Highlights from BookExpo; Workman Expands Children's Group

[PW Children's Bookshelf: Breaking children's and YA publishing news, author interviews, bestsellers lists and reviews.] [Victor Schmud Let's Do a Thing by Jim Benton]( Report from BookExpo [BookExpo 2017: Big New Kids' and YA Books]( Children’s book publishers highlighted titles for all ages and interests at this year's BookExpo, including some highly anticipated novels, picture books, nonfiction, and graphic novels. [more]( [Children's Authors Say That Storytelling Saves Lives]( Authors Jason Reynolds, Jennifer Weiner, Isla Fisher, and Marieke Nijkamp joined Today Show co-host Savannah Guthrie at the annual Children’s Book & Author Breakfast. The speakers shared their latest projects and emphasized the life-changing power of books. [more]( [YA Editors Emphasize the Transformative Magic of Books]( Five young adult book editors emphasized that the magic of books can change young people’s lives, even save the world, during this year’s YA Editor's Buzz panel. [more]( [All Abuzz About Middle Grade]( The annual Middle Grade Editors’ Buzz Panel shone the light on five noteworthy middle grade titles that represented a diverse range of genres and formats. [more]( [Crossing Ebenezer Creek by Tonya Bolden - EXCERPT ]( In the News [Workman Expands Children’s Group; Nayeri Promoted to Publisher]( Workman’s children’s division has announced plans to enlarge its publishing program, with the addition of new editorial and production staff, an accelerated publishing schedule, and several promotions. [more]( [Bonnier to Launch Yellow Jacket Imprint]( Bonnier Publishing USA has announced a new middle-grade imprint, Yellow Jacket, launching in summer 2018. "Middle grade books are critical to the creation of lifelong readers," publisher Sonali Fry stated. [more]( [Children’s and Teen Choice Book Award Winners Announced]( The winners of the 10th annual Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards were announced at BookExpo, in a ceremony hosted by Gene Luen Yang, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. [more]( Obituary [Geoffrey Hayes]( Children’s author and illustrator Geoffrey Hayes, best known for the comics-style artwork and expressive animal characters in his many titles for emerging readers, died suddenly on June 2, at the age of 69. [more]( [The Children's Garden Growing Food in the City by Carole Lexa Schaefer]( Book News [Pura Belpré to Star in Picture Book Biography]( Pura Belpré, a celebrated storyteller and early crusader for diversity in children’s literature, will come alive in a new picture book biography, Pura Belpré, Planting Stories, due out from HarperCollins in March 2019. [more]( SPONSORED [Win an Autographed First Edition YA Fantasy Novel]( Win one of 10 signed first edition copies of 'The Amber Arrow,' a new YA fantasy novel from author Tony Daniel. (Sponsored) [Enter Here!]( For more about these and other great jobs, visit the new [PW JobZone]( now with resume hosting and more! - [Assistant Product Marketer - Fortress Press - Minneapolis](. - [Publicist/Senior Publicist - Hachette Book Group - New York](. - [Director of Trade Sales - Gibbs Smith - Kaysville](. - [Sales Manager, Custom Publishing and Proprietary Sales - The Quarto Group - Lake Forest](. - [Juvenile Book Editor - The Quarto Group - Bellevue](. Rights Report Alison Weiss at Sky Pony has acquired in a three-book deal Sangu Mandanna's A Spark of White Fire trilogy, pitched as Red Rising meets An Ember in the Ashes. A multicultural YA space opera inspired by the Mahabharata, the novel follows a cursed and forgotten child of an empire's queen who wants to return to her real family, and finds herself on the wrong side of a war that could destroy kingdoms across the galaxy. Publication for the first book is set for fall 2018; Eric Smith at P.S. Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights. Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends has bought North American rights to an untitled YA novel co-written by Julie Halpern and Len Vlahos, told from two points of view about a breakup, breakdown, and breakthrough to moving on. It's scheduled for fall 2019; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio represented Halpern, and Sandra Bond at Bond Literary Agency represented Vlahos. Ben Rosenthal at HarperCollins/Tegen has acquired at auction Opposite of Always, a debut contemporary YA novel by J.A. Reynolds. Pitched as Everything, Everything meets Groundhog Day, the book follows a boy who falls in love with a girl and repeatedly loops back in time at the moment of her death, returning to the moment they first met. Publication is slated for spring 2019; Beth Phelan at the Bent Agency brokered the two-book deal for North American rights. Stacey Barney at Putnam has bought world rights to Small Spaces, the middle grade debut of adult author Katherine Arden, pitched as Stranger Things meets The Walking Dead. It's a mystery adventure that follows a girl and her classmates after their bus breaks down on a school trip, forcing them to head out into a dangerous, alternate world where scarecrows are alive and deadly, and ghost stories are true. Paul Lucas at Janklow & Nesbit Associates negotiated the deal. Erica Sussman at HarperCollins has acquired, in a preempt, world English rights to Norton and Nebula nominee Greg van Eekhout's middle grade novel Starward Bound. Pitched as The Martian meets Erin Hunter's Warriors series, Starward Bound tells the story of a diligent team of dogs who accompany their humans on a deep space voyage to establish a new outpost far across the galaxy. When the dogs wake unexpectedly from hypersleep with the ship damaged and their people nowhere to be found, they seek to fulfill the mission the humans began. Publication is scheduled for fall 2018; Holly Root at Root Literary did the two-book deal while at Waxman Leavell Literary. Annie Berger at Sourcebooks Jabberwocky has bought Julia Nobel's debut The Order of Black Hollow Lane and a sequel. The middle-grade mystery follows 12-year-old Emmy as she investigates the disappearance of her father nine years earlier and its connection to a secret society when she's shipped away to a remote English boarding school. Publication is set for spring 2019; Melissa Edwards at Stonesong negotiated the deal for world English rights. Rotem Moscovich at Disney-Hyperion has acquired at auction Anica Mrose Rissi's picture book, Watch Out for Wolf!, in which the "This Little Piggy" nursery rhyme is recast to show five anxious but enterprising little pigs preparing a very big surprise for Wolf. Charles Santoso will illustrate; publication is planned for summer 2019. Meredith Kaffel Simonoff at DeFiore and Company represented the author, and Justin Rucker at Shannon Associates represented the artist. Allyn Johnston at S&S/Beach Lane has bought world rights to What Riley Wore by Elana K. Arnold (l.), a picture book starring gender-creative Riley who knows just what to wear for every occasion during a busy week with family and friends. Linda Davick will illustrate; publication is slated for summer 2018. Rubin Pfeffer at Rubin Pfeffer Content represented both the author and illustrator. Kristen Nobles at Page Street Kids has acquired world rights to Annie Cronin Romano's (l.) debut picture book, tentatively titled Before You Sleep. It's a bedtime story that encompasses all five senses while encouraging children to reflect on the little moments and wonders of the day. Ioana Hobai will illustrate; publication is scheduled for fall 2018. Both the author and the illustrator represented themselves. Jenna Pocius at Little Bee has bought world rights to Pepe's Pride by Tracey Kyle (l.), a picture book about a boy learning about El Día de la Raza and Latino pride. Mirelle Ortega will illustrate; publication is slated for fall 2018. Jennifer Unter at the Unter Agency represented the author, and Alli Brydon at Bright USA represented the illustrator. Joni Sussman at Kar-Ben has acquired Jane Kohuth's (l.) Who's Got the Etrog?, to be illustrated by Elissambura. The story takes place in a Ugandan Jewish community, where celebration of the harvest holiday Sukkot is interrupted by a four-legged friend who has trouble sharing. Publication is set for fall 2018; Becca Stumpf at Prospect Agency represented the author, and Lisa Musing at Advocate Art represented the illustrator. To see all of this week's deals, [click here](. IN THE MEDIA [From Publishing Perspectives:]( New stats on children's reading in the digital age presented at BookExpo. [Click here]( [From Deadline:]( Lauren Graham to adapt Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith as a feature. [Click here]( [From Entertainment Weekly:]( Rainbow Rowell to write Marvel's new Runaways series. [Click here]( [From Antiques Trade Gazette:]( The only privately held picture book made by Hans Christian Andersen sold at auction. [Click here]( [From Variety:]( Martin Short, Maya Rudolph Join Animated Movie Willoughbys. [Click here]( [From Brightly:]( 10 Books to Turn to When You Just Can't Read Goodnight Moon Again. [Click here]( [From the Guardian:]( Harper Lee estate endorses a To Kill a Mockingbird graphic novel. [Click here]( [From the Hollywood Reporter:]( Fox Animation Picks Up Witch Boy Graphic Novel. [Click here]( [From USA Today:]( Oh, the Places You'll Go! Dr. Seuss museum opens its doors. [Click here]( [From the Huffington Post:]( Here's What the First Harry Potter Book Looks Like in Countries Around the World. [Click here]( [From BuzzFeed:]( 21 YA Books You'll Want to Get Your Hands on This Summer. [Click here]( [From the Huffington Post:]( 23 Creative Ways Harry Potter Fans Pass Their Fandom on to Their Kids. [Click here]( SHELFTALKER Elizabeth Bluemle [Summer Reading Challenge: Book Bingo!]( A summer reading game – with prizes – for kids. [more »]( Leslie Hawkins [These Are the People in Our Neighborhood]( Reflecting on becoming a part of the extended family in our bookstore’s new neighborhood. [more »]( Meghan Dietsche Goel [Summertime in the Bookstore]( Embracing the joys of the season and choosing my first summer read. [more »]( Kenny Brechner [Name the Blank Final Vote!]( Cast your ballot for the best contest entry, and a older post comes full circle. [more »]( FEATURED REVIEWS [Bear Make Den]( Jane Godwin and Michael Wagner, illus. by Andrew Joyner. Candlewick, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-9061-8 When Bear, bitten by the DIY bug, carves a cave out of a rock face, readers are told, “Den good. Den great. Den just right.” But Bear yearns for something more and gets to work, diligently and joyfully making furnishings. [more]( [Confiscated]( Suzanne Kaufman. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-241086-3 Two dinosaur brothers fight over their toys, which prompts their mother to take each item away: “They fought over the bike. Confiscated!” After all of their possessions wind up padlocked in a wardrobe, Mikey and Brooks quickly become bored. [more]( [Dinosaur Empire!]( Abby Howard. Amulet, $15.99 (128p) ISBN 978-1-4197-2306-3 After flunking a quiz on dinosaurs, Ronnie has the chance to retake it, and she gets unexpected help from her neighbor, anthropologist Miss Lernin, who whisks her away to the Mesozoic era via a TARDIS-like recycling bin. What follows is an information-dense but fast-moving exploration of how scientists have come to understand life in that period. [more]( [Thornhill]( Pam Smy. Roaring Brook, $19.99 (544p) ISBN 978-1-62672-654-3 Ella Clarke and her father move to a house that overlooks a dilapidated former orphanage, the Thornhill Institute. Ella’s father is never home, so when the lonely teen spies a girl wandering Thornhill’s grounds, she decides to crawl through the gate and introduce herself. [more]( June 6, 2017 E-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( [Victor Schmud Let's Do a Thing by Jim Benton]( [The Seashore Book]( [PW KidsCast: A Conversation with Jennifer and Matthew Holm]( PeopleLaura Antonacci is joining Chronicle Children's Books as marketing director. Previously she was senior marketing manager at Random House Children's Books. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing has a promotion and two new hires. Janine Perez has been promoted to associate digital marketing manager, from digital marketing coordinator. Danielle Finnegan has been named digital marketing assistant; she was formerly publicity intern. Amy Hendricks will join as marketing coordinator on June 26, working on the Simon Pulse, Aladdin, Little Simon and Simon Spotlight imprints. She was previously a marketing assistant in S&S's corporate division. On-Sale Calendar There are plenty of choices for summer reading as June commences, including Once and for All, the latest from bestselling YA author Sarah Dessen, and the continuation of Dork Diaries author Rachel Renée Russell's new series, Misadventures of Max Crumbly. A new installment in Eleanor Herman's Blood of Gods and Royals series, Reign of Serpents, hits bookstores, as well as a prequel to the 100 Cupboards series by N.D. Wilson, entitled The Door Before. Kadir Nelson illustrates a new picture book by Sarvinder Naberhaus called Blue Sky White Stars, and Greg Pizzoli heads into the jungle with The Quest for Z: The True Story of Explorer Percy Fawcett and a Lost City in the Amazon. For more titles publishing in June, check out PW’s [On Sale Calendar](. Bestsellers [Children's Frontlist Fiction]( #1 Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2) by Cassandra Clare. [Click here]( [Picture Books]( #1 Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. [Click here]( Follow Us Children's Bookshelf is on [Instagram]( Please follow us @pwkidsbookshelf. Bookshelf Archives Looking for a previous issue of Children's Bookshelf? [Click here]( see our archives page! CONTACT US Have a comment or suggestion? We'd love to hear from you. [Click here](mailto:childrensbooks@publishersweekly.com) to drop us a note. [Follow PWKidsBookshelf on Twitter]( Children's Bookshelf Editor: Diane Roback Associate Editor: Emma Kantor Digital Producer: Lucy Sutton Send editorial questions about this e-newsletter to: childrensbooks@publishersweekly.com Send advertising questions about this e-newsletter to: cbryerman@publishersweekly.com Follow PW on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. For additional assistance, contact us by email or at the address below. Publishers Weekly, 71 West 23 St. #1608 New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2017, PWxyz LLC Email not displaying correctly? 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