Sure, the weekend's great weather and quality programming contributed to the high-octane energy level of this year's BEA. But fiction, including the latest crop of fantasy novels, and a spate of new picture books from an all-star roster of authors and illustrators is what had children's booksellers buzzing in Chicago.

With a certain boy wizard taking the year off, the honor of biggest fiction print run went to a worthy colleague: Lemony Snicket and his 11th title in the Series of Unfortunate Events, The Grim Grotto (HarperCollins). The book has a laydown date of September 21 and a one-million—copy print run; that gives fans time to fire up for the feature film based on the first three Unfortunate books, which releases December 17 and stars Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep and Jude Law.

Though a few booksellers quietly expressed a sense of genre-weariness, the frenzy for fantasy shows no signs of fading. "There's so much fantasy," said Betsey Detwiler of Buttonwood Books and Toys in Cohasset, Mass. "But the kids don't seem to be tired of it, that's for sure."

Among the books likely to keep those fantasy-loving kids happy this season is Peter and the Starcatchers (Disney Editions, Sept.), a prequel to J.M. Barrie's classic Peter Pan co-written by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry. "The idea of the two of them together is hysterical. I wish I could have been in on the discussions when they were writing," said Elaine Petrocelli of Book Passage in Corte Madera, Calif. Disney increased the first printing to 500,000 copies (from 200,000), based on bookseller response at the show.

Other new tales a-brewing in the fantasy cauldron included The Dragon Rider (Scholastic/Chicken House, Sept.) by Cornelia Funke, which boasted a first printing of 150,000 copies. "This was already a bestseller in Germany and although I’m only 40 pages into the galley, I’m already sucked in," said Lanora Hurley of Harry W. Schwartz Bookseller in Milwaukee, Wis.

Judy Wheeler of Towne Center Books in Pleasanton, Calif., was enthusiastic about The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer (S&S/Atheneum/Jackson): "This is an action-packed young adult fantasy featuring berserkers, trolls and giants." S&S plans a 150,000-copy initial launch in September.

And Linda Wilkinson of Adventures for Kids in Ventura, Calif., was impressed by Children of the Lamp by P.B. Kerr (Scholastic/Orchard, Oct.), the first in a trilogy. "It's a rousing contemporary adventure that travels from London to Cairo to the North Pole," Wilkinson said. Scholastic plans a first printing of 180,000 copies.

The David Fickling imprint at Random House will execute a summer-into-fall rollout for its new fantasy property, The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. Beyond the Deepwoods and Stormchasers go on sale June 22 with a first printing of 75,000 copies each. Book three, Midnight Over Sanctaphrax, arrives in September. "We've already gotten advance buzz, the kids in the schools are excited," said Jill Bailey of BookPeople in Austin, Tex. "I already had a mom call me, upset because she had seen the books in Canada and thought we were holding back."

In other "chronicles" news, Hyperion launches The Ratastrophe Catastrophe by debut British author David Lee Stone, the first title in the comic-fantasy Illmoor Chronicles series. The book publishes in September with a 50,000-copy first printing.

Sequels to fantasies that made a splash last year are diving into the publishing pool this fall. Penguin plans a 350,000-copy first printing for Wormwood (Putnam, Sept.), English vicar G.P. Taylor’s follow-up to Shadowmancer, which has had strong sales in both the trade and Christian markets. Simon & Schuster continues to suspend readers’ disbelief with The Wrath of Mulgrath by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, the fifth Spiderwick Chronicles entry, releasing with 250,000 copies in September. Clive Barker is back with his second Abarat title: Days of Magic, Nights of War (HarperCollins/Cotler, Oct.), which is out of the gate with a 200,000-copy first printing. And the second title in Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus trilogy, The Golem’s Eye (Hyperion/Miramax), hits shelves in September with an initial run of 200,000 copies.

Fantasy was not the only fiction game in town, however. Newbery Medalist Christopher Paul Curtis tops the Random House/Wendy Lamb list with Bucking the Sarge (Sept.). The humorous novel set in Flint, Mich., lands in stores in September with a 100,000-copy first printing. National Book Award winner Polly Horvath will publish another novel about a quirky family, The Pepins and Their Problems (FSG, Aug.) with a 30,000-copy print run.

HarperCollins fans the fiction flames with Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce; Wilkinson of Adventures for Kids called it "a great adventure story." Also from Harper, The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson catches up with the Herdman family, stars of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Both books will have an initial printing of 100,000 copies and an August release.

At the Bloomsbury booth, Bailey of BookPeople was keen on Shannon Hale's Enna Burning (Sept.), a companion to Goose Girl. "I loved Goose Girl so much, and everyone who's read it says the new one is even better," she said.

And R.L. Stine debuts his new Mostly Ghostly series for seven-to-10-year-olds with two titles, Who Let the Ghosts Out? and Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? (Delacorte, Aug.). Coincidentally, Scholastic will reissue Stine’s benchmark Goosebumps series this fall.

Jewell Stoddard of Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C., named a first novel as one of her fall favorites: "I thought Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan (Greenwillow, Sept.) was really very good. The character was believable and charming." HarperCollins was giving away galleys at the booth. Another first novel that got a lot of attention was Whispering to Witches by Anna Dale (Bloomsbury, Oct.). Dale is a bookseller in England, and the book is a simultaneous U.S./U.K. release.

Picture This...

Hollywood may be 2,000 miles from Chicago, but Tinseltown certainly cast a glow over the crop of fall picture books on display. At Thursday’s Evening with Children’s Booksellers, Chris Van Allsburg shared details of how he and Houghton Mifflin performed a picture-book upgrade by reshooting the original artwork for his 1985 classic The Polar Express. The adjustments were timed to dovetail with the release of the Warner Bros. feature film starring Tom Hanks, set to open November 19. One million copies of the spruced-up hardcover classic are shipping now, and a series of seven movie tie-in titles that have a combined print run of one million copies will release October 12.

There was a sprinkling of La-La Land glitter at the Children's Book and Author Breakfast Friday morning, too. Actress/author Jamie Lee Curtis spoke of the inspiration for her fifth picture book It's Hard to Be Five (HarperCollins/Cotler), which will launch with a 500,000-copy first printing. "We're excited about the new Jamie Lee Curtis because she's always sold really well," said Lisa Baudoin of Main Street Books in Pella, Iowa.

Many booksellers commented on how eloquently fellow breakfast speaker Ursula K. Le Guin addressed the hallmarks of quality fantasy. Le Guin’s YA fantasy Gifts is due from Harcourt in September with a 75,000-copy first printing. And Jack Gantos wrapped up the morning neatly, paying homage to his fellow speakers and highlighting some moments from his memoir, Hole in My Life, due out in paperback this fall (FSG, Sept.).

Though fall book signings may conflict with her latest concert tour, Madonna’s fourth picture book for Callaway (distributed by Penguin), The Adventures of Abdi, (whose illustrator, as was the case with her previous books, has not been announced) bows in November with a 150,000-copy first printing. In addition to the Material Girl, That Girl (aka Marlo Thomas) has penned Thanks and Giving Every Day (with a slew of celebrity contributors) for S&S, with a 200,000-copy first printing and a November 2 laydown date.

Two bestselling adult authors will be taking a stab at picture-book stardom this season, too. James Patterson gets in the Christmas spirit with santaKid, illustrated by Michael Garland (Little, Brown) with a November 1 laydown date and a 500,000-copy first printing. Stephen King has approved a collectible pop-up version of his novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (S&S/Little Simon), with a laydown date of October 26 and a first printing of 250,000 copies.

Established luminaries of the children’s book world emitted plenty of wattage on their own. Robert Sabuda’s latest pop-up, America the Beautiful, is designed in his signature white-paper style. S&S gave away pop-up blads of the book at BEA and will print 225,000 copies. "It was the first time I’d seen anything on the book and it was pretty dramatic," Detwiler from Buttonwood said of the sampler.

Popular collaborators Jon Sciezska and Lane Smith have teamed up for Science Verse, a companion to Math Curse. Viking launches the book with a 100,000 first printing in September. Janell Cannon, author of Stellaluna, has created another lovable critter in Pinduli (Harcourt, Sept.), with a 125,000-copy first printing. Also from Harcourt comes Olive, My Love by Vivian Walsh, illustrated by J.otto Seibold and starring the pooch last seen helping Santa in Olive, the Other Reindeer. The October release has a 200,000-copy print run.

Booksellers also welcomed Sarah Stewart and Caldecott-winning artist David Small, the husband-and-wife team whose fifth book, The Friend (FSG, Aug.) will have a 50,000-copy print run. Images from Jan Brett's The Umbrella (Putnam) were popping up all over, as Penguin gave away green umbrellas with a scene from the book, which will release in September to the tune of 225,000 copies.

Booksellers who embraced Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague are anticipating Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation (Scholastic, Sept.), which has a 150,000-copy print run. And fans of David Shannon’s No, David! books will likely take a fancy to Alice the Fairy (Scholastic/Blue Sky, Sept., 120,000 first printing), created with the same childlike approach and allegedly inspired by Shannon’s daughter.

Can the Fab Four bring booksellers a fab fall? Candlewick is publishing The Yellow Submarine, illustrated with images from the 1968 Beatles film, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the British invasion. A 100,000-copy first printing and Fab Four floor display roll out in September. On a more serious, but no less fab, note, The Life of John Lennon by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Bryan Collier (Hyperion) will hit stores in Oct. with a 75,000-copy print run. "Lots of people have been stopping by saying that they plan to promote this and Yellow Submarine together," noted Lynn Waggoner at Hyperion.

A number of booksellers seemed to dig Egyptology, from the creator of the bestselling Dragonology—this time writing under the name of Emily Sands (Candlewick, Nov., 100,000 first printing). And Eddi Miglaus of Mud Puddles Toys & Books in Sherwood, Ore., was pleased about You’re All My Favorites by Sam McBratney, illustrated by Anita Jeram (Candlewick, Oct., 100,000 first printing). "I think that will be a hit in just the way Guess How Much I Love You was," she predicted.

Marc Brown has shed his Arthur hat to illustrate Wild About Books (Knopf, Aug.), a rhyming animal tale by Judy Sierra that has a 100,000-copy initial print run. Things are just as wild in Graeme Base's latest, Jungle Drums, which Abrams releases in September with a 100,000-copy first printing. Base will visit 65 bookstores in 34 days to support the title. And Caldecott Honor artist Mo Willems unleashes another animal character in Knuffle Bunny, published by Hyperion with a 75,000-copy September launch.

The Big Picture

Children’s booksellers made an impressive showing in Chicago. In addition to the standing-room-only children’s programming on Thursday afternoon and the record-setting proceeds from the auction, the Association of Booksellers for Children had a booth on the floor for the first time, courtesly of the ABA; ABC executive director Anne Irish said she and other volunteers received a handful of new members on the spot and that more potential members took away information.

Miglaus, who traveled from the West Coast for her first BEA, received a warm welcome from her peers. Months ago she had inquired on the ABC listserv if she should make the investment to travel from Oregon to the Windy City, and received a number of rousing affirmations. Asked if she thought it was worth the trip, Miglaus replied, "I definitely think it was worth it. I loved hearing the authors; Linda Sue Park [who spoke during Thursday’s ABC programming] and Ursula Le Guin were my favorites." She said that as booksellers swapped ideas, "There was an incredible amount of excitement about books, about sharing ideas. I was busy taking notes."

Stoddard, a longtime attendee, echoed Miglaus's observations: "It's great being among children's booksellers because they are intent on sticking to their primary focus. Those of us who have weathered the chains and so forth are survivors; we're here to stay."