It’s wonderful to see so much praise and new books for our clients. Plus, all the appearances, including the upcoming tours with Kwame Alexander and others. Here’s our clients’ latest news…
BOOK REVIEWS
Mitali Perkins‘ new book FORWARD ME BACK TO YOU releases on April 2 to wonderful reviews. Publishers Weekly wrote: “In fast-moving prose that is layered with emotion—rage, grief, dismay, hope, vulnerability, love—Perkins’s novel pulses with heart and questions of identity as well as talk of faith, prayer, God, and social justice.” Kirkus Reviews said: “Perkins celebrates Christian faith, superheroes, and Kolkata life through the interleaved perspectives of sympathetic and earnest protagonists and in simple language that speaks straight to the heart. A hymn to faith, friendship, and social justice, sung by gentle men and strong women of many colors and ages.”
With her twelfth book for young readers about to be published, award-winning author Mitali Perkins has a fantastic new promo kit showcasing all she has brought to the children’s book industry. Click to check it out.
NEW BOOKS
Award-winning author Liz Garton Scanlon has a new picture book coming soon, ONE DARK BIRD, illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon. In the book, one dark bird is perched up high, with a view of the town and a taste of the sky. Then she’s joined by two more, then three, then four. Before long, there are hundreds of starlings dancing across the sky—and avoiding a hunting hawk with one of the most spectacular tricks in the animal kingdom. This lyrical, evocative exploration of a murmuration will be published by Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster in June, 2019.
Sarah Aronson‘s new picture book JUST LIKE RUBE GOLDBERG: THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF THE MAN BEHIND THE MACHINES was released on March 12. Illustrated by Robert Neubecker, the book looks at the life of the award-winning cartoonist and inventor.
BABY OCEANOGRAPHER, the first in a new BABY SCIENTIST board book series written by Laura Gehl and illustrated by Daniel Wiseman, will be out April 30. The BABY SCIENTIST series will highlight different scientific careers, making them accessible to little ones who are natural scientists themselves. After reading these books, kids can ponder, “What kind of scientist would I like to be?” rather than wondering if they could become scientists or—worse—assuming they couldn’t. The BABY SCIENTIST series will continue on May 7 with BABY ASTRONAUT. Find all these and more upcoming books here.
COVER REVEAL
Tami Charles gave us her thoughts on the stunning cover for her forthcoming picture book, FREEDOM SOUP: “I’m completely in love with the cover of my next picture book, FREEDOM SOUP. Using a vibrant color palette, Jacqueline Alcántara expertly displays the pure joy that is felt when making (and eating) this soup. I’m excited to share with readers a little-known piece of history about Haiti!” The cover reveal for FREEDOM SOUP was hosted by Latinx in Kidlit. FREEDOM SOUP comes out Dec. 10 from Candlewick. Get release details on our upcoming books page.
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Penny Parker Klostermann’s A COOKED-UP FAIRY TALE and Kwame Alexander‘s BOOKED have been chosen by The Children’s Literature Association of Utah (CLAU) as nominees for the 2020 Beehive Award! A COOKED-UP FAIRY TALE is in the picture book category, while BOOKED is in the children’s fiction category.
I GOT A CHICKEN FOR MY BIRTHDAY written by Laura Gehl and illustrated by Sarah Horne is included in the CCBC Choices 2019 list, the best-of-the-year list of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center.
Robin Benway’s FAR FROM THE TREE has been nominated for the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Committee of the Maryland Association of School Librarians in the High School category for the 2019-2020 school year. The award seeks to promote literacy and lifelong reading habits by encouraging students to read quality contemporary literature.
Picture book VOLCANO DREAMS written by Janet Fox and illustrated by Marlo Garnsworthy has been shortlisted for the Reading The West award.
APPEARANCES
Tami Charles will be signing copies of LIKE VANESSA at the Chicago YA Book Fest, April 6, 2019. She’ll also be speaking on the following panels: “This Old House” about writing craft at 10:35-11:20, “The Wire” about hot topics at 12:15-1:00, “Runaways” about characters in flight at 2:00-2:50, and “ER” about trauma, violence, and mental health at 2:55-3:45.
On April 1, Kwame Alexander begins his Versify tour, followed by the paperback tour for THE CROSSOVER and BOOKED. The Versify tour features Kwame and Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator, respectively, of THE UNDEFEATED; Lamar Giles, author of THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER; Raúl the Third, author/illustrator of ¡VAMOS! LET’S GO TO THE MARKET!; and Kip Wilson, author of WHITE ROSE. The tour features stops at The Center For Fiction, Brooklyn, New York, on April 1 at 7pm (moderated by author Jacqueline Woodson); First Parish Church in Cambridge, Mass., for Harvard Square Books on April 2 at 7:30pm; An Unlikely Story in Plainville, Mass., on April 3 at 7pm; Words Bookstore in New Jersey on April 4 at 7pm; Children’s Book World in Haverford, Penn., on April 5 at 6pm; and the National Gallery of Art in Washinton DC on April 6, moderated by Kevin Merida.