After a hiatus of half a decade, literature’s bossiest pig returns next April in Olivia the Spy (Atheneum/Caitlin Dlouhy, Apr. 2017), the cover of which PW unveils here for the first time. Uncharacteristically, the normally indefatigable Olivia is wearing an expression of deep concern.

“She happens to overhear her mother on the phone complaining about how difficult she is, and how she wishes she could send Olivia off somewhere until she develops some sense,” said author-illustrator Ian Falconer. Then again, using her eavesdropping skills in the hope of finding out what she is getting for her upcoming birthday, Olivia spies on her parents. “Of course, Olivia only hears part of that conversation, too, but it includes the word ‘institution,’ so she asks her teacher what an institution is and he gives her a list of things, one of them being prison.”

Orange is the new red? At least it’s close to Olivia’s signature color.

The eighth installment in Falconer’s bestselling series is five years in the making (although Olivia has not aged a day). Falconer, a Connecticut native and long-time Manhattan resident, switched coasts four years ago when he was hired by the Pacific Northwest Ballet to redesign the sets and costumes for their annual production of The Nutcracker, an experience he describes as “wonderful but scary.”

“Scary because a Nutcracker production is really important to a ballet company. It can mean half the company’s income for a year,” Falconer said. “And scary because I was replacing Maurice Sendak!” PNB had commissioned Sendak to design a Nutcracker for their corps in 1983, which the company used until Falconer’s designs debuted in 2015. Falconer had long been in awe of Sendak’s work, so much so that when the legendary artist surprised Falconer by leaving him a congratulatory voice mail after the release of the original Olivia in 2000, it took Falconer a full year to work up the nerve to call him back.

“I was so nervous. I mean, ‘Maurice Sendak called me?’ I was already overwhelmed by the success of Olivia. Every librarian in America was calling me, and all these friends, thinking I was rich and wanting to borrow money. It was hard and so sudden.” Finally, Falconer screwed up his courage and dialed Sendak. After Falconer introduced himself, Sendak’s response was, “You absolute son of a bitch!” They became friends.

His work on The Nutcracker finally complete, Falconer said he felt some urgency to get back to his most famous creation. “I actually had to finish this book because... ballets? They don’t pay very much. They literally don’t pay enough to live on,” he said. No doubt Olivia is still paying his bills – the series has sold more than eight million books in the U.S. alone, has been published in more than two dozen languages, and has been made into a Nickelodeon television show, which Falconer considers a grave disappointment.

“I could barely watch two episodes. And here’s the thing. It’s in my contract that I have complete artistic control, so they sent me the scripts and I would work very hard going through them, marking ‘No. No. No,” and FedEx them back the next day and the response was, ‘Oh, we’re already far beyond that. We can’t change anything at this point.’ ” Nickelodeon’s option expires soon, Falconer said, and there is interest from other animation companies, including DreamWorks. “Half of me is hoping they’ll pick it up and half of me is hoping it will expire so I can do something independently. I think I might be better off with a small company, somebody I could work with.”

Meanwhile, he was at FedEx again this week with sending his publisher the final artwork for Olivia the Spy’s endpapers, which feature New York City’s Lincoln Center. His years with the ballet inform the plot, too. What Olivia mishears is actually her mother making plans for a birthday surprise – she asks Olivia’s father if he thinks Olivia is ready for a trip to the big city ballet. He answers: “Of course. It’s an institution.”

“Ten minutes in, Olivia needs to use the restroom. The usher points her towards two doors, one marked ‘Ladies,’ the other marked ‘Stage,’ ” Falconer said. “You can guess which door she goes through.”

Olivia the Spy by Ian Falconer. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, $17.99 April 4, 2017 ISBN 978-1-4814-5795-8