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In the News |
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Live on Stage: J.K. Rowling |
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©Scholastic |
"It was more like a rock concert than a book reading," said one enthusiastic fan, and indeed, if someone had stumbled into Radio City Music Hall on Tuesday or Wednesday night and heard the high-pitched screams from the audience, it would have been easy to assume that the latest teen sensation was appearing on stage. Which, in fact, was the case. J.K. Rowling, in her first visit to the U.S. in six years, took part in a benefit reading along with Stephen King and John Irving, billed as "An Evening with Harry, Carrie and Garp." Proceeds from the two sold-out shows went to Doctors Without Borders and the Haven Foundation.
Rowling read last, after King and Irving (who had their own legions of screaming fans). When she took the stage to a standing ovation, one audience member yelled out, "Don't kill Harry!" To which Rowling replied, as she took her seat, "No pressure there!" Seated on an oversize throne, she read a passage from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and then fielded pre-selected questions.
A few of her answers yielded new information. In reply to a question from surprise guest Salman Rushdie and his nine-year-old son that involved an elaborate theory about how Professor Dumbledore comes back to life in
Book 7, Rowling said, "I feel I have to be explicit. Dumbledore is definitely dead. You shouldn't expect Dumbledore to pull a Gandalf." A cry immediately erupted from the crowd, to which she commented, "All of you definitely need to move through the five stages of grief and get past his death." She added that she'd heard about a Web site, dumbledoreisnotdead.com, which is devoted to conjecture similar to Rushdie's theory, and said, "I imagine they aren't happy right now." (Of course, over at dumbledoreisnotdead.com, a post later
that evening speculated that her statement was likely a red herring.)
Rowling also told the audience that people often think she has planned out the Harry Potter storylines much more than she actually has. For instance, she said, "This afternoon in the shower I believe I changed the title of Book 7," after thinking she'd definitely decided what it would be.
A clear high point of the evening for Rowling was when an audience member asked King which literary characters scare him, and in his answer he said, "Frankly, I was surprised by how scary [Rowling's] Death Eaters were," to which Rowling replied with pride, "I scared Stephen King!"
Addressing the question of what the future holds for her, post-Harry, Rowling said that she had a book for slightly younger children that was half finished, and that she would "probably go back to that. But I think I'll need a little mourning time." To which the questioner replied, "So will we."-Diane Roback
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In the Bookstores |
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Summer Business: Temps Are Hot, and Sales Are Good |
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One thing you can say about this summer: it's hot out there. We spoke to children's booksellers around the country, to hear about how summer business was going, to see what was selling and, since the heat wave seems to have swept across most of the country, to ask if the heat was affecting sales. Out in Seattle, Christy McDanold, owner of Secret Garden Bookshop, reports that "sales are up a little bit, but you know what they say—flat is the new up. The heat doesn't help. Though while people aren't going out, those who do come in stay in the store a little longer because it's cooler."
The weather was also affecting sales at Whale of a Tale in Irvine, Calif. "These are unpredictable days," says owner Alex Uhl. "It's been oppressively hot in California. But overall I would say business is just fine. I wouldn't say over the top—it can always be better, but we're doing fine." Uhl says she is taking advantage of the season's more relaxed pace: "We're changing over our computer system, so it's kind of nice to do it now instead of the fall when we are a lot busier."
For Dana Harper at Brystone Children's Books, sales are up or about even with last summer. "Summers are busier for us—this is our busy time," she says. Erin Taylor, owner of Wonderland Books and Toys in Rockford, Ill., sales are "up a little bit, compared to last summer, maybe 5% to 10%."
"So far so good," says Natacha Liuzzi, children's book buyer at Book Rack and Children's Pages in Essex Junction, Vt., but for her, too, sales are "definitely not up. All around it's been hard for independent bookstores."
read more
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Book News |
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More Book News |
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Rainbow Fish Surfaces Once Again |
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Marcus Pfister's multicolored, shimmering Rainbow Fish first swam onto bookstore shelves in this country in 1992, when North-South Books published The Rainbow Fish, the inaugural title featuring this character. Since then this ABBY-winning picture book has been translated into more than 80 languages and has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. The original tale has spawned a number of sequels in various formats;this September North-South will issue Rainbow Fish Finds His Way, Pfister's first new Rainbow Fish title in five years.
MaryChris Bradley, publisher of North-South, says that she realized soon after she joined the company seven years ago how strongly readers young and old react to the Rainbow Fish character. She notes, "All you have to do is spend 10 minutes in our booth at any show and you will hear at least three people say, 'Oh, my (insert here: kids, students, librarian) love(s) the Fish!' The books are the perfect combination of a simple but important message—sharing—combined with a great gimmick, holographic foil stamping. It may be the glitter that catches a child's interest, but it is the story of the fish with silver scales with a heart of gold that hooks them."
read more
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In Brief |
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They Got the Beat |
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Baby Loves Disco is the name of a dance party for babies and toddlers that has been cropping up across the country for the past year and a half. Started by Heather Murphy Monteith, a Philadelphia mother, and brought to New York City by Andy Blackman Hurwitz, a Brooklyn father and owner of an independent record label, the two wanted to present their communities with a family-oriented event that included music they wanted to listen to, not that of Barney or The Wiggles.
For more information about the events, click here, and for those of you who aren't local, good news comes in the form of a dance club in a book/CD package. In August, Price Stern Sloan is debuting a series called Baby Loves Jazz, by Hurwitz, which introduces young ones to jazz while also teaching them some basics like numbers and colors. The first four titles to be released are Duck Ellington Swings Through the Zoo, Charlie Bird Counts to the Beat, Ella Elephant Scats Like That and Miles the Crocodile Plays the Colors of Jazz.
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A Christmastime Contest |
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This coming season, Peachtree Publishers is promoting peace along with John McCutcheon's September picture book, Christmas in the Trenches, with a contest: the community that best endorses the values and themes communicated in Christmas in the Trenches will win a free concert from McCutcheon, a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter who is known for his social activism. Interested stores can request a participation form by sending their name, store address and phone number to Peachtree via fax, 800-875-8909, or via e-mail. E-mails should have the subject line "Requesting a Contest Participation Form." For more information on McCutcheon's forthcoming
book or his music, click here.
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Q&A |
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Featured Reviews |
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 Aggie and Ben: Three Stories |
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 Lori Ries, illus. by Frank W. Dormer. Charlesbridge, $12.95 (48p) ISBN 1-57091-594-6
This volume of three linked tales marks Dormer's children's book debut; an editorial illustrator, he adds a patina of hipness to Ries's (Super Sam!) sweet-natured, understated storytelling. The book opens as narrator Ben and his father head to the pet shop. The boy weighs the pros and cons of several candidates, as the pet store owner asks if each is the pet for him ("I think. A mouse would run through a tube. A mouse would sit on my hand. A mouse would hide in my pocket. But a mouse might get lost. 'I do not think I want a mouse,' I say"). The charm comes through in the space between what the boy thinks and what he actually says, the silence filled with Dormer's panel illustrations. Ben picks a cute puppy he names Aggie. In the next tale, Ben tries to bond with Aggie by mimicking
her behavior; this experiment comes to an abrupt close when Ben spots Aggie drinking from the toilet ("I am done being a dog"). The final story finds Ben and Aggie working out their mutual bedtime fears. "There is nothing scary," Ben coos on the final page as he sleepily snuggles his dog. "Just me and Aggie." Dormer's watercolor-and-ink drawings possess a schematic edginess and a sophisticated sense of framing. He pitches his pictures at just the right level for his audience, and skillfully keeps the visual pace percolating by interweaving broad humor (e.g., the toilet scene) with vivid action (in one frame, Aggie seems ready to leap off the page in pursuit of a ball) and moments of authentic tenderness. It's an impressive and original effort, and bodes well for a sequel. Ages 4-7.
(July)
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The Legend of Bass Reeves |
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 Gary Paulsen. Random/Lamb, $15.95 (160p) ISBN 0-385-90898-9
In a foreword to this compelling fictionalized biography (appropriately subtitled, "Being the True and Fictional Account of the Most Valiant Marshal in the West"), Paulsen debunks the myths surrounding some of the Wild West's most celebrated figures. ("All in all, poor stock to consider when looking for role models from our frontier," he writes). As a dramatic alternative, he introduces Bass Reeves as "a man who truly qualified as legendary and heroic," a claim that Paulsen's tale easily supports. The young slave of a drunken rancher, Bass runs away after an altercation with his master (whom he calls "the mister")—the man was cheating in a poker game against Reeves in which the captive's freedom were the stakes. Paulsen's lilting prose weaves in colorful details (e.g., a "Jesus
stick," two sharpened sticks fashioned into a cross, used to kill rabbits or hens) and historic events, such as the Alamo and the establishment of the Indian Territory. The chapters covering Bass's time among the Creek Indians moves almost too swiftly, but set the stage for the man's later work. (After the Emancipation Proclamation, Bass becomes a successful cattle rancher and, at 51, is appointed a deputy federal marshal, charged with "clean[ing] up" the Indian Territory.) Frequently confronting racial prejudice, Bass nonetheless never draws his gun first, killing only 14 outlaws. Effectively conveying Reeve's thoughts and emotions, the author shapes an articulate, well-deserved tribute to this unsung hero. Ages 10-up. (Aug.)
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see all of this week's reviews
including our web exclusive Annex *
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On-Sale Calendar |
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October, 2006 |
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| 1 |
Santa Claus by Rod Green (Atheneum, $19.95). 300,000 first printing.
Christmas Pop-Up by Robert Sabuda (Orchard, $12.99). 200,000 first printing.
When Santa Fell to Earth by Cornelia Funke (Scholastic/Chicken House, $14.99). 120,000 first printing.
Teammates by Tiki and Ronde Barber (S&S/Wiseman, $16.95). 100,000 first printing.
Blue 2: A Pop-Up Book for Children of All Ages by David A. Carter (Little Simon, $19.95). 100,000 first printing.
Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen (S&S, $17.95). 100,000 first printing.
A Creature Was Stirring by Clement Clarke Moore, illus. by Carter Goodrich (S&S, $16.95). 100,000 first printing.
Whoopi Goldberg's Nobody Wants to See Your Finger in Your Nose: A Big Book of Manners by Whoopi Goldberg, illus. by Olo (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, $15.99). 100,000 first printing.
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Emeril's There's a Chef in My World! by Emeril Lagasse, illus. by Charles Yuen (HarperCollins, $22.99). 200,000 first printing.
Ruler of the Realm: The Faerie Wars Chronicles by Herbie Brennan (Bloomsbury, $18.95). 100,000 first printing.
Pretty Little Liars #1 by Sara Shepard (HarperTempest, $16.99). 100,000 first printing.
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Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean (S&S/McElderry, $17.99). 200,000 first printing.
When Sheep Sleep by Laura Numeroff, illus. by David McPhail (Abrams, $15.95). 100,000 first printing.
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Noelle's Treasure Tale by Gloria Estefan, illus. by Michael Garland (Harper/Rayo, $17.95). 150,000 first printing.
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A Series of Unfortunate Events #13: The End by Lemony Snicket, illus. by Brett Helquist (HarperCollins, $12.99). 2.5 million first printing.
A Series of Unfortunate Events Box: The Complete Wreck by Lemony Snicket, illus. by Brett Helquist (HarperCollins, $150). 300,000 first printing. |
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| 17 |
Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America by Lynne Cheney, illus. by Robin Preiss Glasser (S&S, $17.95). 250,000 first printing.
The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin, illus. by Yvonne Gilbert (Tor/Starscape, $12.95). 175,000 first printing.
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A Princess Primer: A Fairy Godmother's Guide to Being a Princess by Stephanie True Peters, illus. by Bernhard Oberdieck and Denis Cordeev (Dutton, $19.99). 200,000 first printing.
Violet Comes to Stay by Jan Karon presents Cynthia Coopersmith, story by Melanie Cecka, illus. by Emily Arnold McCully (Viking, $15.99). 150,000 first printing.
Snowmen at Night Pop-up by Caralyn Buehner, illus. by Mark Buehner (Dial, $21.99). 100,000 first printing.
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English Roses: Too Good to Be True by Madonna, illus. by Stacy Peterson (Callaway, $19.95). 300,000 first printing.
Miracle on 49th Street by Mike Lupica (Philomel, $17.99). 200,000 first printing.
Mouse Cookies & More by Laura Numeroff, illus. by Felicia Bond (HarperCollins/Geringer, $24.99). 150,000 first printing.
Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook by Georgeanne Brennan, illus. by Dr. Seuss and Frankie Frankeny (Random House, $16.95). 100,000 first printing.
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Probuditi! by Chris Van Allsburg (Houghton, $18.95). 100,000 first printing.
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Click here for PW's complete
2005-2006 On-Sale Calendar
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Galley Talk |
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Linda D. Landi, head of youth services at New Lenox Public Library, New Lenox, Ill., talks about a favorite fall title: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (Dutton, Sept.)
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John Green has followed up his Printz Award-winning first novel, Looking for Alaska, with
a book that is more lighthearted but every bit as accomplished. He takes one socially inept nerd, one encouraging best buddy and one surprising love interest, and does not end up with the screenplay for a cheesy teen movie, but rather with a well-paced, thought-provoking novel.
Colin Singleton's life is narrowly defined: he is a child prodigy who dates Katherines, and has been dumped by 18 of them. Now Colin is graduating high school, mourning the prodigy he's been, aware that he has yet to make that crucial crossing from a child who learns quickly to an adult making a mark on the world. Then Katherine XIX dumps him and his misery is complete. Enter best friend Hassan, whose prescription for Colin's funk is a road trip. The two end up with summer jobs recording the histories of small-town locals. With the help of the boss's daughter, Lindsey, Colin begins to see life as more story than formula, and with that comes the discovery that his life needn't be formulaic.
Smart teens will see themselves in Colin, but the appeal doesn't end there. This coming-of-age/ friendship/ romance/ road trip tale is darned funny, with an intelligent humor that never patronizes. The characters are likeable, their struggles and epiphanies credible. Put this eye-catching book face-out and watch it go, but don't expect to see it on the shelf again for a while.
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Trading Places |
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It's pretty natural in publishing for assistants to change jobs. But it's a lot rarer when an assistant at Publisher A moves to Publisher B, and then an assistant at Publisher B moves to Publisher A to fill that open slot. And it's rarer still when this happens at publishing houses that are 3,000 miles apart.
Lori Savageau was, until last month, a marketing assistant in Houghton Mifflin's children's division in Boston. She wanted to leave the harsh New England winters for sunny California, and secured a job as marketing associate at Harcourt in San Diego. Also last month, Michelle Kerner, a publicity assistant at Harcourt, decided to leave the West Coast to experience life in the East—in Boston, to be exact. She just landed a job at Houghton—Lori Savageau's position, in fact. She started last Monday.
And it doesn't stop there. The new marketing assistant at Harcourt, Kara Bliss, interned at Houghton Mifflin during her junior year in college. She and Lori Savageau worked at Houghton at the same time, though they never knew each other.
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People |
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Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing has announced three new hires: Laura DiSiena has joined the company as designer for Simon Spotlight; she was previously with Modern Publishing. Lisa Cheng has been named associate editor at McElderry Books; she was an assistant editor at HarperCollins Children's Books. Carolyn Pohmer has been named publicity assistant.
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Bestsellers |
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In the Media |
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The Boston Globe talked with Brian Lies, author/illustrator of the summertime picture book hit Bats at the Beach (Houghton Mifflin). read more |
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From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: an in-depth look at Seattle's oldest children's bookstore, All For Kids Books & Music, and its owner, Chauni Haslet. read more
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Mark Your Calendar |
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On Saturday, October 21, the Yale Child Study Center Center and London's Anna Freud Centre will cosponsor a conference called "Fear and Fiction: The Power of Children's Books and the Inner Life of the Child," which will be held at Bank Street College in New York City. The event will feature child development experts and authors, including David Almond, Chris Crutcher, Neil Gaiman and Robie H. Harris. For more information, click here.
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Linking Up |
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Want to know more about children's books? |
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For a list of industry resources
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For PW articles on children’s books (subscribers only)
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Contact Us |
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Dear Bookshelf Readers,
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Hope you enjoyed this week's issue. We'd
love to hear from you —drop us a note here.
—The Editors
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