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YA or Not YA?: 'Stitches' Gets NBA Nomination
On Wednesday, Caldecott Medalist David Small’s graphic novel-style memoir, Stitches, became a 2009 National Book Award finalist in the Young People’s Literature category—which has led to some discussion and debate, along with the usual congratulations.
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Web Exclusive Children's Book Reviews: 10/13/2009
This selection of web-exclusive children's book reviews from Publishers Weekly includes new titles from Kevin Sherry, Chris Van Dusen and Carolyn MacCullough, as well as a starred review for Joaquin Dorfman's new novel.
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Children's Book Reviews: 10/12/2009
This week's children's book reviews include new picture books from Kazuna Kohara, Emily Gravett, and Julianna, Isabella, and Craig Hatkoff; PW's review of the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, Dog Days; new fiction from Josh Lieb, Robin Brande and Barry Lyga; as well as nonfiction, new picture books about the Obamas and a trio of small but thought-provoking gift books.
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In Brief: October 8
This week, Jarrett J. Krosoczka went on morning TV, Susan Meddaugh visted her hometown, six children's authors and illustrators got lucky, and Porter Square Books in Cambridge turned five.
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Q & A with Patrick Ness
Q: Your first two books were written for adults. What made you decide to write YA fiction, and how is it different from writing adult fiction?
A: I was playing around with an idea for a long time. It didn’t originally start as a young adult novel. The voice was an adolescent voice, though, and I thought, "Well, that's interesting." I tried to let the material tell me what it was, rather than forcing it to be something. I found it really liberating, actually. -
iStoryTime Brings New Authors to Smartphones
The digital revolution means it isn't just big companies and established authors getting into the e-book app game - anyone with an idea, some start-up capital and tech know-how can now successfully bring a high-quality e-book app to market. That is exactly what happened with three friends with technology backgrounds who wanted to give their children books, not video games, to occupy themselves at the grocery store. The result is iStoryTime, an e-book platform for iPhone and Android OS that is getting...
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Movie Alert: Cirque Du Freak
Two directors - who happen to be brothers - are each responsible for bringing a hot vampire book property to life this fall on the big screen. Twilighters are anxiously awaiting New Moon, directed by Chris Weitz, on November 20. But first, vampire fans can turn to Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, based on Darren Shan's popular series and directed by Paul Weitz (About a Boy), which arrives October 23. The Universal film features 17-year-old actor Chris Massoglia...
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GLiBA Children’s Breakfast a Historical Experience
The booksellers who gathered in Cleveland this past weekend for the Great Lakes Booksellers trade show reflected as much on the past as they did the present and the future, and the children’s authors who spoke at Sunday’s breakfast were no exception. The three authors - Gennifer Choldenko, Candace Fleming and Shaun Tan - each focused on the impact of the past upon themselves personally, as well as upon their work.
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Children’s Books and Author Events Key at NEIBA Show
As children's books have come into their own through series like Harry Potter, Twilight and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, children's programming has become more fully integrated into the New England Independent Booksellers Association annual trade show, held last weekend in Hartford. At the industry lunch that opened the show, not only did Andrew Clements win an award for a children's author's body of work, but this year's NEIBA publisher of the year, Tilbury House in Gardiner, Maine, has a strong children's list.
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The Wimp Factor
In schoolyards, jocks may still rule. But in bookstores, the big boy on campus is a wimp. More specifically, he’s a middle-schooler named Greg Heffley, the star of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Next Monday, Amulet Books imprint is releasing four million copies of Dog Days, the fourth installment of the cartoon-illustrated novels—the largest first printing for any children’s book this year.
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On the Road with M.T. Anderson
Author M.T. Anderson is on a national tour for his new book, Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware, the third title in his Pals in Peril series. His tour has taken him to California, to the Washington, D.C., area, and to the Midwest Booksellers Association show in St. Paul, among other stops. Anderson also made one especially appropriate visit, given the title of his book: to the first state in the union, Delaware. See our photo essay of his visit.
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An ‘Evil’ Debut
Josh Lieb's first YA novel, I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President (Razorbill), hits the shelves this month. It's the darkly comic story of Oliver Watson, a hugely wealthy boy business whiz whose cover is that of a schlubby seventh-grade loser. Though the author is a rookie in the children's book arena, he's a seasoned pro in the world of comedy writing for television...
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'Wimpy Kid 4' Print Run Upped to Four Million
Harry N. Abrams announced late Tuesday that it has increased the print run for the October 12 release of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days from three million to four million, based on strong demand. This makes the fourth installment of the cartoon-illustrated novels the largest first printing for any children’s book this year.
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Children’s Book Reviews: 10/5/2009
This week's children's book reviews include picture books from Tom Tomorrow, Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers, Jeanette Winter, Sharon Robinson and Kadir Nelson, and Marilyn Nelson and Jerry Pinkney; new fiction from Mark Teague, Lauren Myracle, and Francesca Lia Block; and round-ups of new pop-up titles and coffee table—ready gift books.
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Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer: Once Upon a Half Century
Fifty years ago, Norton Juster was pacing his second-floor apartment in Brooklyn Heights, unsure that the manuscript he was working on - his first - would ever be published. His roommate Jules Feiffer was his first reader, who also sketched some pictures to go with Juster’s story. The manuscript was The Phantom Tollbooth. Now, a half century later, these veterans are collaborating on a new picture book, The Odious Ogre, due out in fall 2010.
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Web Exclusive Children's Book Reviews: 10/2/2009
This collection of web-exclusive children's book reviews includes new work from R.L. LaFevers, Lynne Jonell, Mark Dunn and a star for Sally Gardner's sequel to The Red Necklace.
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Worldwide Release for Mandela Autobiography for Kids
Back in the 1980s, Nelson Mandela was front and center on the world stage. Now, Macmillan aims to see history repeat itself, thanks to a global, 13-language launch of the picture-book adaptation of his autobiography. The company’s unprecedented release of Long Walk to Freedom "was intended to reflect Nelson Mandela’s importance to South Africa and the world," says Emma Hopkin of Macmillan Children’s Books in the U.K...
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Children’s Books Front and Center at Midwest Show
Children’s books played a prominent part in the Midwest Booksellers Association’s annual meeting and trade show, held last weekend in St. Paul. To no one’s surprise, in the wake of Stephenie Meyer’s incredible success with the Twilight series, YA novels that contain magic, vampires or paranormal themes were popular with booksellers trying to anticipate the next big YA hit.
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In Brief: October 1
This week, a new Winnie-the-Pooh character is revealed, an "Exquisite Corpse" is unveiled, an NBA star tells of his big dreams, and Al Roker picks a new book for his on-air Al's Book Club.
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Q & A with Katherine Paterson
Q: What inspired you to write this book?
A: This is the first time in my long life as a writer when somebody has suggested a story to me and I’ve taken the suggestion. Some years ago, our church sponsored a refugee family from Kosovo, and a good friend of mine said you should write the Haxhuis’ story. And so I went over there...
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