Kids & YA Newsletter: May 2023

PICTURE BOOK

“Everything begins with an idea,” according to famous radio personality Earl Nightingale—but how exactly do we come up with ideas? A WORLD OF IDEAS is a quirky picture book about how ideas grow in our heads and how we can find the very best idea even if they take longer to sprout than we’d like. After all, a good idea is only a good idea when you’ve picked the right one! With A WORLD OF IDEAS, author/illustrator Neena Phan makes a visually stunning and thought-provoking debut. Throughout A WORLD OF IDEAS, readers will take a metaphorical ride that shows ideas as plants, and hopefully they’ll grow an entire garden with some brilliant ideas of their own! (Please note, John Rudolph is the agent on this project.)

Pedrito lives with his mother and his brother Juan in Aguadilla, a colorful coastal town in Puerto Rico. His father found a job in Texas, and soon the family will join him there. But before they can leave, a massive hurricane hits the island, leaving tons of damage in its wake. When they go to check out the damage, Pedrito and Juan find a little dog trapped under sheets of metal. They bring the dog home, but before they can name her, the dog runs back to her owner, an old man who lives nearby. Pedrito is crushed, but as the island rebuilds, Pedrito and his family help out the old man, and together discover the true meaning of “Preciosa”. In PRECIOSA, award-winning author/illustrator Carlos Aponte draws inspiration from the song of the same name (often called the national anthem of Puerto Rico), and creates an uplifting and heartwarming story of a boy, his dog, and his beloved island home. (Please note, John Rudolph is the agent on this project.) 

Did you know that many summers ago, the first roller coaster was invented by mistake? All Bear wanted was a fast, efficient way to get from his cabin down to his beehives. So he built a track for a cart, but it was a bit too steep and fast for his liking. He just hoped the neighbors didn’t mind. Well, at first it was just Rabbit who wanted a ride to the beehives, but soon other critters showed up. Bear tried to make them happy by building more carts, but more and more came, and Bear began to think that maybe the critters didn’t all want to go to the beehive. So he made the track even more gut-tumblingly unpleasant so that they’d all go away and leave him in peace. But that didn’t work—now EVERYONE wanted to ride the Honey Runner! With THE HONEY RUNNER, author/illustrator of Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups Tadgh Bentley creates a rollicking tale of unintended consequences that will keep readers chuckling through the very last twist and turn. (Please note, John Rudolph is the agent on this project.)

Mary and Macy are twin sisters. Mary loves to draw, but Macy likes to tinker with machines. On their birthday, the girls receive a huge box, and out pops ROB the robot! Macy is thrilled, but Mary soon gets bored. So, she leaves them alone and starts drawing. Just then, she notices a little fairy called Duende flying by. ROB wants to draw too, and he makes good copies of her drawing, but Duende has disappeared. So Mary picks up her guitar, and with Duende flying nearby, she plays a beautiful song. That is, until ROB grabs the guitar and plays so hard he starts to overheat! Can Duende help Macy fix ROB and get him under control? With ROB AND DUENDE, acclaimed author/illustrator Carme Lemniscates creates a lively meditation on the creative spirit (which the Spanish poet Lorca referred to as “duende”) that will surely inspire young painters, musicians… and engineers! (Please note, John Rudolph is the agent on this project.) 

MIDDLE GRADE GRAPHIC NOVEL

While the other kids in Leah’s class have outgrown their toys, she still loves her doll. And though her mother tries to talk her out of it, Leah insists on taking the doll with her to Camp Cottontail for the summer—but she knows she needs to keep it secret from the other campers, which she manages to do at first. But things go wrong quickly. The only place off-limits is the abandoned Cabin Thirteen, so naturally, it’s one of the first places the girls in Leah’s cabin decide to go. While using a Ouija board to call to spirits, the other campers discover Leah’s doll and mock her for it. Then suddenly the candles go out, and when the girls turn on their flashlights, the doll is gone. In its place, a creepy voice taunts the girls, who race out of the cabin—all except Leah, who refuses to leave without her doll. When she finds the doll sitting peacefully on a bed, Leah goes to leave, but the voice invites her to return. Leah summons her courage and does return, meeting the ghost that lives in Cabin Thirteen. Unlike the other girls at camp, the ghost is friendly and fun, but she’s unable to leave the cabin as an apparition. So when the ghost suggests that she possess Leah’s doll, it seems like a great idea—her friend can now go anywhere! But the ghost has some nefarious plans she hasn’t shared, and it’s going to be up to Leah to figure out a way to stop her. THE GHOST IN CABIN 13 is a funny, spine-tingling middle grade graphic novel from J.C. Phillipps, author-illustrator of the Pacey Packer Unicorn Tracker series, that will appeal to readers of The Okay Witch and The Sleepover. (Please note, Michael Bourret is the agent on this project.) 

MIDDLE GRADE NONFICTION

In SLINGSHOTS, SLOTHS, AND GIANT STINGING TREES: THE ADVENTURES OF AN ARBORNAUT, celebrated biologist and conservationist  Meg Lowman—aka “Canopy Meg”—launches readers into the treetops, the under-explored “eighth continent” that exists above our heads. Unlike the scientists who preceded her, Lowman was not content to study trees from the forest floor. So, she put together a homemade climbing kit: she sewed a harness from an old seat belt, gathered hundreds of feet of rope, and found a tool belt for her pencils and rulers. Up she went, into the trees, and she has never looked back (or down!). Forty years later, Lowman is a pioneering scientist and dedicated educator, known as the “Real-Life Lorax” by National Geographic and “Einstein of the Treetops” by the Wall Street Journal. In a voice as infectious in its enthusiasm as it is practical in its optimism, SLINGSHOTS, SLOTHS, AND GIANT STINGING TREES is Lowman’s tale in nine trees, from the Elm trees of her upstate New York childhood to the Coachwoods of Australia, the Great Kapoks of the Amazon, to the Fig Trees of India, among others. Hers is the engrossing, uplifting story of a shy, nerdy tree climber—the only girl at the science fair—who becomes a groundbreaking, ground-defying field biologist, and a hero for trees everywhere. Here, she speaks directly to the audience of kids who will be decisive in the future of our forests, offering encouragement, inspiration and clear, age-appropriate action. (Please note, Jessica Papin is the agent on this project.) 

In the late 1960s, geologist Dorothy Vialiano was trying to answer questions about an ancient volcanic eruption around 1500 BCE on the Greek island of Thera, now known as Santorini. It was an enormous explosion, the equivalent of hundreds of atomic bombs, the force of which would have caused destruction through massive tsunamis and from the giant ash cloud obscuring the sun. While there was ample geological evidence of the event, there were no contemporaneous written documents about the eruption. Though the Ancient Greeks had a primitive form of writing, the only tablets of the time were used to record inventories and not stories. Dorothy wondered, if the stories weren’t preserved in the written record, perhaps they were preserved by oral tradition. She looked to Greek myths, and found references to earthquakes, skies of fire and huge waves documented in both the Titanomachy and Argonautica. Though she couldn’t be sure they described geological events, the vivid descriptions indicated a familiarity with Earth’s fury. Because of Dorothy’s insights, today some geologists are studying ancient Indigenous stories focused on geologic events in search of information that affirms, challenges, and sometimes even corrects Western science. These studies are the reconsideration of oral traditions and their capacity for preserving human memories over enormous stretches of time. They reflect a growing realization that Indigenous knowledge can be an invaluable partner in scientific efforts to save lives before catastrophic events occur. Hamline MFA graduate Charlotte Hunter’s GEOLOGY’S MYTHOLOGIES will introduce readers to these fascinating stories as well as the equally fascinating science behind them.  (Please note, Michael Bourret is the agent on this project.) 

YOUNG ADULT

In Anespérer, where artistic talent is coveted and magic comes alive through skill and passion, Elara Toussaint’s miraculous desserts should be enough to propel her through the ranks of the city’s most talented chefs. Instead, opportunities to rank up are reserved for the elite, and Elara’s impoverished background keeps her shut out and struggling to make ends meet. Hope arrives in the form of a mysterious and handsome benefactor who offers entrance into a competition to become the city’s new head chef—one of Anespérer’s seven most powerful artisans. But Nik Dupont, her new sponsor, has his own secrets. Manipulating Elara is the perfect chance for him to impress his powerful father, who has a plan to turn the city’s governance on its head. Once Elara steps into the spotlight, though, she quickly becomes the people’s unlikely favorite, and her defiance of Nik’s control grows—making her more dangerous than he expected. As Elara’s unlikely success sows seeds of rebellion among the city’s poorest, who see themselves in her, both Nik and Elara begin to realize the power they have to shape the future. And Nik’s growing admiration for Elara’s spirit puts them both at risk of his father’s retribution. With the fate of Anespérer’s future in her hands, Elara must make a choice: believe the handsome young man who promises safety and the career of her dreams or believe in herself and chance losing it all. Perfect for fans of lush fantasies like Hotel Magnifique and Where Dreams Descend, ALL WE HUNGER FOR by debut author Anna Mercier is what happens when YA fantasy and The Great British Bake Off collide. (Please note, Michaela Whatnall is the agent on this project.) 

London, 1890. The skies above the city teem with airships, but seventeen-year-old dock worker Horatia Chung has given up her dream of flying. After her father’s death in an airship crash forced her to abandon her navigational studies, all Horatia wants is to collect her wages and keep her family from the workhouse, even as unanswered questions about her father's death haunt her. Her plans for a quiet life are interrupted when Victor Hawkins, an enigmatic young gentleman, threatens to seize her family flat as repayment for her father’s loans. Victor will only forgive the debt if Horatia helps him win the very first airship race around the world. Determined to save her home and discover the truth behind her father’s crash, Horatia joins Victor’s ragtag crew as his navigator. As Horatia and Victor fall into an uneasy alliance, overcoming sandstorms, runaway ships, and daring midair rescues, Horatia soon learns there may be more to Victor than his arrogant and selfish persona. But when the crew uncovers a competitor’s plot to sabotage their ship, tensions soar, and suddenly Horatia finds herself on the brink of losing the race and her newfound friendships. Together with Victor, she will need to trust her crew and her unique skills to protect her home, solve her father’s mystery, and survive the adventure of a lifetime. Inspired by Around the World in 80 Days, THESE DAUNTLESS SKIES by debut author Lacey Yong is a YA historical fantasy perfect for fans of the rich exploration of identity in Stacey Lee’s The Downstairs Girl and the action-packed adventure of Leslie Vedder’s The Bone Spindle. (Please note, Michaela Whatnall is the agent on this project.)