Tomas Palacios at Marvel Press has acquired Rocket and Groot: Stranded on Planet Stripmall! by Origami Yoda series author Tom Angleberger. The middle-grade novel follows Rocket Raccoon and a walking, talking tree, Groot, as they crash-land on a planet made up of 99 cent stores, nail salons, dry cleaners, maniacal robots bent on customer service, and killer toilets. Worldwide publication is scheduled for March 2016; Caryn Wiseman of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Aubrey Poole at Sourcebooks Fire has bought the Did I Mention I Love You trilogy by popular Wattpad author Estelle Maskame. The first novel in this contemporary YA series follows Eden during a sun-drenched summer in Southern California, where she unexpectedly falls for the one boy she shouldn't – her infuriating stepbrother, Tyler. It's slated for publication in spring 2016; Janne Moller at Black & White Publishing did the deal for North American rights.
Maria Barbo at HarperCollins imprint Katherine Tegen Books has acquired The Problem Children by Natalie Lloyd, a middle-grade series about seven strange siblings, all born on a different day of the week, and the neighbors who keep trying to tear their family apart. Publication is planned for fall 2017; Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary and Media brokered the three-book deal for world rights.
Andrea Spooner at Little, Brown has bought at auction the debut poetry collection by How I Met Your Mother producer and screenwriter Chris Harris, called I'm Just No Good at Rhyming: And Other Noodlings for Precocious Children, Typical Youth, and Weirdly Immature Grownups. It's a selection of humorous poems for all ages with an absurdist twist. Publication is set for fall 2016; Richard Abate at 3 Arts Entertainment negotiated the two-book deal for world rights.
Sara Sargent at Simon Pulse has acquired Laura Stampler's debut Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies, pitched as The Devil Wears Prada meets Sex and the City. When Harper scores the summer internship of a lifetime, she moves to New York City to work as a dating blogger at the hottest teen magazine in the country. There's just one problem: she's not exactly the dating expert she claimed to be. Publication is scheduled for summer 2016; Dan Mandel at Greenburger Associates brokered the deal for North American rights.
Kieran Viola at Disney-Hyperion has bought rights to Molly Booth's debut YA Saving Hamlet, in which a 15-year-old working on her high school production of Hamlet falls through a stage door and lands at the Globe Theater in 1601. Publication is slated for winter 2016; Alexander Slater at Trident Media Group did the two-book deal for North American rights.
Alyson Heller at S&S/Aladdin acquired Barbara Dee's Truth or Dare, a novel that follows a late-blooming tween girl who lies to keep up with friends in an extended game of truth or dare. Publication is set for fall 2016; Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management negotiated the deal for world rights.
Alyson Day at HarperCollins has acquired at auction Ali Standish's middle-grade debut, The Ethan I Was Before. The story is about a boy who moves with his family to a small, eccentric seaside town after an accident that killed his best friend, but finds himself struggling to makes sense of the past and future when a mysterious new girl enters his life. Publication is scheduled for winter 2017; Sarah Davies at the Greenhouse Literary Agency did the two-book deal for North American rights.
Jessica Sit at S&S/Atheneum has bought Leah Henderson's debut novel, One Shadow on the Wall, a middle-grade novel about a newly orphaned boy who discovers the power of self-reliance as he protects his younger sisters from poverty and bullying in contemporary Senegal. Publication is planned for summer 2017; world rights were brokered by Melissa Nasson at Rubin Pfeffer Content.
Kate O'Sullivan at HMH has bought James Kwan's picture book, How It Feels to Be a Boat, a story that uses a boat as a metaphor for the triumphs and challenges that children will experience in life. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Steven Malk at Writers House negotiated the deal for world rights.
Emma Ledbetter at S&S/Atheneum has acquired Kelly DiPucchio's (l.) Super Manny! and an untitled sequel, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin, two picture books starring a brave raccoon named Manny. In the first book, Manny's superhero games at home give him unexpected strength at school, where he puts on his invisible cape to stand up to a bully. Publication is planned for summer 2017, with the second to follow in summer 2018. Steven Malk of Writers House represented author and illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Sylvie Frank at S&S's Paula Wiseman Books has bought debut author John Sullivan's picture book, The Night Watchman, to be illustrated by Taeeun Yoo. When a man making his nightly rounds befriends a stray kitten, his perspective on the nighttime changes. The story is loosely based on the true story of how the author, a night watchman himself, found his cat, Beebe. Publication is slated for fall 2018. The author represented himself; Holly McGhee of Pippin Properties represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Louise May at Lee & Low has acquired world rights to Susan Middleton Elya's (l.) picture book ¡Celebración!, to be illustrated by Ana Aranda. The story, written in Elya's signature rhyming English/Spanish mash-up, recounts the activities surrounding a small town's summer celebration. Publication is planned for fall 2016; Victoria Wells Arms of Wells Arms Literary represented the author and Adriana Domínguez of Full Circle Literary represented the illustrator.
Jennifer Brehl at HarperCollins has secured U.S. rights to publish The Shepherd's Crown, the fifth and final Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, featuring young witch Tiffany Aching. Pratchett died on March 12 at age 66. Publication is set for September 15, 2015; Colin Smythe of Colin Smythe Ltd. brokered the deal.
David Linker at HarperCollins has acquired world rights to This May Sound Crazy, a memoir and essay collection from Academy Award–nominated actress Abigail Breslin. Part autobiography, part lifestyle guide, the book is aimed at teenagers and is slated to publish in fall 2015. Creative Artists Agency brokered the deal for Breslin.
Krista Marino at Delacorte has bought Adrienne Kress's The Explorers Club, first in a middle-grade series. The story follows a precocious boy whose life is sent spiraling into adventure after he discovers a pig in a small hat and returns it to its home at the mysterious Explorers Club. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016; Jessica Regel at Foundry Literary + Media negotiated the three-book deal for North American rights.
Barbara Moore and Bill Krause at Llewellyn Worldwide have acquired world rights to Maggie Stiefvater's tarot card deck and accompanying book The Raven's Prophecy Tarot, part guide to the cards, part meditation on the creative life. Publication is planned for fall 2015; Laura Rennert at the Andrea Brown Agency represented Stiefvater in the deal.
Julia Maguire at Knopf has bought in a pre-empt Sabina Gibson's Tiny Treasury series. The board and picture book series will bring to life four tiny, felted animal friends. The first title is scheduled for publication in summer 2017; Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions brokered the six-book, six-figure deal for world rights.
Allyn Johnston at Simon & Schuster's Beach Lane Books has acquired Is Mommy? by debut children's author and adult poet Victoria Chang, illustrated by Marla Frazee, which offers a take on the opposing feelings young children often have about their mothers. Publication is set for fall 2015; the author represented herself, and Steven Malk at Writers House represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Karen Lotz and Mary Lee Donovan of Candlewick Press have bought world rights for Goodnight Selfie, a picture book written by Scott Menchin and illustrated by Pierre Collet-Derby. Learning how to take her first selfie, a girl discovers that anything can be made into a selfie, and a host of adventures and misadventures caught on camera prove her point. Publication is planned for fall 2015; Anne Moore Armstrong of The Bright Agency represented Collet-Derby for the deal for world rights.
In addition, Mary Lee Donovan of Candlewick Press has acquired Pierre Collet-Derby's debut author/illustrated story, Barnaby, featuring an exuberant bunny with a forgetful memory. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Anne Moore Armstrong of The Bright Agency represented Collet-Derby in the deal for world rights.
Claudia Zoe Bedrick at Enchanted Lion has bought author-illustrator Felicita Sala's The Alphabet Train, a picture book that follows a train on a letter-inspired journey. It's scheduled to publish in spring 2017; Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions brokered the deal for world rights.
Emily Easton at Crown has acquired Kevin O'Malley's The Perfect Dog, a picture book about a girl's quest to find the perfect dog, which ends when the right dog picks her. Publication is planned for spring 2016; Melissa Turk at the Artist Network negotiated the deal for world rights.
Jeffrey Salane at Little Simon has acquired a picture book by Courtney Pippin-Mathur called Dragons Rule!, featuring a brave dragon who, with the help of two erstwhile princesses, foils the attempts of an heroic knight. Publication is slated for summer 2016; Tricia Lawrence at Erin Murphy Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
