the big open space at top for title, etc. The piece is about 11.25 x 17 inches.

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

Cover art by Ondre Pettingill

Citizen of the Galaxy, 1957

Cover art by Leonard Everett Fisher

Title page art by Leonard Everett Fisher

Cover art by Davis Meltzer

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

See my “Serialized Novels” page for Freas covers and Van Dongen interiors for Citizen of the Galaxy when it was published in Astounding Science Fiction between September and December 1957.

Have Space Suit--Will Travel, 1958

Cover art by Ed Emshwiller—the only artist who can match, even surpass, Darrell K. Sweet for scrupulous attention to the text.

According to the receipt, I bought this in July 1997. I believe the shop was in Marinette, Wisconsin.

Under jacket art by Ed Emshwiller

Frontispiece by Ed Emshwiller

If you like this one, remember also to check out the gorgeous Emsh covers for Have Space Suit—Will Travel on my “Serialized Novels” page. It is particularly recommended for fans of Plutonian volcanoes and smash-’em-ups in alien spaceships.

Cover art by Steele Savage

Interior art by Ed Emshwiller

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet—as always, meticulous attention to details of the text, even down to the number of headlights and antennas on each spacesuit.

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

Cover art by Kelly Freas

Cover photo by Roger Ressmeyer

Cover photo by John Lamb

Starship Troopers, 1959

Starship Troopers of course was written to be part of the Scribner’s “juvenile” series begun with Rocket Ship Galileo back in 1947. Like his earlier juvies, after all, it deals with a young male protagonist entering the adult world of conflict, decisions, and responsibilities. Aside from the dangers of aliens and dimensional wormholes and the deadly flora and fauna of other worlds, previous works such as Rocket Ship Galileo, Red Planet, Between Planets, and Citizen of the Galaxy also already portrayed war or other armed conflict between humans, and Have Space Suit--Will Travel even contains a very pointed aside on the desirability of, essentially, a preemptive death penalty for rapists- and murderers-to-be in their infancy.

Heinlein’s editors considered this one too “adult,” however, and turned the piece down, so he published it with Putnam’s instead... Following the original intent, though, we list it in this section.

Cover art by Jerry Robinson

Cover art by Paul Lehr (?)

French-language edition

Cover art by Gordon C. Davies

Cover art by Carl Lundgren

Cover art by James Warhola

Back cover by Steve Stone

Cover art by Steve Stone

Cover art by Will Staehle

Remember to check out the lovely Emshwiller covers for Starship Troopers on my “Serializations” page, too; when first serialized in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October and November 1959, it was called Starship Soldier.

A reissue of Heinlein’s last three juvies—one Scribner’s and a Scribner’s-intended, plus Podkayne of Mars; cover art by Bruce Jensen

Variable Star, 2006

(with Spider Robinson) Cover art by Stephan Martiniere

Variable Star is quite an organizational puzzle for the webmaster. On the one hand, it could be termed a “later work” because...well, Spider Robinson did write and publish the novel eighteen years after Heinlein’s death, after all. Still, Robinson based his work on the existing seven pages of an eight-page outline that Heinlein wrote when planning the novel as another of Scribner’s juvenile series, so...here it is.

Podkayne of Mars (1963)

Podkayne of Mars is a young-adult, yes, but after his 1959 break from Scribner’s, it was never intended for them. Since this page focuses on Scribner’s work, for Heinlein’s final YA see my Later Works page.