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In the News

• Children’s Publishing in the Digital Age
  In a forum this past Tuesday on “The Current State of E: Publishing in the Digital Age,” a group of panelists discussed some of the thorniest issues that the industry is currently facing: where digital publishing stands and where it is headed. Speakers included Len Feldman of Follett Digital Resources, Andrew Weinstein of Ingram Digital, Erica Lazarro of OverDrive and Josh Koppell of ScrollMotion; digital publishing reporter Craig Morgan Teicher served as moderator. more » » » 
• Ripple’s First Content Partner Is Charlesbridge
  Last month PW reported the upcoming debut of Ripple, a Web-based platform that will allow loved ones to record personalized audio versions of children’s books and send them to the children in their lives. The site is set to debut this fall, but the company was still working on contracts with content partners, recordings of whose books would be sold through the site. Ripple has just announced that Charlesbridge is its first content partner.... more » » » 

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  Harry Potter Heads to Orlando
  From tasting Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans to visiting Ollivander’s wand shop, Potterphiles will soon be able to live out fantasies of life in Hogwarts. Universal World Resort has revealed some advance details about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a Potter-themed addition to Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Fla. Scheduled to open in spring 2010, the 20-acre attraction will feature shops, food and entertainment drawn from J.K. Rowling’s books as well as... more » » » 
• Happy Birthday, Tomie!
  Tomie dePaola celebrated his 75th birthday this past Tuesday, and Penguin Young Readers Group threw a birthday party in honor of the beloved author and illustrator last week at New York City’s Valbella Restaurant. Numerous friends, writers and publishing folk turned out to wish dePaola well; see our photo-essay from the party, after the jump. more » » » 

Blogs

• ShelfTalker: A Children's Bookseller's Blog
  Elizabeth Bluemle, Co-owner, Flying Pig Bookstore, Shelburne, Vt.
  Fall Leaves, Treats, and a Kid Named Gianna Z
  Remember those friendly middle-grade novels where kids have everyday problems and their parents, while flawed, are not only functional but are also loving, funny, exasperated, and kind? Well, there's ...
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• A Fuse #8 Production
  Elizabeth Bird, Children's Librarian, Children's Center at 42nd Street
  Review of the Day: The Squirrel's Birthday and Other Parties by Toon Tellegen
  The Squirrel’s Birthday and Other Parties By Toon Tellegen Illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg Translated by Martin Cleaver Boxer Books (distributed by Sterling in the U.S.) $12.95 ISBN: 978-...
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• Good Comics for Kids
  Lori Henderson, ,
  All ages comics and manga for 9/16/09
  Archie Comics takes the spotlight again with it's continuing saga of Archie and Veronica's marriage, this time with them actually tying the knot. Other highlights include Dark Horse with the sec...
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Book News

• A Pooh Party: Eeyore, Piglet and Pooh Return
  “Promise me you’ll never forget me because if I thought you would I’d never leave.” --Christopher Robin 
  
  But will those who have never forgotten A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh and The House on Pooh Corner be pleased with the first authorized sequel in 80 years? Dutton will find out on October 5, when it releases 300,000 copies of Return to the Hundred Acre Wood. more » » » 
• Amulet Series Delivers Good News to Nerds
  Five geeky fifth-graders-turned-spies transform issues they’re coping with—among them asthma, hyperactivity and allergies—into superpowers, in a new middle-grade adventure series by Michael Buckley, author of the Sisters Grimm series. Out this month from Amulet with a 100,000-copy first printing is the inaugural book, NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society, Book One. In this novel, the popular captain of a peewee football team gets kicked off the squad... more » » » 
• Getty Brings Politi Classics Back to Life
  Four works of Leo Politi, who wrote and illustrated dozens of children’s books primarily set in the Latino communities of Southern California, are being made available again in October from Getty Publications. John Harris, Getty’s children’s book editor, was approached by Politi’s heirs at last year’s Bologna Book Fair about republishing the books, long out of print. Although the four titles represent a slight departure for the Getty... more » » » 

In the Media

• From the Bookseller:
  Children's publishers in the U.K. are cutting acquisitions and advances by up to a third, due to contraction of the market. more » » » 
• From the Times of London:
  For the occasion of Roald Dahl Day in Britain, and on the eve of the film release of Fantastic Mr. Fox, Dahl's widow, Liccy, talked about their life together. more » » » 
• From Wales Online:
  Author Philip Pullman says that although Dan Brown's work has captured the popular imagination, it has little literary merit. more » » » 
• From the New York Times:
  A blog entry tells of an annual New Jersey publishing party, bittersweet this year because of the death this spring of its co-host, Craig Virden. more » » » 
• From Madison.com:
  A look at the life and work of local author-illustrator Kevin Henkes, who recently received an Honorary Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education. more » » » 

In Brief

• Booking It in Brooklyn
  Christopher Myers and Kate DiCamillo were just two of more than 200 authors and illustrators who participated in the Brooklyn Book Festival this past Sunday (to see more children's authors at the festival, click here). Myers and DiCamillo took part in a panel entitled "Fantastical Journeys" with fellow writer Michael Buckley, which was moderated by Nancy Mercado of Roaring Brook Press. The one-day festival drew 30,000 attendees, according to the Village Voice. more » » » 
• Thinking 'Positive'
  On the other side of the river, the launch party for author Courtney Sheinmel's new novel, Positively (S&S, Sept.), was also held last Sunday, at Books of Wonder in Manhattan. Positively tells the story of Emmy, an HIV-positive 13-year-old who has just lost her mother to AIDS; Sheinmel is donating a portion of proceeds from the book to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Sheinmel read from and signed copies of Positively at the event, which also featured… more » » » 
• Scieszka Keeps on Truckin'
  Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, recently visited local schools and the Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Tex., while in town to promote Truckery Rhymes (S&S, Aug.). Part of his Trucktown series, the book offers heavy-duty remakes of familiar nursery rhymes. Local firefighters also stopped by Blue Willow for ice cream during the in-store event… more » » » 
• Leggo My LEGOs
  The Children's Museum of Manhattan recently hosted author and LEGO Certified Professional Sean Kenney for an event celebrating his new book Cool Cars and Trucks (Holt/Ottaviano, Sept.), which shows kids how to make SUVs, race cars and other vehicles out of those perennially popular building materials. Kenney brought more than 12,000 LEGOs and helped kids create some cars and trucks… more » » » 
• Doing the Funky Chicken
  So you think you can dance? Tammi Sauer and Dan Santat, the team behind Chicken Dance (Sterling, Aug.), are sponsoring an online dance contest to promote their new picture book—and get readers shaking their tail feathers. In the book, two chickens try to come up with the perfect stage act, in the hopes of meeting their idol, Elvis Poultry. The contest, which runs through October 31, invites readers to upload to YouTube a home video showing off their best moves… more » » » 

Q & A

• Q & A with Julia Donaldson
  Q: In 'Stick Man,' you introduce a humble stick that is taken far from home and almost becomes kindling. How did you invent this unusual hero?
  A: It was two things coming together. In my book 'The Gruffalo’s Child,' the child drags a stick doll everywhere, and that must have sparked it. And I fully remember my own children, 20-odd years ago, loving sticks. When we would go out for a walk, they would find a stick, and it wouldn’t always become a weapon. A stick could be anything to anyone. more » » » 

Featured Reviews

• Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice
  Judy Schachner. Dutton, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-525-47965-9

  Skippyjon Jones, the Siamese kitten who thinks he's a Chihuahua, is also "nuts about Mars," which he decides to visit via a trip to his closet. Passing through the constellations, the space-suited (really, it's a snowsuit) feline encounters Los Chimichangos, who appear in a fiery comet, as well as his green Martian double once he reaches the red planet, which is covered in chili powder. Skippyjon's ludicrous adventures and energetic personality will keep fans happy that his imagination remains unchecked… more » » » 
• Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have
  Allen Zadoff. Egmont USA, $16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-60684-004-7

  Readers who wade through a series of painful scenes early on in Zadoff's debut YA novel are in for a treat. Andy Zansky is the (second) fattest kid in school and pays dearly for it on a daily basis (on the first day of sophomore year, he discovers he may not fit into the new desks). Then, out of nowhere, popular football star O. Douglas takes a liking to Andy, who goes out for football and makes the varsity team. Out goes self-deprecating Andy (for the most part), making room for a more confident, funny and likable Andy… more » » » 
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  Tales from the Slush Pile

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