Introducing a new column where we round up newly announced children’s and YA titles of note.
Monster Alert
From Academy Award–nominated screenwriter, director, and producer Darren Aronofsky and co-writer Ari Handel comes a new middle grade series, Monster Club. The first book in the magic-infused series will be published September 13. Described as The Goonies meets The Last Kids on Earth, the book follows Eric “Doodles” King, whose discovery of a magic ink allows him to bring the creatures he draws to life. CAA sold world English rights to Dave Linker, executive editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books.
You May Want to Read This Sequel
Actor Max Greenfield and illustrator Mike Lowery, creators of the bestselling I Don't Want to Read This Book, will partner on another meta picture book, This Book Is Not a Present, which Putnam Books for Young Readers will publish on October 18. In this book for children who may not always take an interest in reading, Greenfield and Lowery poke fun at traditional children’s themes. Jennifer Klonsky, president and publisher of Dial Books for Young Readers, Putnam Books for Young Readers, and Razorbill, acquired world rights, with Albert Lee at United Talent Agency representing the author and Steven Malk at Writers House representing the illustrator.
A Sweet Comeback
Francine Pascal’s bestselling series Sweet Valley Twins will return in a graphic novel adaptation this November from Random House Graphics. Senior editor Whitney Leopard, who will edit the series, acquired world rights from Amy Berkower, president of Writers House, and Kate McKean, v-p of Howard Morhaim Literary Agency. First published in 1986, the series follows the lives of twin girls in Sweet Valley, Calif., navigating the challenges of middle school. Writer Nicole Andelfinger and artist Claudia Aguirre will begin with an adaptation of Sweet Valley Twins: Best Friends; the second book, Teacher’s Pet, is scheduled for 2023.
One of a Kind
Bestselling author Nicola Yoon (Everything, Everything; The Sun Is Also a Star) will make her adult fiction debut in 2024 with the novel One of Our Kind, to be published by Anchor Books. U.S. rights were acquired at auction from Jodi Reamer at Writers House. Yoon’s social thriller, pitched as a mix of The Stepford Wives and Get Out, follows Jasmyn Williams and her family’s move to a Black utopia, where she discovers a terrifying secret about its founders and residents.
