Bookseller Buys Dahl Story

The unfinished Roald Dahl children's story that went up for auction on eBay last week fetched $1,900 for Jerry Biederman, who has owned the document and the rights to the story since 1982 when he paid Dahl $200 for its use in the proposed Do-It-Yourself Children's Storybook. The two typed pages were purchased by Robert Utter, owner of the Other Tiger Bookstore in Westerly, R.I.

Bloomsbury Nabs YA Series by Monica Seles

In a two-book deal, Bloomsbury Children's Books acquired world rights to a new YA series by former tennis star Monica Seles called The Academy. Melanie Cecka at Bloomsbury bought the titles from John Steele at IMG, who brokered the deal for Seles.

Sterling Authors Sing in the Holidays in Six States

This fall, Sterling added six volumes to its The Twelve Days of Christmas in… series, which presents facts about specific states to the tune of the well-known carol. Each book is written and illustrated by individuals living in the featured locale, and the creators of all the new additions to the series—celebrating Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, South Carolina and Washington, D.C.—recently visited stores across their home states to promote their books.

In Brief: December 16

In brief this week: Henry Knox the man meets 'Henry Knox' the book; a holiday party at Harper; Little, Brown's big Red Cross donation; and the launch of 'The Water Wars.'

Scholastic Buys Selznick's 'Wonderstruck'

Scholastic has acquired the new book by Brian Selznick, author of the bestselling The Invention of Hugo Cabret. His new novel, Wonderstruck, is scheduled for a simultaneous release on September 13, 2011, in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. According to the publisher, it will feature more than 460 pages of original drawings and will intertwine two stories set 50 years apart.

A Forgotten Dahl Piece Resurfaces on eBay

The first two pages of The Eyes of Mr. Croaker, a children's story written by Roald Dahl in 1982 that he sold to two young American writers with the intention of publishing it in the proposed Do-It-Yourself Children's Storybook have resurfaced in Los Angeles after nearly three decades and are being auctioned on eBay.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN INTEREST CHILDREN’S/YA BOOKS 2010

The following is a list of African-American interest children's and young adult books, fiction and nonfiction, publishing between September 2010 and March 2011.

Scholastic to Give Animorphs New Life

Scholastic announced on Thursday that it will begin re-launching the books in K.A. Applegate's original Animorphs series next May, featuring lenticular covers that appear to morph. Since the series debuted in 1996, it has sold 35 million books worldwide.

Galley Talk: 'The Emerald Atlas'

Robert McDonald, children's buyer at The Book Stall at Chestnut Court in Winnetka, Ill., is looking forward to selling a book he wishes he’d discovered as a young reader.

Ally Condie's 'Matched' Makes Auspicious Debut

Matched, the first book in a dystopian trilogy by Ally Condie, is off to a soaring start. Foreign rights to the novel, released by Dutton on November 30 with a 250,000-copy first printing, have been sold in 30 countries and film rights have been optioned to Disney.

Children's Booksellers Share Early Buzz About Spring 2011

While scrambling to keep up with December's harried pace, children's booksellers are already thinking ahead to the next selling season. Four of them took a break from the holiday hoopla to share their thoughts on—and enthusiasm for—publishers' forthcoming offerings.

In Brief: December 9

In brief this week: a holiday castle at Califon Book Shop; the final Vampire Academy book; and author events with Elizabeth Partridge and Sarah Beth Durst.

Jeff Kinney and Rick Riordan Put the "Black" into Black Friday

Many independent booksellers contacted by PW earlier this week reported solid holiday sales over the Thanksgiving weekend. Two standouts, even at stores that don't typically boost a high percentage of children's sales, were the fifth Wimpy Kid title and the first book in the new Heroes of Olympus series.

Adams Cooking Up a Very Harry Christmas

With the fall release of the penultimate film in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, Harry Potter books have been, well, flying. But J.K. Rowling's books aren’t the only ones benefitting from the magic of director David Yates or actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson. Adams Media has also seen strong sales for its first children's hardcover, The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz.

In Brief: December 2

Today's YA Scene

There is no shortage of media coverage about boom times in the young adult market. Looking beyond the houses responsible for many of the bold-faced headliners, one finds an enthusiastic group of publishers, some newcomers to YA, whose authors are making impressive contributions and helping to satiate the reading appetites of Twilight- and Hunger Games-frenzied fans.

Ascend Publishes Dick Vitale's First Children's Book

Legendary ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, a grandfather of five and an advocate for early childhood development, has recently released the first in what will be a series of educational and inspirational books for children. Ascend Books published Vitale's Dickie V's ABCs and 1-2-3s: A Great Start for Young Superstars, a $14.95 picture book, on October 15. It is the inaugural title in the Dick Vitale Children's Literacy Initiative and is Vitale's first children’s book.

RosettaBooks to Publish Kindle Editions of Rainbow Magic Series

In a deal to bring the popular Rainbow Magic series to e-books, the series creator, HIT Entertainment, has struck an exclusive digital rights agreement with RosettaBooks to release Kindle editions of current and future titles in the line. Rainbow Magic, which was introduced by HIT in the U.K. in 2003, is published by Scholastic in the U.S. and, through this arrangement, Scholastic will remain the exclusive print publisher of the titles in the U.S.

Llama Llama Sales-O-Rama

From the moment he first had trouble falling asleep in Llama Llama Red Pajama (Viking, 2005), Anna Dewdney's Baby Llama character has become a relatable everykid, beloved by preschoolers, parents—and booksellers. Now he's galloping onto bestseller lists again in the new release Llama Llama Holiday Drama, which pubbed on October 19 with a first printing of 200,000.

Galley Talk: 'Divergent'

Jill Hendrix, owner of Fiction Addiction in Greenville, S.C., talks about a spring novel that she expects will be a hit with teens, Divergent by Veronica Roth.