A little over a week ago, on a beautiful day that could almost make you forget about the economy, approximately 50 people, mostly booksellers but also a few sales reps and authors, met in Princeton, N.J., for Bookazine's third annual Kids' Spring Arrivals Day.
After a brief introduction by Ron Rice and lunch, children's book buyer Heather Doss highlighted some of her favorite spring titles. For young readers, these included Amy Krouse Rosenthal's new Duck! Rabbit!, Love That Puppy! by Jeff Jarka and Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully by Julianne Moore. Concerning the new Freckleface book, Doss noted that bullies seem to be a theme this year for the younger group, and unsurprisingly, the paranormal in its many forms is the main theme for middle grade and YA books.
Doss also said she wants The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly to "win awards. Not only is it a great story, but many chapters in it would make great read-alouds, and it has appeal to science geeks who might not like reading fiction." She also recommended The Forest of Hands and Teeth (paranormal with a zombie story) and The Prophecy of the Sisters (for fans of Gemma Doyle). (Those who want to see the entire list can see the .pdf on Bookazine's website.)
John Davis, director of pop culture markets, said that although graphic novels as a whole may be reaching a saturation point, graphic novels for kids are just hitting their stride. Even stores without a graphic novels section can jump "halfway there" by stocking the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.
Graphic novels aren't just good for reluctant readers, he continued. They're also almost necessary for this new generation of readers, who are developing what Davis called "hyper-literacy," a "new kind of literacy" that makes them better at handling multimedia. He also provided a few quick recommendations, including Mouse Guard by David Petersen, the Toon Books series started by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, Gene Luen Yang's upcoming Eternal Smile and Jeff Smith's Shazam!
Erik Craddick, author and illustrator of the Stone Rabbit graphic novels, started the author presentations by talking about his books and their place in the history of comics. His passion for the medium was clear, especially when he stated, "This is not an emerging market. This is the early days of rock 'n' roll!" Stone Rabbit, in which Craddick intended to show kids "how to do the right thing" by example, is even more of a mix of pictures and text than the average comic book, as he uses pictures to demonstrate emotions in the text bubbles.
Lisa Greenwald called her book, My Life in Pink and Green, which is a Top 10 pick for the children's spring IndieNext list, a great fit for independent bookstores because it centers on a girl who is trying to save her family's independent pharmacy and it promotes the idea that independent businesses are the center of their communities. As a school librarian, Greenwald wanted to write a book that would show that "kids can make a difference." She also maintained that with economic and environmental themes, this upper-middle grade/younger YA novel is a timely selection for book clubs, especially mother-daughter book clubs, and she made it clear that she will work with stores to put together cool events.
Alexa Kitchen had an amusing Q&A with a representative from her publisher, Hyperion, about her new book, Grownups Are Dumb (No Offense). Alexa, 10, has been cartooning and writing since she was four or five, and her first book was called Drawing Comics Is Easy! (Except When It's Hard).
Why did she title the book Grownups Are Dumb (No Offense)?
"Well, because they are."
(Booksellers should note that Kitchen's favorite comic is Calvin & Hobbes.)
Gayle Foreman, author of If I Stay, noted that she started at Seventeen magazine, writing "the social justice articles that nobody thinks teenagers want to read." Her first YA novel, Sisters in Sanity, came out to very little attention, which freaked her out because she had come to realize that writing YA novels was what she wanted to do with her life. But luckily, she said, "indie booksellers took [If I Stay] into their hearts." They did so in a big way, too--If I Stay was the #1 IndieNext pick on the Kids' Spring 2009 list.
Though she wasn't sure whether the book was YA at first, she decided to start it as YA and see if it had crossover potential in part because "children's and YA librarians and indie booksellers are the best constituency" and she knew they'd be willing to give her book a chance. And now that Catherine Hardwicke, the director of the Twilight movie, has signed on to direct the movie adaptation of If I Stay, the book is getting a lot of deserving buzz.
Peter Brown, author and illustrator of The Curious Garden, a beautiful new picture book, used many photos to show the inspiration for this book: the High Line in Manhattan, an elevated freight railroad track that was abandoned and reclaimed by nature, a phenomenon that can be found in urban areas all over the country. He then showed his early sketches for the book, including many of plants, which he thinks of as "characters" as well.
Bookazine provided handy bags that said "Reading Is My Stimulus Package," which, after an afternoon of fantastic books and authors, seemed like the most reasonable response to the economic crisis yet.--Stephanie Anderson who may be reached at stephanie AT wordbrooklyn DOT com.