characters – an FT-reading crocodile and a dungaree-clad grandma repairing a motorbike are my favourites – who together challenge grumbles such as “Reading’s rubbish!” and “Reading is hard!”.
It’s
ground-breaking, full of fun and busts lots of reading myths! Meg Rosoff is lauded as one of the world’s best children’s authors and it’s an honour to publish her. April brings Good Dog McTavish, a novella that sparkles with Meg’s distinctively dry wit. Phil Earle’s Mind the Gap, published in January, is the most compelling, stunningly written heart-breaker of a book I’ve had the privilege to edit. I’m a huge fan of Tanya Landman’s superb historical fiction, so when she sent us an idea based on the real-life story of Ellen and William Craft, I couldn’t believe my luck. Passing for White, published in May, is the powerful tale of a girl born into slavery in the American South. We have the highest hopes for this extraordinary book from the Carnegie Medal winner.’
David Bennet at Boxer Books is thrilled to be publishing The Elephant’s Garden – a brand-new picture book based on an Indian folktale, by Jane Ray in April 2017. ‘Jane Ray has been nominated for the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award,the highest international recognition given to an author and illustrator of children’s books. She has an amazing body of work, and this new picture book epitomises what a fabulous storyteller and illustrator she is. She has adopted a new style, which has a clean, contemporary feel, working with cut paper collage, in rich, vibrant colours. The result is gorgeous - a very special picture book.’
The Fearless Travellers’ Guide to Wicked Places by Pete Begler is an unforgettable fantasy’
says
Curious Fox’s Editorial Director, Beth Brezenoff. ‘Welcome to a big, spinning magical world full of hellscapes, dreamscapes, birds, brothers, witches, and magical umbrellas. A bruise-colored cloud hovers over Nell Perkins’ city, where women are disappearing and blood-spattered shoes fall from the sky. When Nell’s mother disappears, she and her brothers must become Fearless Travellers and go into the dreamlands to get her back. I can’t wait for readers to enter the Wicked Places themselves to experience it.’
Bella Pearson, at David Fickling Books says, ‘2017 is our most exciting year yet! Lisa Williamson’s sparkling YA new novel All About Mia brings us the wayward and irresistible Mia, whose talent for trouble is legendary. Lissa Evan’s Wed Wabbit is a laugh-out-loud middle-grade tale of accidental heroism, while King Coo by Adam Stower guarantees to have all 7-2-year-olds in stitches − Pippi Longstocking meets Dennis the Menace in a fabulous new series. Thornhill by the talented Pam Smy tells two intertwining stories through illustrations and text in a chilling story of loss and betrayal. And look out for The Call by Peadar O’Guilin out in paperback – as Frank Cottrell Boyce says of this original YA novel: ’Dark and brutal…there’s no denying its power.’
Ginee Seo, Children’s Publishing Director, Chronicle Books says: This Is How We Do It is a beautifully illustrated book that follows the lives of seven real children from Italy, Japan, Iran, India, Peru, Uganda, and Russia. We see what they eat for breakfast, how they play – and realize that while traditions may differ, our common experiences unite us all. Benjamin Chaud and Davide Cali are up to their usual hyperbolic tricks, this time on a school trip, with A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Museum. It’s always a delight to see what Herve Tullet has up his sleeve, his newest book Say Zoop! is all about sound. I read it aloud to a group of salespeople recently and by the second page they were all joining in--I’d call that a hit!’
4 Books for Keeps No.222 January 2017
‘Electric Monkey is bursting with YA treats in 2017’ says Stella Paskins Fiction Publisher at Egmont, ‘Stand-out for me is the first of a new Michael Grant trilogy: Monster is the GONE series sequel we’ve all been waiting for and it’s an absolute firecracker. At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, Lisa Heathfield’s Flight of a Starling is going to put a few more hearts through the wringer with her unravelling of sisterly secrets. New author Penny Joelson brings us the original I Have No Secrets, a page-turning thriller seen through the eyes of a unique narrator, which is both thought provoking and utterly compelling. And with titles from Kevin Brooks, Rachel McIntyre, Eugene Lambert and Lynn Weingarten, it’s a properly epic year.’
Ali Dougal, Egmont’s Fiction Publishing Director adds, ‘2017 is set to be a blockbuster year for the Egmont list, with new books from rising stars including Jim Smith and Katherine Woodfine, and a real treat for Robin Jarvis fans in our stunning Modern Classic edition of The Whitby Witches.
Plus, some phenomenal debuts: Sarah
Driver’s The Huntress trilogy is full of heart and adventure and oozes magical detail, reminiscent of Pullman and Paver; Laura Ellen Anderson makes her authorial fiction debut with the hideously funny and revoltingly lavish Amelia Fang series; and there are more laughs in The Fintastic Diary of Darcy Dolphin, the first in a new young fiction series by Sam Watkins featuring an irrepressible new heroine in a vibrant underwater world.’
‘There are some real corkers on the Francis Lincoln Children’s Books’ picture book list’, says publisher Rachel Williams. ‘In the spring, we have the award- winning The Night Gardener (Feb) from Terry and Eric Fan, followed closely by David Litchfield’s heartwarming story of friendship with an outsider, Grandad’s Secret Giant. In September, we publish a picture book in collaboration with Amnesty International, Imagine, which is set to the original lyrics of John Lennon’s song and illustrated by Jean Jullien. With pre-sales in 15 languages and a huge worldwide press and marketing campaign, the book follows the adventure of a young pigeon on a mission for world peace. Over the summer, we launch our Natural History Museum series, with 13 titles: from newspaper-style activity
books (The Prehistoric Times, June) to sticker titles (Sticker Art, June and July), and reference for the young naturalist with 10 Reasons to love a… series (Aug). And we have gift books galore next Christmas, including The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker (Oct), by Jessica Courtney Tickle, and A Menagerie of Stories (Oct) by Angela McAllister, illustrated by Aitch.’
Alice Curry, Commissioning Editor, Lantana Publishing predicts that 2017 is set to be bumper year for diverse fiction: ‘I’m particularly excited about our two Spring releases, Sleep Well, Siba and Saba by Ugandan humanitarian aid worker Nansubuga Isdahl and The Wooden Camel by African Movie Academy Award-winning Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu. The former is a sweet and poetic picture book about two forgetful sisters who are always losing something – sweaters, slippers, scarfs, you name it! Each night the sisters dream about the things they have lost that day, until, one night, their dreams begin to reveal something entirely expected… The latter is a heart-warming picture book about a little boy growing up amongst the Turkana peoples of Northern Kenya who dreams about one day becoming a camel racer, despite the obstacles in his path. A story of hope and of keeping one’s dreams alive, this is a great example of the type of book we love to publish here at Lantana – books that open young readers’ eyes to the lives of all children, wherever they are in the world.’
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32
