the children's publishing group fall 2015 preview

8/9/2019 The Children's Publishing Group Fall 2015 Preview

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Chronicle Bookspresents

The Children’sPublishing GroupFall 2015 Preview


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A History of Glitter and BloodBy Hannah Moskowitz

Sixteen-year-old Beckan and her friends are the only fairies braveenough to stay in Ferrum when war breaks out. Now there is tensionbetween the immortal fairies, the subterranean gnomes, and themysterious tightropers who arrived to liberate the fairies. But whenBeckan's clan is forced to venture into the gnome underworld tosurvive, they find themselves tentatively forming unlikely friendshipsand making sacrifices they couldn't have imagined. As danger mounts,Beckan finds herself caught between her loyalty to her friends, herdesire for peace, and a love she never expected. This stunning, lyrical

fantasy is a powerful exploration of what makes a family, what justifies awar, and what it means to truly love.

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Chronicle Books • Aug 20156 x 9 • HC • 280 pages$18.99 • 9781452129426

Ages: 14 and up


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Assistant Editor TaylorNorman discusses theprodigy HannahMoskowitz’s A History ofGlitter and Blood , deemingit part Grasshopper Jungle ,part Code Name Verity.“This book definitely haswhat you’d refer to as

‘content,’” she says. “Andit’s a complex book. But it’sbrilliant. And it rewards itsreaders beyond what I cantell you without spoilers.”


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Here, Senior Designer Amelia Mack talksabout the process for finding the coverartist. We wanted someone who couldconvey the simultaneous danger, beauty,

and gritty reality inherent in the book. Thefairies’ glitter, which they shed like deadskin, is represented by foil on the cover,falling around Beckan and catching the lightwith unexpected glimmers.


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The Chess Queen EnigmaA Stoker & Holmes Novel By Colleen Gleason

Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes have reluctantly agreed to act associal chaperones and undercover bodyguards for Princess Lurelia ofBetrovia, who has arrived in London to deliver a letter that details thesecret location of an ancient chess queen that's been missing forcenturies. But when the letter—which will heal a centuries-old riftbetween England and the Betrovians—is stolen out from under Evalineand Mina's watchful eyes, the two girls are forced into a high-stakesrace to ensure they find the chess queen before anyone else does. TheStoker and Holmes series is as culturally popular and compulsivelyreadable as the Sherlock Holmes stories and Dracula were in theVictorian era.

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Chronicle Books • Oct 20155-5/8 x 8-1/8 • HC • 360 pages$17.99 • 9781452143170

Ages: 12 and up


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It turned out they didn’t have to look far. Ourindustrial designer Ben Laramie could make

just about anything even before the houseacquired a 3-D printer. Here, Ben and Kellishow preliminary models for the piece. Ourprinter’s current plastic is orange, as youmight have guessed.


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Designing the piece and decidingwhich direction was best was aslengthy process as any cover’s. FirstBen had to envision the piece, “abalance between creating somethingno one’s ever seen before”—thisspecific piece—“but that at the sametime, everyone has seen”—a chessqueen. Once he’d completed his

sketches, each of the three directionsseemed to capture very well one of thequalities the book mentioned. Therewas much discussion with the wholegroup about how to incorporateelements of each in the final versionwithout making it too ornate.

Like most covers, the design of thisone took place across several months.But the print job? Only 3 ! hours.


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House ArrestBy K.A. Holt

Timothy is on probation. It's a strange word—something that happensto other kids, to delinquents, not to kids like him. And yet, he is underhouse arrest for the next year. He must check in weekly with aprobation officer and a therapist, and keep a journal for an entire year.

And mostly, he has to stay out of trouble. But when he must take drasticmeasures to help his struggling family, staying out of trouble provesmore difficult than Timothy ever thought it would be. By turns touchingand funny, and always original, House Arrest is a middle-grade novel inverse about one boy's path to redemption as he navigates life with a

sick brother, a grieving mother, and one tough probation officer.

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Chronicle Books • Oct 20155-5/8 x 8-1/8 • HC • 304 pages$16.99 • 9781452134772

Ages: 10 and up


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Children’s PublishingDirector Ginee Seo hasa secret about K.A.Holt’s second book withChronicle. “When I firstheard the summary ofthis book, my guardimmediately went up,”she says. “I don’t tend to

like novels in verse. AndI don’t like feelingmanipulated. I’m a verycold-hearted reader.”

But when she was teary

by page 20, it was prettyclear the book had wonher over.


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The book, a teenager’s journal from his time onprobation—aftercommitting a crime thatis on its face objectivelyheartbreaking—isindeed written in verse.

The thing is, this is

some seriously kick-assverse. It’s raw, honest,and legitimately funny.Like a combination ofEllen Hopkins andKwame Alexander’s The

Crossover , it’s equalparts moving, funny, andeye-opening.


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Fowl PlayBy Travis Nichols

Just what kind of monkey business has befallen Mr. Hound's shop? Mr.Hound is in luck: this team of plucky detectives has been chomping atthe bit to take on their first case. When Mr. Hound hires them toinvestigate, they hoof it to his shop. And once they get sleuthing, wildhorses couldn't drag them away from the scent of a clue. But is it all justa dog and pony show to distract them from the truth? Idioms areeverywhere in this hilarious first case of the Gumshoe Zoo detectiveagency as they attempt to solve Mr. Hound's mystery. Early readers willlove the multi-paneled comic book hybrid feel of this raucous adventure

as the detectives manage to keep a straight face, collar some suspects,and solve a mystery, all while avoiding beating a dead—never mind.

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Chronicle Books • Aug 20157-! x 9 • HC • 40 pages$14.99 • 9781452131825

Ages: 5-8


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Fowl Play is a mystery told using—and sometimes despite using—animal idioms. Canyou figure out what idioms these illustrations refer to?


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Assistant Editor Taylor Norman and SeniorDesigner Ryan Hayes enact a dramatic read-aloud of the book to demonstrate just howfunny it will be to read with kids.


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The Bear’s SurpriseBy Benjamin Chaud

Hibernation is over and Little Bear is ready for another adventure! Butwhere is Papa Bear? Never fear, Little Bear will find him! Follow thecurious cub through interactive cutouts on every page of this detail-richextravaganza: into a bustling forest, deep beneath a mysterious cave,and en route to a rollicking circus in full swing. What will Little Beardiscover when he finally locates his high-flying papa? The ultimateshowstopping, sweet surprise awaits in this third installment ofBenjamin Chaud's acclaimed series that includes the New YorkTimes Notable Book The Bear's Song and The Bear's Sea Escape .

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Chronicle Books • Oct 20159 x 14 • HC • 32 pages$17.99 • 9781452140285

Ages: 3-5


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Editor Naomi Kirstenintroduces the third book in theBear’s Song series featuringPapa Bear and Little Bear.


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A close reading rewards a Benjamin Chaud devotee: All kinds of Easter eggs are hidden throughout,creating connections with Benjamin’s other books. Can you find Floppy from Farewell Floppy ?


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Naomi and Children’s Marketing Coordinator Jaime Wong also introduce a neat partnership thissummer between Chronicle Kids and the San Francisco Public Library. The SFPL has chosen

Benjamin Chaud as the artist to represent their summer learning program. His art will be featured inthe library and around the city on posters, tote bags, and bus stops.


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Tree of WonderBy Kate MessnerIllustrated by Simona Mulazzani

Deep in the forest, in the warm-wet green, 1 almendro tree grows,

stretching its branches toward the sun. Who makes their homes here?

2 great green macaws,4 keel-billed toucans,8 howler monkeys,16 fruit bats,32 fer-de-lance vipers,

64 agoutis,128 blue morpho butterflies,256 poison dart frogs,512 rusty wandering spiders,1,024 leafcutter ants.

Count each and every one as life multiplies again and again in this lushand fascinating book about the rainforest.

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Ages: 5-8


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The wonderful Kate Messner is at it again with Treeof Wonder . This book is published in cooperationwith the Natural Resources Defense Council, towhom a portion of the book’s proceeds goes.


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The book has all kinds of neat tricks that make it afun reading experience as well as a great learningopportunity. Each page includes a little informationalparagraph about an animal; an illustration of theanimal; and a number, which refers to approximatelyhow many of this animal lives on any given

almendro tree in a rainforest.


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Double HappinessBy Nancy Tupper LingIllustrated by Alina Chau

For their move far away, Gracie and Jake are sad to leave

the golden bridge,the trolley tracks,and Nai Nai. But they fill empty boxes with treasures—a marble, a snake,a pair of wings.Tiny reminders of all they love—so happiness stays close,

no matter where they go.

With grace and warmth, this lyrical picture book speaks to the difficultyof transition, and celebrates the ways in which love and family give usthe strength to weather life's changes.

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Chronicle Books • Aug 20157-" x 9- " • HC • 48 pages$16.99 • 9781452129181

Ages: 5-8


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Double Happiness doesn’t start withhappiness. It starts withtwo siblings in the midstof an experience manyof us have had andfewer of us haveenjoyed—moving.Gracie and Jake must

leave their(understandably)beloved San Franciscowhen their familydecides to move acrossthe country.


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The story is composed of poems, which make for a narrative that is elegant and linear inan unusual way. As the siblings collect items to put in their happiness box to remindthem of the home they’re leaving, so the reader collects poems.


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Marvelous CorneliusHurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans By Phil BildnerIllustrated by John Parra

In New Orleans, there lived a man who saw the streets as his calling,and he swept them clean. He danced up one avenue and down anotherand everyone danced along. The old ladies whistled and whirled. Theold men hooted and hollered. The barbers, bead twirlers, and beignetbakers bounded behind that one-man parade. But then came the risingMississippi—and a storm greater than anyone had seen before. In thisheartwarming book about a real garbage man, Phil Bildner and John

Parra tell the inspiring story of a humble man and the heroic differencehe made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

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Chronicle Books • Aug 201511 x 9- ! • HC • 44 pages$16.99 • 9781452125787

Ages: 3-5


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“Cornelius was a real garbageman,” Editor Melissa Manlove tellsus about the main character in this

book, who really was a garbagecollector and street sweeper in NewOrleans before, during, and afterHurricane Katrina.


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Author Phil Bildner was so inspired by this story of areal-life hero that he had to write him in a book. The

book is lightly fictionalized, but the person and thethings he did are true.


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In the backmatter, Bildner also discusses thedecision to fictionalize the story: “Cornelius’s storyhas the flavor of folktales and folk heroes like JohnHenry,” he says. “By incorporating repetition,alliteration, and exaggeration, I have tried to honorthose qualities in the telling.”

Because that’s what a hero truly is—a person whodoes what needs to be done when the doing feelsimpossible. And that’s what Cornelius did.


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Busy Baby TrucksBusy Baby FriendsBy Sara Gillingham

Spin to change Busy Baby's expression!

In Trucks , Busy Baby can race in a fire truck, use a cement mixer, andcollect recycling. In Friends , Busy Baby can play, share, paint, and helpcleanup.

Whatever Busy Baby does, the most important thing is to make somenew friends along the way. Both books will keep the very youngestreaders busy reading, playing, and learning in this new interactiveformat from the creator of the bestselling In My series.

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Chronicle Books • Sep 20157 x 7 • HC • 10 pages$9.99 • 9781452141879 • 9781452141886

Ages: 0-2


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“Sara’s taken on a lot of concepts in

this series,” says Victoria. Vehicles,friendship, and responsibility are alltopics. Above all, these books areabout cooperation and workingtogether. “All that in just 10 shortpages and about 20 words per

page,” Victoria points out.


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I Can DanceI Can PlayBy Betsy Snyder

In I Can Dance, readers make dancers disco, tap, or pirouette just bywiggling their fingers. But wait! There's even more fun. In an impressivegatefold finale, readers use two sets of hands to help the dancersperform an encore.

In I Can Play, readers make athletes splash, sprint, or score just bywiggling their fingers! Active and adorable characters modelindependence and teamwork, and readers help the athletes unite as ateam in the gatefold finale.

With interactive holes on every page and a satisfying touch-and-feelcover, these charming board books are the perfect way to play and readtogether.

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Chronicle Books • Sep 20157 x 7 • HC • 14 pages$8.99 • 9781452129297 • 9781452129051

Ages: 0-2


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In the books, readers use their fingers asthe characters’ legs to act out variousdance moves and sports activities. You’llsee that there is great racial and genderdiversity across the books—boys danceand girls play sports, just like in real life.


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Big Bear Little ChairBy Lizi Boyd

In this artful and deceptively simple book, master book creator Lizi Boydis at it again. Using her inimitable style to expand upon a familiar

concept, she has created a compendium of unexpected opposites thatis also a charming and emotionally warm story about Big Bear, littlebear, and the stories that bring them together.

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Chronicle Books • Oct 20156 x 12 • HC • 36 pages$16.99 • 9781452144474

Ages: 3-5


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We like to think ofBig Bear littlechair as Lizi’sspin on a conceptbook. She takesthe familiar ideaof teachingopposites andconveys it in acompletely

original way. Thebook is repletewith charmingpairings that arewonderfully,recognizably, and

only from Lizi’sbrain.


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SwanBy Laurel SnyderIllustrated by Julie Morstad

The world is big.

Anna is small.The snow iseverywhereand all around.But one night . . .One night, her mother takes her to the ballet, and everything ischanged. Anna finds a beauty inside herself that she cannot contain.

So begins the journey of a girl who will one day grow up to be the mostfamous prima ballerina of all time, inspiring legions of dancers after her:the brave, the generous, the transcendently gifted Anna Pavlova.Beautiful, inspirational, and triumphant, Anna Pavlova's life ismasterfully captured in this exquisite picture book.

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Ages: 6-9


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“How do you feel about death in picture books?”

Melissa had been corresponding with the author of Swan , Laurel Snyder, for a whilebefore Laurel asked this.


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Melissa is a good editor, though.“If it works for the book,” she told Laurel, “then it works for me.”


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LeoBy Mac BarnettIllustrated by Christian Robinson

You would like being friends with Leo. He likes to draw, he makes

delicious snacks, and most people can't even see him. Because Leo isalso a ghost. When a new family moves into his home and Leo's effortsto welcome them are misunderstood, Leo decides it is time to leave andsee the world. That is how he meets Jane, a kid with a tremendousimagination and an open position for a worthy knight. That is how Leoand Jane become friends. And that is when their adventures begin. Thischarming tale of friendship—from two of the best young minds in picturebooks: the author of the Caldecott Honor–winning Extra Yarn and theillustrator of the Bologna Ragazzi Award–winning Josephine —isdestined to become a modern classic that will delight readers for yearsto come.

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Ages: 3-5


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For illustrator Christian Robinson, our special guest at the tea, Leo is one of those bookswhere “just reading the manuscript, I knew I was going to get to have fun and play.” For

Ginee Seo, Leo is one of those books where just reading the manuscript, you knowyou’re holding in your hands an instant classic.


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Christian does a ton ofresearch. The timeperiod Leo is set inisn’t defined, but themanuscript does givea bit of a sense thatit’s some time in thepast. And since Leo isa ghost, he himselfwould have grown upin the even-furtherpast. Christian doveinto the world of theearly twentiethcentury, investigating

what kids of that timewore, played, andlooked like.


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Christian also feltthe color blue wasespecially right forthis book, so theentire book iscomposed of white,black, and a milliondifferent blues.While the booklooks like it could

have been printedtwo-color, we hadto print with all fourcolors to capturethe range of blueChristian employs

—and theconsequent rangeof emotion andstory.


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the children's publishing group fall 2015 preview

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