A new children’s book by David Sedaris and the late Ian Falconer is coming next year.
TOON Books will publish Pretty Ugly in 2024, the Astra imprint announced in a news release. It describes the book as a “beautifully gross graphic novel.”
Pretty Ugly will be the first children’s book from Sedaris, the bestselling humorist known for essay collections including Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Happy-Go-Lucky. It will also be the first book illustrated by Falconer to be published since the artist, who created the Olivia series, died in March.
The book, TOON says, “showcases the comic brilliance of the bestselling duo as they look at the age-old question of why we deem some people beautiful and others ugly.” It follows Anna Van Ogre, whose “lovely monster face turns into that of a sickeningly adorable, rosy-cheeked little girl—and it’s not switching back!”
TOON’s founder and publisher, Françoise Mouly, said in a statement, “With the systematic attacks so-called conservatives are leveling on all those they see as deviant or even just different, it felt urgent to publish a tale with such a clear moral center. David and Ian agreed and earlier this year, we finalized the editing and design, prepping it for spring 2024 publication. A few weeks before he died, I sent Ian the dummy and—in true Ian style—he remarked, ‘This looks great. I can’t wait to see it bound…and gagged.’”
Pretty Ugly is slated for publication on Feb. 27, 2024.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
