S&S publicity director Paul Crichton said the decision was made earlier this week and that, as he told PW last February, the house's departure was never considered a final move (back then, Crichton said the house would "reassess" its position come this year).

Crichton explained that S&S rejoined because the CBC has "made a few changes that are in line with our greater vision." (Though S&S did not offer a comment on why it left the organization last year, Rick Richter, president and publisher of the children's division, had, in the fall of 2007, expressed disappointment in the organization's marketing efforts.) The positive changes Crichton listed include the organization's decision to switch Children's Book Week from November to May (according to Crichton, the May date is more in line with S&S's schedule); the creation of the National Ambassador of Young People's Literature position; and the fact that "more focus is being paid to publishers' needs on the retail level."   

"The art from the show is beautiful and lush, and the educational aspect of it is appealing," said Debra Dorfman, president and publisher, Grosset & Dunlap and Price Stern Sloan. "It's really funny and entertaining. It has all the elements that really work for books." Initial titles will include readers and activity books, with novelty, picture and other formats, possibly including some educational titles based on curriculum being developed for the broadcast, rolling out later. "We think this could be a big property in the school market as well," Dorfman added.   

The new release, Saturday, September 20 at 12:01 a.m. (it was originally to be Tuesday, September 23) is causing conflicts for children's booksellers planning to attend the New England Independent Booksellers Association regional trade show, to be held September 18-20. (Another potential conflict is the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers show, which starts on September 21.) According to posts on the NEIBA listserv, some children's booksellers will now have to skip the show so that they can prepare for Harry Potter-type crowds and activities.

Elizabeth Bluemle of Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Vt., says she and co-owner Josie Leavitt were "utterly dismayed" on seeing the on-sale date when they signed Random House's Brisingr affidavit. "Eragon fans are second only to Harry Potter fans in their fervor for the next book," Bluemle says, "and will be expecting a release party at midnight—which would be hard to do if we were in Boston attending the trade show. Even without a midnight party, that Saturday would be a huge sales day for Brisingr at our bookstores. All NEIBA stores will be forced to make hard decisions: to skip our invaluable annual trade show, or scale way back on the biggest release of the children's book year. Obviously, Random House wasn't aware of the conflicts when setting the release date, but so many booksellers are affected that the problem needs to be addressed in some manner."

However, it looks like NEIBA may have to face a drop in attendance since it is locked into its dates, as is Random House. "The decision to change the onsale date of Brisingr to September 20 was made following many requests from booksellers. The publication date will remain," says Christine Labov, director of publicity, Random House Children's Books. As for NEIBA, executive director Steve Fischer says, "We can't change our show. We're already booked through 2010 and we're starting to book 2011 and 2012." —Judith Rosen

The books, illustrated with photos by Lumry and illustrations by Sarah McIntyre, are aimed at readers ages six to nine, and introduce environmental issues by combining fictional storylines with facts about animals and nature. Beginning in June, Scholastic will release new editions of the nine existing books in the series, which was launched in 2003, as well as three new titles. The books will appear first as jacketed hardcovers, with paperbacks to follow, and will be distributed through Scholastic's trade, book club and school book fair markets.    

Robin Corey, v-p, publishing director of Robin Corey Books, edited many pop-up books during her 11 years at Simon & Schuster, a number of them by Carter, whose Bugs in a Box series has sold more than six million copies. Soon after arriving at Random House in February 2006, she began thinking about doing a pop-up version of a Dr. Seuss book. "I am a huge fan of Dr. Seuss and I quietly broached the idea, not wanting to step on any toes," she says. "But Kate Klimo
[v-p, publisher of Random House Books for Young Readers/Golden Books] welcomed the idea with open arms. I had originally considered adapting The Cat in the Hat, but when I learned that the Horton Hears a Who! movie was due in spring 2008—and I've always loved Horton—I decided to do that book."   

Laura Minchew, children's publisher for Thomas Nelson, said, "I had known for a long time there were stories out there that Brown had not published or finished in her lifetime. Last year I was talking to Amy Gary of Watermark about our favorite authors, and I mentioned I didn't think a children's book got any better than Goodnight Moon." It happened that Gary held the rights to license The Moon Shines Down, and Minchew acquired the book this past fall.

The Moon Shines Down will be illustrated by Linda Bleck in a style similar to that of Clement Hurd, who illustrated some of Brown's best-known works. "It's a little more colorful and detailed, but it will look and feel familiar to Brown's readers," Minchew said. —Lynn Garrett

Celebrating Horrid Henry: Lisa Milton, managing director, Orion Books; author Francesca Simon; illustrator Tony Ross; and Fiona Kennedy, publisher, Orion Children's Books.

Nestle Prize Folds
Booktrust and Nestle issued a joint statement earlier this month announcing the ending of the Nestle Children’s Book Prize, after 23 years. Both sides give a shift in policy as the reason for the change. Nestle is increasingly concentrating on nutrition and health, while Booktrust now runs three major “gifting” schemes to every child in the country. Set up to encourage a love of reading and awarded in three age categories, the prize has been won by almost 100 authors and illustrators including J.K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, Helen Oxenbury, Malorie Blackman and Lauren Child. It was one of the first U.K. prizes to encourage children to participate, and has drawn in thousands of school children across the U.K. to act as judges. However, Nestle’s baby milk program in developing countries has always been a controversial issue, with some authors being unwilling to accept the prize on that account. These objections have been compounded by a general move away from sponsorship deals with food or drink companies for any children’s activities. The ending of the prize takes away one of the most significant and high profile children’s book prizes in the country.     read more London news