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March 5, 2009

In The News
People
More Book News
Q&A
Moving On Up
New in ShelfTalker
More News
Licensing Hotline
In Brief
Featured Reviews
Rights Report
From the Slush Pile

News Briefs
Book News
In the Winners' Circle
On Sale Calendar
In the Media
Contact Us

In the News

BEA Announces Children’s Breakfast Speakers

The speakers for the annual Children’s Book and Author Breakfast at BookExpo America have been announced. The breakfast will feature Meg Cabot, author of the Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls series (Scholastic); Tomie dePaola, author of Strega Nona’s Harvest (Putnam); and Amy Krouse Rosenthal, author of Duck! Rabbit! and Little Oink (both Chronicle). Julie Andrews Edwards, author of Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies (Little, Brown) will be the master of ceremonies. The breakfast is presented in cooperation with the Children’s Booksellers and Publishers Committee, a joint committee of the American Booksellers Association, Association of Booksellers for Children and the Children’s Book Council. It will be held on Friday, May 29, in New York City. read more

More News

We give word of two new ventures this week.

Bluebird Works Takes Off
Editor Kara LaReau has struck out on her own, and has announced the formation of Bluebird Works, offering creative services that include freelance writing and editing, manuscript reviewing and talent scouting to publishers, authors and agents. LaReau had been an executive editor at Scholastic, where she worked with authors that included Rosemary Wells, Cecil Castellucci and Alexander Stadler, before being laid off in November. “I predated Black Wednesday by like a month, so I continue to be a trendsetter,” she says. (Prior to Scholastic, LaReau was at Candlewick Press, where she edited Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux, among other titles.)

Unsure about returning to the traditional world, LaReau made a list of things she enjoyed—which included writing, editing and nurturing new talent—and decided, “Well, that could be a job! Why can’t I do exactly what makes me happy?” And Bluebird Works, calling to mind the “bluebird of happiness,” was born.
read more

Rodeen Literary Open for Business
Children’s book agent Paul Rodeen, who learned his craft as assistant to George Nicholson at Sterling Lord Literistic for three years, before opening an SLL Chicago satellite office four years ago, has opened his own literary agency. Rodeen Literary Management, headquartered in Chicago, will represent both veteran and aspiring children’s book authors and illustrators of all genres, from picture books to YA fiction.

Rodeen’s current roster of 16 clients includes the first two authors he repped at SLL: Peter Brown (Chowder) and Melissa Wyatt (Raising the Griffin). read more

News Briefs

Tricycle Press Wheels Over to Random House

Ten Speed Press in Berkeley, Calif., has been sold to Random House. Ten Speed, including its Tricycle imprint, will become part of the Crown Publishing Group, and the editorial, marketing, publicity, design and production staff will remain in California. To read the full story, click here.

Janetta Otter-Barry to Start Own List

Maurice Lyon and
Janetta Otter-Barry.

Janetta Otter-Barry, editorial director of Frances Lincoln Children’s Books in the U.K., will set up her own list beginning next month, under the Frances Lincoln umbrella. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books will now be run by Maurice Lyon, currently senior editor in the company. To read more, click here.

Licensing Hotline

Welcome to the Jungle

It’s not often that an author’s first children’s book comes to market accompanied by a range of licensed products, but that’s the case with artist Alex Beard’s The Jungle Grapevine, one of the lead fall titles from Abrams Books for Young Readers. Hosung Naturals will introduce plush toys, Great American Puzzle Factory puzzles and a Fundex line of games. Last year, Great American Puzzle Factory launched a line of Impossible Puzzles, based on Beard’s images for adults.

“Let me start by saying that the book is not a device to introduce a licensing or marketing world,” Beard explains. “It stands alone. But I’m interested in breaking down the barrier between the creator and the audience. That’s where the licensed categories are coming in. It’s a way to create that connection.”

Read on for news about David Kirk’s Sunny Patch brand, two new licensed lines from Scholastic, Carson-Dellosa’s promotion with Major League Soccer, and Briarpatch’s new literary licenses, plus a round-up of deals from Toy Fair and beyond.

Book News

Orson Scott Card Signs with Simon Pulse

Orson Scott Card.
Photo: Bob Henderson,
Henderson Photography.

Simon Pulse senior editor Anica Rissi has acquired world English rights to the first three books in a new fantasy series by Orson Scott Card written specifically for a YA audience; Barbara Bova of the Barbara Bova Literary Agency made the sale. Bova submitted the proposal for the series to a number of different houses, but Pulse made a “very good” offer, she said, to beat out the competitors. The books will follow a teenage protagonist, Ligg, on a quest to save his world from destruction and uncover the truth behind the Tender’s prophecy. The series will also have a strong steampunk element, Rissi said.
Like other authors whose books are widely read by both adults and younger readers (see: James Patterson), Card has taken note of the burgeoning YA marketplace, and saw an opportunity to market his work directly to this audience for the first time, according to Rissi. When Card’s iconic Ender’s Game came out in 1985, she said, “the teen market didn’t exist” to the extent it does now. Card also has a daughter who is “about the right age,” Bova said, “which may have inspired him” to go in this direction. read more

More Book News

A Lion of a Tale from Delacorte

In a video clip, that has been viewed on YouTube by more than 10 million people, a lion emerges from the African wilderness to embrace—literally—two men standing in a clearing. Those men, Anthony “Ace” Bourke and John Rendall, chronicle the events leading up to that heartrending encounter in Christian the Lion, a Delacorte release with a March 10 laydown. And it is quite the remarkable story they tell.
In 1969, the two Australian friends, then sharing a flat in London, were shopping for Christmas gifts at Harrods. Wandering into the exotic animal department, they spied two lion cubs cooped up in a small cage, one of which had already been sold. Captivated by the other cub and horrified at his living conditions, Bourke and Rendall purchased the friendly animal, named him Christian and made a home for him in the basement of their building. read more

In Brief

A Tour and a New Title for ‘39 Clues’

The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis, the third book in Scholastic’s interactive The 39 Clues series, went on sale March 3, just as the author began a multi-city tour for the book. Here, goofing around, are Lerangis (r.) and Bob Brown, co-owner of Books, Bytes and Beyond in Glen Rock, N.J. Lerangis is traveling on to visit San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia (and video blogging) along the way. Scholastic has also announced the publishing schedule and authors for the seven remaining The 39 Clues books. The fourth volume, Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson, arrives in June, followed by two additional titles this year (by Patrick Carman and Watson). The four final books—by Lerangis, Gordon Korman, Linda Sue Park and Margaret Peterson Haddix—land in 2010.

‘Poky Little Puppy’ Across the Globe

What are the odds? This picture was taken in Freetown, Sierra Leone, by Cindy McIntire, who is working there as a missionary. She sent it on to her cousin, Diane Muldrow, editorial director of Little Golden Books, noting the unlikely coincidence. The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren, was originally published in 1942, as one of the original 12 Little Golden Books; it has sold more than 15 million copies.

Klutz Takes a Cruise

Scholastic’s Klutz division has teamed up with Princess Cruises to offer kid-friendly custom craft activities across its fleet of ships. The seven available activities include creating storybooks, lanyard bracelets, luggage tags, paper flowers and friendship bracelets. “These fun craft projects from Klutz are a wonderful addition to our diverse activities available for kids and teens,” said Jan Swartz, Princess executive v-p, in a statement.

'Jamaica' in Phoenix

In 1986, Juanita Havill’s first book, Jamaica’s Find, illustrated by Anne Sibley O’Brien, was published by Houghton Mifflin. But despite having worked on the Jamaica books for more than 20 years (the first book was followed by five additional titles), the collaborators had never signed books together—at least not until this year’s International Reading Association conference, held last month in Phoenix. Seen here, Havill (l.) and O’Brien show off a proof copy of a forthcoming edition of Jamaica’s Find, which will be published in a book-and-CD package in June.

Q&A

Cassandra Clare

Bookshelf spoke with Cassandra Clare about her new novel, City of Glass (McElderry, Mar.).

Are you sad to be finished with this trilogy?

I am sad—it’s sort of a postpartum feeling. You work so hard for so long and are so involved in the world you’ve created that when it is all over, at first you think, This is so great! I’m done! I never have to look at this again! Then, once it’s all bundled off, you get all sad and nostalgic because you realize that it’s really over. My editor feels the same way. I’m mostly about saying goodbye to the characters—I got pretty attached to them. read more

Featured Reviews

Mighty Casey

James Preller, illus. by Matthew Cordell. Feiwel and Friends, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-312-36764-0
Reworking Ernest Thayer’s poem “Casey at the Bat” for Little Leaguers, Preller(Along Came Spider) and Cordell (Righty & Lefty) knock out a spirited celebration of a team with a good attitude, if not skills. The Delmar Dogs have not had a good season: “Yes, it’s true, the Dogs had guts,/ and the Dogs had heart;/ but catching the baseball, well/ that was the hardest part.” Even on a team of misfits “one player stood out”: Casey Jenkins (“the worst by far, no doubt”). But it’s Casey who proclaims, during a game that seems as doomed as the rest, “The game is not yet done!” spurring his team on to their first victory. Preller’s couplets are full of clever wordplay and humor (“When Jinn Lee clubbed a homer,/ the fans stood and cheered./ The Dogs scored at last./ Said Lee, ‘That’s, like, sooo weird’ ”). Set against ample white space, Cordell’s endearingly geeky kids take center stage (mid-game distractions include tree-climbing, a bee sting and a bathroom break on the left field fence). It’s hard to envision a reader who won’t take to these underdogs. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

The Season

Sarah MacLean. Orchard, $17.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-545-04886-6
In Regency London, Alexandra is about to embark on her first season of balls and dinners, and while nothing “would steer her mother from the course of marrying off her only daughter,” 17-year-old Alex is put off by men’s seeming lack of interest in women with “any amount” of intelligence (“Evidently, it scares eligible gentlemen off”). Her opinions about romance change when she develops feelings for her brothers’ friend Gavin, who is mourning the sudden death of his father (making Gavin the new earl of Blackmoor). MacLean’s debut is well paced, and as readers fill up on descriptions of dresses and society’s rules, another plot line develops: Alex overhears a conversation proving that Gavin’s father was murdered, and she puts her relationship, reputation and life in danger to help him. Readers will appreciate the clique lit/historical romance hybrid: headstrong Alex rolls her eyes and gossips with friends, but still knows the steps to the quadrille. Clever conversation in the spirit of Jane Austen makes this quite a page turner. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)

Reviews from the March 2 issue of Publishers Weekly.

see all of this week's reviews
including our web exclusive Annex *

On-Sale Calendar

April

  1 Library Mouse: A Friend’s Tale by Daniel Kirk (Abrams, $15.95; ISBN 978-0-8109-8927-6). 100,000 copies.
Dinosaur by Henry R. Gideon (Little, Brown, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-316-03583-5). 100,000 copies.
Baby Colors by Rachael Hale (LB Kids, $6.99; ISBN 978-0-316-04452-3). 100,000 copies.
Baby Giggles by Rachael Hale (LB Kids, $6.99; ISBN 978-0-316-04451-6). 100,000 copies.
Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, paper $4.99; ISBN 978-1-4022-1775-3). 100,000 copies.
Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine by Francesca Simon (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, paper $4.99; ISBN 978-1-4022-1780-7). 100,000 copies.
Horrid Henry’s Stinkbomb by Francesca Simon (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, paper $4.99; ISBN 978-1-4022-1779-1). 100,000 copies.
Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy by Francesca Simon (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, paper $4.99; ISBN 978-1-4022-2275-7). 100,000 copies.

  2 If I Stay by Gayle Forman (Dutton, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-525-42103-0). 150,000 copies.

  14 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: Larry’s Friends and Foes by Catherine Hapka (HarperColllins, paper $3.99; ISBN 978-0-06-171557-0). 125,000 copies.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: To the Rescue! by Catherine Hapka (HarperCollins, paper $3.99; ISBN 978-0-06-171558-7). 125,000 copies.
Stonecutter by Jon J Muth and John Kuramoto (Feiwel and Friends, $14.99; ISBN 978-0-312-55456-9). 100,000 copies.
Up Read-Aloud Storybook (Random/Disney, $9.99; ISBN 978-0-7364-2572-8). 100,000 copies.

  15 The Gatekeepers #4: Necropolis by Anthony Horowitz (Scholastic Press, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-439-68003-5). 100,000 copies.
Goosebumps HorrorLand #9: Welcome to Camp Slither by R.L. Stine (Scholastic, paper $5.99; ISBN 978-0-439-91877-0). 100,000 copies.
Goosebumps HorrorLand #10: Help! We Have Strange Powers! by R.L. Stine (Scholastic, paper $5.99; ISBN 978-0-439-91878-7). 100,000 copies.

Zac Efron Unauthorized Scrapbook by Marie Morreale (Scholastic, paper $5.99; ISBN 978-0-545-11414-1). 100,000 copies.

  21 Warriors: Power of Three #6: Sunrise by Erin Hunter (HarperCollins, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-089217-3). 200,000 copies.
How to Talk to Dads by Alec Greven, illus. by Kei Acedera (Collins, $9.99; ISBN 978-0-06-172930-0). 150,000 copies.
Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr (HarperCollins, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-121471-4). 120,000 copies.

  28 Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow by James Rollins (HarperCollins, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-147379-1). 125,000 copies.
Freckleface and the Dodgeball Bully by Julianne Moore, illus. by LeUyen Pham (Bloomsbury, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-59990-316-3). 100,000 copies.
The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (HarperCollins, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-166276-8). 100,000 copies.
Sloane Sisters by Anna Carey (HarperTeen, paper $8.99; ISBN 978-0-06-117576-3). 100,000 copies.

  31 Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire! by Jane O’Connor, illus. by Robin Preiss Glasser (HarperCollins, $12.99; ISBN 978-0-06-168486-9). 200,000 copies.
Fancy Nancy: The Dazzling Book Report by Jane O’Connor, illus. by Robin Preiss Glasser (HarperTrophy, paper $3.99; ISBN 978-0-06-170368-3). 175,000 copies.

Moving On Up

To fans of Twilight, and other novels in the growing paranormal romantic suspense genre, this premise will sound familiar. A moody teenage girl moves to a new, remote town to live with a relative. She soon has a crew of fascinating—and fascinated—admirers, including a handsome classmate who can run superhumanly fast, and a dark mysterious guy who follows her and leaves a trail of glittery gold dust behind him. So goes the set-up of Need by Carrie Jones, which Bloomsbury published in late December, and which has already been back to press several times, for a total of 55,000 copies in print.

According to Bloomsbury publicity director Deb Shapiro, “To date, online coverage has been the key to getting the word out to fans—that and a striking jacket.” Shapiro notes that grabbing the attention of teens immersed in the online world began with a targeted buzz campaign aimed at fans of Twilight and Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. As more readers are developing a need for Need, Shapiro says, the publisher is stepping up marketing and publicity plans to keep pace. read more

Rights Report

Virginia Duncan at Greenwillow Books has bought My Heart Is Like a Zoo, a first picture book by Michael Hall, in a six-figure auction for world rights. My Heart makes use of animals and heart shapes to talk about children’s feelings. Greenwillow plans to publish for Valentine’s Day 2010. Hall runs his own identity firm in Minnesota where he designs logos, stationery, brochures, signage and Web sites. Anna Olswanger of Liza Dawson Associates made the six-figure auction for world rights, for My Heart and two other unnamed books.

Warner Bros. has announced the official release date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two: it will be July 15, 2011. The studio has split Deathly Hallows, the final book in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, into two movies. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One releases November 19, 2010.

People

Mary-Alice Moore has been hired as executive editor, new product development at Highlights for Children. In this newly created position, Moore will manage the new products production and staff at Highlights’ editorial offices in Honesdale, Pa. She was most recently v-p, new product development for Scholastic, Inc.

Annette Pollert has been promoted to assistant editor at Simon Pulse; she was previously editorial assistant.

In the Winners' Circle

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators has announced the winners of the 2009 Golden Kite Awards, which recognize excellence in children’s literature. Winning authors and illustrators receive $2,500 and a trip to the award ceremony in Los Angeles on August 9. This year’s winners are Steve Watkins for Down Sand Mountain(Candlewick) in Fiction; Pamela S. Turner for A Life in the Wild: George Schaller’s Struggle to Save the Last Great Beasts (FSG) in Nonfiction; Bonny Becker for A Visitor for Bear, illus. by Kady MacDonald Denton (Candlewick) for Picture Book Text; and Hyewon Yum for Last Night (FSG) for Picture Book Illustration. For a list of honor titles and additional information, visit the SCBWI Web site.

Five nominees for the Los Angeles Times Young Adult Book Prize have been announced: The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming (Random House/Schwartz & Wade); The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins); Dark Dude by Oscar Hijuelos (Atheneum); Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions); and Nation by Terry Pratchett (HarperCollins). The winner will be announced on April 24.

In the Media

From the Bookseller: Random House Children’s Books in the U.K. will sell or close The DFC, the weekly comic it launched last May. According to Philippa Dickinson at Random House UK, “Unfortunately, in the current economic climate, we have decided that The DFC is not commercially viable within our organisation.” The weekly comic was launched in May 2008.

read more

From Gulf News: A seminar at the recent Emirates Airline International Festival of Literature in Dubai, titled “Babies Need Books; Reading and Education,” pointed out the need for more books published in and for the Arab world.

read more

From Newsweek: The trend of the “terrible, horrible, no good” headlines."

read more

From St. Joseph News-Press: It would have been Dr. Seuss’s 105th birthday on Monday, and communities across the country held celebrations large and small. Here, a Missouri librarian talks about what makes Seuss’s books so popular.

read more

From the Boston Herald: Stephenie Meyer is only one of several Mormon authors writing YA novels these days.

read more

From the Newark Star Ledger: A Maplewood, N.J. bookstore designed for children with special needs.

read more

Did You Miss?

From the pages of PW:
Fewer U.S. editors may be attending this year’s Bologna Book Fair, but the film business remains a particularly bright spot.

read more

From PW Comics Week:
Lerner’s Graphic Universe imprint is adding more titles and series, and is even making a foray into the international market.

read more

New in ShelfTalker

This week Alison suggests some spring reading to hasten in the season, and reveals the finalists in her “bookish breakfast cereal challenge.” Catch up on all her latest posts here.

Contact Us

Dear Bookshelf Readers,

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

Click here to read Tales from the Slush Pile from the beginning