‘Wonderstruck’ Gets a Nod from Roker
On yesterday’s broadcast of Today, Al Roker announced Brian Selznick’s Wonderstruck as the latest Al’s Book Club for Kids selection. The author has received this honor before: in 2007, his Caldecott-winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret was the inaugural pick for Roker’s book club. Scholastic Press has set a September 13 lay-down date for the novel, which has a 500,000-copy first printing, has been sold to 12 foreign publishers to date, and has garnered four pre-pub starred reviews, including one from PW.
Banking on Banks
Model turned entrepreneur turned author Tyra Banks visited Random House’s offices in New York City on Wednesday to sign 1,200 copies of her forthcoming YA novel, Modelland (Delacorte, Sept.), set in a fantasy world in which girls dream of becoming a glamorous, magic-wielding Intoxibella. Author Christopher Paolini, who was also in the RH offices that day ahead of the publication of his Inheritance (Knopf, Nov.), gave Banks some signing tips—such as propping a book under her signing elbow to stave off cramps.
Big Names and Big Donation at D23 Expo
Disney’s D23 Expo, a fan event, took place this past weekend in Anaheim, Calif. During the event, (l. to r.) authors Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry were joined by actors Corey Burton and David Arquette (who both appear in Disney Junior’s series, Jake and the Never Land Pirates) to read from The Bridge to Never Land (Disney-Hyperion, Aug.). Ahead of the expo Disney announced a donation of $500,000 and eight million Disney books to the nonprofit organization First Book.
On the Road with Tom Angleberger
Writer Tom Angleberger is currently on the road promoting Darth Paper Strikes Back (Amulet, Aug.), the sequel to The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. Angleberger’s tour kicked off at a Barnes & Noble in Frisco, Tex., where he enlisted the help of a young audience member to show off a (very) oversize version of the Origami Yoda finger puppet that features prominently in the first book. The author is currently visiting bookstores in Missouri and heads to Square Books in Oxford, Miss., this weekend.
A Little Taste of ‘Cheese’
Georgia-based publisher Peachtree hosted a sneak preview party last night for a forthcoming middle-grade novel, The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale (Oct.) by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright, illustrated by Barry Moser. Deedy (l.) was on hand to read from the book, while her collaborators “attended” via Skype, as seen here. The novel takes place at a famed British pub and features author Charles Dickens as well as a cheese-loving cat, who strikes up a bargain with the pub’s mouse population.
Raskin Rocks Out
Writer/musician Joyce Raskin visited Girls Rock music camps in the U.S. this summer with her band, Scarce, to promote her YA novel, My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star (HMH/Graphia, June), about a girl who joins a band as a bass player. In addition to the camps, the band played at local bookstores—such as Stories Books and Cafe in Los Angeles, seen here—where they were joined by local musicians and teens from the camps. Photo: Brett Stranaire.
