Children of Morrow. H.M. Hoover. Puffin Edition (1973)
Cover art Michael Heslop
I read this in 1980, selected from the school library. I really liked it. Exciting and original, I thought although I had yet to read John Wyndham's The Chrysalids (1) at the time. I did about a year later and found the latter to be a little derivative if I'm honest. The truth of course is that The Chrysalids, predates Children of Morrow by almost two decades and so the opposite is actually true.
Fancying a re-read - or simply the possession of a piece of the past - I bought myself a copy a few years ago from off of that ebay place. Stock photo images being what they are, it was actually the Beaver Books version (published 1975) that arrived and with an altogether different cover(2) from what I recalled! It's by John Raynes and is very attractive in its own right - and somehow reminds me of Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout(3) - but it doesn't have standing stones or the lens flares painted on the cover so it didn't scratch the itch. As such, I ended up seeking out another copy a bit later, once I was sure it was really the original Heslop design.
I've still not re-read it yet but when I do, I'll have two editions to choose from now. Until then I'm happy to drink the whole adventure in through the eyes, and in stereo! Which is not so much a mixing of my metaphors as a blending of the senses, which is what great art should feel like. Yes?
We'll talk much more of Michael Heslop and John Wyndham in the future. And of Nicolas Roeg, Walkabout and most probably standing stones as well. Until then I'll address the one question I've so far left unanswered which is; which of the two similar books is best? Well, I'll say this much: I own two copies of Children of Morrow but have only read it once, where as I own only one copy of The Chrysalids but have actually read it twice. - You do the maths!
Steve
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