For those navigating the booths of children’s publishers today, here’s a preview of new books on display, author signings, and giveaways to pick up.
At booth C1681, NorthSouth is featuring two new picture books, both starring animal protagonists. Author-illustrator Torben Kuhlmann has traveled to BEA from his native Germany to introduce booksellers to Lindberg: The Tale of a Flying Mouse. The publisher is giving away “Let Your Imagination Soar” posters to promote the book. Also on display is Two Parrots, based on a tale from Rumi, the 13th-century Persian poet. The story, which centers on a parrot in a golden cage that has everything he wants—except his freedom—is illustrated by Persian artist Rashin, who is attending BEA.
Pathfinder Equine Publications, in Reading, Pa., is celebrating the publication of Quincy and Buck, the third book in the Quincy the Horse series by Camille Matthews, illustrated by Michelle Black. In this picture book, released in March in hardcover and e-book editions, Quincy must contend with a bully when he ventures beyond the corral and takes his first trail ride in the desert. Books in the Quincy the Horse series, inspired by a young, real-life horse that is now 24 and still works as a therapy horse, have been named Mom’s Choice Award winners and will be displayed at the Mom’s Choice booth (2767, 2768) during the show. Matthews, a clinical social worker and equine-assisted learning specialist, will be at that booth to sign copies of her three books this afternoon, 2 p.m. Pathfinder Equine Publications’ books are distributed by Small Press United/IPG.
Booksellers eager to get into the holiday spirit on the early side will want to visit the Silver Dolphin Books booth (2020) today, 3–4 p.m., when the publisher is throwing a Christmas party to celebrate Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Pop-Up Book, an October release based on the stop-motion animation TV special, which first aired 50 years ago. Guests can sample the hot chocolate bar and other goodies while watching the movie play in the booth.
Those stopping by Kar-Ben’s booth (1847) will have a chance to view some of the publishers’ latest offerings. These include The Whispering Town, a story about a family who hides a Jewish woman and her son in their cellar in 1943 Nazi-occupied Denmark. Author Jennifer Elvgren is at BEA to promote the novel. Fans of Sammy Spider—and chicken soup—can pick up a recipe card based on Sammy the Spider’s First Mitzvah, the arachnid’s 15th picture book adventure (Sept.). Written by Sylvia A. Rouss and Illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, the series has more than 300,000 copies in print.
Also on display at the booth are four new Jewish-themed science books: Netta and Her Plant by Ellie B. Gellman, Seder in the Desert by Rabbi Jamie Korngold, Stork’s Landing by Tami Lehman-Wilzig, and New Month, New Moon by Allison Ofanasky and photographer Eliyahu Alpern.
Algonquin Young Readers is hosting two author autographings this afternoon at booth 839. From 2 to 3 p.m., Kelly Barnhill will sign ARCs of The Witch’s Boy, a middle-grade adventure involving feuding kingdoms, a cursed boy, a cunning girl, and an enchanted forest. Next up is William Ritter, who will autograph (against a backdrop of scenes from his novel) ARCs of Jackaby, a story set in 1892 that centers on a girl who partners with an investigator with extraordinary powers to track down a serial killer. Also featured at the booth is Winifred Conkling’s Passenger on the Pearl, a YA nonfiction title about a girl and 70 other slaves who made an unsuccessful attempt to escape north by ship from Washington, D.C., in 1848.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt welcomes a literary luminary to booth 1657 today, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., when Lois Lowry signs hardcover copies of the classic edition of her Newbery-winning novel The Giver. In July, the publisher will release a new hardcover edition to tie in to the Weinstein film based on the novel, which is due in August and stars Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, and Katie Holmes. HMH is giving away The Giver–themed cloth tote bags, as well as totes promoting Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla, an August Clarion title by Katherine Applegate, based on her Newbery winner, The One and Only Ivan.
Up for grabs at the booth are these HMH ARCs: His Fair Assassin, Book 3: Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers; Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle; Zac and Mia by A.J. Betts; Robots Rule, Book 1: The Junkyard Bot by C.J. Richards, illustrated by Goro Fujita; The Woodcutter Sisters, Book 3: Dearest by Alethea Kontis; The Chronicles of Kazam, Book 3: The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde; The Question of Miracles by Elana K. Arnold; and A Plague of Bogles by Catherine Jinks. Also available are two Clarion ARCs: The Perfect Place by Teresa E. Harris and Where I Belong by Mary Downing Hahn.
Soho Teen hosts two YA author autographings at its booth (2946) today, including debut novelist Cynthia Weil, who is celebrated for her writing skills in another medium. A member of the Rock and Roll and the Songwriters Halls of Fame, winner of multiple Grammy Awards, and co-writer of such classic songs as “On Broadway” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” Weil will be at the booth this morning, 11–11:30 a.m., to sign ARCs of her novel, I’m Glad I Did, which centers on a young songwriter starting out in 1963 Manhattan. She will also autograph posters featuring lyrics to “I’m Glad I Did,” one of four original songs she wrote based on the novel’s plot. At 3 p.m., Adele Griffin will be on hand to sign ARCs of The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone, an illustrated “docu-novel” exploring what drove a teenage art prodigy to take her own life—if indeed she did.
At Perseus’ booth 1406, the folks from Weinstein Books are spreading their enthusiasm for a spring 2015 novel, The Haunting of Sunshine Girl, Book 1 by Paige McKenzie with Alyssa Sheinmel. The novel launches a series based on the YouTube YA Web series about a teen living in a haunted house, which boasts more than 52 million total views and averages five million views per month. The book series will offer the backstory about characters featured in the YouTube videos, and the YouTube and book properties have been optioned by the Weinstein Company for development for film or television. The publisher is giving away chapter samplers at the booth, which features a large light box booth poster.
Staffers at the Peachtree booth (2813) are in town from Atlanta to share news of some of the house’s new releases—with the help of several authors and an illustrator. Carmen Agra Deedy, coauthor with Randall Wright of The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale, and illustrator Barry Moser will be at the booth this afternoon, 2–2:30 p.m., signing their novel about a cat and his mouse friends living in the London tavern frequented by Charles Dickens. The book will be released in paperback in September. Also at BEA are Mara Rockliff, author of The Grudge Keeper, a picture book illustrated by Eliza Wheeler that reveals what happens when the wind scatters the villagers’ grudges that one resident has kept tucked away in his cottage. And Fred Bowen is at the show promoting Double Reverse, a middle-grade football novel that joins his Sports Stories series.
At booth 1439, Scholastic has an array of giveaways tying into forthcoming books. Star Wars fans can pick up galleys of Star Wars: Jedi Academy: Return of the Padawan by Jeffrey Brown, as well as buttons touting this title. Galleys and posters are available for Sisters, a graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier from Scholastic/Graphix; and galleys are on hand for Maggie Stiefvater’s Sinner, a novel set in the same world as her Shiver trilogy. Double-sided tote bags promote Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants and Ricky Ricotta series, and other Ricky Ricotta–themed giveaways include posters, bookmarks, and tattoos. And for thirsty YA devotees, there are “This Is Teen: I Read YA” tumblers up for grabs.
Making its BEA debut is Pine Tree Publishing (1644), a Grove City, Pa., company with a three-fold mission: “developing good stories, encouraging family traditions, and ensuring quality keepsakes.” In the spirit of those goals, the publisher’s initial titles spotlight the wonders of the holidays and of building a snowman. Released in July 2013, these are The Magic Christmas Key by Leann Smith, illustrated by Kip Richmond, and Smith’s My Snowman and Me, illustrated by Kacey Schwartz. Both are available as individual hardcovers and as boxed novelty gift sets. Smith will be at the booth tomorrow, 10 a.m.–noon, to sign copies of The Magic Christmas Key, which won a Mom’s Choice Award Gold Medal. At BEA, Pine Tree is also previewing upcoming books by company founder Smith, due in August: The Hope Tree and The Winning Garden, both illustrated by Richmond.
At booths 1513 and 1613, the Italian Trade Agency is featuring several children’s book published by Corraini Edizioni, winner of this year’s BOP–—Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publisher of the Year in Europe. On display from that publisher are Taro Miura’s Workman Stencil, which invites readers to use an accompanying stencil to draw helpers at a work site; Blind Mice and Other Numbers by Ivan Chermayeff, a pun-filled counting book; and This Is the Cheese by Andy Goodman, a rhyming tale of a mouse who might set off a chain of mishaps if he snaps a mousetrap holding cheese. Other children’s publishers exhibiting at the booth are 24 ORE Cultura, Atlantyca, ATS Italia Editrice, Carthusia Edizioni, Giunti Editore, La Coccinella, and Secop Edizioni.
The Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group is hosting two author signings at booth 1738. Today, 10–10:30 a.m., Brandon Stanton, blogger and bestselling author of Humans of New York, will sign Little Humans (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), an October title that offers photos and anecdotes focusing on young New Yorkers. Tomorrow, 1–2 a.m., Obert Skye will be on hand to sign Katfish (Holt/Ottaviano), the latest addition to his middle-grade Creature from My Closet series.
Other new titles featured at the booth include Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads by Bob Shea and Lane Smith (Roaring Brook), an Old West tale–cum–dinosaurs; Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin (Feiwel and Friends), centering on a girl with Asperger’s syndrome who sets out to find her missing dog; Starry Night by Isabel Gillies (FSG), a YA novel exploring first love and first heartbreak; and Mike Curato’s Little Elliot, Big City (Henry Holt), a series launch starring an elephant living in New York City, for which the publisher is handing out promotional tote bags.
BEA attendees will find a lot to chuckle over at booth 2657, where AMP! Comics for Kids hosts a quartet of celebrated cartoonists who will sign their new books today and tomorrow. Here’s the lineup: Mark Tatulli, Desmond Pucket and the Mountain Full of Monsters, today and tomorrow, 10–11 a.m.; Stephan Pastis, The Croc Ate My Homework, today, 11 a.m.–noon; Patrick McDonnell, The MUTTS Diaries (today, 12:30–1:30 p.m.); and Lincoln Peirce, Big Nate: Great Minds Think Alike (Apr.), whose Big Nate: The Crowd Goes Wild is due in October (today, 1:30–2:30 p.m., and tomorrow, 11 a.m.–noon).
Giveaways at the booth include galleys of The Ice Cream Kid: Brain Freeze! by Todd Clark; Dragon Girl: The Secret Valley by Jeff Weigel; and Muddy Max: the Mystery of Marsh Creek by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Mike Lawrence. Also available are samplers for Reading with Pictures: Comics That Make Kids Smarter by Josh Elder, a graphic anthology due in August.
At Firefly Books’ booth (1549), Annick Press is giving out galleys for spoken-word artist Shane Koyczan’s antibullying poem, To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful, illustrated by 30 artists from around the world. This laminated hardcover edition is due in September.
Random House (2839) has a trio of in-booth author signings scheduled for tomorrow.
From 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., three-time Newbery Honor author Jennifer L. Holm signs The Fourteenth Goldfish, a middle-grade novel about a girl who begins to believe in the impossible when a mysterious boy appears. Bob Staake autographs My Pet Book, a picture book about a boy whose beloved pet (a book) goes missing, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. And Matt de la Peña signs The Living (Delacorte), a YA novel about a teen whose summer cruise ship job turns into a fight for survival when an earthquake hits, noon–1 p.m.
At the Tuttle booth (2744), staffers are spreading word of the publisher’s expanding children’s and YA fiction lines, which focus on multicultural Asian books. Picture book offerings include All About China, the latest installment in the All About series; Korean Folk Songs, packaged with a CD; and Mei-Mei’s Lucky Birthday Noodles. Also featured are My First Book of Japanese Words and two Chinese tales: The Horse and the Mysterious Drawing and Ming’s Adventures with the Terracotta Army. For middle-graders, My Awesome Japan Adventure by Rebecca Otowa is the story of a fifth grader’s trip to Japan as an exchange student.
On the YA side, the publisher has a limited supply of ARCs on hand for three new titles: Revenge of the Akuma Clan, the second volume in Benjamin Martin’s shape-shifter saga; Jet Black and the Ninja Wind, the launch title of a trilogy about the last living female ninja by Leza Lowitz; and In Real Life by Lawrence Tabak, a debut novel introducing a boy whose dreams come true when he qualifies to play on the Korean online gaming team. Tuttle is also featuring titles with its new publishing partner, China Institute (In the Forbidden City and This Is the Greatest Place), and books with Shanghai Press, an ongoing partner (The Sheep Beauty and Ming’s Adventure on China’s Great Wall). For those craving an afternoon snack, sample treats from Tuttle’s adult cookbooks will be available each day at 2 p.m.
Visitors to Carson-Dellosa Publishing’s booth (C1575) will find a sprawling display introducing the company’s newly relaunched Spectrum series of workbooks, updated with new content that aligns with current state and Common Core standards. Due in August, the revised 62-volume series covers a range of subjects (including math, reading, writing, language arts, science, and vocabulary), with separate workbooks for each discipline and each grade level, k–8. The workbooks aim to prepare children for the next grade level, reinforce classroom learning, offer enrichment opportunities for advanced learners requiring an extra challenge, and build students’ confidence.
