Rachael Stein at Sterling Children's Books has acquired Take Three Girls, a contemporary YA novel by (from l.) Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell, and Fiona Wood. The novel, which was Australia's 2018 Children's Book Council YA Book of the Year, follows three very different teen girls who, when targeted by a toxic private school website dealing in gossip and lies, decide to band together and fight back. Publication is set for fall 2020; Katelyn Detweiler and Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management represented Wood and Howell, and Catherine Drayton at Inkwell Management represented Crowley in the deal for world English rights, excluding ANZ.
Jennifer Ung at Simon Pulse has bought Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao, author of American Panda. The dual POV story follows a college student who hires a fake boyfriend from Rent for Your 'Rents to appease her traditional Taiwanese parents. But when she falls for the guy behind the role who is not rent-worthy, her carefully curated life begins to unravel. Publication is planned for fall 2020; Kathleen Rushall at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Virginia Duncan at Greenwillow has acquired North American rights to Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly's debut chapter book series, Maybe Marisol, illustrated by the author, about an adopted Filipino girl with a cat named Hypothesis and a best friend who considers herself the next Socrates. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties brokered the three-book deal for North American rights.
Anne Schwartz at Random House/Schwartz & Wade has bought Strange Stories: About Nice Kids, Naughty Kids, Happy Kids, Sad Kids, Magic Toys, Spooky Ghosts, Yummy Waffles, Silly Monkeys, and Other Such Things by Lisa Jahn-Clough, a series of loosely connected short stories about children who escape poverty, bullying, and/or loneliness, thanks to magical happenings. Publication is slated for summer 2021; the author represented herself in the deal for world rights.
Deirdre Jones at Little, Brown has acquired world rights to two titles by Nick Caruso (l.) and Dani Rabaiotti, based on their bestselling adult counterparts: Does It Fart? A Kid's Guide to the Gas Animals Pass—in which young readers are asked to guess which animals fart and which ones don't—and True or Poo? A Kid's Guide to Animal Facts and Fakes—in which kids are asked to guess which statements about animals are true and which are false. Alex G. Griffiths will illustrate; the books will be published in summer 2019 and summer 2020, respectively. Chris Wellbelove at Aitken Alexander represented the authors, and Arabella Stein at the Bright Agency represented the artist.
Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow has bought, at auction, librarian Sarah Kurpiel's author-illustrator picture book debut, Lone Wolf. When strangers call the Parker family pet “WOLF!” one time too many, Maple sets out for the woods to find her pack, only to realize she had the perfect one all along. Publication is set for summer 2020; Rebecca Sherman and Alexandra Levick at Writers House did the two-book deal for world rights.
Ann Kelley at Random House/Schwartz & Wade has acquired author-illustrator Vern Kousky's new picture book, Milo Is Missing Something, about a little octopus searching the ocean for something he's missing—which turns out to be his siblings. Publication is planned for summer 2021; Elana Roth Parker at the Laura Dail Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Julia McCarthy at Atheneum has bought U.K. illustrator Emma Reynolds's debut author-illustrator picture book, Amara and the Bats. When Amara moves to a new town, she discovers that her beloved bats no longer live nearby because so many trees are being cut down. Determined to make a difference, Amara rallies her new friends to save the bats. Publication is scheduled for summer 2021; Thao Le at Sandra Dijkstra & Associates negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Allison Cole at Candlewick Press has acquired world rights to Phoebe Dupree Is Coming to Tea by Linda Ashman (l.). The picture book tells the story of Abby, who wants to host a flawless tea party for her friend, but it turns out that there's more fun to be had when perfection is off the table. Alea Marley will illustrate; publication is slated for spring 2021. Jennifer Mattson at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong represented the illustrator.
Julia Sooy at Henry Holt/Godwin Books has bought world rights to How Slippery Is a Banana Peel? by Rebecca Donnelly (l.), illustrated by Misa Saburi, a picture book that examines the physical properties of this versatile fruit and the principles of friction. Publication is set for winter 2021. This is their second collaboration; their first, Cats Are a Liquid, comes out this fall. Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency represented the author, and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the illustrator.
Melissa Warten at Farrar, Straus and Giroux has acquired world rights to Sing, Aretha, Sing! by Hanif Abdurraqib. The nonfiction picture book tells the story of how Aretha Franklin paved her own way as an artist, raised her voice to bring people together, and performed “Respect” as an anthem of empowerment and joy. Ashley Evans will illustrate; publication is set for winter 2021. Monika M. Woods at Curtis Brown represented the author, and Alex Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Barb McNally at Sleeping Bear has bought world rights to Brooke Hecker's (l.) debut picture book, Letters from My Tooth Fairy, a collection of letters from one devoted tooth fairy to a girl, with each letter and lost tooth giving a snapshot of childhood as the girl grows from curious first grader to confident preteen. Deborah Melmon will illustrate; publication is planned for fall 2020. Elana Roth Parker at Laura Dail Literary Agency represented the author, and the illustrator was unagented.
Emily Meehan and Brittany Rubiano at Disney Book Group have signed Newbery Honor author Holly Black to write an original Maleficent novel entitled Heart of the Moors, set between Disney's first film and its forthcoming sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. Black's story focuses on the newly-queened Aurora, Prince Phillip, and Maleficent herself. Publication is scheduled for October 2019; Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Karen Wojtyla at S&S/McElderry has acquired Kelly Powell's new YA fantasy, Secrets of the Printery, in which an obituary printer enlists the aid of a watchmaker to help her find an enchanted timepiece and solve a connected string of murders. Publication is slated for fall 2020; Kristy Hunter at the Knight Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Bethany Buck at Pixel+Ink has bought two books in the Black Sand Beach middle grade graphic novel series written and illustrated by Richard Fairgray. In the first title, The Haunted Lighthouse, Dash is spending the summer at his family's beach house, where he discovers eerie and terrifying happenings. Publication is planned for summer 2020; Vicki Marsdon at High Spot Literary did the deal for world rights.
Julia McCarthy at Atheneum has acquired Rival Magic author Deva Fagan's new middle grade fantasy, Nightingale. When 12-year-old pickpocket Lark accidentally steals a meddlesome magical sword, it does something unexpected: it chooses her to be the next Nightingale, a fabled champion who must vanquish an ancient evil that is waking after centuries of sleep. Publication is set for spring 2021; Hannah Fergesen at KT Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Nancy Paulsen at Penguin/Paulsen has bought, at auction, author-illustrator Rebekah Lowell's debut, The Road to After, an illustrated middle grade novel written in verse about how the beauty of the natural world helps a girl reclaim her life after years of captivity and domestic abuse at the hands of her father. Publication is scheduled for spring 2022; Wendi Gu at Janklow & Nesbit handled the deal for world rights.
Rebecca Davis at Boyds Mills Press has acquired Jessie Haas's The Hungry Place. In the middle grade novel, Rae grows up longing for, and working to afford, a pony, until at age 12 she crosses paths with Princess, a show-ring champion left to starve by unscrupulous trainers. Publication is planned for fall 2020; Marietta B. Zacker at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency brokered the deal for North American rights.
Mark Siegel at First Second has bought world rights to Bill Brighton and the City of Underdark, Benjamin Schipper's middle grade graphic novel series about two kids seeking out the destruction of the Contract of Doom in order to save their parents from a war that has no end. Publication will begin in 2021; the author was unagented.
Whitney Leopard at Random House Graphic has acquired world rights to Mason Dickerson's young reader graphic novel Housecat Trouble, about Buster, a housecat, who soon discovers that there are monsters in his home—and he's going to need a lot of help to get them out before his owner returns from work. Publication is slated for 2022; Mason was unagented.
Renee Hooker at Penguin Workshop has bought world rights to Geisel Honor winner and A Pig, a Fox, and a Box author Jonathan Fenske's A Pig, a Fox, and a Fox, his new early reader in which an ornery fox continues to play tricks on a gullible pig. Publication is set for 2020; Carrie Hannigan at Hannigan Salky Getzler represented the author-illustrator.
Ariel Richardson at Chronicle has acquired author-illustrator Brooke Boynton-Hughes's picture book, Heart String, which tells the story of how we are all connected, from the people in our neighborhood to those on the other side of the world. Publication is scheduled for fall 2021; Marietta B. Zacker at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Tara Walker at Tundra has preempted world rights, within 48 hours of submission, to Governor General's Award finalist Julie Morstad’s Time Is a Flower, a poetic musing that captures the elusive concept of time through the eyes of a child. Publication is planned for summer 2021; Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management did the two-book deal.
Melissa Manlove at Chronicle has bought world rights to Sherri Duskey Rinker's Make Way for Demolition Day!, illustrated by AG Ford, the team behind Construction Site on Christmas Night. The latest story finds hardworking construction vehicles demolishing an old building in preparation for something new. Publication is slated for fall 2020; Lori Kilkelly at LK Literary Agency represented the author, and Steven Malk at Writers House represented the illustrator.
Renee Hooker at Penguin Workshop has acquired four picture books—Clyde Goes to School, Clyde Likes to Slide, Clyde Lied, and Clyde Likes to Ride—by debut author-illustrator team Keith and Larissa Marantz. The series stars a kind-hearted yet worry-filled hippo who is eager to try new adventures—if only he could stop imagining all the terrible (and outlandish) things that could happen to him. Publication of the first two planned is set for spring 2020; Rachel Orr at Prospect Agency represented the author and the illustrator.
Anne Schwartz at Random House/Schwartz & Wade has bought world rights to The Boy Who Loved Maps by debut author Kari Allen, with illustrations by G. Brian Karas. The picture book is about a young cartographer and his friend, a girl who asks for a map of the most perfect place of all. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Erzsi Deak of Hen&Ink Literary Studio represented the author, and Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates represented the illustrator.
Julia Maguire at Knopf has acquired the picture book It Took Two Wishes by Edwina Wyatt (l.), about a child counting down to a birthday party that does not go exactly as planned. Irena Freitas will illustrate; publication is set for spring 2021. Catherine Drayton at Inkwell Management represented the author, and Andrea Morrison at Writers House represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights.
