Children's Books By The Numbers

$3.66 billion: Total children's book sales, 2007 0: Projected increase in sales, 2008 $4.02 billion: Projected total sales, 2012 900.9 million: Total units sold, 2007 1.3%: Projected decline in unit sales through 2012 $1.89 billion: Hardcover sales, 2007 $2.09 billion: Projected hardcover sales, 2012 $1.

Children's Books for Fall: S

SAINT MARY'S PRESS Paperbacks Walking with the Word: Daily Ventures into 15 Books of the Bible ($12.95) by Larry Schatz collects 366 reflections. (14-up) I'm Glad You Asked: 60 Common Questions Catholics Have About the Bible ($12.95) by Mark Pierce answers questions on various topics. (14-up) SCHOLASTIC/BLUE SKY PRESS Into the Volcano ($18.

Six Pioneers

It was not that long ago that children's book publishing—now so widely appreciated as an industry profit center and creative hub—was accorded considerably less respect, carrying second-class status in the world of books. The past 75 years have witnessed spectacular growth in the field in tandem with a dramatic reappraisal of this sector of publishing.

Licensing Hotline: July 2008

Lots of news from last month’s Licensing Show and beyond: new Playskool books from Simon & Schuster, children’s books tied to Dean Koontz’s Trixie, a first license for Meadowbrook Press, a mass market book line for Bob the Builder, a Roald Dahl licensing program, an expansion of the Weekly Reader brand, and the first children’s books from the Save Our Seas Foundation.

Eoin Colfer Takes His Show on the Road

“I’m using photos from childhood, theme music my brother wrote, my niece is editing the footage—it’s all very much a family affair.” So says Eoin Colfer of the revival of his popular one-man show, “Fairies, Fiends, & Flatulence,” which debuted to sell-out crowds in the U.K. in 2006. Starting next week, Colfer will tour the U.S. by bus, performing in theaters in nine cities in support of The Time Paradox, the sixth Artemis Fowl book.

Children's Book Reviews: Week of 7/7/2008

Film Deal, Higher Print Runs for '39 Clues'

Months before Scholastic’s multimedia publishing program, The 39 Clues, launches, anticipation isn’t the only thing building. The print run for the first book, The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan, has doubled from 250,000 to 500,000. And DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg have acquired film rights for the entire series in a deal with Scholastic Media.

No Sale for All for Kids Books & Music

Chauni Haslet was unable to find a buyer for All for Kids Books & Music and will retire at the end of the month.

Rediscovering Waldo

Martin Handford's Where's Waldo? turns 21 this fall, and is celebrating with two new books, an online presence and merchandise for the 20-somethings who grew up with the character. Candlewick Press released the sixth Waldo original, The Great Picture Hunt, in 2006, followed by paperbacks of the first five titles.

Children's Book Reviews

Picture Books Ten Tiny Babies Karen Katz . S&S/McElderry , $14.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4169-3546-9 Kicking off with “1 tiny baby starts to run” and ending with 10 sleeping babies tucked into their cribs, Katz (Princess Baby) once again puts her kewpie doll crew through their paces, this time enumerating all the fun things that babies do, from toe wriggling and noisemaking to eati...

Spring Flying Starts

Stephenie Meyer… in Concert?

Little, Brown will promote the August 2 release of Breaking Dawn, fourth and final book in Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling Twilight Saga, with a four-city concert tour, featuring a musical performance by Justin Furstenfeld of the group Blue October.

Lisa Holton Announces New Venture, Teams with HarperCollins

The former president of Scholastic Trade Publishing has announced her new business: Fourth Story Media, a “studio” that integrates books and the Internet to develop children’s properties.

Children's Book Reviews: Week of 6/16/2008

Kids & Reading By the Numbers

90: % of children ages 5—17 who believe they “need to be a strong reader to get into a good college” 81: % of parents who rank reading among the top three important skills for their child 82: % of parents who wish their child engaged in more pleasure reading 80: % of children ages 5—8 who believe reading for fun is “extremely or very important” 56: % of child...

New Kid on the Block

Last month, the Denmark-based media group Egmont celebrated its 130th birthday. Though it has a well-established name and presence in Europe, producing magazines, books and television shows in more than 30 countries, it's practically unknown in the U.S. The company is working to change that with the launch of Egmont USA, a children's book publisher that will be a division of British children's ...

Scholastic Report: Kids Still Read for Fun—Teens, Less So

A new report released by Scholastic corroborates the findings of the company’s 2006 report on children’s reading habits, finding that pleasure reading in children begins to decline at age eight and continues to do so into the teen years.

Web Exclusive Reviews: Week of 6/9/2008

This week on the Web: the voices of undocumented America; how gardens and math explain the world; an idiot girl, a pastor's daughter and two unlikely Hollywood stars reveal all (to varying degrees); family recipes for including, not deceiving, your loved ones; and two new novels from Harry "When Does He Sleep?" Turtledove. Plus: the new Patricia Cornwell and a roundup of children's titles.

'The Hunger Games': A Dark Horse Breaks Out

Though much attention this fall will likely be lavished on two hotly anticipated YA titles, Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn and Christopher Paolini's Brisingr, there's always room for a breakout—a book with lesser expectations that nonetheless takes off. From all indications, a prime candidate is Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games, first in a new trilogy...

Children's Book Reviews: Week of 6/9/2008

Picture Books Batman: The Story of the Dark Knight Ralph Cosentino . Viking , $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-670-06255-3 While this introduction to Batman pays plenty of homage to the original comic’s noirish aesthetics, Cosentino (The Marvelous Misadventures of Fun-Boy) makes two astute concessions to the sensibilities of his target audience.