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In the News  Consumer Shifts for Children's Books
As e-books claim a growing portion of the overall sales of children's books, the higher penetration of the format in the market is also affecting the way children's books are discovered and bought. According to the most recent results from Bowker Market Research's "Understanding the Children's Book Consumer in the Digital Age" study, bookstores and libraries have lost some of their importance as a place where children and their parents learn about books as well as buy or borrow them. But children and teens still like books. Despite the many digital distractions (Facebook, YouTube, etc.), 40% of girls and 29% of boys reported that they read books for fun "very often." more    Children's Books at Winter Institute: Photos from Kansas City
This year's Winter Institute, held in Kansas City, Mo., from February 23 to 25, was a snowy affair, snarling travel for the nearly 500 booksellers at the annual gathering. But that didn't stop attendees from taking part in the many children's book–related presentations and events over the weekend. See our photos from the wintry gathering. more  Slight Dip in Children's Book Sales for October 2012, Says AAP Monthly StatShot
Overall sales of children’s books fell by 2.6% overall in October 2012 compared with October 2011. Hardcovers, board books, and paperbacks were all down, with paperbacks taking the biggest hit, with a 9.4% drop in sales. Why the drop? more  Book News  Gearing Up for Spring: Picks from Children’s Booksellers
Spring is already in the air as booksellers visit with reps, peruse online and print catalogues, and place orders for new children’s titles. When PW polled retailers about which books they're most excited to introduce to their customers in the coming months, they mentioned an array of picture books and fiction, by both established and lesser-known authors. Here's what they had to say. more  HarperCollins Partners with Honey Maid for Writing Contest
HarperCollins has teamed up with Honey Maid to launch one of the inaugural projects of Made Co., an initiative aimed at helping kids realize their creative potential. The publisher's collaboration with Made Co, involves an online writing contest for children ages six to 12. The winner of the contest will travel to New York City for a one-day writer's workshop with author Dan Gutman and turn his or her idea into an actual book. more Licensing News  Licensing Hotline
Mass market and value channel specialist Bendon is going high-end through a new licensing deal with model, designer, and entrepreneur Kathy Ireland and her company, kathy ireland Worldwide. A series of baby and toddler books under the My First Step umbrella will include lift-the-flap, cloth, board, and matching-game titles sold through mid-tier department stores, specialty stores, and the book trade. The Kathy Ireland brand generates an estimated $1 billion-plus at retail. "Her consumer product sales have become so strong that we can’t deny her as a significant lifestyle brand," says Bendon CEO Ben Ferguson. Read on for accounts of Silver Dolphin's crafty new licenses, Viz's Hello Kitty graphic novels, and more licensing news. more  Digital News  Random House, MeeGenius Partner for Digital Titles
MeeGenius, the digital platform for children's books, has announced a distribution partnership with Random House Children's Books, bringing select titles from popular authors and brands like Richard Scarry, P.D. Eastman, the Berenstain Bears, and Barbie to MeeGenius's two million readers. more Retailing News  Pre-Registration Is Now Live for Find Waldo Local
As announced last August, the Find Waldo Local promotion sponsored by Candlewick Press and the American Booksellers Association will be back this summer. Independent bookstores can preregister now through March 22 to participate in July. In addition to increasing the cut-off from 250 indie bookstores in 2012 to 300 in 2013 and the number of participating businesses from 5,000 to 7,500, the 2013 promotion has additional features: it includes new social media components and new prizes aimed at driving book sales. more
 Rights Report  Ken Wright at Viking has acquired a picture book autobiography by Dr. Tererai Trent (l.), named by Oprah Winfrey as her "all-time favorite guest" in May 2011. The Girl Who Buried Her Dreams in a Can will recount her story of growing up in poverty in Zimbabwe, where girls have few educational opportunities, to realizing her dreams to get an education in America and help other girls in Africa learn to read and write. Coretta Scott King Medal Jan Spivey Gilchrist (r.) will illustrate. A fall 2014 release is planned; some of the proceeds from the book will benefit Dr. Trent's nonprofit foundation. Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights for both author and illustrator.  Andrea Spooner at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has acquired Printz Honor author A.S. King's Glory O'Brien's History of the Future, in which a graduating senior struggles with growing apart from her two best friends as all three of them begin having strange and powerful visions of divergent, infinite futures. Publication is scheduled for fall 2014; Michael Bourret at Dystel & Goderich did the deal for world English rights.  Lisa Sandell at Scholastic Press has acquired Forever or Never, a debut middle-grade novel by Adrienne Maria Vrettos. After 11-year-old Hattie witnesses a public defriending in the school cafeteria, she convinces her three best friends to sign a loyalty pact. But when Hattie unwittingly breaks it, the pact’s magic causes her friends to forget who she is. Publication is scheduled for 2014; Tracey Adams at Adams Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.  Stacy Whitman at Lee & Low Books has acquired North American English and Spanish rights to the YA fantasy Drift by debut author M.K. Hutchins. In the book, Tenjat decides to save his family from poverty by joining the island's Handlers, who have the dangerous job of protecting their island – a giant turtle – from the "naga" monsters that surround them. Publication is set for spring 2014 under the Tu Books imprint; the Ashley Grayson Agency brokered the deal. IN THE MEDIA
SHELFTALKER
ShelfTalkerElizabeth Bluemle The Return of Ruth Chew! A conversation with Random House's Mallory Loehr on the return of the late, great Ruth Chew! more » Josie Leavitt Happy Noises and Kicky Feet I've been selling books a long time and there's an art to letting customers browse unhindered by help. more » Elizabeth Bluemle Our Successors I love it when particularly avid young readers come to the bookstore, the kind about whose parents say desperately, "She's read everything. EVERYTHING. Do you have anything good she hasn't read?" more » Elizabeth Bluemle Story Hour Runaround A short-staffed but successful story hour, plus a great toddler anecdote from Jean Reidy. more » FEATURED REVIEWS
TALES FROM THE SLUSH PILE
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February 28, 2013
  People HarperCollins Children's Books' Katherine Tegen Books imprint has two new hires. Jill Davis has joined as executive editor. Previously she worked at Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Bloomsbury, Viking, and Random House, and was editor of Elizabeth Partridge's Printz Honor winner John Lennon: All I Want Is Truth and NBA finalist This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie. She edits picture books, middle-grade fiction, and teen fiction, and is also a picture book author. Maria Barbo has joined as senior editor. She was formerly with Scholastic, where she worked on the It’s Happy Bunny! and Pokémon brands, and was a project editor at Feiwel and Friends.In Case You Missed It Candlewick to Launch Big Picture Press
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Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle
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Children's Bookshelf
Editor: Diane Roback Associate Editor: Carolyn Juris
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