Licensing Hotline: August 2008

Stone Arch Books launches a licensed book line, Walter Foster and Giddy Up add new licenses, and there’s news about Martha Speaks and a trio of other book-based entertainment properties on the horizon.

Children's Book Reviews

Picture Books What a Trip! Arthur Yorinks , illus. by Richard Egielski. Scholastic/di Capua , $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-545-03611-5 Taking a tip from MAD magazine’s fold-ins, longtime collaborators Yorinks and Egielski (Hey, Al; Sid and Sol) create a book with two trick spreads. Their title refers to a boy’s mysterious drop “into another dimension” after tripping on the...

Kids' Galleys to Grab

Fans of the paranormal will find plenty to get their hands on at this fall's regional shows. Also up for grabs: conclusions to trilogies by Cornelia Funke, Cassandra Clare and Virginia Euwer Wolff. Debuts to Watch Dark Dude by Oscar Hijuelos (S&S/Atheneum). A Latino teen struggles with his identity in this YA debut from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

Children's Book Reviews

Picture Books Queen of Style Caralyn Buehner , illus. by Mark Buehner. Dial , $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-803-72878-3 A bored royal turned overzealous cosmetician provides the spark for the husband-and-wife Buehners' (Snowmen at Night) quirky fable about empathy and gratitude. Fed up with nothing to do, Queen Sophie heeds her exasperated jester's advice to learn something.

Children's Book Reviews

Picture Books Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa Jeanette Winter . Harcourt , $17 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-206545-4 Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner whose Green Belt Movement has planted 30 million trees in Kenya, is the subject of Winter’s (The Librarian of Basra) eloquent picture biography.

True-Crime Memoir Revives 30-Year-Old Shooting Case

Like Nic Sheff’s recent Tweak, Cylin Busby and John Busby’s young adult memoir The Year We Disappeared (Bloomsbury, Aug.) is getting the kind of pre-pub buzz that shows it could have wider appeal.

Word for Word

Back in 2003, at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, Colleen MacMillan, associate publisher of Vancouver-based Annick Press, and Erica Wagner, children's publisher at Australia's Allen & Unwin, both found themselves pursuing a German medieval fantasy novel called Mimus. Translation costs, both publishers knew, would be especially burdensome in this case, due to the novel's nearly 400-page len...

Children's Books

Picture Books Pete & Pickles Berkeley Breathed . Philomel , $17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-399-25082-8 A pig named Pete leads a perfectly predictable and sensible existence until Pickles, the runaway circus elephant, turns it upside-down. Pickles possesses the joie de vivre of Auntie Mame (and the extensive wardrobe to carry it off with élan).

Rowling’s Rare Book to Hit Shelves in December

Just when it looked to be a dull summer with no Harry Potter hoopla, the boy wizard’s fans have something new to celebrate on this, Harry’s (and J.K. Rowling’s) birthday. The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of wizarding fairy tales handwritten and illustrated by Rowling, will be published December 4, 2008 by Children’s High Level Group.

Candlewick Revamps Sales and Marketing, Launches Templar Imprint

Given the tough economic climate, Candlewick Press in Somerville, Mass., has begun to diversify its revenue stream, according to president Karen Lotz. Lotz announced the first of several new partnerships. Starting in spring ’09, Candlewick will launch its first book imprint in conjunction with British publisher Templar.

Children's Books for Fall: T - Z

TANGLEWOOD PRESS (NBN, dist.) Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully ($16.95) by Audrey Penn, illus. by Barbara Gibson. Chester from The Kissing Hand learns to deal with a bully. (3-8) The Miracle Jar ($16.95) by Audrey Penn, illus. by Lea Lyon. A snowbound modern-day family experiences a miracle when oil runs short during Hanukkah.

Children's Books By The Numbers

$3.66 billion: Total children's book sales, 2007 0: Projected increase in sales, 2008 $4.02 billion: Projected total sales, 2012 900.9 million: Total units sold, 2007 1.3%: Projected decline in unit sales through 2012 $1.89 billion: Hardcover sales, 2007 $2.09 billion: Projected hardcover sales, 2012 $1.

Children's Books for Fall: S

SAINT MARY'S PRESS Paperbacks Walking with the Word: Daily Ventures into 15 Books of the Bible ($12.95) by Larry Schatz collects 366 reflections. (14-up) I'm Glad You Asked: 60 Common Questions Catholics Have About the Bible ($12.95) by Mark Pierce answers questions on various topics. (14-up) SCHOLASTIC/BLUE SKY PRESS Into the Volcano ($18.

Six Pioneers

It was not that long ago that children's book publishing—now so widely appreciated as an industry profit center and creative hub—was accorded considerably less respect, carrying second-class status in the world of books. The past 75 years have witnessed spectacular growth in the field in tandem with a dramatic reappraisal of this sector of publishing.

Licensing Hotline: July 2008

Lots of news from last month’s Licensing Show and beyond: new Playskool books from Simon & Schuster, children’s books tied to Dean Koontz’s Trixie, a first license for Meadowbrook Press, a mass market book line for Bob the Builder, a Roald Dahl licensing program, an expansion of the Weekly Reader brand, and the first children’s books from the Save Our Seas Foundation.

Eoin Colfer Takes His Show on the Road

“I’m using photos from childhood, theme music my brother wrote, my niece is editing the footage—it’s all very much a family affair.” So says Eoin Colfer of the revival of his popular one-man show, “Fairies, Fiends, & Flatulence,” which debuted to sell-out crowds in the U.K. in 2006. Starting next week, Colfer will tour the U.S. by bus, performing in theaters in nine cities in support of The Time Paradox, the sixth Artemis Fowl book.

Children's Book Reviews: Week of 7/7/2008

Film Deal, Higher Print Runs for '39 Clues'

Months before Scholastic’s multimedia publishing program, The 39 Clues, launches, anticipation isn’t the only thing building. The print run for the first book, The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan, has doubled from 250,000 to 500,000. And DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg have acquired film rights for the entire series in a deal with Scholastic Media.

No Sale for All for Kids Books & Music

Chauni Haslet was unable to find a buyer for All for Kids Books & Music and will retire at the end of the month.

Rediscovering Waldo

Martin Handford's Where's Waldo? turns 21 this fall, and is celebrating with two new books, an online presence and merchandise for the 20-somethings who grew up with the character. Candlewick Press released the sixth Waldo original, The Great Picture Hunt, in 2006, followed by paperbacks of the first five titles.