Sarah Ketchersid at Candlewick bought two new picture books by Caldecott Honor artist David Ezra Stein (Interrupting Chickens). The first book in the new deal, tentatively titled Ice Boy, follows an intrepid ice cube; it's slated for 2017. The second book, due out in 2018, centers on an impatient kernel of corn named Cornelius. Both are inspired by objects from Stein's house, and both of the characters are struggling in some way to grow up. Holly McGhee at Pippin Properties brokered the deal for world rights.
Namrata Tripathi at Dial has acquired Found Things author Marilyn Hilton's middle-grade novel-in-verse, Full Cicada Moon. Set in 1969 against the backdrop of the first lunar landing, the novel tells the story of half-black, half-Japanese Mimi as she adjusts to life in rural Vermont. Everything about Mimi makes her stand out – including her mixed heritage, her “unconventional” family and her “boyish” interest in astronomy – but Mimi finds that she's strong enough to face the tough, unwelcoming exterior her new community presents to her. Publication is scheduled for summer 2016; Josh Adams at Adams Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Kaylan Adair at Candlewick has acquired world English rights to author Paula Garner's YA debut, called Phantom Limbs. The novel follows 16-year-old Otis, a competitive swimmer and poet whose childhood best friend and first love, Meg, returns to town after a three-year absence, forcing them to face the tragedy that drove them apart. It's scheduled for fall 2016; Molly Jaffa at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management brokered the deal.
Paula Wiseman at Simon & Schuster's Paula Wiseman Books has bought author Adam Lehrhaupt's Idea Jar, a picture book about where a boy gets his ideas and inspiration. Publication is planned for spring 2017; Alexandra Penfold at Upstart Crow Literary brokered the deal for world rights.
Emma Ledbetter at Atheneum has bought, at auction, two picture books by author-illustrator Gilbert Ford. The first book, The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring, tells the unlikely true story of engineer Richard James and his invention of the Slinky. It's slated for fall 2016; Steven Malk at Writers House did the deal for world rights.
Liz Van Doren at Boyds Mills Press has signed up artist Fred Koehler (How to Cheer Up Dad) to illustrate author Shelley Thomas Moore's picture book This Book Is Not About Dragons, which is not about dragons. Not at all. Publication is set for fall 2016; Tracey Adams at Adams Literary sold North American rights on behalf of the artist.
Maria Modugno at Random House has bought world rights to Once Upon a Blank, an interactive picture book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (top l.) and Lea Redmond (top r.), illustrated by Sanne te Loo (bottom). The book asks the reader to place common household objects on every spread to tell different stories. It's slated for summer 2016; Amy Rennert represented the authors; the artist was unagented.
