Children’s Bookshelf
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November 5, 2009

In This Issue

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In the News

  • Best Children's Books of 2009
    On Monday, Publishers Weekly announced its Best Books of 2009, including our list of 30 Best Books for children. From accounts of civil rights heroes, to harrowing (and hopeful) stories about contemporary teenagers, to picture books that perfectly capture friendship, curiosity, or flights of fancy, 2009 held a treasure trove of wonderful reading for children of all ages and interests. Click through to see our selections. more » » » 
  • Riordan Sets His Sights on Egypt
    Like his Lightning Thief star Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan is a demigod—at least in the eyes of his readers. With the release next May of the first title in his new middle-grade fantasy series, about ancient Egypt, he is set to become a pharaoh, too. In The Kane Chronicles, Book One: The Red Pyramid, kids will meet Carter Kane, 14, and his sister, Sadie, 12, descendants of Egyptian magicians who battle gods accidentally released in the present... more » » » 
  • Obituary: Esther Hautzig
    Author Esther Hautzig died on Sunday, November 1, at the age of 79. She was best known for her 1968 work, The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia, an autobiographical account of her family’s life in Siberia during WWII, having being exiled there from Poland. She wrote several other books for children over a career that spanned five decades... more » » » 

Blogs

Book News

  • The Stories Behind Some Autumn Hits
    In this busy fall selling season, several recently released children's books are moving quite quickly out of the gate. Here we'll take a look at factors fueling the early success of five titles: Blood of the Witch and Fang of the Vampire, which launch Tommy Donbavand's Scream Street series; Ruined by Paula Morris; Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick; and Day Is Done by Peter Yarrow, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. more » » » 
  • Invent a Tool for Alex Rider
    Alex Rider's eighth adventure, Crocodile Tears, hits stores November 17 and Penguin is partnering with MAKE magazine to challenge young inventors to come up with a gadget cool enough for the teen spy's arsenal. After all, author Anthony Horowitz says that when he needs a new tool to get his hero out of peril, he goes to his own kids for inspiration. "I look around their bedrooms to see what kind of electronics and such they have littering the place," said Horowitz... more » » » 
 

In the Media

Photo Essay

  • Happy Halloween! A Photo Essay
    In what has become a holiday tradition, several children's book publishers celebrated Halloween this past week in high style, and with some inventive book-inspired costumes. Here, we present party highlights—both spooky and silly—in a holiday tradition of our own: the post-Halloween photo-essay. more » » » 

Movie Alert

  • Movie Alert: Fantastic Mr. Fox
    Following in the footsteps of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and The Witches, another of Roald Dahl's much-loved stories—Fantastic Mr. Fox—heads to the big screen on November 13, reimagined as a stop-motion animated feature from Twentieth Century Fox. And the A-list team behind the project is as fantastic as the title character himself... more » » » 

Featured Reviews

  • Sophie Peterman Tells the Truth!
    Sarah Weeks, illus. by Robert Neubecker. S&S/Beach Lane, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4169-8686-7

    In a rant worthy of talk radio, young Sophie warns readers of the horrors of siblinghood: "Babies are not sweet. Babies are not precious. Babies are not cute. Babies are... your worst nightmare!" If readers need further proof of Sophie's claims, Neubecker (Wow! School!), wonderfully in his element, offers a portrait of infant-as-alien worthy of the Weekly World News (in addition to aliens, Sophie also compares babies to pirates and monsters)… more » » » 

  • The Brothers Story
    Katherine Sturtevant. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $16.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-374-30992-3
    Set against the bitter English winter of 1683–1684, Sturtevant's (A True and Faithful Narrative) moving coming-of-age tale follows the adventures of teenage Kit, who impulsively flees his Essex parish and the burden imposed by his "simple" but adoring twin, Christy, to seek his livelihood in London. Finding employment as servant to a painter, Kit delights in his new freedom and the town's busy energy... more » » » 
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Rights Report

David Fickling Books has acquired world English-language rights to Trash, a novel by Andy Mulligan, in a auction in the U.K. followed by a pre-empt in the U.S. It's a first time that the Fickling imprint will publish a book simultaneously in both countries (fall 2010). Publisher David Fickling called the book "a fantastic nail-biter." Jane Turnbull of the Jane Turnbull Literary Agency was the U.K. agent, and Kenneth Wright of Writers House did the deal in the U.S. on behalf of Turnbull.

The Berenstain Bears will be coming to the big screen, thanks to a deal between Corus Entertainment and Walden Media and 21 Laps, according to USA Today. The Berenstain Bears books, created by Jan and Stan Berenstain, debuted in 1962. The movie will be an original story, and will be a mixture of live action and computer animation. According to Walden Media CEO Michael Bostick, the movie could release as early as late 2011.

Nancy Hinkel at Knopf has bought Here Lies Linc, a middle-grade novel by Delia Ray, author of Ghost Girl and Singing Hands. In this novel, seventh-grader Lincoln Raintree Crenshaw adopts a grave at an Iowa City cemetery and makes some unexpected discoveries about himself. Publication date is summer 2011; agent Laura Langlie did the deal for world English-language rights.

On-Sale Calendar: December 2009

Leave it to James Patterson to help usher out 2009 with a bang: his Witch & Wizard—about two siblings' struggles in an oppressive, anti-magic parallel world—arrives December 14 with a 700,000-copy first printing, the largest children's book print run for December. It'll be joined by books featuring Fancy Nancy and the Jonas Brothers, as well as new works from Erin Hunter, Carrie Jones, and Michael Hall. For more information about these and other major titles, click here for our December 2009 on-sale calendar.
 
  


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Children's Bookshelf
Editor: Diane Roback
Associate Editor: John Sellers

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