“Do what you think best.” Roger Sutton says that more often than you’d think when his coworkers ask for his opinion. Not to say he doesn’t occasionally put his foot down (“Over my dead body”), but he’s always up for discussion and debate, and he always listens. In his editorials, in his in-person conference appearances, and on his tagline: “The Horn Book editor’s rants and raves” — he has never been afraid to voice his strongly held beliefs (sorry, Harry Potter) or to provoke controversy and discussion. But the values of thinking for yourself, reading what you like, and even putting aside (maybe just for now) something you don’t are all at the heart of Roger’s twenty-five-year stewardship of the Horn Book.

So, in the spirit of doing what we think best, and having worked alongside the very best, we’re sneaking this tribute to Roger into his final issue as editor in chief of the Magazine, only its seventh in its nearly one hundred years. His professional contributions can be named and quantified — the dozens upon dozens of editorials, the many hundreds of reviews — but on his watch we marked other milestones as well. There have been Horn Book marriages (including his own), Horn Book babies, and memorable staff outings, not to mention Roger and Richard’s famous annual holiday parties (with their incalculable pounds of homemade Chex Mix and always featuring Roger in one of his iconic bow ties).   

Enjoy this snapshot look at RS through the years, with people who’ve meant so much to him and to the field of children’s literature. (The celebration continues after the new year; more to come!) And like the Hotel California (often referenced in our office), the Horn Book has a way of keeping people close. Starting January 1, we look forward to Roger’s new role as market ambassador, with continued Talks with Roger interviews, Publishers’ Previews, and more on the horizon.  

Thanks for everything, boss.  

— the Horn Book editors 

From the January/February 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine. With thanks to Mark Tuchman for design of the print-collage version of this article.