Deborah Underwood was recently out on the book tour trail, sharing her new BEARNARD’S BOOK with readers across the nation. And they loved him—and his sidekick, Gertie the goose, as well. 

Soon, Gertie will get her own story—and Bearnard will write it! If only Bearnard and Gertie could agree on what kind of story it should be….

BEARNARD WRITES A BOOK is now underway, again with the talented Misa Saburi illustrating and again with Laura Godwin Books, and it will be out in spring 2021, which will be upon us before we know it!

Congratulations, Deborah!

—Erin

They are pigeons! They are perfect! They all perfectly the same! …That is, except for that little guy over there.

We all know someone like that. Some of us are like that. 

And now, we can all celebrate this journey together, along with Katherine Battersby and her adorable PERFECT PIGEON troop. This smashing picture book will be coming home to roost in Fall 2020, helmed by the luminous Karen Wojtyla at McElderry Books.

Three cheers for Katherine!

--Joan

Authors, man. Just when you think you know them inside and out—they go and surprise you! Take Megan Wagner Lloyd, for example. She’s known for her fantastically heartwarming picture books, such as FINDING WILD and BUILDING BOOKS. 

But, it turns out, there’s a whole other side to the talented Ms. Lloyd.

It all started many, many years ago, when young Megan found herself battling a raft of childhood allergies. Fast forward to the present day, when she decided to write about those struggles—albeit in fictional form—and with a graphic novel twist. A chance of fate partnered us up with the immensely talented debut illustrator Michelle Mee Nutter (and her agent Kelly Sonnack), and the rest is history. When we sent this project out on submission, every single one of our seven readers offered for it, resulting in a heated seven-house auction. The lucky auction winner was Cassandra Pelham Fulton, at Scholastic’s Graphix imprint! And we could not be happier about the match.

Cassandra Pelham Fulton at Scholastic/Graphix has bought, in a seven-house auction, two middle-grade graphic novel collaborations by author Megan WagnerLloyd (l.) and debut illustrator Michelle Mee Nutter. The first book, Allergic, is loosely based on the author's childhood, and tells the story of a girl whose family seeks a long-anticipated pet, only to discover that she is extremely allergic to animals. Publication of the first book is slated for 2021; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author and Kelly Sonnack at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights. 

As we speak Megan and Michelle are hard at work on this graphic novel, which will be out on shelves everywhere in 2021. Stay tuned for it—and huge congrats to all!

--Joan

It’s time for some more good news, folks – from the author who has wowed you with her tween adventures, her middle-grade fantasies, and her newly coming chapter book series – you haven’t forgotten that Anna Staniszewski is also a prolific picture book author, have you?

I didn’t think so. Still, let’s all take a happy moment to think about her fantastic preschool gems, DOGOSAURUS REX and POWER DOWN, LITTLE ROBOT. And that will put us in an excellent mood to celebrate the announcement for Anna’s latest illustrated treasure, as follows:

Jessica Anderson at Holt has acquired World rights to DOGOSAURUS REX author Anna Staniszewski’s latest picture book, illustrated by Joanie Stone. BEAST IN SHOW is the story of a very ordinary dog competing in a very peculiar dog show, which will take a special secret talent to win! The deal was managed by Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency for the author, and Claire Easton at Painted Words for the illustrator. Publication is planned for Winter 2021.    

Hooray and congratulations, Anna!

--Joan