YA Authors Play 'Show and Tulle' for Book Promotion

Remember your high school prom? Chances are, whether you were prom court royalty, went with a friend, or didn’t go at all, the event can still stir up vivid memories. The big dance is at the center of the new YA novel Will Work for Prom Dress by Aimee Ferris (Egmont, Feb.), about two girls who take on a series of disastrous odd jobs as part of a "betterment plan" to score the perfect date and the perfect attire. Fittingly, prom is also at the heart of Ferris's innovative promotion for her book, the Will Work for Prom Dress Promapalooza.

HMH Books Dispatches Send-a-Story Line

It’s always a thrill for kids to find letters addressed to them in the mailbox. And if that mail were a greeting card-sized picture book with a personalized message inside, wouldn’t that be even better? Anticipating an affirmative answer to that question, HMH Books is launching its Send-a-Story line of mailable paperback versions of backlist picture books.

Galley Talk: 'A Dog's Way Home'

Though she doesn't normally gravitate toward stories about animals, Melissa Posten, children's and YA buyer at Pudd'nHead Books in Webster Groves, Mo., was smitten by a forthcoming middle-grade novel written partially in the voice of a dog.

I am not really a dog person. Actually, I'm not really an animal person. And if I'm being absolutely truthful, animal books are not my favorite—except for maybe some fantasy, and Kate DiCamillo—so you can imagine how I might feel about a non-fantasy book with an animal as a main character.

Cronin, Bliss 'Diary' Series Heading to Stage and Screen

Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss's bestselling series of diary-style picture books—Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Fly, and Diary of a Spider—is jumping from the page to the small screen and the stage. HIT Entertainment has acquired rights to develop the series into an animated TV program.

Two Originally Self-Published Picture Books Hit Their Strides

Self-publishing ventures turned into very different publishing experiences than expected for two first-time authors. Jennifer Fosberry and Cheryl Kilodavis, each inspired by one of their own children to pen a picture book, followed divergent paths to get their books into print, yet their publishing stories had similar happy endings when mainstream houses picked up their books. Fosberry's My Name Is Not Isabella was released by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in September, and Aladdin published Kilodavis's My Princess Boy in late December. Here's a recap of the authors' respective publishing journeys.

Scholastic Digitizes True Books Titles for Web-Based E-Book and Video Program

Scholastic has digitized its classic True Books nonfiction series, debuting an online learning resource called TrueFlix earlier this month. The site has enhanced e-books, videos, articles, images, and related media, and is aimed at students in grades 3 to 5, focusing on science and social studies.

Vanderpool, Stead, Bacigalupi Win Newbery, Caldecott, Printz

Clare Vanderpool has won the 2011 Newbery Medal for Moon Over Manifest (Delacorte), edited by Michelle Poploff. Erin E. Stead has won the 2011 Randolph Caldecott Medal for A Sick Day for Amos McGee (Roaring Brook/Porter), written by Philip C. Stead, edited by Neal Porter. And Paolo Bacigalupi has won the 2011 Michael L. Printz Award for Ship Breaker (Little, Brown), edited by Jennifer Hunt. The awards were announced Monday morning at the American Library Association’s midwinter conference in San Diego.

Animation, Action, and Angst: Spring Kids' Movie Tie Ins

Summer blockbuster season is months away, but there's plenty to pique young moviegoers' interest this spring. The Eagle lands more than 50 years after the publication of the book it's based on, Rosemary Sutcliff's The Eagle of the Ninth; on the other end of the timing spectrum, I Am Number Four (one of two films starring Alex Pettyfer) isn't even out in paperback.

The Week in Children's Apps: January 6, 2011

This week, some beloved characters from children's book series make their app debuts, including Clifford and the gang from the Magic School Bus.

'Princesses' Series from Taylor Trade Nears 500,000 Mark

A down-to-earth princess who goes on hikes, plays soccer, and stomps in the mud stars in Carmela LaVigna Coyle's picture book series that debuted in 2003 with Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? Last month, Taylor Trade released the latest installment, Do Princesses Have Best Friends Forever?, illustrated by Mike Gordon and Carl Gordon. This father-son team also illustrated the earlier books in the series, which in addition to the inaugural title include Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?, Do Princesses Scrape Their Knees?, and Do Princesses Count?, a board book. The questions posed in these titles—inspired by the inquisitiveness of Coyle's own daughter—have resonated with other real-life princesses: the books in the series have sold 470,000 copies.

New Novel Cloaks Red Riding Hood Legend in Mystery

The residents of the sleepy village of Daggorhorn have long kept the local werewolf at bay with a monthly sacrifice. But now the Wolf has told Valerie—the only villager who can hear his voice—that she must surrender herself to him or everyone she loves will die. In Red Riding Hood, a novel that 22-year-old Sarah Blakley-Cartwright has written based on a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson, the plot of the traditional fairy tale has thickened substantially. On sale January 25, this Little, Brown/Poppy book ties into the Warner Brothers film that is set for March release.

In Brief: December 23

In brief this week: Australia's Summertime Stories returns; a second Pretty Little Liars contest at DDG Booksellers; and a local authors' event in Tucson, Ariz.

Licensing Hotline: December 2010

Penguin's Grosset & Dunlap imprint will launch its first children's books under license from World Wrestling Entertainment in the spring. Also in the news: Egmont U.K.'s licensed Waybuloo books, a new educational license for Zenescope’s Silver Dragon imprint, and a round-up of apps based on book-connected licensed properties.

Bookseller Buys Dahl Story

The unfinished Roald Dahl children's story that went up for auction on eBay last week fetched $1,900 for Jerry Biederman, who has owned the document and the rights to the story since 1982 when he paid Dahl $200 for its use in the proposed Do-It-Yourself Children's Storybook. The two typed pages were purchased by Robert Utter, owner of the Other Tiger Bookstore in Westerly, R.I.

Bloomsbury Nabs YA Series by Monica Seles

In a two-book deal, Bloomsbury Children's Books acquired world rights to a new YA series by former tennis star Monica Seles called The Academy. Melanie Cecka at Bloomsbury bought the titles from John Steele at IMG, who brokered the deal for Seles.

Sterling Authors Sing in the Holidays in Six States

This fall, Sterling added six volumes to its The Twelve Days of Christmas in… series, which presents facts about specific states to the tune of the well-known carol. Each book is written and illustrated by individuals living in the featured locale, and the creators of all the new additions to the series—celebrating Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, South Carolina and Washington, D.C.—recently visited stores across their home states to promote their books.

In Brief: December 16

In brief this week: Henry Knox the man meets 'Henry Knox' the book; a holiday party at Harper; Little, Brown's big Red Cross donation; and the launch of 'The Water Wars.'

Scholastic Buys Selznick's 'Wonderstruck'

Scholastic has acquired the new book by Brian Selznick, author of the bestselling The Invention of Hugo Cabret. His new novel, Wonderstruck, is scheduled for a simultaneous release on September 13, 2011, in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. According to the publisher, it will feature more than 460 pages of original drawings and will intertwine two stories set 50 years apart.