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Former Firebrand Agents Hangs New Shingle
Michael Stearns, a former editor at HarperCollins Children's Books, who recently left his agent position at Firebrand Literary, is starting a new endeavor called Upstart Crow Literary. Chris Richman and Danielle Chiotti, who worked with Stearns at Firebrand, are joining him in the new venture. Stearns and Richman will focus exclusively on representing children's book authors while Chiotti will handle a range of fiction and nonfiction authors.
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Sylvan Dell Launches New E-Books with Giveaway
Children’s book publisher Sylvan Dell debuted its second-generation picture book e-books this week and is celebrating the launch by offering a free trial of its 45 e-books. The new e-books include Auto-Flip and Auto-Read features; the text of each book can be listened to in either English or Spanish, and the publisher plans to add additional language options in the future.
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S&S and LivingSocial Partner for E-Promotion
Margaret K. McElderry Books is running a three-week online promotion, offering a free web-only version of Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones, the first book in the author’s Mortal Instruments trilogy, which has more than one million copies in print. Via a partnership with LivingSocial, Simon & Schuster is making a version of the book available for reading on a LivingSocial landing page, through August 5.
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'Ranger’s Apprentice' Hits the Road
Having toured the U.S. last year, Australian author John Flanagan isn’t coming stateside for the release of The Siege of Macindaw (Philomel, Sept.), the sixth book in his Ranger’s Apprentice series. Soon readers in 27 U.S. cities will be able to see a theatrical performance entitled “Escape to Araluen,” based on the first Ranger’s Apprentice book, The Ruins of Gorlan, thanks to a national bus tour Penguin has put together.
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Q & A with Jerry Pinkney
Q: You’ve illustrated so many classic tales, including The Ugly Duckling, Little Red Riding Hood and Aesop’s Fables. What is it that draws you to these timeless stories?
A: A while back I started to think about those stories that have stayed with me over the years. I don’t remember when I first heard these stories that were read to me when I was growing up in the 1940s, but they have been coursing through my veins for all these years. -
Galley Talk: ‘Candor’ by Pam Bachorz
Emily Fear, manager of children’s books, Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Pittsburgh, Pa., talks about a fall favorite, Candor by Pam Bachorz. Candor is a Stepford Wives-esque tale. But instead of a novel about the brainwashing of wives, this is about brainwashing an entire community, especially its teenagers. The founder of the town of Candor tries to shape what he believes should be model teens—down to what they should eat and how they should dress.
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In Brief: July 30
This week, three Chicago authors team up, an author launches a contest for lookalikes for her book jacket, and the Wiggles go on tour and promote literacy.
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Betsy, Tacy, and Meg Meet in Deep Valley
The Betsy-Tacy books were written between 1940 and 1955 by Maud Hart Lovelace, a resident of Mankato, Minn. Novelist Meg Cabot, a huge fan of the books, wrote the foreword to a recent Betsy-Tacy reissue, and was the keynote speaker at the recent Betsy-Tacy Conference in Mankato. Our photo-essay reveals all the stops on her Betsy-Tacy tour.
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Clarion Celebrates Two Decades of Monkey Business
It’s a rhyme that very easily gets stuck in one’s head: "The mama called the doctor. The doctor said, ‘No more monkeys jumping on the bed!’ " And, brought to life in Eileen Christelow’s 'Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed,' it is a refrain that has been delighting young readers for 20 years. One day Christelow's daughter, Heather, came home from preschool chanting the rhyme. "It occurred to me that this might make a good picture book," Christelow says.
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San Diego Comic-con 2009: Not Just for Grown-ups
The annual San Diego Comic-Con International ended July 26, leaving 125,000 attendees alternately dazzled and exhausted by the four-and-a-half day marathon of comics, movies, panels, signings and parties. More than ever, the show has become the biggest marketing platform of the year for film and TV as well as comics—including comics material aimed at children and teens.
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Crocodile Pie Really to Shut Down This Time
A year almost to the day after dentist Kim Zizic bought Crocodile Pie, a children’s bookstore in Libertyville, Ill., hoping to save it from closing, she’s giving up. Crocodie Pie is slated to close its doors August 14. Crocodile Pie was founded in 1989 by Kim White, who sold it to Zizic on August 1, 2008. The store stocks about 20,000 titles for children, from birth through teen, in a 400-square-foot space.
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Barnes & Noble Adopts Lexile Framework for Reading
Starting this fall, Barnes & Noble will offer customers the ability to search for books by Lexile measure, both in stores and online at bn.com. Lexile is a widely used reading measure, helping young readers develop literacy skills by selecting materials that match their reading level and interests.
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Children's Book Reviews: 7/27/2009
This week, reviews of new picture books from David Elliott and Timothy Basil Ering, Jerry Pinkney, and Judi and Ron Barrett; novels from Frank Portman, Faye and Aliza Kellerman, and Albert Borris; and a reference round-up.
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Justine Larbalestier’s Cover Girl
Fifteen years ago, critics accused 'Time' of racism when it darkened O.J. Simpson’s mug shot. Fast forward to the latest cover-and-race controversy: bloggers are making similar charges against Bloomsbury, which put a white girl with long, straight tresses on the jacket of a novel about an African-American tomboy with short, “nappy” hair. Phrases like “that’s just wrong” are showing up in the escalating flap over Justine Larbalestier’s YA novel 'Liar.'
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Revealed! The New ‘Wimpy Kid’
Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, has just released the title and cover art for Jeff Kinney’s much anticipated new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book—Dog Days. The fourth book, which will have a one-day laydown, arrives on Monday, October 12 with a massive three-million-copy first printing. “I’m very excited about Dog Days, because it takes Greg out of the school setting for the first time." said Kinney in a statement.
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Teens to Be Privy to ‘The Secret’
S&S’s Simon Pulse imprint has picked up world rights to a teen adaptation of Rhonda Byrne’s bestselling 2006 book, The Secret (S&S/Atria), slated for release on September 15. Like The Secret, The Secret of Teen Power will center on the “law of attraction,” but will focus on applying it to teenagers’ friendships, schoolwork, self-image and relationships. The book is being edited by Bethany Buck, v-p and publisher of Simon Pulse.
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Malls... Fashion... Books?
It’s no secret that when temperatures rise, gaggles of teens head to the local mall, hoping for a little freedom, a little air-conditioning, and a lot of shopping. This summer, Disney Publishing will be there waiting for them with a few accessorizing ideas of its own. The company is rolling out a nationwide mall poster campaign in support of some its hottest summer titles. The posters will be placed in malls across the country, and Disney has specifically targeted malls with bookstores.
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In Brief: July 23
This week, Michael Phelps pushes his picture book on the Tonight Show, and a specially made cake heralds the publication of a new ghostgirl book.
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Q & A with Patricia Reilly Giff
Q: How did you come to set this story in the world of horse racing?
A: So many things inspired this novel. For years, my family and I lived in Elmont on Long Island, the town where Belmont Racetrack is located. I don’t mention the track by name in Wild Girl, because I wanted to leave myself a little wiggle room in terms of the details. When kids read books and find things that aren’t perfectly accurate, they point a finger and let me know! -
Vladimir Tod: Tall, Dark, and Fangsome
As loyal fans (affectionately called Minions) of Heather Brewer’s series The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod (Dutton) well know, school sucks—literally for Vlad. That’s because he’s a vampire (well, technically a half-vampire). What Brewer’s Minions also know is that Vlad’s humorous, every-guy-centric take on blood-sucking legend is something fresh in the currently crowded vampire lit genre. Tenth Grade Bleeds, the third volume in the series, hit stores June 25.
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