Cornelia Funke's fantasy novel Reckless—first in a planned series—is set for a worldwide laydown September 14, but Bookshelf readers are the first to get a sneak peek of the cover images for the three simultaneously released editions due from Little, Brown (U.S), Chicken House (U.K.) and Dressler (Germany). The U.S. version was created in-house by Little, Brown senior designer Alison Impey. The U.K. image is the work of designer Steve Wells and illustrator Plant43, and the German cover TK.] This comes on the eve of next week's Bologna Children's Book Fair, where Funke will be hosting all of her international publishers at a celebratory Reckless Reception.
The feting of Funke's newest work won't stop when the fair winds down, however. Little, Brown is planning a major push for the book that includes an online excerpt available beginning this Friday at www.corneliafunkefans.com and a book trailer that will debut in April. And in a unique move for the company, Little, Brown has created deluxe, hardcover ARCs for Reckless. The advance copies will be provided to select members of the children's book industry, education community and the media, and a limited quantity will be available at this summer's BEA and ALA conventions in support of Funke's appearances at both events.
As previously reported in Bookshelf, Reckless is the debut volume about adventurous siblings Jacob and Will Reckless. The Reckless boys' exploits were inspired by the tales of the Brothers Grimm and are being developed with filmmaker/producer Lionel Wigram. The combined hardcover first printing for Reckless is 1,000,000 copies.
