Children's Bookshelf
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In the News |
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News from the U.K. |
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U.K. Authors Protest Age Ranging Plan |
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Philip Pullman, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo and current Children's Laureate Michael Rosen are leading a rapidly growing movement of writers, illustrators, librarians, independent booksellers and others working in children's books to hit back at the publishers forthcoming age-guidance on children's books. Under the campaign slogan "No to Age Banding," the campaign is swiftly gathering signatures.
Introduced for sales reasons following research that showed that consumers wanted some age guidance to help them in choosing books (see our story from April), the first books are becoming available just as this considerable backlash is launched. Thus far, resistance has been unspoken: several publishers, including Bloomsbury, David Fickling and Walker Books, while not willing to say that they are against age guidance, are not putting the ranges onto their books.
In an unusual breach between publishers and their authors, the opposition campaign leaders seek to "disavow publicly any connection with such age-guidance figures," according to their statement, on the grounds that age guidance is ill-conceived and will damage the interests of young readers. They state a number of reasons against, including stigmatizing readers and their "passionately held conviction that everything about a book should seek to welcome readers in and not keep them out." read more
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Retailing News |
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New Store to Open in Arlington |
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When A Likely Story in Arlington, Va., closed suddenly at the start of the 2007 holiday selling season, customers and industry-watchers alike lamented the loss of yet another long-time independent. Not so fast. As ABA president Gayle Shanks, owner of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Ariz., noted at the organization's annual meeting at BEA last weekend, membership is on the way up, and store openings are nearly equal to closings.
In the case of the 1800 sq. ft. A Likely Story, two former employees, Trish Brown and Ellen Klein, have come to the rescue by starting a new bookstore where it once was. And they've hired the former staff—three part-timers—to help with their new venture, called Hooray for Books!
"Even though we loved the [old] name, we wanted to start fresh," says Brown, adding that the new store will not be children's-only. "We're trying not to be as purist as we'd like to be. We're going to have one case of adult books. About 25–30% of the inventory will be non-book things that are book-related, like the Fancy Nancy doll."
Although the area's demographic skews very young, says Brown, she and Klein are trying to raise it by hosting after-school enrichment programs. Hooray for Books! will have a soft opening next week and a grand opening on June 21. —Judith Rosen
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In Brief |
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Happy Birthday, Maurice Sendak! |
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The acclaimed creator of many classic books for children turns 80 next Tuesday, June 10. He'll be celebrating with friends at his home in Ridgefield, Conn. And he's given fans another reason to celebrate: news of a forthcoming picture book that he is both writing and illustrating. According to Sendak's longtime editor, Michael di Capua, Sendak is "hard at work" on Bumble-Ardy, the story of a young boy pig, which di Capua calls a "lively Sendakian romp," written in rhyming text. In keeping with the birthday theme, the book's events take place on Bumble-Ardy's ninth birthday. Bumble-Ardy is currently scheduled for publication in 2010 as a Michael di Capua Book at HarperCollins, under a special arrangement, though di Capua's eponymous imprint is now at Scholastic.
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Breaking News for Breaking Dawn |
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The cover of Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn (Little, Brown/Tingley, Aug. 2), the fourth and final book in her Twilight saga, was unveiled during BEA last weekend at the annual ABC dinner. Attendees also got a sneak peek of footage from the Twilight movie, and viewed a video message from Meyer. The first chapter of Breaking Dawn is included in the special hardcover edition of Eclipse that pubbed on May 31, with a 400,000-copy first printing. And Little, Brown has just revealed that the print run for Breaking Dawn, previously announced at 2.5 million, has been upped to 3.2 million, the largest-ever first printing for the company. |
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Girls' Day Out |
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B*tween Productions launched its latest Beacon Street Girls Special Adventure, Katani's Jamaican Holiday by Annie Bryant, appropriately enough at the Jamaica Day festivities on Monday, June 2, in New York City. On hand to sign books, above, were teen reggae star Sean Kingston and B*tween Productions founder and BSG creator Addie Swartz. Katani's Jamaican Holiday and Time's Up (book 12 of the BSG series, which also released this week) are the first two new books to be published under the Simon & Schuster imprint, as part of its licensing agreement with the Lexington, Mass.-based company. S&S is also reissuing the previous books in the BSG series, starting with books 1 to 4, which are out now. Additionally,
Listening Library will publish audiobooks of the series to coincide with the book releases. And BSG is featured in a 2009 wall calendar from Andrews McMeel. |
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Snake-y Suggestions |
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To celebrate the publication of The Sea Serpent and Me (Houghton, May), about a girl who befriends one such creature in her bathtub, author Dashka Slater and illustrator Catia Chien put together a sea serpent party kit for kids and parents that includes snack and craft ideas, from vegetable sea serpents (cucumber slices that "swim" in dip) to serpent or octopus party hats. At the book's recent launch party at Cody's Books in Berkeley, Calif., Slater read from The Sea Serpent and Me, invented beach party dance moves with audience help and (seen here) worked with the children on sea serpent sock puppets. The party kit is available on Houghton's Web site.
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Q&A |
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On-Sale Calendar |
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July 2008 |
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| 1 |
Clique Summer Collection #4: Kristen by Lisi Harrison (Little, Brown/Poppy, $6.99 paper ISBN 978-0-316-02752-6). 350,000 copies.
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (HarperCollins, $17.99 ISBN 978-0-06-166269-0). 150,000 copies.
Disney Bunnies: Thumper's Scary Night by Laura Driscoll (Disney Press, $5.99 ISBN 978-1-4231-1195-5). 125,000 copies.
Lost and Found by Andrew Clements, illus. by Mark Elliott (S&S/Atheneum, $16.99 ISBN 978-1-4169-0985-9). 125,000 copies.
Stop in the Name of Pants! by Louise Rennison (HarperTeen, $16.99 ISBN 978-0-06-145932-0). 100,000 copies.
Little Scholastic: Alphabet by Jill Ackerman, illus. by Fiona Land
(Scholastic/Cartwheel, $4.99 ISBN 978-0-545-03025-0). 100,000 copies. |
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| 8 |
Inheritance Cycle Omnibus: Eragon and Eldest by Christopher Paolini (Knopf, $19.99 ISBN 978-0-375-85704-1). 350,000 copies.
You Can Do It! by Tony Dungy, illus. by Amy June Bates (S&S/Little Simon Inspirations, $16.99 ISBN 978-1-4169-5461-3). 150,000 copies.
Encyclopedia Mythologica: Fairies and Magical Creatures by Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda (Candlewick, $27.99 ISBN 978-0-7636-3172-7).
125,000 copies.
What If... All the Rumors Were True by Liz Ruckdeschel and Sara James (Delacorte, $9.99 paper ISBN 978-0-385-73641-1). 100,000 copies. |
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| 15 |
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99 ISBN 978-1-4231-0836-8). 750,000 copies. |
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| 22 |
What's Your Red Rubber Ball?! by Kevin Carroll (Disney-ESPN, $19.99 ISBN 978-1-933060-56-9). 100,000 copies. |
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| 26 |
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Battle Begins by Rob Valois (Penguin/Grosset & Dunlap, $16.99 ISBN 978-0-448-44991-3). 150,000 copies.
Star Wars: Clone Wars Visual Guide (DK, $19.99 ISBN 978-0-7566-4121-4). 125,000 copies.
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| 29 |
Madam President by Lane Smith (Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 ISBN 978-1-4231-0846-7). 150,000 copies.
Cinderella's Fairy-Tale Wedding by Lisa Ann Marsoli (Disney Press, $15.99 ISBN 978-1-4231-0919-8). 125,000 copies.
Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell's Tea Party by Lara Bergen (Disney Press, $14.99 ISBN 978-1-4231-0949-5). 125,000 copies.
Baby Einstein: Touch and Feel Neighborhood Animals by Julie Aigner-Clark (Disney Press, $6.99 ISBN 978-1-4231-0997-6). 100,000 copies.
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Click here for PW's complete
2008 On-Sale Calendar
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Featured Reviews |
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 The Scrambled States of America
Talent Show |
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 Laurie Keller. Holt, $16.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8050-7997-5
Keller is once again guilty of transporting laughter across state lines in this follow-up to her hit The Scrambled States of America. Who knew that the 50 states were such a bunch of hams? She shows readers the backstage histrionics: California demands to talk to his agent when Georgia gets a bad case of stage fright, and Hawaii doesn't get the answer she seeks when she asks Kansas: "Does this grass skirt make my butte look big?" But the show must go on—and it does with every possible kind of act, from Minnesota the Magician (who seems to saw South Dakota in half) to the State Impersonators (Tennessee and Wyoming form Oklahoma and then ask, "What's up with this handle, anyway? I mean, what am I—a state or a frying pan?"). Some fans of the first book
may argue that this one isn't as geographically clever—and they could be right. But the snappy dialogue flows effortlessly, the personalities are as winning as ever, and the pictures' energy never flags. It's e pluribus boffo! Ages 4–9. (Aug.)
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The Compound |
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 S.A. Bodeen. Feiwel & Friends, $16.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0-312-37015-2
Bodeen, acclaimed as the writer of such picture books as Elizabeti's Doll, turns out a high-wire act of a first novel, a thriller that exerts an ever-tighter grip on readers. Eli, the 15-year-old son of a billionaire techno-preneur, has spent the last six years with his family in the massive underground shelter his father has built, knowing that nuclear war has destroyed the world he knows—and killed his grandmother and his twin brother, who couldn't reach the compound in time. With nine years to go before the air outside will be safe to breathe again, the food supply shows signs of running out, but Eli's father has a solution—provided they jettison all morals and ethics. Repulsed and already suspicious, Eli begins investigating his father's claims, and sets up a
family death match against a man who grows increasingly irrational and sinister but no less powerful. As far-fetched as the premise may be, Bodeen keeps Eli's actions true to life and uses clues planted fairly and in plain sight. The audience will feel the pressure closing in on them as they, like the characters, race through hairpin turns in the plot toward a breathless climax. Ages 12-up. (June)
Reviews from the June 2 issue of Publishers Weekly.
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see all of this week's reviews
including our web exclusive Annex *
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Late-Breaking News |
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Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling delivered a commencement address earlier today at Harvard University. Click here to read her speech in its entirety, and to listen to an audio recording.
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Movie Alert |
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Just in time for the Fourth of July, the American Girl line will release its first feature film on July 2 with Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, based on the series character who lives during the Great Depression. Abigail Breslin—who recently starred in another book-to-film role in Nim's Island—plays Kit; the movie also stars Joan Cusack, Chris O'Donnell, Jane Krakowski and Stanley Tucci. The film is being produced by American Girl Brands, HBO Films and Picturehouse and will be distributed by New Line; director Patricia Rozema recently directed the first three episodes of the HBO series Tell Me You Love Me.
Kit Kittredge is preceded by three TV movies that have been made about American Girl characters—Molly, Felicity and Samantha. "The Kit character is one of our most popular characters, and given the success of the other films on TV, we felt it was a great opportunity to branch out into feature films with Kit," says Susan Jevens, senior PR associate at American Girl. Books, dolls and other products are all being released in conjunction with the film's debut. Kit's best friend, Ruthie, will get both a book (Really Truly Ruthie by Valerie Tripp) and an 18" doll, and a Kit's Tree House play set and other period accessories for the dolls will be available as well. And August will see the arrival of Kit's World, an interactive book with games, flaps, a pop-up
tree house, historical photos and more.
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Rights Report |
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Alvina Ling at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers bought North American and U.K. rights to debut author Karen Healey's Guardian of the Dead, a YA adventure novel about a teen who taps into a magical Maori world and races to prevent the destruction of her homeland in New Zealand. Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary was the agent.
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People |
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Scholastic has two new hires and a promotion. Annette Hughes joined the company as director, national account sales; previously, she was a director of sales at HarperCollins Children's Books. Kimberly Bayley has been hired as cross channel associate manager; she was assistant editor for Scholastic's SeeSaw Book Club. Michael Sherman has been promoted to the newly created role of creative director for Klutz, reporting to Ellie Berger; he has been with Klutz for 12 years. |
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Susan Hecht has joined Roaring Brook as associate director of retail marketing, a new position. She was most recently marketing manager for Listening Library at Random House.
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In the Winners' Circle |
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At BEA last weekend, the Lambda Literary Foundation gave out its 20th annual Lammy Awards, the country's largest awards program for LGBT books and authors. The prize in the Children's/Young Adult category went to Hero by Perry Moore (Hyperion).
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In the Media |
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Film blogs and Web sites have been abuzz with rumors that Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers' feature film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are is being re-shot this month. (Read PW's story about the movie's development here.) Warner Bros. has not released any official statements on the film's status.
Chud.com first broke news of possible re-shoots for the film back in February.
From the Cannes film festival, Cinematical.com spoke with actor Tom Noonan (he plays a Wild Thing in the film), who described Maurice Sendak's videoconference pep talks: "I want to see children. I don't know any adults who are able to be children."
This week, horror-themed blog
Bloody-Disgusting.com claimed that the film would re-shoot in Los Angeles June 5–30, citing casting calls for stand-in roles.
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From Mobile Entertainment: A Japanese printing company has debuted the first picture book on a cell phone, and hopes to have 50 titles available by September.
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From the Orange Country Register: Whale of a Tale Bookshoppe in Irvine, Calif., braved Secret Service agents and bomb-sniffing dogs to host Laura and Jenna Bush on tour for their recent picture book.
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From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Baby-sitters Club and now Main Street series author Ann M. Martin was interviewed by a reporter and childhood fan, who writes, "I came to believe Martin was a literary figment created by the publishing industry to sell books, like Betty Crocker on cookbooks or Carolyn Keene on Nancy Drew mysteries."
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Did You Miss? |
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From the pages of PW |
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A number of Christian publishers have started YA lines, aiming to be relevant to teens while remaining true to a core Christian message.
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New in ShelfTalker |
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Did you miss BEA? Or maybe you were there but couldn't see everything you wanted to? Click here to check out the many posts by guest-blogging booksellers Elizabeth Bluemle and Josie Leavitt, who kept us all informed and amused throughout the convention weekend.
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Attention! |
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Calling all booksellers and librarians! Want to contribute to Children's Bookshelf? We'd love to hear about galleys you're loving, or books that you're selling or circ'ing especially well. Just click here—we want to hear from you!
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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 with any comments and suggestions—drop us a note here.
—The Editors
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