While Northland Publishing in Flagstaff, Ariz., has been publishing bilingual books under its Rising Moon imprint for 10 years, the company recently announced the launch of a new imprint called Luna Rising, dedicated to children's bilingual books, to strengthen its commitment to what it sees as a growing market.
"We wanted to grow a list and we wanted to give it an identity," said David Jenney, Northland's publisher. Luna Rising plans to publish two to four books a year.
"It's a natural progression for us as a growing children's publisher," Jenney said. Theresa Howell, Northland's managing editor, cited U.S. census data in pointing out, "Thirty-five percent of the Latino community is under the age of 18."
Luna Rising launches with the release of three titles: the first bilingual editions of two Richard Scarry books, and the first in a new series of storybook biographies of Latino role models. The titles are: Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever/ El mejor libro de palabras de Richard Scarry; Richard Scarry's Best Counting Book Ever/ El mejor libro para contar de Richard Scarry; and My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz by Monica Brown.
Luna Rising uses a variety of wholesalers—from Latino Family Literacy to Ingram—to get its books to the bookstores, libraries and schools that want bilingual titles. "They are all paying attention to [bilingual books] now," said Jenney. "I think that these sections in bookstores are going to grow."
