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In the News

• Once Upon a Half Century
  Fifty years ago, Norton Juster was pacing his second-floor apartment in Brooklyn Heights, unsure that the manuscript he was working on - his first - would ever be published. His roommate Jules Feiffer was his first reader, who also sketched some pictures to go with Juster’s story. The manuscript was The Phantom Tollbooth. Now, a half century later, these veterans are collaborating on a new picture book, The Odious Ogre, due out in fall 2010. more » » » 
• Children’s Books and Author Events Key at NEIBA Show
  As children's books have come into their own through series like Harry Potter, Twilight and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, children's programming has become more fully integrated into the New England Independent Booksellers Association annual trade show, held last weekend in Hartford. At the industry lunch that opened the show, not only did Andrew Clements win an award for a children's author's body of work, but this year's NEIBA publisher of the year, Tilbury House in Gardiner, Maine, has a strong children's list. more » » » 

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  GLiBA Children’s Breakfast a Historical Experience
  The booksellers who gathered in Cleveland this past weekend for the Great Lakes Booksellers trade show reflected as much on the past as they did the present and the future, and the children’s authors who spoke at Sunday’s breakfast were no exception. The three authors - Gennifer Choldenko, Candace Fleming and Shaun Tan - each focused on the impact of the past upon themselves personally, as well as upon their work. more » » » 
• iStoryTime Brings New Authors to Smartphones
  The digital revolution means it isn't just big companies and established authors getting into the e-book app game - anyone with an idea, some start-up capital and tech know-how can now successfully bring a high-quality e-book app to market. That is exactly what happened with three friends with technology backgrounds who wanted to give their children books, not video games, to occupy themselves at the grocery store. The result is iStoryTime, an e-book platform for iPhone and Android OS that is getting... more » » » 

Blogs

• ShelfTalker: A Children's Bookseller's Blog
  Elizabeth Bluemle, Co-owner, Flying Pig Bookstore, Shelburne, Vt.
  A Holiday Gift You Can Start Selling Now
  I have been waiting to write this blog post since May, when we first saw the book, and now that it's here, I finally can. Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies has finally hit the s...
  more » » » 
  
• A Fuse #8 Production
  Elizabeth Bird, Children's Librarian, Children's Center at 42nd Street
  Reporting: Eric Carle Honors 2009
  Today, if I am not too much mistaken, Eric Carle will be stopping by my library to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This is happening in conjunction with the Jumpstart: Read for the Record campaign....
  more » » » 
  
• Good Comics for Kids
  Snow Wildsmith, ,
  Review: The Dreamer
  Beatrice "Bea" Whaley might be losing her mind. Each night she dreams that she has journeyed back to Massachusetts in 1776, where a Revolutionary War soldier named Alan Warren is in love wit...
  more » » » 
  

Book News

• The Wimp Factor
  In schoolyards, jocks may still rule. But in bookstores, the big boy on campus is a wimp. More specifically, he’s a middle-schooler named Greg Heffley, the star of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Next Monday, Amulet Books imprint is releasing four million copies of Dog Days, the fourth installment of the cartoon-illustrated novels—the largest first printing for any children’s book this year. more » » » 
• An ‘Evil’ Debut
  Josh Lieb's first YA novel, I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President (Razorbill), hits the shelves this month. It's the darkly comic story of Oliver Watson, a hugely wealthy boy business whiz whose cover is that of a schlubby seventh-grade loser. Though the author is a rookie in the children's book arena, he's a seasoned pro in the world of comedy writing for television... more » » » 
• On the Road with M.T. Anderson
  Author M.T. Anderson is on a national tour for his new book, Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware, the third title in his Pals in Peril series. His tour has taken him to California, to the Washington, D.C., area, and to the Midwest Booksellers Association show in St. Paul, among other stops. Anderson also made one especially appropriate visit, given the title of his book: to the first state in the union, Delaware. See our photo essay of his visit. more » » » 

In the Media

• From the New York Times:
  The first authorized Winnie-the-Pooh sequel in more than 80 years has just come out, to much fanfare, though some wonder if creating a sequel was a good idea. more » » » 
• From nycgo.com:
  Art director and designer Steven Heller interviews Maurice Sendak about the Where the Wild Things movie, the origins of his Wild Things, and his fight with Ursula Nordstrom about the last line in the now-classic picture book. more » » » 
• From the Bookseller:
  Author David Almond is moving into adult fiction, having just sold U.K. rights to two books. Mina's Story, a prequel to his first children’s book, Skellig, comes out next year, but his agent says, "He's not decided on plans beyond that in the children's market." more » » » 
• From the Toronto Star:
  A new American Girl doll draws controversy because her character is homeless, yet the doll costs $95. more » » » 
• From MTV.com:
  The hit Vampire Diaries TV show had an amusing shout-out to the Twilight series in last week's episode. more » » » 

Q & A

• Q & A with Patrick Ness
  Q: Your first two books were written for adults. What made you decide to write YA fiction, and how is it different from writing adult fiction?
  A: I was playing around with an idea for a long time. It didn’t originally start as a young adult novel. The voice was an adolescent voice, though, and I thought, "Well, that's interesting." I tried to let the material tell me what it was, rather than forcing it to be something. I found it really liberating, actually. more » » » 

In Brief

• An 'Early' Appearance
  Author Jarrett J. Krosoczka visited CBS's The Early Show this past Saturday, as a spokesperson for the New York Times Great Children's Read, which took place Sunday in New York City. Krosoczka appeared at the morning show at the request of Great Children's Read sponsor Target; here, the author and some young fans show off copies of his new Lunch Lady series of books… more » » » 
• Martha and Her 'Mom'
  Author Susan Meddaugh, whose talking dog Martha is the star of several picture books, as well as a cartoon on PBS that debuted last year, recently stopped by Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, N.J. Meddaugh grew up in Montclair and in the PBS version of Martha Speaks, the dog and her family live at 33 Fairfield St., just down the road from the bookstore. Here, Susan and "Martha" greet bookstore customers… more » » » 
• Lucky Number Six
  Six children's book authors and illustrators won a spot at the booth of online children's book community JacketFlap at the Orange County Children's Book Festival, held this past weekend in Costa Mesa, Calif. Seen here (l. to r.) are JacketFlap CEO Tracy Grand with this year's winners: Susan Lendroth, Ashley Wolff, Merrily Kutner, Joy Allen, Dan Santat and Erik Brooks… more » » » 
• Happy Fifth Birthday
  Porter Square Books in North Cambridge, Mass., celebrated its fifth birthday with a Wild Things parade last Sunday. Children gathered at the bookstore’s new neighbor in the Porter Square Shopping Center, Henry Bear’s Park, a children’s book and toy store that relocated from Huron Village in Cambridge. At Porter Square Books, children could get their pictures taken with a monster, have a Wild Things drink and stay for a reading of Where the Wild Things Are… more » » » 
• How to 'Say Cheese!' in Human
  Author Natalie Standiford's latest novel, How to Say Goodbye in Robot—about the friendship between a new girl at a private school and a quiet, withdrawn student—went on sale last week. Seen here with Standiford (l.) at the book's release party in Brooklyn, N.Y., is librarian (and author of the Reading Rants! Web site) Jennifer Hubert Swan, who was among those who came out to congratulate the author… more » » » 

Movie Alert

Two directors—who happen to be brothers—are each responsible for bringing a hot vampire book property to life this fall on the big screen. Twilighters are anxiously awaiting New Moon, directed by Chris Weitz, on November 20. But first, vampire fans can turn to Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, based on Darren Shan's popular series and directed by Paul Weitz (About a Boy), which arrives October 23. The Universal film features 17-year-old actor Chris Massoglia in the role of Darren...Read more

People

Margaret Coffee has joined Albert Whitman as v-p of sales. She was previously director of field sales for Scholastic, and before that worked in the sales departments of Candlewick Press and Penguin.

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