As always, BEA visitors on the lookout for new and forthcoming offerings from children’s publishers will find plenty to savor as they navigate the aisles this year. Here’s a sampling of projects on display, authors on hand, and goings-on and giveaways at the children’s booths. Look for a second installment of booth highlights in tomorrow’s issue.
Candlewick is hosting two authors at booth 1529 during the show: today, 3:30–4:30 p.m., Maggie Tokuda-Hall, a publishing industry veteran who’s attending BEA for the first time as an author, will sign lithos of her debut picture book, Also an Octopus, illustrated by Benji Davies; and on Friday, 11 a.m.–noon, Megan McDonald will autograph ARCs of her spunky heroine’s 13th adventure, Judy Moody and the Bucket List, illustrated by Peter Reynolds. (See page 26 for an interview with Tokuda-Hall.)
Among the company’s other authors attending BEA are Caldecott Honor artist Aaron Becker, whose Return completes his wordless trilogy, which began with Journey and Quest; Shannon and Dean Hale, who are introducing the fourth book in their series about a nonfrilly royal, The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation, illustrated by LeUyen Pham; and Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston, who are promoting their collaboration, A Child of Books, which features 42 classic works embedded in the book’s art.
Algonquin will host Kelly Barnhill today at booth 1829, 2–3 p.m., when the author will autograph ARCs of The Girl Who Drank the Moon, a middle-grade, modern fairy tale about a girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a tiny dragon. During the signing, the publisher will also be giving away posters of the novel’s book jacket. Other giveaways at the booth include Wrecked by Maria Padian; Will Ritter’s Ghostly Echoes; FIB #2: Over the Underworld by Adam Shaughnessy; and Tania Unsworth’s Brightwood.
At booth 2325, Capstone is commemorating 25 year in business. For a full list of authors and swag, see the story on page 22–24.
Visitors to Workman’s booth (1729) can catch an early glimpse of Jamie Lee Curtis’s latest picture book collaboration with Laura Cornell: This Is Me: A Story of Who We Are and Where We Came From (Sept.). Curtis will sign copies of the book at the booth today, 11 a.m.–noon. The publisher is also featuring Mike Lowery’s new paper-over-board middle-grade series, Doodle Adventures, fantasies that invite readers to draw themselves into the story and follow prompts to add more art and doodles. On Friday at 3 p.m., the author-illustrator will be at the booth signing copies of the debut book in the series, The Search for the Slimy Space Slug, due this month; and galleys of the second installment, The Pursuit of the Pesky Pizza Pirate, a September title.
At booth 1859, Bloomsbury staffers are spreading word of some recent and fall books whose authors are attending BEA. These include Elizabeth Eulberg’s middle-grade debut novel, The Great Shelby Holmes; The Edge of Everything, a debut YA by Jeff Giles; A Court of Mist and Fury, Sarah J. Maas’s sequel to A Court of Thorns and Roses; and Stealing Snow, a twist on the Snow Queen story by Danielle Paige. Visitors to the booth can also pick up a giveaway page from The Throne of Glass Coloring Book.
Albert Whitman & Company will welcome authors to booth 2033 on all three days of BEA. Today, at 3 p.m., Jane Smith will sign f&gs of It’s the First Day of Preschool, Chloe Zoe! and It’s the First Day of Kindergarten, Chloe Zoe! Tomorrow’s lineup includes Lisa Koosis autographing Resurrecting Sunshine at 11 a.m.; Andrea Loney signing postcards promoting Bunnybear, illustrated by Carmen Saldana, at 3 p.m.; and collaborators Ann and John Hassett signing postcards for Goodnight, Bob at 4 p.m.
On Friday, booksellers will find Ronald Kidd autographing ARCs of The Raven and Me, as well as finished copies of Dreambender and Night on Fire, at 9:30 a.m.; Ana Crespo signing copies of JP and the Giant Octopus, illustrated by Erica Sirotich, at 11 a.m.; Dana Elmendorf autographing copies of South of Sunshine at 12:30 p.m.; Elizabeth Briggs signing ARCs of Future Threat at 12:30 p.m.; Derek Sullivan autographing the paperback edition of Biggie at 2 p.m.; and Linda Joy Singleton signing copies of Kelsey the Spy: Curious Cat Spy Club #3 at 3:30 p.m.
There will be a flurry of activity at the Penguin Young Readers booth (2433) throughout the show, beginning today, when a costumed North Pole Ninjas sensei will appear at the booth to promote North Pole Ninjas: MISSION: Christmas (Grosset & Dunlap) by Tyler Knott Gregson and Sarah Linden, illustrated by Piper Thibodeau, 2-3 p.m.; he returns again tomorrow, 1-2 p.m.
Tomorrow’s roster of authors signing in the booth includes Erin Stead and Michelle Cuevas (The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles, Dutton), 9:30 a.m.; Adam Gidwitz (The Inquisitor’s Tale, Dutton), 10:30 a.m.; Ransom Riggs (Tales of the Peculiar, Dutton) and Tahereh Mafi (Furthermore, Dutton), both at 1:30 p.m.; and Loren Long (Little Tree, Philomel), 1:45 p.m. Friday’s author lineup features Billy Taylor (Thieving Weasels, Dial) and Aaron Starmer (Spontaneous, Dutton), both at 11 a.m.; Sabaa Tahir (A Torch Against the Night, Razorbill) and David Arnold (Kids of Appetite, Viking), both at 2 p.m.; Richard Peck (The Best Man, Dial), 3 p.m.; and Rosemary Wells (Ten Kisses for Sophie!, Viking), 4 p.m.
Available at the booth are giveaways honoring the 100th anniversary of Roald Dahl’s birth, a milestone that the company is commemorating throughout 2016 (see p. 22 for details of the commemoration). Tomorrow’s galley giveaways at the booth are Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland (Putnam), 9 a.m.; and Addison Cooke and the Treasure of the Incas by Jonathan Stokes (Philomel), 2:30 p.m. And galleys will be given out on Friday for Adam Gidwitz’s The Inquisitor’s Tale (Dutton), 10 a.m.; and What Light by Jay Asher (Razorbill), 1 p.m.
Chronicle welcomes a trio of authors to booth 2100 during BEA. Aaron Reynolds will sign copies of President Squid this afternoon, 2 p.m.; Brendan Wenzel will be on hand to autograph posters for They All Saw a Cat, tomorrow, 10 a.m.; and Hervé Tullet is scheduled to sign copies of Press Here and Let’s Play, Friday, 10 a.m. Booksellers can also pick up posters celebrating the 10th anniversary of Annie Barrows’s Ivy and Bean series, Sherri Duskey Rinker’s Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld; and Flora and the Flamingo, Flora and the Penguin, and Flora and the Peacocks by Molly Idle.
Macmillan Children’s Books welcomes a roster of authors to booth 1958-1959, starting with Kate Beasley, who will sign ARCs of her debut middle-grade novel, Gertie’s Leap to Greatness (FSG), today, 3:30 p.m. Tomorrow, Marissa Meyer will sign ARCs of Heartless (Feiwel and Friends), 3 p.m.; and Friday’s author appearances include Leigh Bardugo, who’ll autograph samplers of Crooked Kingdom (Holt), her first project since the Grisha trilogy, 10:30 a.m.; National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Gene Luen Yang will sign Secret Coders: Paths and Portals (First Second) at 1:30 p.m.; and Rosemary Wells will autograph advanced finished copies of Hand in Hand (Holt), a picture book celebrating the parent-child bond, on Friday at 2 p.m. ARC giveaways at the booth are Kami Garcia’s The Lovely Reckless (Imprint) tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.; and Michael Dante DiMartino’s Rebel Genius (Roaring Brook) Friday, 10:30 a.m.
At booth 2058A, Fabled Films Press is introducing its new middle-grade series, Nocturnals, which debuts with Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions (distributed by Consortium). The novel introduces animals with unusual physical characteristics that enhance their personalities, and the plot touches on the environmental dangers of poaching and endangered species. Tie-in T-shirts will be given away today, 3–4 p.m., and Friday, 10 a.m.–noon. Tomorrow, 10 a.m.–noon, author Tracey Hecht will sign copies of Nocturnals and give out Nocturnals tie-in capes.
This afternoon Disney Publishing Worldwide (booth 2117) welcomes Ryan Higgins, who will sign 50 copies of Mother Bruce, 1–1:30 p.m.; and Shannon and Dean Hale, who’ll be on hand to autograph galleys of Squirrel Girl, 3–4 p.m. Tomorrow, 9:30–10:30 p.m., Mo Willems will sign Nanette’s Baguette at 10:30 a.m. He returns to the booth, 1–2 p.m., along with Laurie Keller and Dan Santat, to sign the first installments of the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series: The Cookie Fiasco and We Are Growing! Matthew Reinhart autographs 100 pop-up blads for Frozen, 2:30-3 p.m., after which Eoin Colfer signs galleys for Iron Man: Gauntlet, 3:30-4:30 p.m. On Friday, 1–2 p.m., Melissa de la Cruz will sign 100 early editions of Return to the Isle of the Lost; and Sara Shepard will autograph galleys of The Amateurs, 3:30–4:30 p.m.
Sleeping Bear Press and Cherry Lake Publishing start off the show at 1 p.m. today with a giveaway of Grandma Loves You! (by Helen Foster James and Petra Brown) tote bag with books to the first 50 visitors to booth C1237. (The same giveaway will take place tomorrow, at 9 a.m.) Also at 1 p.m. today, Lori Degman will be on hand to give out bookmarks promoting her Norbert’s Big Dream. At 3 p.m., Marty Kelley, illustrator of Santa’s Underwear, will autograph 30 copies of that book, and guests can have their photo taken with their faces placed in a cutout in a life-size cardboard Santa in his tighty-whities. The publisher is holding raffles for a signed, original watercolor created for Santa’s Underwear, and for a giclée from Books Do Not Have Wings by Brynne Barnes. Tomorrow, 10 a.m., Kelley returns to autograph another 30 copies of Santa’s Underwear. And William Meyer will sign copies of his new middle-grade novel, The Secret of the Scarab Beetle, first in the Horace J. Edward and the Time Keepers series, at 2 p.m.
At booth 2059, Nobrow Press & Flying Eye Books is giving away samplers of the first pages of its new comic books, Hilda and the Tone Forest by Luke Pearson; and of Fantasy Sports 2 The Bandit of Barbel Bay by Sam Bosma. Each day of BEA, the first seven people who pick up the Hilda issue will receive a Hilda figurine.
At booth 2333, Sourcebooks hosts Marianne Richmond today, 1 p.m., when she will sign galleys of Bedtime Blessings. At the same time, the publisher is giving out galleys of Max at Night by Ed Vere. Tomorrow, 9 a.m., there will be a galley and tote bag giveaway for The Storybook Knight by Helen Docherty, illus. by Thomas Docherty. At 1:30, Chelsea Sedoti will be at the booth to sign galleys of The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett; and Zoraida Cordova will autograph galleys of Labyrinth Lost at 3:30 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m., Kristi Yamaguchi will sign posters promoting Cara’s Kindness, illus. by John Lee. Other giveaways at the booth include posters for Isabella for President by Jennifer Fosberry, illus. by Mike Litwin; and oversized postcards promoting The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco.
Sterling is hosting a pair of author autographings at booth 841: today, 2–3 p.m., Brian Hastings will sign copies of Song of the Deep, a middle-grade adventure that tells the story of the video game of the same name being released this summer; and tomorrow, 4–5 p.m., the Grammy-winning musical duo the Okee Dokee Brothers—Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing—will sign copies of Can You Canoe?, their new picture book that presents 12 songs celebrating the beauty of nature and the joys of being outdoors.
And booksellers will find a lot going on at the Random House Children’s Books booth (2433). Giveaways begin today, 1–2 p.m., when tote bags promoting Jory John and Lane Smith’s Penguin Problems are available, and fans can take a photo with a standee penguin; that same event will take place tomorrow and Friday, 9–10 a.m. Signing at the booth tomorrow are David Levithan (Days of Dash & Lily), 10:30–11:30 a.m.; Jennifer Niven (Holding Up the Universe), 1–2 p.m.; Jazz Jennings (Being Jazz), 2:30–3:30 p.m.; and Judd Winick (Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth), 3:30–4:30 p.m. Friday’s autographing lineup includes Jeffrey Brown (Lucy and Andy Neanderthal), 10:30–11:30 a.m.; Lisa Yee (Supergirl at Super Hero High ),10:30–11:30 a.m.; and Ross Welford (Time Traveling with a Hamster), 1:30–2:30 p.m. Many additional ARCs are up for grabs at the booth, among them A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess; D.J. MacHale’s The Library: Mysterious Messenger; A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig; Chris Grabenstein’s Welcome to Wonderland: Home Sweet Motel; Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amy Kaufman; and Kathleen Glasgow’s Girl in Pieces. Prints featuring art from both Emily Winfield Martin’s The Wonderful Things You Will Be and her new book, The Littlest Family’s Big Day, will also be available at the booth.
This article appeared in the May 11, 2016 edition of PW BEA Show Daily.
