Mid-size children's book publisher Charlesbridge Publishing Inc. has acquired picture book and board book publisher Whispering Coyote Press for an undisclosed amount and began fulfilling all orders as of September 1. Whispering Coyote sales representatives will continue to sell the fall list through December 1.
Alice "Lou" Alpert will stay on in Dallas, Tex., as publisher of the Whispering Coyote imprint, which she founded nine years ago. Whispering Coyote's best-known title is The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani, which has more than 500,000 copies in print. Its other nursery rhyme books have sold in the 30,000“50,000 range, according to Alpert.
Charlesbridge, based in Watertown, Mass., began as an educational publisher and established a trade division in 1989. This is the company's first acquisition and largest expansion to date. "We were looking for ways to grow," commented Mary Ann Sabia, v-p and associate publisher. "Two years ago, we started a new imprint, Talewinds, and this is another avenue of growth."
Over the past two years, Charlesbridge has also increased its new releases to 20 books a year and added a new series on diversity in collaboration with SHAKTI for Children. With the addition of Whispering Coyote, the company's annual output will increase to 30 books a year, and its backlist will grow by a third from 150 to 200 titles.
Both Sabia and Alpert regard the acquisition as a win-win situation. "Whispering Coyote's books are a complement to our list. We're really happy with Alpert's list and her continuing on," Sabia told PW.
