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Obituary: Esther Hautzig
Author Esther Hautzig died on Sunday, November 1, at the age of 79. She was best known for her 1968 work, The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia, an autobiographical account of her family’s life in Siberia during WWII, having being exiled there from Poland. She wrote several other books for children over a career that spanned five decades...
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Invent a Tool for Alex Rider
Alex Rider's eighth adventure, Crocodile Tears, hits stores November 17 and Penguin is partnering with MAKE magazine to challenge young inventors to come up with a gadget cool enough for the teen spy's arsenal. After all, author Anthony Horowitz says that when he needs a new tool to get his hero out of peril, he goes to his own kids for inspiration. "I look around their bedrooms to see what kind of electronics and such they have littering the place," said Horowitz...
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Riordan Sets His Sights on Egypt
Like his Lightning Thief star Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan is a demigod—at least in the eyes of his readers. With the release next May of the first title in his new middle-grade fantasy series, about ancient Egypt, he is set to become a pharaoh, too. In The Kane Chronicles, Book One: The Red Pyramid, kids will meet Carter Kane, 14, and his sister, Sadie, 12, descendants of Egyptian magicians who battle gods accidentally released in the present...
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The Stories Behind Some Autumn Hits
In this busy fall selling season, several recently released children’s books are moving quite quickly out of the gate. Here we'll take a look at factors fueling the early success of five titles: Blood of the Witch and Fang of the Vampire, which launch Tommy Donbavand's Scream Street series; Ruined by Paula Morris; Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick; and Day Is Done by Peter Yarrow, illustrated by Melissa Sweet.
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Best Children's Books of 2009
On Monday, Publishers Weekly announced its Best Books of 2009, including our list of 30 Best Books for children. From accounts of civil rights heroes, to harrowing (and hopeful) stories about contemporary teenagers, to picture books that perfectly capture friendship, curiosity, or flights of fancy, 2009 held a treasure trove of wonderful reading for children of all ages and interests. Click through to see our selections.
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Guys with Books Rock the Road
Two authors. Two illustrators. Four books. Dozens of appearances. And, by all reports, immeasurable hilarity. These were some of the key components of the Guys with Books author tour that recently sent four creators of new Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers titles on the road...
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In Brief: October 29
This week, Al Roker picks Where the Mountain Meets the Moon for this book club, R.L. Stine goes out live to 150,000 viewers, and Cinda Williams Chima is on tour for the first book in her new fantasy trilogy.
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Bookfest in Boston
When the Boston Globe Children's Book Festival announced earlier this year that it was canceling its seventh book fair, the inaugural Boston Book Festival, which was held last Saturday, upped its children's programming. Even with short notice the BBF was able to fit in a number of activities just for kids, from a tea with Catie Copley, the Labrador that inspired Catie Copley's Great Escape...
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The Gen Z Reader: Finding Profits in an Elusive Market
Kristen McLean, executive director of the Association of Booksellers for Children, presented a detailed outline of the technological challenges facing the teen book market at the fall meeting of the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association on October 24. After commenting on the proliferation of teen Web sites, blogs, and social networks and how they are transforming the way books are read...
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Mazer’s Legacy Honored; Memorial Date Set
Family, friends, and colleagues are honoring in their own ways Norma Fox Mazer, who died of cancer on October 17. Remembrances of Mazer include a memorial scheduled for next weekend and the establishment of a scholarship fund by her family, to which several of her former students and other writers are pledging the royalties from a recent anthology. The memorial service will be held on November 7 at 2 p.m in the Vermont College of Fine Arts chapel...
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Q & A with 'Teen Vogue' Editor Amy Astley
Astley spoke with PW from Teen Vogue Fashion University, a series of workshops and seminars for teenagers interested in fashion, about the new Teen Vogue Handbook.
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It’s the End of the World as We Know It
Vampires may live forever, but the recent vampire trend in YA fiction won't. Author Michael Grant, for one, is "sick to death of vampires," and he is not alone. But when one hugely popular trend ends, what will take its place? Some readers have their fingers crossed for postapocalyptic fiction. Grant, along with fellow authors Scott Westerfeld, Carrie Ryan, and James Dashner, gathered with fans at a Barnes & Noble in Manhattan last Thursday to discuss their latest books...
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In Brief: October 22
This week, HarperCollins offers a Flat Stanley writing contest, with a trip for four as the grand prize; and Henry Holt authors Deborah Heiligman (Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith) and Jacqueline Kelly (The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate) stopped by the Bank Street College School for Children in New York City to meet with the school’s Mock Newbery and Mock Printz clubs.
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‘The Maze Runner’ Off to a Strong Start
The folks at Random House Children's Books succeeded in getting the marketplace buzzing about James Dashner's The Maze Runner well before it arrived in stores this month. The author's five-city pre-publication tour in May wrapped up with a stop at BEA, where, thanks to the tour, booksellers were already wired into his post-apocalyptic thriller. And the buzz continues: Dashner is currently on a coast-to-coast tour to promote the novel, released on October 6 with a 100,000-copy first printing...
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Q & A with Sharon Robinson
Q: What was the actual event that inspired this book?
A: In 1955, my parents moved our family from New York City to Stamford, Connecticut, and on our property was a lake that was a source of all kinds of pleasure for us throughout the seasons. The first winter we lived there, my siblings and I wanted to go ice-skating and my mother said we could - as long as my father tested the ice first to make sure it was safe. He agreed to do that - with reluctance. You see, he couldn't swim. -
Web Exclusive Children's Book Reviews: 10/20/2009
This selection of web-exclusive children's book reviews includes new works from Sujean Rim, Geoffrey Norman and E.B. Lewis, Adam Selzer and Jean Little.
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Obituary: Norma Fox Mazer
Children's book author Norma Fox Mazer died on Saturday, October 17, after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor earlier this year. She was 78. Fox was the author of numerous picture books and novels for young readers, and was awarded a Newbery Honor in 1988 for After the Rain. Mazer is survived by her husband and occasional collaborator, children's book author Harry Mazer...
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Kane/Miller Conspires to Build a Hit
Educational Development Corp. chairman Randall White was pretty sure he had uncovered a gem of a small company when he acquired Kane/Miller Book Publishers last December, but the purchase has worked out even better than he thought. With the holiday season still to come, revenue at Kane/Miller in 2009 has already topped that of all of 2008, according to White.
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Soapbox: The More Things Change...
When I first conceived of Heather Has Two Mommies in 1988, I had no idea that it would be so loved - and so hated. I had no idea it would appear on “most challenged” book lists alongside Huckleberry Finn and The Catcher in the Rye. I had no idea it would become part of the congressional record and be debated on the Senate floor.
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Children's Book Reviews: 10/19/2009
This week, stars for Jim Aylesworth and Barbara McClintock's The Mitten, John Hendrix's John Brown: His Fight for Freedom, Sharon Shinn's Gateway, and Julie Halpern's Into the Wild Nerd Yonder. Plus: roundups of Hanukkah titles and gift ideas.
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