Jen Besser at Putnam has acquired three new books by Rick Yancey, to be set in the world of his bestselling sci-fi trilogy The 5th Wave. The new books will resolve the fates of familiar characters and introduce new ones in an ultimate battle for the planet. The first printing of the first novel, as yet untitled, will be 500,000 copies. Publication is slated for spring 2018; Brian DeFiore of DeFiore and Company Literary Management negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Wendy Lamb at Random House/Wendy Lamb Books has bought at auction The Museum of Us, a debut YA novel by Tara Wilson Redd, and an untitled novel. Sixteen-year-old Sadie is lucky to survive an accident, but it changes her world forever when it reveals her secret life and the mysterious, thrilling boy at the center of it. Publication is planned for summer 2018; Lucy Carson at the Friedrich Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Alex Arnold at HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books has acquired Kristin Russell's YA debut A Sky for Us Alone, a contemporary novel about a teenage boy growing up in a small Appalachian mining town beset by poverty, addiction, and violence—and the girl who unexpectedly changes his life. Publication is scheduled for fall 2018; Cindy Uh at Thompson Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Liesa Abrams at Simon Pulse has bought North American rights to a new middle grade trilogy, The Thirteen Witches, by Jodi Lynn Anderson, in which an 11-year-old girl, trying to solve the mystery of her mother's lost memory, discovers a layer underneath reality in which good and evil struggle in a battle between 13 witches and a benevolent goddess who lives on the moon. The trilogy is set to launch in spring 2019; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio negotiated the deal.
Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow has bought two books by former assistant District Attorney Jennifer Blecher, her middle grade debut, in a preempt. The first book, The Math of Me, is about a 12-year-old girl named Cove Bernstein who, having never left her small town on Martha's Vineyard, devises a way to get back to her best friend whose sudden move to New York City turns her world upside down. Publication is planned for 2019; Alexander Slater at Trident Media Group brokered the deal for North American rights.
Fiona Simpson at S&S/Aladdin has acquired North American rights to the first two titles in James Ponti's middle grade series, City Spies, in which five unwanted children from across the globe come together to form an undercover elite team of spies overseen by Britain's MI6. The series will launch in fall 2018; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio did the deal.
Emily Meehan at Disney-Hyperion has bought world rights for a middle grade novel by John Steptoe/Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Ronald L. Smith, with Hannah Allaman and Tomas Palacios editing for Marvel Press. Set in the mythical African country of Wakanda and present-day Chicago, the book will depict Black Panther in his youth. The book is scheduled for January 2018 in advance of the Marvel film; Adriann Ranta Zurhellen at Foundry Literary + Media negotiated the deal.
David Gale at Simon & Schuster has acquired Jonathan Ashley's Lily & Kosmo, pitched as A Tale Dark & Grimm meets Flora & Ulysses. The story follows a girl from Brooklyn who longs to join an all-boy group of space cadets known as the Spacetronauts. To prove her worth and land a place in the club, she must show that she can hold her own among the galaxy's unruliest rascals and face the vilest villain of all, the Mean-Man of Morgo. Publication is slated for fall 2018; Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group represented Ashley in the deal for North American English and audio rights.
Farrin Jacobs and Kheryn Callender at Little, Brown have acquired at auction debut author-illustrator Vashti Harrison's Little Ladies of Black History, an illustrated book that grew out of the author's Instagram project for Black History Month, featuring the bios of 40 African-American women who helped change the course of history. The book will be published in time for both Black History and Women's History months in 2018; Carrie Hannigan at Hannigan Salky Getzler Agency handled the three-book deal for world English rights.
Maria Modugno at Random House has bought U.S. rights to Poppy, Buttercup, Bluebell, and Dandy by Fiona Woodcock, in which four fairies, each resembling and named after a flower, bring color and magic to a drab world. Publication is set for spring 2018; Stephanie Purcell of S&S U.K. brokered the deal.
Tom Peterson at the Creative Company has acquired world rights to the picture book A Ship's Story, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti. The book follows a ship named Clementine to adventurous ports of call around the world, and the captain who loved her. Publication is planned for fall 2018; the artist was unagented.
Stephanie Pitts at Putnam has bought world rights to What Kind of Car Does a T. Rex Drive?, a picture book by Mark Lee (not pictured), to be illustrated by Brian Biggs, about finding the perfect vehicles for Jurassic customers. Publication is projected for summer 2019; Stephen Barr at Writers House represented the author, and Steven Malk at Writers House represented the illustrator.
Chris Hernandez at HarperCollins has acquired author-illustrator Cori Doerrfeld's picture book Good Dog, about a stray dog in search of a friend and the girl who shows him the way home. Publication is set for summer 2018; Rachel Orr at Prospect Agency sold world rights.
Meredith Mundy at Sterling Children’s Books has bought world rights to When a Tree Grows, a debut picture book by Cathy Ballou Mealey (l.), in which a squirrel's nut obsession sets off a chain of events that take him far from the forest and his klutzy friend, Moose. Kasia Nowowiejska will illustrate; publication is slated for fall 2018. Liza Fleissig at Liza Royce Agency represented the author and Tom Thorogood of Good Illustration Ltd. represented the illustrator.
Tom Peterson at the Creative Company has acquired world rights to Spot, Stripe, Squiggle, a board book that teaches children simple patterns and shapes using sea animals, with text by Sarah Tuttle (l.) and art by Miriam Nerlove. Publication is scheduled for fall 2018; Anna Olswanger at Olswanger Literary represented both the author and the illustrator.
Cynthia Platt at HMH has acquired world rights to March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine by Melba Patillo Beals, the prequel to Beals's bestselling adult memoir Warriors Don't Cry. Beals was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for her role at the age of 15 in integrating Little Rock's Central High School as part of the Little Rock Nine in 1957. In March Forward, Girl, she shares for the first time her early childhood stories and personal struggles to understand and combat the laws that told her she was less just because of the color of her skin. Publication is set for January 2018; Jill Marsal at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency negotiated the deal.
Alyssa Raymond and William Kiester at Page Street have bought Stacey Filak's The Queen Underneath, a YA fantasy retelling of Sleeping Beauty. When the King of Above and the Queen of Under are both murdered on the same day, their heirs apparent must contend with flaming brambles and the start of a mage war if they are to save their city. Publication is slated for spring 2018; Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Anne Heltzel at Amulet has acquired Sarah Nicole Lemon's Valley Girls, about 17-year-old Rilla, who in a tailspin of tragedy is drawn into a tightknit group of Yosemite National Park rock climbers and challenged to climb beyond the limits she has set for herself. It's scheduled for spring 2018; Barbara Poelle at Irene Goodman Literary did the deal for world rights.
Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow Books has bought at auction The Collectors, from The Books of Elsewhere author Jacqueline West. When a sharp-eyed boy named Van sees something he's not supposed to see, he is thrust into the world of the Collectors—a shadowy underground network dedicated to collecting wishes, and to harnessing the magical powers that grant them. The book is planned for fall 2018; Danielle Chiotti at Upstart Crow Literary negotiated the three-book deal for North American rights.
Amy Cloud at Aladdin has acquired Alison Cherry's Pick of the Litter, a middle grade novel pitched as Best in Show meets The Parent Trap. The book follows a girl juggling her desire to become a dog show champion and her secret mission to find a girlfriend for her single father, only to learn neither dog nor dad readily bends to her will. Publication is set for fall 2018; Holly Root at Waxman Leavell Literary brokered the deal for world English rights.
Erin Black at Scholastic has bought world rights for a middle grade novel by House Arrest author K.A. Holt. Dear Me tells the story of a girl who, three years after her sister's death, stumbles upon a list of things she had wanted to do—and decides to complete that list. The book is slated for summer 2018; Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency negotiated the deal.
Virginia Duncan at Greenwillow Books has acquired world rights excluding Canada to bestselling author Linda Bailey's (l.) new middle grade novel, The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library, illustrated by Roller Girl author Victoria Jamieson. The novel follows a book-loving bug named Eddie who devises a clever-though-perilous plan to save the school library, inspired by characters in his favorite books. It's scheduled for summer 2017; Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists represented the author and Paul Rodeen at Rodeen Literary Management represented the illustrator.
Callie Metler-Smith at Clear Fork Publishing/Spork has bought world English rights to the chapter book series Being Bree, written by Christine Sromek Laforet (l.) and illustrated by Lisa Rush. In the first book, Bree and the Nametag Worries, a gifted six-year-old who is anxious about making friends on the first day of school sparks drama and confusion with her wild imagination. Publication is planned for fall 2017; Essie White of Storm Literary Agency represented both the author and the illustrator.
Maria Modugno at Random House has acquired world rights to Elmore and Pinky by Holly Hobbie, featuring a new porcupine character who has trouble making friends until he finds a skunk with a similar problem. It's scheduled for spring 2019; the author was unagented.
Julie Bliven at Charlesbridge has bought debut author-illustrator Suzanne Morris's picture book A Trapezoid Is Not a Dinosaur, in which Trapezoid sets out to prove he's just as essential as Circle, Square, Triangle, and all the other shapes. Publication is set for summer 2019; Rachel Orr at Prospect Agency did the deal for world rights.
Carol Hinz at Millbrook Press has acquired world rights to Miranda Paul (l.) and Baptiste Paul's I Am Farmer, to be illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. The nonfiction picture book chronicles the story of Tantoh Nforba Dieudonne, Cameroonian grassroots environmentalist and founder of the Save Your Future Association. Publication is slated for spring 2019; Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary represented the co-authors and Lori Nowicki at Painted Words represented the illustrator.
Sylvie Frank at S&S/Paula Wiseman Books has bought world rights to The Perfectly Perfect Wish by Lisa Mantchev (l.), to be illustrated by Jessica Courtney-Tickle, about a girl who discovers how lucky she is when she is granted just one wish and must decide how to use it. Publication is set for fall 2019; Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author and Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Arianne Lewin at Putnam has acquired at auction Butts Are Everywhere, by debut author and illustrator duo Jonathan Stutzman and Heather Fox. The picture book is a celebration of the tushy, from the tiny to the epic. It's tentatively scheduled for winter 2018; Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties negotiated the deal for world rights on behalf of the author and the illustrator.
Rob Broder of Ripple Grove Press has bought Alice Nathan's (l.) debut picture book, Paul, about a young fox who receives a ukulele as a gift and sets off on his travels to find a new song. Jennifer Hogan will illustrate; publication is projected for 2019. Both the author and the illustrator represented themselves in the deal for world rights.
