Nick Eliopulos at Scholastic has acquired a middle-grade novel by Jonathan Follett (l.), with illustrations by Babymouse and Sunny Side Up co-creator Matthew Holm. Called Marvin and the Moths, the book is a send-up of middle school, suburbia, and giant mutant moths. This is the first collaboration for Holm and Follett, who have been friends since middle school. Publication is scheduled for 2016; Jill Grinberg of Jill Grinberg Literary Management brokered the deal for North American rights.
Andrea Pinkney at Scholastic has pre-empted Gilded series author Christina Farley's The Princess and the Page, a middle-grade novel about a girl whose dark fairy tale comes to life after writing it with a magical Word Weaver pen. Publication is slated for 2017; Jeff Ourvan at Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency negotiated the deal for North American and Philippine rights.
Julie Bliven at Charlesbridge has bought world rights to The Shadow in the Moon by Christina Matula-Hakli (l.), to be illustrated by Pearl Law, about a modern-day family celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival while Ah-ma (grandma) retells the ancient Chinese legend. This is a debut project for both author and illustrator; publication is slated for fall 2017. Carrie Pestritto at Prospect Agency represented the author and Teresa Kietlinski at Prospect Agency represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Susan Kochan at Putnam has bought La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya (l.), illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. This twist on the classic fairytale has Spanish sprinkled throughout. Publication is planned for 2017; Stefanie Von Borstel at Full Circle Literary represented the illustrator and the author represented herself in the deal for world rights.
Julie Matysik at Sky Pony has acquired How to Trap a Leprechaun, by Sue Fliess (l.), a picture book where catching a leprechaun is a tricky affair but it might yield some treasure in the end. It will be illustrated by Emma Randall, and publication is scheduled for February 2016. Jennifer Unter of the Unter Agency represented the author and Chloë Morgan of Plum Pudding Illustration represented the artist in the deal for world rights.
Karen Wojtyla at McElderry Books has acquired National Book Award winner William Alexander's The Canny Town of Ingot, plus an untitled sequel, about a girl who moves with her mother, a librarian and Ghost Appeasement Specialist, to the curiously un-haunted town of Ingot, where she must learn what has happened to Ingot's ghosts and what will happen if they ever come back. The first book is scheduled for summer 2017; Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Joy Peskin at Farrar, Straus and Giroux has bought Ava Dellaira's 17 Years, a YA novel told in alternating perspectives about a mother and daughter, each at 17 years old, on the brink of adulthood, and struggling to imagine her future and to discover her place in the world. Publication is slated for 2018; Richard Florest at Rob Weisbach Creative Management brokered the deal for world rights.
Zareen Jaffery at Simon & Schuster has acquired Lilliam Rivera's My Shelf Life, a YA novel about a girl named Margot Sanchez who charged $600 on her father's credit card and is stuck spending the summer working off the debt at the South Bronx location of the family chain of grocery stores. Publication is set for spring 2017; Eddie Schneider at JABberwocky Literary Agency did the two-book deal for world English rights.
Jacque Alberta at HarperCollins/Blink has bought Remember to Forget, a debut novel by 17-year-old Ashley Royer, a 2014 Wattpad Watty Award winner. The novel tells the story of Levi, who, depressed after the death of his girlfriend, moves from Australia to his father's home in America. Publication is planned for spring 2016.
Daniel Nayeri at Workman has acquired Barney Saltzberg's Celebrate Oops!, an interactive companion to Beautiful Oops! that asks young readers to make their own art in the book. It's scheduled for spring 2017; Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio negotiated the deal for world rights.
Liz Bicknell at Candlewick has bought The Words, the first picture book by Blythe Woolston, whose YA novel The Freak Observer won the 2011 William C. Morris debut fiction award. The book will explore the “ultraconserved” words that linguists believe are the very first ones spoken by humanity, and will be illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka. Publication is set for spring 2018; Sarah Davies of the Greenhouse Literary Agency represented the author and Brenda Bowen of Sanford Greenburger Literary Agency represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Bethany Strout and Mary-Kate Gaudet at Little, Brown have acquired world rights to Read the Book, Lemmings!, a new collaboration from Wolfie the Bunny creators Ame Dyckman and Zachariah OHora. It's a humorous salute to reading featuring a literate fox, a trio of overzealous lemmings, and one mighty big cliff. Publication is slated for winter 2018. Scott Treimel of Scott Treimel NY sold rights to the book and a second untitled text by Dyckman; Sean McCarthy at Sean McCarthy Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Stephanie Lurie at Disney-Hyperion has bought world rights to Nate Evans and Amy Fellner Dominy's Cookiesaurus Rex, about a dinosaur cookie who demands to be the best and most delicious cookie ever, told from the cookie's point of view. AG Ford is set to illustrate. Publication is planned for spring 2017; Caryn Wiseman at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented both authors, and Steven Malk at Writers House represented the illustrator in the two-book deal.
Ben Rosenthal at HarperCollins imprint Katherine Tegen Books has acquired two picture book biographies by author Gene Barretta (l.), to be illustrated by Frank Morrison. In The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver and Muhammad Ali and the Stolen Bicycle, Barretta and Morrison will illuminate the childhood experiences that influenced the course of these figures' lives. Muhammad Ali is scheduled for fall 2017, and George Washington Carver will follow in fall 2018. Lori Nowicki at Painted Words brokered the deal for world English rights.
Tamar Brazis at Abrams has bought Toni Buzzeo's Finder, a picture book biography of Sue Hendrickson, the scientist who found Sue the T. rex. Publication has not been set; Stefanie Von Borstel at Full Circle Literary negotiated the two-book deal for world rights.
Aubrey Poole at Jabberwocky has acquired at auction Shark Lady by Jess Keating, a picture book biography about marine biologist Eugenie Clark, the first female scientist to study sharks and launch a new scale of shark conservation efforts. Publication is slated for 2017; Kathleen Rushall at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Gary Luke of Sasquatch Books has bought Journey: The Most Famous Wolf in the West by Emma Bland Smith (l.), illustrated by Robin James. The picture book debut depicts the migration of a lone gray wolf as he travels from Oregon to California, becoming the first wild wolf in that state in nearly a century. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016; Essie White of Storm Literary Agency represented the author in the deal for North American rights; the illustrator was unagented.
