| Children's Features | |||||||||||
Moving On Up Shannon Maughan -- 10/9/00 Snapshots of titles moving up the bestseller charts Still Going Strong
Today's Redwall readers are a vast bunch, with legions awaiting each new installment and still others just starting out, greatly boosting backlist sales. This contemporary classic status was inspiration for Philomel to give Redwall yet another life in a trade paperback edition released in August with a 35,000-copy first printing (the publisher has since gone back to press for an additional 7,500 copies). Jacques has recently shown his appreciation for such support by announcing that Penguin Putnam will be his primary, originating publisher, meaning he has terminated his agreement with Random House U.K. and will now be published worldwide by Penguin Putnam as well. Building on its core fan base of young readers, Redwall continues to reach across age boundaries. Jacques's books have been considered strong crossover titles almost from the beginning, reaching a good number of adult SF and fantasy readers. In fact, at Barnes & Noble the Redwall titles are not considered children's books and are not purchased by children's buyers. Lord Brocktree was cross-promoted in its publisher's adult print catalogue as well as on the adult and children's pages on the Penguin Putnam Web site. The Redwall books have been featured in Borders's Original Voices program, which has tended to include children's books only when they have strong crossover appeal. A certain boy wizard named Harry has had a bit of an effect on keeping Redwall interest high as well; Jacques's books appear on numerous "What to Read After Harry Potter" lists in bookstores and publications across the country. Josie Leavitt, co-owner of Flying Pig Children's Books in Charlotte, Vt., observes, "Lord Brocktree is doing great for us. There's lots of crossover between Harry Potter and Redwall fans, and now that everyone's finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, they're delighted to have something yummy to read. We had some preorders for the book and have already restocked." And Redwall's popularity is sure to grow with the public television debut of an animated television series based on the books, tentatively scheduled for April 2001. Jacques fans will have something else to cheer about next spring, too: the publication of his first non-Redwall novel, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman. Patchwork Perfect What do you get when you stitch together a tale about a greedy king who learns about generosity from a quilt maker and illustrations that feature 250 quilt patterns? A picture book that is a publisher's cross-promotion dream, of course. The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau, illustrated by Gail de Marcken, was released by Pfeifer-Hamilton in October 1999. Since then the book has sold more than 160,000 copies and clearly captured the hearts of readers and booksellers, who voted it the Book Sense Children's Book of the Year. "It's such a beautiful book," said Carey of Little Book House. "I was handselling it a lot last year and now people are coming in and asking for it by name." Emily Brenner, children's picture book buyer for Barnes & Noble, relates a similar experience. "[Quiltmaker] was a book we promoted last year as a handsell," she said. "We embraced it and the book's reputation has really spread. Now I consider it a 'new classic.' It has all the elements of a successful picture book--a wonderful story and great illustrations; it's still selling very well for us."
Obviously, the publisher's efforts have paid off. "We put the book in as many booksellers' hands as possible in September 1999," recalled Stephanie Lemenowsky, marketing director for Pfeifer-Hamilton. "The response was tremendous, immediately. Positive comments continue to come in everyday, as if it's the first month of release; it's been phenomenal," she said. But the runaway success of the title as a children's book is only part of the story. The Quiltmaker's Gift is well on its way to reaching the 15 million quilters in the U.S. via its appearance in at least 10 quilting magazines, a variety of quilting catalogues and quilting stores. In addition, the picture book has prompted the publication in June of a spinoff, Quilts from the Quiltmaker's Gift: 20 Traditional Patterns for a New Generation of Quilters by Joanne Larsen Line and Nancy Loving Tubesing, incorporating de Marcken's illustrations. The volume contains patterns and directions as well as historical notes on each design. According to Lemenowsky, it's one of the "bestselling pattern books of all time," with over 30,000 copies in print to date. "The two make a great gift," Lemenowsky noted. "Both bookstores and quilt stores have been selling the two books together." A Real Moo-ver and Shaker
But NPR listeners are not the only ones who responded to the book with gusto. Booksellers rave about it. "It's a very funny book," said Brenner at Barnes & Noble. "It has a sense of humor and absurdity that kids can relate to." "It's out of this world," said Carey at the Little Book House. "We put it on our 'staff recommends' list, but even before that it had great word-of-mouth. We've been selling several copies a week." Such enthusiasm has moo-ved the book from a first printing of 10,000 up to a total of 80,000 copies after six trips back to press. The book was on PW's bestseller list throughout the spring and summer and has spent five weeks on the New York Times'schildren's list. And perhaps there's something to be said for the book's timing, too. Tracy van Straaten, director of publicity at S&S Children's Publishing, suggested that Click Clack Moo may have benefited--at least regionally--by CowParade New York 2000, the public art exhibit that made Manhattan and its environs cow crazy this summer. Music Man In his role as Dick Solomon on NBC's 3rd Rock from the Sun, award-winning actor John Lithgow gets big laughs as an alien life-form masquerading as a human. In real life, the actor has recently tried on a couple of new identities--namely as children's music performer and children's book author--that are causing a bit of a buzz. Last month, S&S released a 100,000-copy first printing of Lithgow's debut picture book, The Remarkable Farkle McBride, illustrated by C.F. Payne. As a result of the flurry of publicity generated for the title, van Straaten at S&S said, "Expectations are that we will be going back to press shortly."
Lithgow kicked off his whirlwind publicity campaign with a signing at Target in Manhattan Beach, Calif., on August 26. (The store is a co-sponsor of the Celebrity Storytellers feature that appeared in the August 28 issue of People.) Other signings have included Books of Wonder in New York City and Storyopolis in Los Angeles. The first "Farkle and Friends" concert was held on September 23 and was followed by a book signing at the Chicago Symphony Store. On September 27, Lithgow joined Save the Music representatives to personally present musical instruments to students at a Los Angeles school. And, yes, Lithgow's celebrity status has no doubt helped with bookings. To date, TV appearances have included The Rosie O'Donnell Show and The View, and Lithgow was also interviewed on NPR's Morning Edition. Forthcoming concert dates include an October 15 appearance at Royce Hall at UCLA in Los Angeles and a grand finale at New York City's Carnegie Hall on November 12. All the high-profile hoopla has kept Farkle on the New York Times bestseller list for three weeks and the book appears to be still building. "The sales are just starting," said Brenner of Barnes & Noble. "John Lithgow fills in the void left by Danny Kaye, who used to put on his children's concerts. Also, Lithgow put together a video for our store managers, thanking them for their efforts on behalf of Farkle. I think that helped create a bond as well." Where Do Sales Go?
Though Curtis's presence on the airwaves has surely helped her book make a quick move onto PW's bestseller list and debut in the number-one spot on the New York Times list on September 24 (a spot it has maintained through October 8), some booksellers are looking beyond any Hollywood glow. "The book is doing great," said Carey at Little Book House. "People ask for it daily, and a lot of teachers are snapping it up." Brenner at Barnes & Noble believes that the book's success has little to do with Curtis's other life. "She's an established author now," Brenner said. "Her stories really capture the feelings and ideas of children. I think she's transcended the whole celebrity thing." | |||||||||||
Moving On Up
Oct 09, 2000
A version of this article appeared in the 10/09/2000 issue of Publishers Weekly under the headline:
