Heinlein juveniles facts for kids

The works known as Heinlein juveniles are exciting young adult novels written by Robert A. Heinlein. These books were published by Scribner's between 1947 and 1958. There are twelve novels in this series, and together they tell an amazing story of space exploration.

One book, Starship Troopers, was offered to Scribner's but they didn't publish it. It was later published by Putnam. Another novel, Podkayne of Mars, is often called a "Heinlein juvenile," but Heinlein himself didn't see it that way.

Besides these novels, Heinlein also wrote two short stories about Scouting for boys. He also wrote three short stories for girls, which featured a teenage character named Puddin'.

The Scribner's Space Adventures

These are the twelve novels published by Scribner's:

• Rocket Ship Galileo (1947)
• Space Cadet (1948)
• Red Planet (1949)
• Farmer in the Sky (1950)
• Between Planets (1951)
• The Rolling Stones (also known as Space Family Stone, 1952)
• Starman Jones (1953)
• The Star Beast (1954)
• Tunnel in the Sky (1955)
• Time for the Stars (1956)
• Citizen of the Galaxy (1957)
• Have Space Suit—Will Travel (1958)

These twelve novels don't share the same characters. They are not direct sequels to each other. However, they all tell a single, big story about how humans explore space.

The first novel, Rocket Ship Galileo, is about trying to reach the Moon. The next few books, up to The Rolling Stones, are about traveling between planets within our own solar system.

Later books, from Starman Jones to Time for the Stars, explore the early days of interstellar travel (traveling to other star systems). In Citizen of the Galaxy, interstellar travel is common and easy. The main challenge in this book is keeping law and order across the galaxy.

The last Scribner's juvenile, Have Space Suit—Will Travel, features a character who travels to the Lesser Magellanic Cloud. There, he meets an intergalactic civilization. The final book Heinlein submitted to Scribner's, Starship Troopers, describes a war between humans and other alien species.

These books were written for teenage boys. But many different kinds of readers have enjoyed them. Heinlein wanted to give young readers challenging ideas. For example, he included teenagers using firearms in Red Planet. This often led to arguments with Scribner's editors about what was okay for young readers.

Why Starship Troopers Was Different

Starship Troopers was first written for Scribner's as a juvenile novel. But the publisher decided not to release it. This decision ended Heinlein's work with Scribner's. He later wrote that he was "tired of being known as a 'leading writer of children's books'." Putnam published the novel in 1960 instead.

Scouting Stories for Boys

Heinlein wrote two short stories connected to Scouting:

• "Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon" (1949)
• "Tenderfoot in Space" (1958)

After World War II, Heinlein wanted to write more than just science fiction for magazines. These Scouting stories were part of that plan. They were first printed in Boys' Life, a magazine for the Boy Scouts of America. His novel Farmer in the Sky also had strong Scouting themes. It was even published in Boys' Life as a series called "Satellite Scout."

Heinlein thought about writing another Boy Scout story called "Polar Scout." He hoped to collect all his Scouting stories into one book for young readers. However, he never wrote "Polar Scout."

Puddin' Stories for Girls

Heinlein also wrote three short stories for girls:

• "Poor Daddy" (1949)
• "Cliff and the Calories" (1950)
• "The Bulletin Board" (1951)

One of Heinlein's editors at Scribner's wished someone would write stories for girls. Heinlein took this as a challenge. He wrote a short story for girls, told from the point of view of a character named Maureen "Puddin'." This story appeared in Calling All Girls magazine. He wrote two more Puddin' stories. He even planned four more, hoping to publish a collection called Men Are Exasperating. But he never wrote more, and the Puddin' stories have never been put together in one book.

Podkayne of Mars

Heinlein once said he liked Maureen from the Puddin' stories so much that he "helped her to get rid of that excess weight, changed her name to 'Podkayne,' and moved her to Mars."

Podkayne of Mars was published in 1963. Heinlein felt a certain ending was very important for the story. But early readers really disliked it. So, he sadly changed it. In 1995, the book was re-released with both the published ending and Heinlein's original ending.

It's not completely clear if Podkayne should be called a "Heinlein juvenile." Many people who review books list it with his other juvenile novels. It is also told by a teenager. However, Heinlein himself did not think of it as a "juvenile" book.

Connections to Other Heinlein Books

Heinlein wrote some series of connected stories and novels. Three of his juvenile novels are linked to his "Future History" series.

For example, the character Hazel Stone from The Rolling Stones also appears in other novels like The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, The Number of the Beast, and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls.

Space Cadet takes place after a story called "The Long Watch". This story is part of Heinlein's Future History timeline. In Farmer in the Sky, the main character, Bill Lermer, plays the song "The Green Hills of Earth" on his accordion. This song is from a Future History story with the same name. Farmer also mentions the "Space Patrol," which is a group that keeps peace between planets. This group is described in Space Cadet.

The planet Mars in Red Planet seems to be the same Mars from Stranger in a Strange Land. The Martians in Red Planet are special because they are the teachers of Valentine Michael Smith, a character in Stranger in a Strange Land. They have similar amazing powers.

Have Space Suit—Will Travel mentions a new base on the Moon and a young "Luna City." These might be early ideas for the Moon outpost in his Future History and the Moon colony in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

Other juvenile novels don't fit easily into these series. For example, the timeline for interstellar travel in Time for the Stars doesn't match the Future History. The Arachnid War from Starship Troopers also doesn't fit. Neither does the advanced civilization in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud from Have Space Suit—Will Travel.

Some of the juvenile novels that don't connect to each other still share similar settings. The Mars in several books (Red Planet, Between Planets, The Rolling Stones, and Time for the Stars) has intelligent alien life. But these Martians are not always the same in each book.