-
Three Cheers for 30 Years at Hicklebee’s
This past Saturday afternoon I was lucky enough to attend the 30th anniversary celebration at Hicklebee’s Children's Bookstore in San Jose, Calif. Guest after guest told of their amazing connection to this valuable resource for children’s books. And it was evident from the huge turnout that families and children have cherished this special store, as well as the knowledgeable staff, for over three decades.
-
Swashbucklers with Bite
British author Justin Somper is a man of many hats: he worked as a children’s book publicist and owned his own publicity consultancy group, before creating the hybrid-genre series, Vampirates. According to Somper’s U.S. editor, Nancy Conescu at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, the first four books in Somper’s series, popular in the U.K. have now been translated into more than 20 languages—and are reaching a growing American readership.
-
Secret Mountain Offers Music to Kids’ Ears
The Secret Mountain, a publisher with offices in Montreal and Paris, is striking a chord with consumers with its line of storybook-music CD sets. In 2005, the publisher entered the U.S. market when it acquired NBN as its distributor of book-and-music packages in this country.
-
MacAdam/Cage Introduces Its Inaugural Children’s Series
Playwright and novelist Mark Dunn’s debut book for young readers marks a new chapter for MacAdam/Cage Publishing as well. The Age of Altertron launches The Calamitous Adventures of Rodney & Wayne, Cosmic Repairboys, the first children’s book series to be published by this San Francisco house.
-
Q & A with Mark Teague
Mark Teague is the illustrator of the bestselling How Do Dinosaurs… series by Jane Yolen, as well as the author/illustrator of the Dear Mrs. LaRue picture books. In 2009, Teague tackles farm life in a new picture book, another Dinosaur book, and a new (for him) format.
-
Children's Book Reviews: Week of 4/20/2009
Among this week's reviews: Rotten Ralph's latest rotten adventure, a pair of edgy YA novels sure to grab boys' attention, and a round-up of interactive titles for the younger set.
-
Dallanegra-Sanger Heading to Macmillan Children’s
Joy Dallanegra-Sanger will join Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group in the newly created role of senior v-p, director of marketing. Dallanegra-Sanger will start at Macmillan on May 4, reporting to Macmillan Children’s president Dan Farley.
-
Children’s Book Week Goes Digital
The Children’s Book Council turns to the Web to promote this year’s Children’s Book Week, which will take place May 11—17. Here are a few highlights of its virtual campaign, as well as information on some of the planned Children’s Book Week events.
-
Mario Lopez to Write a Picture Book
Actor Mario Lopez, host of EXTRA and America’s Best Dance Crew, has become the latest celebrity to pen a children’s book. Along with his sister Marissa Lopez-Wong, he has signed with Celebra Children’s Books, a Penguin imprint, for a picture book called Mud Tacos!, which will be published on October 15. Maryn Roos, who did the artwork for Whoopi Goldberg’s Sugar Plum Ballerinas, will illustrate.
-
Flux Holds Steady Through Changes
Llewellyn Worldwide’s YA imprint, Flux, which has published teen fiction for the past three years, is moving in a new direction this fall with the release of its first graphic novel: Black Is for Beginnings (Sept.). The book is a continuation of Laurie Faria Stolarz’s Blue Is for Nightmares series of four novels, the first of which launched the Flux line in 2006.
-
'Llama Llama' Now on Stage
The wide-eyed little llama who frets and fusses at lights-out in Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama Red Pajama is now the star of a musical based on that 2005 Viking picture book. Performed by the Penguin Players, the adaptation debuted on April 16 at the Nashville Public Library. Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen and more than 1500 children attended the play, which the troupe is now performing at venues across the state through the month of May.
-
Q & A with Margarita Engle
Margarita Engle’s The Surrender Tree marked the second time the Cuban-American poet won the Pura Belpré Award. Her novel tells of the brutality of slavery and war, and the compassion people share despite it. The Surrender Tree was also awarded a 2009 Newbery Honor, the first time the award had ever gone to a Latina author.
-
Library Bats Take Flight
Librarians across the nation are on the lookout for bats—three stuffed, plush bats by the names of Green, Red and Blue, to be exact. Following the success of Bats at the Library and Bats at the Beach, Brian Lies is drumming up anticipation for a third volume, Bats at the Ballgame (Harcourt, 2010) by sending the three intrepid travelers (equipped with passports) on a whirlwind tour.
-
Children's Book Reviews: Week of 4/13/2009
This week's reviews include picture books from Valeri Gorbachev, Samantha Berger and Yumi Heo; a round-up of titles for Mother's Day and Father's Day; and the return of a pair of spirited protagonists—Julia Gillian and Emma-Jean Lazarus.
-
A ‘Quiet’ Debut Is Making Noise
Lisa McCue’s spirited animal characters have graced the pages of 175 picture books, including reworkings of classic Corduroytitles and stories by Margaret Wise Brown. This season the veteran illustrator ventures out on her own in Quiet Bunny, a picture book from Sterling that has already returned to press since its March release.
-
ABC Announces BEA Events
The Association of Booksellers for Children has released its schedule of programs for BookExpo America. Just confirmed are the speakers at The ABC Not-a-Dinner and (Mostly) Silent Auction on Friday, May 29. Shannon Hale (Forest Born) will host the keynote program, after which Newbery Medalist Katherine Paterson (The Day of the Pelican) and Mike Lupica (Million Dollar Throw) will speak.
-
Q & A with Graham Salisbury
Graham Salisbury’s books for middle-graders and young adults have won numerous accolades; his often dramatic tales of boyhood adventure in a rich Hawaiian setting are fan favorites. While continuing to work on a five-volume cycle of novels set during WWII, Salisbury has also created a new series for younger readers, beginning with Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet.
-
Twittergirls: Laurie Halse Anderson on Tour
Despite the serious subject matter of her newest novel—teenage anorexia—Wintergirls (Viking, Mar.), there was plenty of fun during National Book Award finalist Laurie Halse Anderson’s recent two-week U.S. book tour, which wrapped up this past weekend. During the tour, Anderson provided her fans with updates from the road via her Twitter stream.
-
From the Page to the Stage
When adapting a novel to the stage or screen, all writers will eventually be confronted with one question: How faithful will they remain to the original work? For New York playwright David Paterson, the pressure to stay true to the original piece may be a little more intense. After all, most of the major pieces he has adapted, including the 2007 film Bridge to Terabithia, began as well-known and beloved novels written by his Newbery Medalist mother, Katherine Paterson.
-
The Return of ‘Blueberries for Sal’
Robert McCloskey’s Caldecott Honor picture book, Blueberries for Sal, hasn’t been available to order for the past year. However, following several years of negotiation between Penguin and McCloskey’s estate, that situation is about to change. Finally, last Thursday, an agreement was reached between Viking and the McCloskey estate for the entire body of McCloskey’s work.
Browse archive by date:
