» Newsletter Archive
» Sign Up

Trouble viewing this email? Click here.
To ensure our emails reach your inbox, add ChildrensBookshelf@email.publishersweekly.com to your address book.
Click here to learn how.

May 21, 2009

In The News
Book News
In Brief
Q&A
In the Winners' Circle
Featured Reviews
From the Slush Pile
More News
More Book News
On The Scene
Rights Report
In the Media
Did You Miss?
Contact Us

Even More News
In Memoriam
Smart Marketing
People
Bestsellers
New in ShelfTalker

In the News

Scholastic Lays Off 11

Scholastic, which has been steadily reducing its workforce for about 18 months, eliminated 11 positions last week in its trade and Klutz divisions. The move comes less than two months after Debra Lande was named publisher of Klutz, Scholastic's division. Among those leaving in the downsizing were Margaret Coffee, director of field sales; and Grace Maccarone, an editor who had been with the company for 30 years.

More News

Arabic-Language Children’s Prize to Launch

Arabic-language children’s publishers have a new book prize: the Etisalat Award for Arab Children’s literature, which promises one million dirham ($270,000) to the best Arab children’s book of the year.
"The prize will hopefully bring about some healthy competition between the current publishing houses," said Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, founder of the prize. Sheikha Bodour is the daughter of the ruler of the emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, where the award will be presented for the first time during the annual Sharjah World Book Fair this November.

read more

Even More News

No Stay on CPSIA-Mandated Tracking Labels

Late last week, the two current members of the Consumer Products Safety Commission denied a request from children’s products industries to grant a stay of enforcement on the tracking label provision of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, with acting head Nancy Nord voting for the stay and Thomas Moore against. Therefore, the tracking label provisions under section 103 of the CPSIA will go into effect this August as scheduled. Manufacturers had asked for the stay because the CPSC has not yet issued guidance on how publishers and other companies can comply with the provision, making it difficult for product marketers to meet the deadline. The tracking label provision affects all children’s books, including the post-1985 ink-on-paper and ink-on-board formats.

read more

Book News

Hitching a ‘Ride’ with Sarah Dessen

For many teen girls, it just wouldn’t be summer without a new Sarah Dessen novel to kick back with. Happily, the bestselling author—whose books have combined sales of over four million copies—won’t be disappointing any of her fans this year. Her latest, Along for the Ride (Viking), goes on sale June 16 with a 250,000-copy first printing. Like its eight predecessors, Along for the Ride offers the kind of real-life relationship drama that Dessen’s readers find irresistible. "She knows her audience very well," says Carol Moyer, manager of the children’s department at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, N.C. "She writes about all the joys and heartaches of being a teenager today. But her books aren’t ‘issues stories’—they’re engaging stories, and issues are just a natural part." read more

More Book News

Knopf to Publish ‘Eragon’ Novelty Book

This fall, Knopf Books for Young Readers will publish Christopher Paolini’s Eragon’s Guide to Alagaësia, a novelty gift book tie-in to the author’s bestselling Inheritance cycle novels. The book, which will be simultaneously published in the U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand, was developed in conjunction with Britain’s Templar Publishing and goes on sale November 3. Framed as a gift from Eragon to the reader, the book will feature illustrated spreads of the landscape and inhabitants of Alagaësia and will include paper engineering and other interactive elements.
read more

In Memoriam

Remembering Craig Virden

Craig Virden, former president of Random House’s children’s division, died suddenly on May 6. In this tribute, several of his colleagues, friends and authors pay tribute to his literary acumen, his warmth and generosity, and his joie de vivre.
George Nicholson, agent, Sterling Lord Literistic

Thirty years ago I ran into a tremendously energetic young man at the beginning of his career. Catholic in his tastes and judgments with a terrific sense of humor, he became a friend, a professional partner and somewhat uncertainly a participant in one of the major changes in the publishing of our time. From a small literary agency to Scholastic (then still privately held) to a brief unrewarding stint in advertising, Craig joined me at the then Dell Publishing Company (later Random House). We talked in a dark bar on Lexington Avenue about the paperback business, what it could become, and laughed a lot over the idiocies of what we saw around us.

read more

In Brief

‘Periwinkle’ Makes Her Mark

Last week, Grosset & Dunlap celebrated its newest heroine, Periwinkle Smith, the star of Periwinkle Smith and the Twirly, Whirly Tutu by John & Wendy (May). In the picture book, Periwinkle learns to embrace a paint stain on her beloved tutu. More than 50 people turned out for the event at New York City’s Sweetiepie restaurant, and attendees even received pieces of original art by the artist/author team. Pictured here (l. to r.) are staffers Adam Royce and Sarah Stern, collaborators John and Wendy, Grosset publisher Francesco Sedita, Penguin’s Brooke Dworkin and Kate Ritchey—and Periwinkle.

That’s One Way to "Speed Read"

Author Wendelin van Draanen (the Sammy Keyes series) traveled to Fargo, N.D., earlier this month to participate in a 5K race along with 200 students and staff members from three area middle schools. The students were all taking part in the "Exercise Your Right to Read" campaign, which van Draanen (seen here in white) founded along with her husband, Mark Parsons, to encourage reading and physical activity among children. Participating students read and exercised for 26 minutes every day for 26 days, culminating in the race. Additional information is available at the campaign Web site.

A Not-So-Rotten Occasion

To celebrate Rotten Ralph’s ninth picture book, The Nine Lives of Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos, illustrated by Nicole Rubel (Apr.), Houghton Mifflin threw a luncheon at Italian restaurant Via Matta in Boston last week. Among the dozen or so attendees were Gantos (seen here with his editor, Mary Wilcox), the Horn Book’s Roger Sutton, Anita Silvey, Cathy Mercier from the Simmons Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, and Julie Roach from the Cambridge Public Library.

A Sweet New Gig

Literary agent and debut author Holly McGhee made a recent appearance at SOMe Book Nook, a recently opened bookstore located within the Sparkhouse Kids toy store in South Orange, N.J. The event celebrated the release of Dessert First (Atheneum, May), which McGhee wrote under the pen name Hallie Durand (the book, illustrated by Christine Davenier, stars a girl named Dessert, who is as unique as her name suggests). The store sold more than 70 books during the event. And as befits the protagonist’s name and her predilection for all things sweet—plenty of desserts were on hand, too.

Vampires of the Coast

That the protagonists of the Twilight saga have legions of admirers isn’t news, but for fans of Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series, Edward Cullen isn’t the only swoonworthy vampire out there. Mead just completed a West Coast tour in advance of the arrival of the fourth book in the series, Blood Promise (Razorbill, Aug.). During her tour, fans showed up with custom-made Vampire Academy t-shirts (featuring messages like "Keep Edward, I Want Dimitri"). Here, Mead signs books at Borders in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Q&A

Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Bookshelf spoke with author Amy Krouse Rosenthal about her four new picture books.

An obvious opening question, given your full roster of spring releases: how do you fit it all in?

I work hard and I work every day. I have my ritual. I always say that my PhD—I don’t have a real one—stands for "putting in the hours daily." I don’t mind hard work and I love what I do. It’s a funny thing about this business. I have a job that leaves me with something tangible at the end, something to show for all the work. I like that.

read more

Featured Reviews

The Dunderheads

Paul Fleischman, illus. by David Roberts. Candlewick, $16.99 (56p) ISBN 978-0-7636-2498-9
The fiendish Miss Breakbone—a teacher with her own electric chair and a subscription to Guard Dog Lovers Monthly—is no match for her students, once they put their heads together. They have no choice: Miss Breakbone has insulted them ("doodling, dozing, don’t-knowing dunderheads!"), confiscated a cat figurine that Junkyard was saving for his mother’s birthday, and then dared them to retaliate. Einstein, the genius hero, marshals his classmates’ skills (hypnotism, spitballs, perfect knowledge of movie plots) and pulls off the perfect break-in. Action and zaniness animate every page of this picture book/early reader hybrid, but the story’s real virtue is Newbery winner Fleischman’s (Joyful Noise) appreciation for kids whose loser exteriors hide unexpected talent (each gets an apropos nickname). "I nodded to Clips," Einstein says about the kid whose creations help them enter Miss Breakbone’s lair. "His reading scores were low. His math scores were worse. But if they tested for paper-clip chains..." Roberts’s (The Dumpster Diver) drawings, with their delicate lines and sly cultural references (Miss Breakbone looks like a cold war–era prison guard), convey just the right note of dastardly charm. Schoolchildren will adore this story of pupil revenge. Ages 6–10. (June)

Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom

Eric Wight. Simon & Schuster, $9.99 (96p) ISBN 978-1-4169-6484-1
Blurring the lines between graphic novel and chapter book, Wight’s (My Dead Girlfriend) children’s book debut introduces a protagonist as singular as his name. Frankie Pickle (short for Franklin Piccolini) fuels his everyday life with fantasy. When sent to clean his room, he imagines himself a convict: "Been here so long I forget what the sun looks like," he says, scrawling a sixth hatch mark on the prison wall underneath "minutes here." When Frankie’s mother declares that he doesn’t have to clean his room anymore, at first "Frankie was living on cloud swine." But when even his dog won’t go in his room and his sister declares he has the "natural aroma" of "ripe garbage," Frankie—as an intrepid adventurer—makes his room "so clean it made soap look dirty." Wight’s b&w comic illustrations brim with action and wit––a moldy sandwich turns into an eight-eyed monster and Frankie makes joyful snow angels in clutter––but Frankie’s tone—funny without being smart alecky—is Wight’s finest achievement. Full of rib-tickling irony, this is a strong start for the series. Ages 7–10. (May)

Reviews from the May 18 issue of Publishers Weekly.

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

Bestsellers

Picture Books
May

Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire! Jane O’Connor, illus. by Robin Preiss Glasser.
HarperCollins, $12.99
ISBN 978-0-06-168486-9

Listen to the Wind. Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth, illus. by Susan L. Roth.
Dial, $16.99
ISBN 978-0-8037-3058-8

Gallop! Rufus Butler Seder.
Workman, $12.95
ISBN 978-0-7611-4763-3

Llama Llama Misses Mama.
Anna Dewdney.
Viking, $16.99
ISBN 978-0-670-06198-3

Swing! Rufus Butler Seder.
Workman, $12.95
ISBN 978-0-7611-5127-2

see full list
see more bestseller lists

On The Scene

Meeting Rick Riordan: Claire and Rachel’s Excellent Adventure

PW’s Midwest correspondent takes her daughter on a road trip to meet author Rick Riordan.

Rick Riordan, author of the popular Percy Jackson series, has some very loyal fans among the prepubescent set. But none of them is a bigger fan than my 11-year-old daughter, Rachel. When I told Rachel that Riordan would be stopping in St. Paul, Minn. during his 14-day, 15-city, 17-bookstore/library tour promoting The Last Olympian, the fifth and final Percy Jackson adventure, she suggested—no, she demanded—that we make a road trip to the Red Balloon Bookshop to meet Riordan.

read more

Smart Marketing

Visiting Bookstores Virtually

Two Random House Children’s Books authors have recently embarked on national book tours—without hitting the road. Jerry Spinelli (Love, Stargirl, Knopf) and Libba Bray (The Sweet Far Thing, Delacorte) are promoting the recent paperback editions of their bestselling novels with virtual bookstore "appearances" to launch the Dial Into Summer program.

read more

Rights Report

Wendy Loggia at Delacorte pre-empted North American rights to a YA trilogy, and its prequel, by Lauren Kate about a teenager who realizes good and evil forces have allowed her to continually fall in love with, and lose, her fallen-angel boyfriend. The deal marks the first sale for Tinderbox Books, a just-launched packaging company formed by Firebrand Literary. The series, for which Eddie Gamarra at Gotham Group is shopping the film rights, has also been doing well abroad. Kate has pseudonymously written a number of books for Alloy's Inside Girl series. The first book in the trilogy is titled Fallen.

Katie Crouch (Girls in Trucks) has signed on for a YA book for Little, Brown's Poppy imprint called The Magnolia League. Elizabeth Bewley acquired North American rights from Rob McQuilkin at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin, and the book is tentatively slated for spring 2011. The book follows a Southern debutante who uncovers scandals within Savannah society.

Judy O’Malley at Charlesbridge has signed Stuart J. Murphy, creator of the MathStart series, for a 16-book early childhood readiness series called I See I Learn. The series is designed to help children learn skills for school readiness and daily life. The first four books of the series will be released in fall 2010, followed by two more each season after that.

People

Diane Cain is joining Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in the newly created position of brand marketing director, James Patterson. Cain will be dedicated to the management and execution of all marketing initiatives related to James Patterson’s titles. Previously she was in marketing positions at HarperCollins Children’s Books and Penguin Young Readers Group.

Elizabeth Kerins has been promoted to associate publicist at Macmillan Children’s Group. She was formerly publicity assistant at Macmillan’s Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers imprint.

In the Winners' Circle

The nominees for the Hans Christian Andersen Awards for 2010 have been announced by IBBY. For the U.S., Walter Dean Myers has been nominated as author, and Eric Carle has been nominated as illustrator. For a full list of nominees from all countries, click here.

Amulet Books has announced the winner of its Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Comic contest. More than 4,000 entries were received, and the winner, chosen by Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney, is Thomas Kaili Fields, age 13, of Cathedral Grade School in Belleville, Ill. Click here to see his winning entry!

Siobhan Dowd has won Ireland’s 19th annual Bisto Children’s Book of the Year for Bog Child,a novel she completed shortly before she died in 2007. Dowd’s novel The London Eye Mystery won the Bisto prize last year as well. The Bisto Honour Award for Writing went to Kate Thompson for Creature of the Night, and the Bisto Honour Award for Illustration went to The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers.

In the Media

From the Hollywood Reporter: Robert Pattison announced at the Cannes Film Festival that he has signed to return as Edward in Breaking Dawn, the fourth Twilight movie.
read more

From the Philadelphia Inquirer: Illustrator Jerry Pinkney returns to his hometown to be honored at the Celebration of Black Writing Festival.
read more

From School Library Journal: Librarians are catching onto The 39 Clues as a way to attract new young patrons to meet and solve the books’ mystery together.
read more

From the Cape Cod Times: Marc Brown talks about creating his hugely popular character, Arthur the aardvark.
read more

From the Associated Press: Nightmist, a direct descendant of Misty, the horse immortalized in Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague, has died.
read more

Did You Miss?

From the pages of PW

Papercutz will publish a new line of Disney Fairies graphic novels.
read more

New in ShelfTalker

This week, Josie starts to get organized for BEA. And don’t miss Elizabeth’s extremely informative post about promotional materials that do (and don’t) work in their bookstore. Check out all their new 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