Publisher Spotlight Preview: Fall/Winter 2024 – Helvetiq, Inhabit Media, & Kube

Onward we sally! Thanks to Publisher Spotlight’s own Ellen Myrick, we’re continuing to give you a brief peek into some of the books slated for release in the coming months. You can find the first of these round-ups of small publishers here, the second here, and the third here. Today’s will be a mite bit shorter, but have no fear. They’re all interesting keepers.

The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr and Léonie

Bischoff, translated by Michelle Bailat-Jones

ISBN: 9783039640638

Publication Date: October 8, 2024

Now here’s an idea. I’ve been so enthralled to see graphic novel versions of poetry and fairy/folktales that I haven’t seen the forest for the trees. Leave it to people in other countries to see the true potential in the comic book form. Some of the older librarians amongst us who are reading this post may be looking at this title and author and think to themselves, “Wait a minute. Wasn’t that . . .?” Yes indeed, folks. Helvetiq has figured out that there are loads and loads of middle grade novels for kids out there that were the stars of their day but are less remembered now. This book in particular originally came out in 1990. Now it has been turned into a GN, raising all sorts of possibilities. The plot, such as it is, centers on a kid whose parents die and leave him a turkey farm. What to do? Obviously, herds those turkeys across two states so you can sell them at a higher price, of course! A fun adventure story and a great use of older out of print titles, that’s for sure!

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Your Money and the World: How to Spend, Save, Donate and Invest Sustainably by Cecile Biccari, ill. Naïade Lacolomb, translated by Jeffery K. Butt

ISBN: 9783039640454

Publication Date: February 5, 2025

Join me as we take a small trip into 2025 in order to talk about this book. It is about nothing more or less than personal finance for kids. The story behind this particular title is that it was created in Switzerland for one school’s teacher and before long the entire Swiss school system was using it. Now they’re bringing a version of it to us in the U.S. In it, a sustainable investment expert explains how money works through comics, informing kids on smart economic choices. As children’s librarians we get asked for this kind of thing all the time. Nice to see a title we’ll be able to hand over soon.

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Dad, I Miss You by Nadia Sammurtok, ill. Simji Park

ISBN: 9781772274820

Publication Date: September 17, 2024

Inhabit Media has a tendency to specialize in Inuit stories and this latest is no exception. In this title, the focus is on the Canadian residential schools, but couched in a story appropriate for a younger age range. A boy is forced to attend a residential school and misses his father terribly. Of course, when the boy comes back he’s been forced forget his language, so he and his father need to figure out how to be together again. Handled with a light touch, it’s still pretty devastating stuff, covering a difficult chapter in history from an authentic voice.

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The Troll Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Huginn þór Grétarsson & Vladimiro Rikowski

ISBN: 9781772275179

Publication Date: October 1, 2024

Now Inhabit Media, as I mentioned, tend to work primarily with Inuit stories, but in this rare case they actually paired with an Icelandic publisher instead. In this story, it’s all in the title. A troll is afraid of the dark, which is very complicated because trolls in daylight turn to stone. He’s also afraid of human children, terrified that he’ll see them if he goes outside. It’s funny but also sweet. And of course in certain times of year, it never gets dark in Iceland, so this story makes a lot of sense coming from that part of the world.

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The Bowing of the Stars by Mehded Maryam Sinclair, illustrated by MforMoon, Calligraphy by Na’eel Cajee

ISBN: 9780860379249

Publication date: October 22, 2024

We see a fair number of Bible books come out in a given year, but how many are written for the Muslim community? This book is subtitled “Patience, Trust and Forgiveness from Surah Yusef, the Qur’an’s ‘Best of Stories’,” beautifully illustrated with orgami art, centers on the Prophet Yusef. But fool that I am, I didn’t realize that Yusef was the same fellow as Joseph, as in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. THAT Yusef! This is a beautiful rendering of that story, and the art is just sublime. A wonderful addition to any collection!

That’s all she wrote today, folks! Join us next time for even more.

Filed under: Publisher Previews