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A star from Kirkus for J. Anderson Coats's THE WICKED AND THE JUST, due out April 17, 2012 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt!
—Joan |
Anyone who knows Luke Reynolds will not be at all surprised to hear that his first EMLA book deal is a collaborative project designed to inspire and challenge teens, and that all of the royalties—both from contributors and for himself as editor—are being donated to the Children’s Defense Fund. I first heard about this project in its very early stages: as a long-time middle school teacher, Luke constantly found himself struggling with teens’ perceptions of what society tells them they “must do” in order to have a successful, happy, and productive life. But are those “rules” always the best way to run your life? —Joan |
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And three stars for Robin LaFevers' GRAVE MERCY!
Congratulations, Robin! —Erin |
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Publishers Weekly bestows a star on Jennifer Nielsen's THE FALSE PRINCE:
Congratulations, Jennifer! —Joan |
It doesn’t seem like long ago at all that I was standing in this very spot, announcing that Anna Staniszewski’s delightful middle-grade novel MY VERY UN-FAIRY TALE LIFE was going to be a three-book series. And now? It gets even better! —Joan |
![]() The good news keeps rolling in! If you heard the sound of happy whooping from New York, New Jersey, and Arizona this morning, that was the editor, author, and agent for BROTHERS AT BAT: THE TRUE STORY OF AN AMAZING ALL-BROTHER BASEBALL TEAM getting the news that Audrey Vernick's April release had gotten a starred review from PW: “It sounds like a fairy tale: twelve baseball-playing brothers,” but it’s true. The 12 Acerra brothers from New Jersey played together on a semipro team formed in 1938, each brother with his own talents and style: “Charlie.... was a good player, but a terrible runner.” Vernick, who interviewed two of the brothers as part of her research, describes how one brother lost an eye when he was struck by a baseball and how six of the brothers served in WWII. Painted in a bright palette of greens, yellows, and blues, Salerno’s mixed-media illustrations, traced and shaded in black crayon, are an immediate attention-getter, the thick, horizontal brushwork contributing to a strong sense of movement. A lively story about family loyalty and love of the game, pulled from the sidelines of baseball history. We are so pleased at the early reception this book is getting for both Audrey and for illustrator Steven Salerno—what a great match of text and art! Congratulations, Audrey! —Erin |
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It seems EMLA picture books are having a heck of a start to 2012--for here's another one to announce to the world! From Publishers Lunch: Author of Caldecott Honor book ALL THE WORLD Liz Garton Scanlon's THANK YOU, GARDEN, a lyrical tribute to gardens and gardening, to Allyn Johnston at Beach Lane Books, by Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency. When Liz first sent me this story, she said she was tinkering with the idea of how tending a garden is tending a small piece of the earth, and oh, is this a lovely celebration of that process, and to what the earth gives to us in return. Liz's editor, Allyn, shared that she was sitting at the very same spot at her dining table when she first read THANK YOU, GARDEN as she was the first time she read ALL THE WORLD. It was, randomly, a Tuesday night. "I had been behind on things and bummed about it," Allyn told me, "and suddenly in that moment and in that spot with no prompting from anyone, I just decided, 'Oh, what the hell. It's time.' I don't think enough people realize how scary it is for an editor to read a new manuscript by an author she loves and whose work she loves." It was meant to be! Congratulations, Liz! —Erin |
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We are so thrilled for this wonderful news! Booklist chimes in with a third star for Cynthia Levinson's WE'VE GOT A JOB, due out this month from Peachtree:
—Erin |
Is the unusually balmy weather in the East soothing you into thinking spring is on the way? Has the record snowfall and ice in the West reminded you that it's still winter? Whatever the season, check out our new books for February! We've Got a Job by Cynthia Levinson tells the true story of the Birmingham Children's March in May 1963, where children, voluntarily arrested and put in jail, brought desegregation to an entire city, published by Peachtree. The Jade Notebook by Laura Resau wraps up her Notebook series (The Indigo Notebook, The Ruby Notebook), continuing the story of Zeeta searching for her father and learning a lot about herself along the way, published by Delacorte/Random House. Clorinda Plays Baseball! by Robert Kinerk (Steven Kellogg, illus.) continues the story of the amazing cow, Clorinda, and how she fares playing bovine baseball, published by Paula Wiseman Books/S&S. So You Want To Be a Rock Star by Audrey Vernick (Kirstie Edmunds, illus.) is the essential primer on everything rock ’n’ roll, published by Walker/Bloomsbury. We wish these book into readers' hearts! —Erin |