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Children's Book Reviews: 6/22/2009
Reviewed this week: new books from Kenneth Oppel, Rebecca Stead and Paul Griffin, plus PW's review of the sequel to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire.
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Web Exclusive Reviews: 6/22/2009
Four Daily News sports reporters turn in the definitive story of Roger Clemens and drugs in baseball; Miles Kington presents a lively epistolary meta-nonfiction collection about dying; Sam Pocker catches retailers gone wild; and smallpox eradicator D.A. Henderson chronicles his showdown with the disease. Plus: fiction from Jane Porter, Sarah Prineas's second Magic Thief novel, and Alex Flinn's Gossip Girl makeover of "Sleeping Beauty."
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Spring 2009 Flying Starts
This spring saw many strong children’s book debuts, but for our semiannual Flying Starts, which highlight standout first books, we narrowed the field to four. The novels we selected feature a girl who embraces science one stifling summer in 1899 Texas; a boy coming of age in rural Oregon against the backdrop of war; a group of delinquent teenage boys investigating the disappearance of a friend; and a family quietly suffering an abusive father.
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NECBA's Pub Crawl: Two Publishers, One Day
Given the early hour at which the New England Children’s Booksellers Advisory Council kicked off its June 10th meeting, aka Pub Crawl, it’s probably just as well that co-chairs Kenny Brechner, owner of Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers in Farmington, Me., and Vicky Uminowicz of Titcomb’s Bookshop in East Sandwich, Mass., weren’t thinking of that kind of pub.
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‘Little Brother’ Takes a Bow at Chicago Theater
Little Brother, the futuristic tale of teen-techno-revolution in a dystopian San Francisco by journalist/blogger Cory Doctorow, has done well since its release last May by Tor Teen. It received excellent reviews, has sold 90,000 copies to date, was nominated for a Hugo Award, and movie rights were recently optioned to producer Don Murphy. Now Little Brother has been adapted for the stage by Chicago’s Griffin Theatre Company.
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Rights Report: June 18, 2009
Universal has picked up Lunch Lady, a new graphic novel series by Jarrett Krosoczka (Knopf), with Amy Poehler attached to star; Barbara Lalicki at HarperCollins acquired world English rights to Cinderella Smith, a first novel by Stephanie Barden; and Framelight Productions and producer David Uslan have bought rights to Ian Beck’s Tom Trueheart trilogy for Greenwillow.
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Galley Talk: 'Shiver' by Maggie Stiefvater
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is the love story of Sam and Grace, told in chapters that alternate between their points of view. Sam, a werewolf, rescues a young Grace from a wolf attack. Werewolves in Stiefvater’s world respond to the cold—they are wolves in winter, humans in summer, and each year they are human for a shorter period of time, until they remain wolves permanently. So Sam and Grace are on a deadline.
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‘Because of Winn-Dixie’: The Musical
Author Kate DiCamillo’s first book, the Newbery Honor-winning Because of Winn-Dixie, is heading to Broadway as a musical. A creative team is not yet in place, but the show will feature a live dog playing the role of Winn-Dixie, trained by Bill Berloni (who trained the dog Sandy, for the musical Annie). “The opportunity to surround Kate’s story with top Broadway artists lends itself to creating an exciting new Broadway musical,” producer Gerarld Goehring said.
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Big Children’s Presence for Penguin’s New Online Network
Penguin has just launched an online network called From the Publisher’s Office, consisting of original content in audio, video and reading channels, to promote its frontlist and backlist titles. And Penguin's children’s and YA books will be getting plenty of attention in each of the channels.
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DK Plans Out-of-This-World LEGO Star Wars Event
DK Publishing, along with Lucasfilm and LEGO, is planning a one-day in-store launch event for its October release LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary by Simon Beecroft. The book is based on LEGO’s 10-year-old line of toys tied to George Lucas’s Star Wars saga; DK is offering participating stores an activity kit with game and trivia contests; giveaways and raffle prizes; and appearances from members of a volunteer group of Star Wars costume enthusiasts.
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‘The Napping House’ Turns 25
A quarter century has passed since Audrey and Don Wood created The Napping House, a cumulative tale about a boy napping with his grandmother—along with a dog, cat, mouse and flea, all piled one on top of the other. The picture book has sold 1.6 million copies since its 1984 release by Harcourt. The publisher recently issued a 25th anniversary edition; here’s how the various incarnations came to be.
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Q & A with Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Author/illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka is best known for his picture books; his latest books are a bit of a departure, and are his first foray into the comic/graphic novel format. We caught up with Krosoczka to find out about his latest projects, and whether or not he has a “thing” for any lunch ladies in particular.
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ShelfTalker's Summer Reading List
Last week when I asked for summer reading suggestions, 31 people offered truly wonderful suggestions. It would seem that just about everyone suggested The Hunger Games — clearly this was the most popular book on the list.
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Children's Book Reviews: Week of 6/15/2009
This week's reviews include a picture book debut from swimmer and Olympian Michael Phelps; new novels from Sharon Draper, Jamila Gavin and Phyllis Reynolds Naylor; and a round-up of science-themed titles just in time for summer exploration and experimentation.
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A New Role for ‘Nanny Diaries’ Authors
In 2002, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus suddenly found themselves in the spotlight when The Nanny Diaries, their debut novel based on their experiences as Manhattan nannies, hit the bestseller lists. Now, seven years later, they have published their first YA novel, The Real Real (HarperTeen), centering on a 17-year-old whose life takes a similarly dramatic turn when she is cast in a reality show filmed at her Long Island high school.
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Licensing 2009: Hello, Las Vegas!
This year’s edition of Licensing Expo International attracted fewer exhibitors and fewer attendees than in past years—many publishers brought smaller teams than usual—due to a combination of the poor economy, a tough licensing landscape and the show’s move to Las Vegas from its longtime home in New York City. But most attendees and exhibitors said they were happy with the level of business and the quality of contacts, especially given low expectations.
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HC Children's Inks Series Deal with Grogan
HarperCollins Children’s Books has acquired world rights to 13 children’s books featuring the Labrador John Grogan wrote about in his bestselling memoir, Marley & Me.
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HC Children's Does Mobile Promotion for Lauren Conrad Novel
HarperCollins is launching viral mobile content, accessible by scanning 2D barcodes, for a promotion for Lauren Conrad's YA novel, L.A. Candy. The promotion coincides with the book's June 16 release; through it, readers can download book-related content, including a Q&A with the author, by downloading an application to their smartphones.
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Full Steam Ahead for The 39 Clues
Scholastic Media will promote its multimedia book series The 39 Clues through a promotion with Amtrak that will run July 1 through August 31. The partnership will feature two million branded ticket jackets, dining car placemats and seatback signage in trains.
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'Blood Ties' Takes Red House Prize
Sophie McKenzie's Blood Ties, a YA thriller that explores genetic engineering, has won Britain’s Red House Children's Book Award, the only prize voted for entirely by children (this year, more than 143,000). U.S. rights, which are held by agent Rosemary Canter, have not yet been sold.
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