Kids & YA Newsletter: February 2024

PICTURE BOOK

Little children are constantly being told not to touch things. Undoubtedly one reason why Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt was so enthusiastically received by tots and parents alike when it was released in 1940 is that it gave little hands permission to touch and feel and play with what they found on—and in—its pages. A lot has changed over the decades, but one thing hasn’t: little kids still love to touch everything in sight. PAT THE BUTTER, an affectionate take on the original, is another “yes you can” book. With simple line drawings and engaging interactive features, this new picture book will give children the chance to experience what butter looks and feels like in all its glorious forms through touch and feel prompts (cold is hard solid, room temperature is soft, melted is liquid). Readers will see some familiar foods that are made with butter in these various states, and then they’ll be invited to explore what they can do with a pat of butter, like putting it on pancakes, spreading it on bread, and tossing it with noodles. Just like Pat the Bunny did before it, PAT THE BUTTER will give children the agency they crave: to hold it, feel it, smell it, play with it, call it their own. Author Margot Mustich’s first children’s book, When Grandmas Cook, is due out from duopress (Sourcebooks) in November 2024. (Please note, Stacey Glick is the agent on this project.)

Did you know that the Sky is in love with the Earth? When the autumn rains fall, each raindrop is a gentle kiss from the Sky to the Earth. If a rainbow appears, that means that both Sky and Earth are happy. During the winter, Sky and Earth rest, but in the springtime, the Earth bursts into bloom and shows her love to the Sky. When the Sky is happy, the sun shines even brighter, and the fruits of the Earth ripen in all their splendor. Every season, we see this love, and the cycles keep going, one after the other! With THE SKY AND THE EARTH, acclaimed author/illustrator Carme Lemniscates returns to the nature themes and style of her most popular titles (such as Trees, Birds, Seeds and Listen to the Earth). Parents will love sharing the love between Sky and Earth with their littlest nature lovers in this gentle introduction to the seasons for young readers. You can see more of Carme’s work on her website. (Please note, John Rudolph is the agent on this project.)

CHAPTER BOOK

Ms. Cortez has a new student in her second-grade classroom, and his name is Robot Spy. He wants to fit in so he tells everyone – including his new friends Hector and Rachel – that he is not a robot. And he is not a spy. But neither of those two things are true. He is a robot. And he is also a spy. Not a very good one when it comes to disguise, true –hat what he is good at is helping to solve mysteries, like where the class pet has possibly gotten to. And that’s exactly what he is going to figure out in ROBOT SPY: THE CASE OF THE STOLEN SNAKE, the first in a proposed chapter book series by Jeremy Dauber, award-winning author of Mayhem and Madness: Chronicles of a Teenaged Supervillain. ROBOT SPY will appeal to parents who fondly remember Encyclopedia Brown and kids who love Young Cam Jansen and are looking for their next read. It’s funny and lively with a hearty dash of silliness along the lines of Real Pigeons or Dory Fantasmagoryfor a perfect kid-friendly treat! (Please note, Stacey Glick is the agent on this project.)

MIDDLE GRADE

In a small town at the edge of the world, people sell their children to the devil. Sometimes for immortality, sometimes for gold, but as long as the devil gets to take a person and make them one of his marionettes, he will accept any bargain. Ziva’s heart broke when her parents sold her older sister, Petra, away in exchange for extraordinary wealth. Since then, she has seen her sister only twice, when the devil comes to town. On these visits, Ziva sees that Petra is transforming more and more into wood. She doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to save Petra from being the devil’s puppet, but she will try anything she can. Especially as it becomes increasingly clear that her parents, having sold a child before, wouldn’t be afraid to make the exchange one more time. SOLD is penned by Rebecca Schaeffer and inked by Starchild, the duo behind the Webtoons series Not Even Bones, which has 150 million views to date. It’s dark, folkloric, and wonderful—a stunning new YA graphic novel for readers of Anya’s Ghost, Bone, and The Last Kids on Earth. (Please note, Jim McCarthy is the agent on this project.)

Clark Hubble’s world is turned upside down when he's sent to live with his mysterious Uncle Arthur in the seemingly sleepy town of Bellman’s Bay. Arthur’s house is dark, creepy, and enigmatic, much like Arthur himself. It’s also full of secrets, as is Bellman’s Bay. As Clark tries to adapt to his new home, he learns the town’s most important legend, about a notorious thief who disappeared 60 years ago after having stolen valuables from the most prominent families in town, both thief and valuables never to be seen again. After his uncle vanishes from the town’s museum when the power goes out during a swanky gala, along with an invaluable artifact linked to the local legend, Clark and his new friends set out to prove his innocence, uncovering the town's dark secrets in the process. They have help from Clark’s own secret—he sees sounds as unique shapes and colors, allowing him to untangle what he heard while the lights were out during the artifact’s disappearance. It’s up to Clark to find his uncle, recover the treasure, and clear his family’s name. CLARK HUBBLE AND THE HILL HOUSE CODE by debut author Matthew Begbie (who worked on Gossip Girl, Schmigadoon, and the upcoming Elsbeth) is a sweet but witty middle grade novel that is part whodunit, part ghost story, and part treasure hunt adventure that invites the reader to solve the mysteries of Bellman’s Bay along with Clark. Perfect for anyone who loves The Westing Game or The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels. (Please note, Michael Bourret is the agent on this project.

YOUNG ADULT

Poppy Jacobsen would give anything to leave the St. Michael Exclusion Zone, a section of the United States forced into isolation after a disastrous chemical spill. The SMZ’s borders are controlled by a cult that believes the river’s silvery water is holy, not toxic—despite the mutations it gives to anyone who touches it. After losing her mom to the river, Poppy is more desperate than ever to escape, and when her path collides with a rag-tag crew of teenage activists, she finally sees her chance. Dart, their arrogant and annoyingly attractive leader, claims he has information that will topple the SMZ’s power structure, and its borders, if he can share it at the SMZ’s widely attended water-testing ceremony. Poppy is skeptical, but she strikes a deal: if she guides Dart’s group to the ceremony, they’ll pay her enough to bribe her way past the borders. As Poppy ventures deeper into the SMZ—and as she and Dart start to open up to each other—she’s forced to confront what she’s really trying to leave behind. And when they uncover devastating truths about the history of the SMZ, Poppy will have to decide: stick to her escape plan, or take a stand for the place that’s finally starting to feel like home. Perfect for fans of All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown and Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt, TOO BRIGHT IN THE DARK by debut author Libby Kennedy is a speculative YA novel that takes inspiration from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. (Please note, Michaela Whatnall is the agent on this project.)

Built on the edge of a cliff and secluded from the rest of the world by the dense, dark Woods, the Monastery is home to the Reform School for Young Gentlemen. It is run by the strict and mysterious Headmaster, who has one rule for the students: you must never talk about your past. Seventeen-year-old Leon arrives at the Monastery with no memories of how he got there. He remembers why—an absolution, as his mother put it, and a second chance—but he can’t remember how. In fact, as he spends his days in lessons and chores, it becomes evident that hours and even days are slipping from his mind. With the help of his sharp eye and careful notetaking, Leon begins attempting to unravel the threads connecting the students’ memory loss with the Headmaster’s unorthodox practices and the wicked tales of the Woods. He finds support from a group of like-minded boys who are willing to defy the rules, and even begins to fall for one of them—spirited Oli, who validates Leon’s feelings like no one has before. But on the night of the much-anticipated Dance of Flowers, Oli disappears. To Leon’s distress, the details of Oli’s disappearance seem to have simply been erased from the students’ memory. With everything at stake, Leon and his friends will need to unite to solve the mystery at the heart of the Monastery, even if the truth lies in what they have been warned to forget: their past. Simultaneously eerie and empowering, OUR VEINS BLEED MOONLIGHT by debut author George Tsirakidis is a YA literary mystery with folk horror elements for fans of Victoria Lee’s A Lesson in Vengeance and Trang Thanh Tran’s She is a Haunting. (Please note, Michaela Whatnall is the agent on this project.)