Animal Tales at the Bronx Zoo

"Every year we have amazing, beautiful babies," says Judy Frimer, marketing director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which owns and/or manages New York City's zoos and aquarium. As a way to introduce children to baby animals at the zoo, this month WCS launched Animal Tales Extravaganza at the Bronx Zoo, a 13-week program designed to celebrate wildlife and children's literature. Each weekend between now and the end of June, the zoo is holding readings and talks by children's book authors and illustrators. Among the many participating authors and illustrators are Matthew Van Fleet (Alphabet), Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin (Click, Clack, Moo), Anna Dewdney (Roly Poly Pangolin), Peter Brown (The Curious Garden), Ed Young (Moon Bear), and Holly Hobbie (the Toot & Puddle books).

Father-Daughter Team Brings Back Lyle the Crocodile

Nearly 50 years ago, Bernard Waber introduced a lovable crocodile named Lyle in The House on East 88th Street. Lyle was a big hit with readers: that inaugural picture book and seven subsequent Lyle the Crocodile books have sold more than 1.5 million copies in the U.S. alone. Now, 12 years after his last book appearance, Lyle returns in Lyle Walks the Dogs: A Counting Book written by Bernard Waber and illustrated by his daughter, Paulis Waber, who is making her children's book debut. Aimed at a younger audience than the earlier Lyle stories, the book will be published (as have all the others, by Houghton Mifflin) next month.

In Brief: April 15

The cover for 'Matched' by Ally Condie is revealed; a teenage Australian author gets a whirlwind tour of the U.S., and Archbishop Desmond Tutu's book helps teach second graders about peace, love, and acceptance.

Capstone Characters Headed for Hollywood

Capstone Publishers has partnered with lawyer-producer Eric Feig and actress-writer Marisa Coughlan, a member of Capstone's founding family, to bring the company's portfolio of original characters to film, television, new media, and licensed products. Feig and Coughlan will work with literary rep Alan Gasmer and licensing agent Ken Abrams on the project, which will focus on properties from Capstone's fiction imprint, Stone Arch Books. "These books are getting into the hands of millions of schoolchildren daily," says Lori Benton, president and publisher of Capstone Fiction. "The recognition factor is very high among the end users. There's already a built-in audience."

Obituary: John Schoenherr

Artist John Schoenherr died April 8 in Easton, Pa.; he was 74. Schoenherr illustrated dozens of books for children and adults during his career, including Rascal by Sterling North, Walt Morey's Gentle Ben, The Fox and the Hound by Daniel P. Mannix, Incident at Hawk's Hill by Allan W. Eckert, Jean Craighead George's Julie of the Wolves, and Jane Yolen's Owl Moon, for which he was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1988. Schoenherr also received a Hugo Award for his science fiction artwork in 1965 (he was the first artist to illustrate the worlds of Anne McCaffrey's Pern books and Frank Herbert's Dune series, both of which were first seen in Analog magazine). His son Ian is also a children's author/illustrator.

The iPad Meets the Children's Book

On launch day last Saturday, Apple sold more than 300,000 iPads—and users downloaded more than one million apps and more than 250,000 ebooks from the iBookstore. Parents immediately started snapping up picture book apps from Apple's online store. In fact, children's stories held six of the top 10 paid iPad book-app sales spots as of press time. Typical prices for children's book apps range anywhere from $2.99 for The Cat in the Hat to $9.99 for Miss Spider's Tea Party. So far the big winners seem to be household names....

The More Things Change....

Publisher Stephen Roxburgh test-drives his brand-new iPad with his five-year-old granddaughter.

Since founding namelos, my print-on-demand and ebook-based publishing house, I have been accused of having an unnatural attachment to hardware and all things digital. However, in spite of what some people are saying, I was more excited about the birth of my children than the arrival of my iPad. But the kids are grown up now and... well, maybe I'm not. Be that as it may, the iPad is a thing of beauty and a wonder to behold.

Chickens—and Children's Book Authors—on ‘Martha'

Last Friday, The Martha Stewart Show was all about chickens. And given what a frequent subject hens, roosters, and baby chicks are in kids' books, it should come as no surprise that the episode featured guest appearances by two children's book authors—Jan Brett and Terry Golson, both of whom discussed their recent picture books and showed up with chickens of their own. Audience members joined in the fun, bringing their own chickens, too.

Tricycle Press Book Spotlights an Extraordinary Bulb

In 1901, the owner of the power and light company in Livermore, Calif., gave that Bay Area town's volunteer firefighters a four-watt bulb to help them find their equipment in the dark. That lightbulb, made of carbon filament and hand-blown glass, has been burning ever since, and is thought to be the world's longest continuously burning bulb. This story inspired Janet Nolan to write The Firehouse Light, a May release from Tricycle Press. Illustrated by Marie Lafrance, the picture book chronicles the myriad changes that occur in the town—notably in firefighting equipment and techniques—over the decades, as the steadfast bulb continues to glow.

In Brief: April 8

This week, children's authors read from their works at the White House, Ivy and Bean celebrate selling a million copies, and a football star talks about his new picture book.

Van Metre Named Publisher at Abrams

Following former publisher Howard W. Reeves's move to become editor-at-large earlier this year, Abrams has announced that Susan Van Metre will become v-p and publisher for Abrams Books for Young Readers and Amulet Books, effective immediately. Senior editor Tamar Brazis, who has edited books including Laura Numeroff's Jellybeans picture book series, is being promoted to executive editor. Van Metre hopes to build on Abrams' strengths, as well as take a fresh look at the younger end of the list.

Fat Vampires, Sexy Werewolves and the Future of Teen Reading

The continuing prevalence of sexy vampires (and the rise of related comic sub-genres), the growth of teen-focused dystopian fiction, and the transformation of the children's publishing niche into a big advance—along with big financial pressure—publishing category, were just some of the topics covered by a panel of agents at Publishers Weekly's "Beyond Twilight: What's Hot in the Teen Market in Publishing and Hollywood." The well-attended event ranged freely across the YA and children's book and film market, touching on the growth of middle-grade fiction, paranormal genres, the use of public domain works (like Alice in Wonderland and Sherlock Holmes) and the obvious and not so obvious ways that Hollywood studios and book publishers have an impact on the category. But the panel quickly got to the overriding theme of the morning session—are book publishers only interested in signing the next Twilight-like megase

Bologna Gets Back to Business

After a 2009 fair when many Americans stayed home over economic worries, the 2010 Bologna Children's Book Fair proved a much more upbeat gathering. "There's a lot of activity, and everyone I'm talking to seems positive," said Andrew Smith, deputy publisher of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. HarperCollins children's rights director Helen Boomer said it was "great to see many of the publishers who skipped last year return this year." And Penguin Young Readers associate publisher Jennifer Haller reported, "People are chatting about what the year's going to hold. There are a lot of really good conversations."

Rick Riordan's Big Year

With two new trilogies launching this year, Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan stands likely to boost his already (ahem) Olympian output—and sales. Disney-Hyperion will release one million copies of The Red Pyramid, first in his Kane Chronicles series inspired by ancient Egyptian magic. An as-yet-unnamed Percy Jackson spin-off will follow, which will combine familiar characters with some new half-human, half-Greek-god kids.

Until now, Riordan has stuck to one book a year. "I've set myself a challenge of putting out two books a year so the readers don't have to wait longer than a year for either series," said Riordan. "That's a pretty big jump for me."

A Big March for Kids' Books at the Movies

Conventional wisdom has March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb. But when it came to the box office, it was in like a White Rabbit (as in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland) and out like a dragon, with DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon. Opening March 5, Alice in Wonderland drew in more than $116 million in its first weekend, and has grossed more than $295 million in the U.S. so far. And movies derived from children's books made strong showings at the end of the month, too. Fox's Diary of a Wimpy Kid, based on the bestselling series by Jeff Kinney, was the number two film during its opening weekend of March 19-21.This past weekend, the computer-animated How to Train Your Dragon, based on the 2003 book of the same name by Cressida Cowell, claimed the top spot, taking in $43.7 million.

In Brief: April 1

This week, Kristin Cashore joins a swordfight in Bologna, a new Harry Potter campaign targets new readers, Sourcebooks launches its YA imprint, and Laura Numeroff helps spread the word about bedtime reading.

Jewish Group Boycotts Canadian Kids' Book

For the second time in four years, a Jewish group is calling for the removal of a title published by Canadian house Groundwood Books from recommended-reading lists at schools and libraries. Anne Laurel Carter's novel The Shepherd's Granddaughter tells the story of Amani, a Palestinian girl who wants to be a shepherd. Her flock and family are threatened by encroaching Jewish settlements. This last plot point does not sit well with Jewish advocacy group B'Nai Brith. The organization issued a statement calling the book "anti-Israeli propaganda" and "a one-sided work of fiction which demonizes the Jewish State."

New Stephenie Meyer Novella Arriving in June

Fans whose hopes were dashed when Stephenie Meyer sidelined Midnight Sun, her planned fifth book in the Twilight Saga, after it was leaked online, have reason to get excited. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will publish Meyer's The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella, on Saturday, June 5. The book goes on sale at 12:01 a.m. with a 1.5 million-copy first printing (an e-book version will be available at 6:00 a.m.). One dollar for each copy sold from the first printing will be donated to the American Red Cross International Response Fund.

Prairie Lights Basks in Presidential Glow

The staff at Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City is used to hosting celebrity authors, but they were taken by surprise last Thursday afternoon when President Obama made a stop at the store to pick up a few children's books. The president was in town to give a speech touting health care reform on the University of Iowa campus. During his speech, Obama gave a shout-out to Prairie Lights, celebrating them for being a local small business that has offered health care coverage to its full-time employees for 20 years.

After Obama's noontime speech, Prairie Lights co-owner Jan Weissmiller reports that "someone in a suit" came into the store and asked to speak to her. When she told the man she was on the phone with a Washington Post reporter and he would have to wait, he responded that she'd better hang up the phone because, "I'm from the White House and you're going to have a visitor." She told PW she knew instantly he was referring to the president.

Cormorant Books to Start Children's Imprint

Toronto-based Cormorant Books is launching a children's and YA imprint, Dancing Cat Books, which will focus on literary fiction, nonfiction and poetry for young adults and middle grades. It will also publish picture books. Cormorant is a respected small press with a good record of publishing first books by authors who go on to success and critical acclaim such as Scotiabank Giller Prize winners Elizabeth Hay and Joseph Boyden. The company has published some children's books before, and publisher Marc Côté said the success of two books by artist Charles Pachter and the support shown by children's booksellers first sparked the idea of a new imprint.