The wildly popular How to Catch brand, which has sold more than 14 million picture and board books, is expanding with a new graphic novel series for young readers.

Publishing September 5 from Sourcebooks, Alice Walstead and Paul Gill’s Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf introduces readers to Pup and Dragon—the former full of energy and optimism; the latter cool, thoughtful, and adventurous—as they embark on a Christmas escapade that has the duo attempting to catch one of Santa's helpers.

Featuring colorful art and laugh-out-loud funny adventures sure to appeal to How to Catch fans, Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf will be followed by Pup and Dragon: How to Catch a Dinosaur and Pup and Dragon: How to Catch a Unicorn, both of which will be published in 2024.

"How to Catch is all about fun, so moving to early graphic novels was such a natural extension," Karen Shapiro, senior publishing manager at Sourcebooks, tells PW. "We wanted to reach not only the current How to Catch readers but also find a brand-new audience to instill joy in the experience of reading."

This newsletter was produced in partnership with Sourcebooks.

CATCHING UP WITH THE TEAM BEHIND PUP AND DRAGON

There’s Magic in the World: Close-Up on Pup and Dragon

Karen Shapiro, senior publishing manager at Sourcebooks, and Maryn Arreguín, senior art director at Sourcebooks, sat down with PW to talk about Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf, the first early graphic novel from the creators of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling How to Catch picture book series.

The How to Catch picture book series is a long-running and beloved one. How did the graphic novel spinoff series come about?

Karen Shapiro: From our first How to Catch picture book, How to Catch a Leprechaun, published eight years ago, it has been an incredible journey to watch this series grow in popularity. We get to introduce books to children as something joyful, entertaining, and fun… something that can make them laugh over and over again and establish an early love of books and reading. Books open worlds, build vocabulary and spur imagination....

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PUP AND DRAGON ARC GIVEAWAY

Win a Copy of Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf

Enter for your chance to win an advance reader copy of Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf, courtesy of Sourcebooks.

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GET A FIRST LOOK AT PUP AND DRAGON

Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf

A new hilarious pup and bearded dragon duo star in the first-ever standalone graphic novel story brought to you by the creators behind the New York Times and USA Today bestselling How to Catch series!

In this exhilarating Christmas adventure, Pup and Dragon are trying to catch one of Santa's helpers, but the task is not as easy as it sounds! Bursting with colorful art and funny text that is sure to appeal to How to Catch lovers and new young readers alike, this action-packed new title launches the How to Catch brand into the booming graphic novel space.

The second and third books in the series, Pup and Dragon: How to Catch a Dinosaur and Pup and Dragon: How to Catch a Unicorn, are coming in 2024.

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Book Trailer: Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf

Hold on to your nets, lasers, and food cannons! There’s a brand new early graphic novel series from the team behind the New York Times bestselling series How to Catch―Pup and Dragon!

Pup has boundless energy and endless optimism; Dragon is cool and thoughtful but always up for adventure... together, they are best friends who are always there for one another.

Read an Excerpt from Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf

Take a look at this exclusive, 10-page excerpt from Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf, the first installment in the new graphic novel series from bestselling authors Alice Walstead and Paul Gill.

Read the Excerpt

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MORE FROM PUP AND DRAGON

PW: Sourcebooks Moves into Graphic Novels with Bestselling How to Catch Series

Sourcebooks, publisher of the How to Catch picture book series that mixes humor, rhyming, and STEM concepts, is spinning it off into graphic novels for early readers with two lead characters who are best friends: Pup and Dragon.

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Teachers Review Pup and Dragon

We asked teachers to read Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf and let us know what they think!

Here is what Derek Visser, a K–5 instructional coach from St. George, Utah, and Amanda Alba, a second grade teacher from Honolulu, Hawaii, had to say:

What did you think about the book overall?

Derek: Fun book! Love it through the perspective of a character who knows nothing about Christmas. Great mix of simple to read words and some rich vocabulary words.

Did you think your students would like the book?

Amanda: [My students] will love this book. Fun characters. Good story. My students love graphic novels so they will enjoy reading it. Fun for the holidays too.

How do you plan to use this book in your classroom?

Derek: Definitely going to the classroom library. Possibly use it to introduce an engineering project for making "elf traps..

Would you recommend this book to your students?

Amanda: Yes! Great pictures, easy to read story. Perfect for the holidays.

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