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June 16, 2007 by Betsy Bird

Harper Collins, Part Three

June 16, 2007 by Betsy Bird   4 comments

Time is up and it’s off to Table #4.  In this ring, Tara Weikum and Farrin Jacobs.  We see the brand new Meg Cabot manga title Avalon High Coronation #1: The Merlin Prophecy.  Doesn’t sound very Cabot, does it?  My notes taken during the talk about this book appear to be the word, "Hoodehoo".  Quite.

Weikum and Jacobs apparently have a lock on the Cool Cover market over at Harper Collins.  How else to explain the fact that they’re the ones putting out shiny shiny shiny Jinx by Meg Cabot and that truly mouth-watering book The Luxe by Anna Godberson (shown at the end of these posts) that everyone was drooling over during BEA.  Methinks somebody’s been sacrificing significant offerings to the Book Jacket Gods.  Both books are YA and not my thing so no worries there.  Still, my heart did some serious palpatations when I heard about the new Neil Gaiman book, Interworld (written with Michael Reaves) coming out.  And take a gander at the cover image:

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I’m keeping that puppy nice and large.  It’s apparently by a Mr. James Jean, though I’m going to tip a hat to Art Director Hilary Zarycky as well.  I don’t know what the book’s about though.  Could be a treatise on lawn care for all I know.  Gaiman has another book coming out for kids called M is for Magic.  Which was a good idea but then we get to the blurb.  The blurb is from Clive Barker.  Clive Barker?  You’ve a new Gaiman title out there and Barker was the best you could do?  Seriously?  What, did Diana Wynne Jones, Eoin Colfer, Cornelia Funke all have head colds?  I mean… Clive Barker?  He writes one tiny children’s book series and suddenly he had the clout to blurb Gaiman?  Gah.

Moving on.  I’m not a YA person so the news that Louise Rennison’s new Georgia Nicholson novel Love Is a Many Trousered Thing is due in July made little impression.  However, movies do catch my interest and it was interesting to hear that Georgia Nicholson movie is now in the works, directed by Gurinder Chadha of Bend It Like Beckham fame.  The Bode Meter’s arrow is wavering over the Well forecast as we speak.  The screenwriter also did Beckham.  I’m fascinated.

Trying to find a cover image for the next book I’m going to talk about led to finding the Harper Collins First Look Program.  This is an interesting idea.  Each month, HarperCollins Children’s Books will offer Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) of great books that you will have the chance to read and review before they are available in stores. Reviewers are selected at random but you must be a member of the program to be eligible. And, best of all, First Look is completely free!  I’ve never heard of a publisher offering ARCs to children before.  Does any other publisher do this?  They might want to consider it.

This book is tiny but it’s worth it.

Aw yeah, baby.  Nellie Oleson done went and got herself her OWN book.  Basically it’s On the Banks of Plum Creek but told from Nellie’s point of view.  And the fact of the matter?  Turns out that Laura’s not exactly the world’s most reliable narrator.  For you purists, the book was done with the Little House Estate’s blessing.  The author’s name is a pseudonym but I blanked when they explained who she really was.  Sorry.  And there aren’t any interior illustrations either.

DING!

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sara Holmes says

    June 16, 2007 at 8:24 am

    Hey, Fuse. I’m going to try to make it to Mitali’s party in DC, so maybe I can say hi to you without this ad buzzing around our heads. 🙂

    HarperCollins used the FirstLook program with Letters From Rapunzel, and I loved it, because as an author, it gave me some authentic feedback from my readers really early in the game. (At least I HOPE it was authentic!) Anyway, I didn’t know the HC program was unique.

    And on a side note: I’m not reading anything that makes me sympathize with Nellie. I LOVED hating her. 🙂

  2. Adam Rex says

    June 16, 2007 at 9:06 am

    James Jean is an illustration god. Go to jamesjean.com if you don’t believe me.
    I was on the Spectrum annual jury this year and we just threw medals at him.

  3. Sara Holmes says

    June 16, 2007 at 9:20 am

    Um, Nellie? I’m SORRY! I will so read your book. Please stop putting frogs in my lunch pail!

    Can you tell I’m a huge LHP fan? I watched that show even as my younger brothers mocked me. Sniff.

  4. Fuse #8 says

    June 16, 2007 at 10:14 am

    The James Jean link was one of the ones that disappeared. Consarn it. Glad to hear he has to dodge medals chucked in his general vicinity.

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