June 29, 1999 — Wiesner, Clarion 1992

📖 June 29, 1999 by David Wiesner (1992, Clarion Books) — a surreal picture book in which a young girl’s science experiment sends giant vegetables raining down across the United States. This is a first edition, first printing with full number line, complete with original dust jacket.

QUICK FACTS

• Author/Illustrator: David Wiesner (b. 1956), three-time Caldecott Medal winner
• Publisher: Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Company, New York
• Year: 1992 (first edition, first printing — number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1)
• Format: Hardcover with dust jacket
• Pages: 32 | ISBN: 0-395-59762-5
• Condition: VG-/VG (book) / G+/VG- (jacket) — full report below

THE STORY

On May 11, 1999, young Holly Evans of Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey launches vegetable seedlings into the ionosphere using weather balloons as part of a science experiment. Weeks later, on June 29, 1999, impossibly enormous produce begins falling from the sky across the United States — turnips larger than trees in the Rockies, plane-sized artichokes in Anchorage, limas in Levittown. The news media descends, the government investigates, and Holly watches from the sidelines as her experiment takes on a life of its own.

Published the same year Wiesner’s Tuesday won the Caldecott Medal, June 29, 1999 extends his trademark blend of meticulous realism and deadpan absurdity. Where Tuesday used wordless spreads to show frogs flying through the air, this book pairs Wiesner’s paintings with a mock-news-report narrative that treats the impossible with complete straight-faced seriousness.

THIS EDITION

First edition, first printing by Clarion Books, 1992. The copyright page carries the full number line (10 through 1) confirming first printing status. Jacket art is copyright 1991 by David Wiesner. Original retail price of $15.95 is printed on the front flap and is not clipped. Reinforced binding, typical of Clarion’s children’s book production of this era.

COVER ART & ILLUSTRATIONS

The dust jacket features Wiesner’s signature watercolor technique — a sky crowded with hot air balloons carrying wooden planter boxes overflowing with vegetables, set against a dramatic cloudscape of greys, blues, and warm orange balloons. The spine shows silver foil lettering on a rust-colored band over light blue cloth boards. The front cover beneath the jacket bears a silver foil-stamped balloon emblem. Interior spreads showcase Wiesner’s masterful watercolor and gouache work: luminous skies, detailed botanical renderings of impossibly oversized produce, and precise suburban landscapes rendered with photographic clarity. The color palette shifts from the cool blues and greens of Holly’s backyard to the warm, dramatic tones of the nationwide vegetable phenomenon.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Published immediately after Wiesner’s Caldecott Medal win for Tuesday (1992), establishing him as one of the most inventive picture book creators of his generation
• Wiesner would go on to win two more Caldecott Medals — The Three Pigs (2002) and Flotsam (2007) — making him only the second illustrator in history to receive three
• Blends science fiction premise with deadpan humor and painterly realism, a combination virtually unique in children’s literature
• The mock-newspaper-report narrative format was innovative for a picture book of this era, predating the “found footage” trend in visual storytelling

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? First edition, first printing. The full number line (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) on the copyright page confirms first printing. Published by Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin, 1992.

What condition is it in? VG-/VG for the book; G+/VG- for the dust jacket. See full condition report below.

Is the dust jacket included? Yes. Original jacket is present and not price clipped ($15.95 on front flap). The jacket shows rippling from apparent moisture exposure along the bottom edges, with the tide mark not visible on the outer side and illustrations unaffected.

FOR COLLECTORS

This is a first printing of Wiesner’s follow-up to his Caldecott Medal year — a key title for any serious Wiesner collection. The three-time Caldecott Medalist is one of the most decorated illustrators in children’s book history, and June 29, 1999 sits at the creative peak of his career. The reinforced binding and Clarion production quality are typical of the era. The gift inscription dated 1993 places this copy in the year of publication.

Condition Report

Overall Grade: Book: Very Good- (VG-)/ Very Good (VG) / Jacket: Good + (G+)/Very Good- (VG-)

Cover & Spine: Quarter red cloth over blue paper-covered boards with silver foil stamped balloon emblem on the front cover. The cloth on the spine hinges is rippled, front board corners are bumped, paper at tips lightly split, back board corners unbumped, intact.

Dust Jacket: Original jacket is not price clipped, original price of $15.95 inside front flap. Jacket is rippled, front and back, showing apparent moisture exposure at some point along the bottom edges, no signs on the book (oddly). Tide mark is not visible on outer side, with images front and back not impacted, just the ripples to the surface.

Text Block & Pages: Pages are clean and off-white. A neat ink gift inscription dated 1993 is present on the front flyleaf. Full-color watercolor illustrations remain bright and vivid.

Binding: Binding is firm, square, and tight.

See accompanying images for full condition details. Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

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