Moving on Up
Shannon Maughan -- 5/15/00
Snapshots of titles flying high on the charts
Henry Hikes to the Top
Bolstered by a legion of regional fans and a rave review by National Public Radio commentator Daniel Pinkwater, an unassuming picture book by a first-time author-illustrator is enjoying
 | A first book enjoys boosted sales
thanks to a Pinkwater thumbs-up. |
very brisk sales. Inspired by a passage from Henry David Thoreau's Walden, Henry Hikes to Fitchburg (Houghton Mifflin) by D.B. Johnson chronicles the story of two bear friends who each take a different approach to the Massachusetts town of Fitchburg, and a different approach to life, too. Henry prefers to walk the 30-mile route, enjoying the natural world around him; his friend opts to toil all day in town, earning train fare to Fitchburg. They both reach their destination at roughly the same time, having had very different experiences along the way.
Just as Henry Hikes to Fitchburg was about to make its March 2000 publication date, Houghton received one week's advance notice that the book was to be featured during Pinkwater's children's book segment on the February 26 edition of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday. The heads-up proved very beneficial. "It's just huge when Pinkwater reviews a book," said Stephanie McLaughlin, children's publicity associate for Houghton. Though a first printing of 10,000 copies was already completed, a second printing of 20,000 copies was ordered February 25, followed by another printing of 20,000 copies on March 6. A March 29 third printing of 7,500 brought the in-print total to just over 60,000 copies.
This is encouraging news for bookstores like Eight Cousins in Falmouth, Mass., which have been unable to get stock in recent weeks and are eagerly awaiting their orders for more books. "We sold our initial order immediately, and if we had it in now, we'd be selling it, for sure," said Cathy Smith, bookkeeper for the store.
Since publication, the book has garnered much praise from reviewers and has earned spots on the Book Sense bestseller list, PW's children's bestseller list and others as well. "Everyone's reaction has been so positive," McLaughlin said. Johnson has taped an interview for the children's book radio program Loose Leaf Book Company (scheduled to air May 29-June 4); he is booked through July to make promotional visits throughout New England, where the book has been a big hit. As an example, the Dartmouth Bookstore in Hanover, N.H., has sold more than 250 copies so far. "It's amazing," McLaughlin remarked. "People have been calling me for all these appearances, and it's usually the other way around."
Awards Afterglow
As a rule of thumb, children's books that win the prestigious Newbery and Caldecott Medals can typically expect sales of at least 100,000 copies, the bulk of which usually represents orders by schools and library systems across the country. The award-winners are also snapped up by eager consumers (many of them buying the books as gifts), both in bookstores and, more recently, on the Internet
 | This year's winners have 225,000
and 170,000 copies in print. |
. This year's award recipients are certainly keeping pace. Newbery winner Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Delacorte) was published in September 1999 with a first printing of 30,000 copies. The title is now in its eighth printing, with 225,000 copies in print, 180,000 of which were printed since the announcement of the award on January 17.
Winning the award has also meant good things for the paperback edition of Curtis's first novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 (Delacorte). Published in October 1997, there are currently 320,000 copies of the Yearling paperback in print (excluding book club figures). Judith Haut, director of publicity for Random House Children's Books, said that the Watsons paperback has experienced a significant jump in sales since January. "On Curtis's recent tour, people were snapping up the paperback in very large numbers," she added. The Watsons hardcover had already been performing steadily since receiving both a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Honor back in 1996; its in-print figure has risen to 110,000 copies.
Caldecott winner Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Viking) by Simms Taback has followed a trajectory similar to that of Bud, Not Buddy. Initially released in June 1999 with two printings totaling 30,000 copies, the picture bookis now up to 170,000 copies in print. On January 20, Taback and Curtis appeared together on NBC's Today Show and both have done a number of radio and print interviews. Tim Moses, director of publicity for Penguin Putnam Young Readers, estimated that articles about Joseph have appeared in more than 300 newspapers and magazines. On April 24, Taback embarked on his first-ever book tour, which included a stop at the L.A. Times Book Festival on April 29.
And lest one think that the effect of a major award wears off quickly, Haut noted that the 1999 Newbery winner, Holes (FSG/ Foster)by Louis Sachar, is approaching 440,000 hardcover copies in print. As the paperback partner in the original hard/soft deal for Holes, Random House ordered a 250,000 first printing of the Yearling paperback edition, which went on sale May 9. Two additional printings of 50,000 copies each have already been ordered as well.
 | | Approaching the one-million mark. |
Come On, Get Snappy
With the performance of its Snappy Pop-Up book line, Connecticut-based Millbrook is proving itself to be the little publishing house that could. The first four Snappy Pop-Ups, retailing for $12.95 each, are fast approaching a combined one million-copy mark in terms of sales. Snappy Little Bugs (Dec. 1999) has sold 231,000 copies, Snappy Little Colors (Mar. 1999) comes in at just under 250,000 copies; Snappy Little Farmyard (Dec. 1999) has racked up sales of 236,000 copies; and Snappy Little Numbers (Oct. 1998) boasts sales of 259,000 copies. In addition, Snappy Little Christmas (Oct. 1999) quickly sold out its 25,000-copy first printing, and will be available again this holiday season.
Dick McCullough, v-p of trade sales and marketing for Millbrook, is among those pleasantly surprised by the showing the books have made. "Our books have been a blowout, from bookstores to wholesale clubs," he said. "It's been a challenge to keep them in stock, since we have to allow extra time for the required hand production." Millbrook ran out of stock on the books temporarily last fall, but as McCullough put it, "We are delighted to have such a challenge on our hands; it's a happy problem." A "monster" reprint of existing titles is in the works and Millbrook is extending the product line to include Snappy Little Opposites and Snappy Halloween this September, as well as launching the larger-size Super Snappy ABC and four smaller-size Happy Little Snappy titles, also this fall. "Our fall estimates are blowing us away," McCullough added. "Many retail accounts that were hesitant at first are now on board and we are increasing our presence in the chain and discount stores."
It's a Bird! It's a Plane!It's Underwear!
Who's faster than a speeding waistband? More powerful than boxer shorts? Well, millions of young readers (a little more than six million to date, actually) know
 | Silly sells for this
Scholastic series. |
the possessor of such traits is Captain Underpants, the comic-book superhero star of the chapter book The Adventures of Captain Underpants (Scholastic/Blue Sky) and its three sequels, all by Dav Pilkey. The first book was published in September 1997 and Pilkey added two more installments to the series in 1999. By the time the latest title, Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants, hit bookshelves this past February, Captain Underpants had become a full-blown phenomenon.
Though the books' popularity was sparked in Scholastic's book fairs and clubs, trade sales caught fire soon afterwards. As of May 9, according to Scholastic, there are 6.3 million copies of all four titles in print (all have been published as simultaneous hardcover/paperback editions, though only 5% of the total number of books are hardcovers, sold mainly to libraries). A boxed set of the four paperbacks packaged with a whoopie cushion will be available this fall.
Pilkey's humorous, heavily illustrated books have won a good number of young male fans, a feat for which the author is often praised. But on the flip side, Pilkey has also been criticized for the rambunctious classroom antics of the books' protagonists, fourth-graders George and Harold. To that, Scholastic publicist Elizabeth Eulberg responded, "Dav and Scholastic believe that these books have entertained kids and helped many of them love to read. Compared to that, it's a small minority that has raised concerns."
This spring, Pilkey and Captain Underpants have benefited from a flurry of publicity. In February, Captain Underpants flew onto the pages of Newsweek, and in March Pilkey made a rare public appearance on the Today Show. "The books have gotten amazing coverage," Eulberg said. And according to some booksellers, the attention is paying off. "We get requests for those books almost every day," said Cathy Smith of Eight Cousins.
Captain Underpants has even moved into cyberspace. According to Eulberg, "The Name Change-O-Chart 2000," a name-changing formula that appears in book four, has been making the rounds on the Internet. And the airwaves are not immune either. "Some radio call-in shows have been discussing the new, silly names of politicians and other figures," Eulberg added.
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