As a life-long bookworm, I am always looking for ways to get my three teens to put down their phones and read more books. Sound familiar? Then check out the coolest, new-to-me concept in book publishing: Penguin Minis. These novels for teens and tweens are turning the world of young adult books on its head.
Or, actually, on its side.
Penguin Minis are based on the Dutch dwarsliggers — thin, horizontally printed novels that were introduced about ten years ago in the Netherlands and have taken off, especially among younger readers. These mini books are small enough to fit into the back pocket of kids’ shredded jeans or tucked into their backpacks, without adding a ton of bulk and weight. thanks to the super thin paper. Like the kind you’d find in bibles or dictionaries. .
And no worries, every single word of the original book is still here..
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Related: 8 must-read summer reading books for tweens and teens who want to stay woke
The titles offered as Penguin Minis include among some of my favorite YA books: John Green’s novels, Gayle Forman’s If I Stay, S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, Ruta Sepetys’s Between Shades of Gray. There are newer titles being added all the time, too. Most recently, they’ve added Dear Martin by Nic Stone, and Rita Sanchez’s 2017 National Book Award Finalist, I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.
And I can tell you from experience as an “old adult” that young adult novels like these aren’t just for those under 18. (Though we may need to wear our readers to devour these versions ourselves!)
Penguin has also adapted the beautifully covered In Bloom Book Collection: Little Women, Heidi, A Little Princess, and Anne of Green Gables, which we’ve covered here before, into minis. Perfect for those of you who love these classic stories and want to share them with their kids on your next vacation without overloading your carry-on.
Who knows? Maybe this teen-targeted format will become your next favorite way to read as well.
Find Penguin Minis from our affiliate Amazon or your local indie bookseller.
These came out in 2018 — or maybe before. They’re cool, but not new.
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Yup! That’s why she wrote “new-to-me books” up top. Sometimes things are new to us, which means they’re new to some of our readers too. Glad they’re expanding the library so even more people can discover them. -Eds
That’s exactly what I was going to say. Nowhere in this article does she say it just came out. She says “new-to-me”, which implies to the reader that it’s not new, but it’s new to her. I guess you overlooked that part. 🙂