New Books

Children’s and YA Book News

| Tasha

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A fall harvest of recent children’s book news that caught my eye today:

The New York Times takes a look at The Children’s Authors Who Broke the Rules and became the people behind the classics.  The authors include Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss, and Shel Silverstein.  So thank goodness they broke the rules!

Maurice Sendak takes on children’s books today in an article in The Guardian:

"There’s a certain passivity, a going back to childhood innocence that I never quite believed in. We remembered childhood as a very passionate, upsetting, silly, comic business." Max, the wolf-suited star of Where the Wild Things Are, "was a little beast, and we’re all little beasts", Sendak said.

NPR celebrates a new book of Shel Silverstain’s poetry that had never been published before.  I can’t wait to get my hands on this one!

USA Today shares some YA book news with a list of well-known authors of adult books who will be releasing teen novels soon.  They include Philippa Gregory, Jodi Picoult, Richard Paul Evans, among others.

And to finish up, you can read Katherine Paterson’s take on paper books and young adult literature.

Photo by samiams46.

New Peter Rabbit Book

| Tasha

Emma Thompson has been asked to pen a new Peter Rabbit story to mark the 110th anniversary of the original story.  The book is due out in 2012. 

So what do you think?  My view is that this is yet another way to mess with classic stories that don’t need new books at all.  But perhaps I’m just being cynical.

Via BBC News

Dr. Seuss Returns!

| Tasha

Random House Children’s Books has announced that they will be publishing seven stories by Dr. Seuss that appeared in magazines during the early 1950s.  These stories have never before been published in book form. 

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories will be published on September 27, 2011. 

Kate Klimo, v-p, publisher of Random House/Golden Books Young Readers Group, said, “We’re like happy prospectors, having discovered a hidden vein of gold. We know that Seuss fans, from the youngest right on up to collectors will share our joy come this fall when they break open a whole new collection of Seuss stories.”

Via Publisher’s Weekly

Sendak Returns with a New Book

| Tasha

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The Wall Street Journal has the news that Maurice Sendak will be releasing a new book, Bumble-Ardy.  HarperCollins has announced that it will be released this fall with a print run of 500,000.  Sendak first created the character for an animated short on Sesame Street in 1971.  Since that time, he has been unable to forget the character:

"He was funny. He was robust. He was sly. He was a sneak. He was all the things I like," Mr. Sendak said.

As we all wait for the new book, you can take a look at the Sesame Street video.  It is one that I vividly remember from my childhood (which certainly dates me).

The Return of Sailor Moon

| Tasha
Usagi in her school uniform, as drawn by Naoko...

Image via Wikipedia

The beloved Sailor Moon series by Naoko Takeuchi will return.  Published originally by Tokyopop, Sailor Moon was one of the very first shojo comics embraced by American children and teens.  Out of print for years, the new series will start being released in September 2011 and will continue bi-monthly.  It will combine the original stories plus side stories.

Additionally, Codename: Sailor V, a prequel series, will be released for the first time in the United States. 

Add this to the must-purchase list at your library.

Via EarlyWord

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Self-Publishing Idol Amanda Hocking Gets Deal

| Tasha

  

Amanda Hocking has made $2 million selling her paranormal teen Trylle Trilogy.  Now she has a deal with St. Martin’s for another $2 million for a new series called “Watersong.”  This series too is paranormal teen novels. 

Hocking explained on her blog:

“I want to be a writer,” she said. “I do not want to spend 40 hours a week handling e-mails, formatting covers, finding editors, etc. Right now, being me is a full-time corporation.”

Expect the first book in her new series in fall 2012. 

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies On

| Tasha

Frank Cottrell Boyce will be writing a trilogy based on the classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming.  The books will be set in modern time with a family descended from the original family.  Chitty Flies Again is the first book in the trilogy and will be published by Macmillan on November 4, 2011.

The film script, which may be more familiar for today’s children, was written by Roald Dahl.  So Boyce has some big shoes to fill and high expectations to meet. 

Lucy Fleming, Ian Fleming’s niece, said: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is thrilled to have Frank Cottrell Boyce, with his humour, his genius and his spanner, sparking her plugs, polishing her chrome and buffing up her bumpers. Her graceful wings are poised to take off on a new flight, with Frank’s skilful but possibly oily hands on the steering wheel."

Via The Bookseller

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Paolini’s Series Concludes

| Tasha

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Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance series will be completed this autumn with the publication of Interitance, the final book in the Cycle.  It will be published on November 8, 2011 in hard cover, e-book and audio formats. 

The original three volumes of the series will be reissued in paperback on July 7th.

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Boxcar Children Prequel

| Tasha

Albert Whitman & Company has announced that Newbery Award winning author, Patricia MacLachlan will write the prequel to the Boxcar Children.  The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner has over 150 titles with more than 50 million copies sold.  The series has been continuously in print since the first book was published in 1942.

Patricial MacLachlan is the author of over 20 books for children.  About writing the prequel, MacLachlan said:

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are kind to one another and embody the true sense of family. They are resourceful and positive. I find them both true children and true heroes at the same time. It occurs to me that perhaps their parents were the same. I’m looking forward to exploring that idea and more.

The prequel will be published in 2012.