BOOKS
Previews Children’s Previews
Children's Previews March
March is one of the highlights of the children’s publishing calendar, with a World Book Day bonanza set to land, alongside plenty of Easter treats
Fiona Noble @fionanoblebooks
M
arch is all about World Book Day, a glorious celebration of books in
schools, libraries and bookshops. It’s also the busiest time for children’s book sales outside the Christmas period. Children and teenagers alike are treated to an absolutely stellar line-up of £1 books this year. There are brand new stories in favourite series—including Supertato, Dog Man, Amelia Fang, Kid Normal and Alex Rider—a sequel to 2019’s big breakout prize-winner The Boy at the Back of the Class, and a very welcome non-fiction title from Mathew Syed. I personally will be pinching my daughter’s copy of The Case of the Drowned Pearl by Robin Stevens pictured, ahead of the final Murder Most Unlady- like later in the year. Elsewhere Easter, like
Halloween, is becoming an ever more significant sales moment
Submissions should be sent by way of proofs, sample chapters, AIs and covers, in hard copy, to Fiona at 24 Water Ditchampton, Wilton, Wiltshire SP2 OJA. See
thebookseller.com/publishing calendar for submission deadlines.
Next week 42
I will be pinching my daughter’s copy of The Case of the Drowned Pearl by Robin Stephens, ahead of the final Murder Most Unladylike title
in the book trade, driven in part by seasonal displays in supermarkets. Peppa Pig is the likely bestseller here, but for unashamed Easter bling, my pick is Campbell Books’ My Magical Easter Bunny.
BookScan ratings accompanying titles are based on TCM sales (excludes e-book, export, direct, library and other sales) of the author’s most recent original work in a similar format with at least six months’ sales through Nielsen BookScan, using the notation left.
50,000+ 25,000+ 10,000+ 5,000+ 3,000+
The next edition of The Bookseller (10th January 2020) will feature New Titles: Fiction covering titles released in April.
13th December 2019
Book of the Month All aboard as Leonard and Sedgman launch train titles
Fiction 9–12
M G Leonard & Sam Sedgman, Elisa Paganelli (illus) The Highland
Falcon Thief Macmillan, 5th, £6.99, pb, 9781529013061
The Branford Boase Award-winning author of the Beetle Boy trilogy launches her new venture, teaming up with novelist and playwright Sam Sedgman for Adventures on Trains, a major new series where each mystery takes place aboard a different train. In the first adventure, Harrison Beck reluctantly joins his travel-writer uncle
aboard the last journey of a royal locomotive, travelling from King’s Cross up the east coast to Balmoral. When a priceless brooch goes missing, suspicions and accusations run high and Harrison is soon embroiled in the hunt for a jewel thief. It’s all enormous fun with an air of old-school adventure. A fabulous, fast-paced ride packed with clues, illustrations and intrigue; Paganelli’s illustrations and chapter headers are peppered through the text. Leonard first conceived the idea when her train-loving children were unable to find older fiction with the realism and detail they yearned for. Sedgman, a lifelong train enthusiast, proved to be the ideal writing partner. Acquired by Macmillan in a six-way auction, the title is its biggest Middle Grade launch of 2020, with a marketing plan to match.
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