Kids & YA Newsletter: June 2020

“Gilbert loved playing soccer. His brother Jack did not. Jack loved reading books. His sister Rose did not. Rose loved riding bikes. Both her brothers Gilbert and Jack did not.” Under normal circumstances, none of this would be a problem. But when you are sharing one body, that makes things a little more difficult! THREE HEADS ARE BETTER AS ONE makes for a wildly imaginative and creative debut picture book for Jess Fogel. A member of SCBWI, her illustrations have been published in the Portland Mercury, YETI magazine, and Le petite magazine. Her artwork has also been exhibited in group shows in Portland, OR; Brooklyn, NY; and Portsmouth, NH, and you can see more of it at www.stillbutunclear.com. With its sly sense of humor, THREE HEADS ARE BETTER AS ONE deftly explores the perils of sibling co-existence and gives new meaning to the term “separation anxiety.” (Please note, John Rudolph is the agent on this project.)

BETSY THE BLACKSMITH: THE LEGEND OF BETSY HAGAR is the remarkable story of a Revolutionary War hero who wore a dress instead of knickers. Betsy grew up on the streets of Boston, and throughout her childhood Betsy found satisfaction in the hardest and dirtiest of jobs. She became a skilled laborer and was as handy as any man. When war broke out, she tried to be more like the other women by caring for the wounded and packing ammunition. But Betsy found the work to be dull and ordinary, and she wanted to make a bigger impact. So with a heart as big as an anvil, Betsy set to work in a place not fit for a lady—the blacksmith’s shop. There, in a secret back room, Betsy used her unusual talents to help make arms for the Minutemen and forged her way into American History. Author of NATURE’S LULLABY and DON’T LET THE BEDBUGS BITE Niki Masse Schoenfeldt (a finalist for the Katherine Paterson Prize) shares the first picture book biography of Betsy Hagar, an unsung American hero, which will not only have multiple curriculum tie-ins but will inspire any readers who feel like they don’t fit in. (Please note, John Rudolph is the agent on this project.) 

From the beginning, the U.S. space program included the efforts of hundreds of thousands of dedicated and hardworking men and women, many of whose stories have not been heard. As the scientist in charge of figuring out what, when and how to feed the astronauts, Beatrice Finkelstein was one of the program’s most important woman contributors. After all, the astronauts couldn’t get to the moon if they couldn’t eat! Not only was Bea a scientist, but also a chef, a writer, a friend to famous astronauts like John Glenn and Wally Schirra, and most of all, a problem solver. In BEA’S DINER: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BEATRICE FINKELSTEIN, NUTRITIONIST TO THE ASTRONAUTS, author William Gurstelle paints a vivid picture of the exciting early days of the “space race” for middle grade readers. Through his well-crafted storytelling, historically significant photographs, and fun-to-examine diagrams, Gurstelle recounts the life and times of the fascinating, forward-looking, and friendly Bea Finkelstein, the “Astronaut’s Nutritionist.” (Please note, John Rudolph is the agent on this project.) 

Melody has always believed there is a distinct difference between being Korean-American like herself and being Korean-Korean like her strict, distant father, who lives in Seoul and rarely makes it to the States to visit her and her mother. Imagine her surprise when her parents tell her that she and her mother will be moving to Korea to live with her father for the first time in her life. Forced to say goodbye to her best friend, her beloved Hell’s Kitchen apartment, and the only life she’s ever known, Melody is thrust into a new country where she doesn’t even speak the language. Claire Ahn’s often-hilarious, utterly wonderful debut I GUESS I LIVE HERE NOW follows Melody’s trials and tribulations as she finds herself torn between dreams of returning to New York City as soon as possible to win her dream internship at an interior design studio, the friendships she finds herself developing at her surprisingly difficult new school, and layers upon layers of family secrets that might start to explain why her parents spent so much time living apart. Ahn’s novel is filled with unexpected friendships, heartfelt relationships, complex family dynamics, and the reconciliation of two cultures in one heart. For fans of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever and Crazy Rich Asians, this is a wonderfully charming, funny, incisive novel for anyone who has ever felt they don’t quite know where they fit in. (Please note, Jim McCarthy is the agent on this project.)

For the three years since her grandmother’s death, Georgia has had the ability to raise the dead…briefly. With one touch of any body that passes through her family’s funeral home, the ghost of the departed will come to her. With one more touch, they will disappear forever, off to an afterlife that remains as mysterious to Georgia as ever. Using the brief opportunity to communicate with the deceased, she asks them for final wishes—messages they want passed along, or whatever small favors a teenaged stranger can offer those who are just learning that they’ve passed. When her classmate Milo dies in a tragic accident, his body arrives in Richter, Georgia’s family’s funeral home. Driven by a profound anxiety about death (after all, there is a wide disparity between familiarity and comfort), Georgia knows that she must wake him. He is the youngest person she will ever have had the chance to speak to after life. And when she does bring his ghost to her, he has two requests: first, make sure his parents are okay, and second, let his ghost stay present; don’t touch him again—he’s terrified of what may be waiting on the other side. But Milo’s parents are not okay, and Georgia can’t keep her classmate’s ghost around forever. WELCOME TO RICHTER, Emma Ohland’s speculative contemporary novel, stands between We Are Okay and A Monster Calls as a thrilling narrative of life beyond death and a profound reckoning with grief and mortality. Ohland’s debut is a deeply special creation. (Please note, Jim McCarthy is the agent on this project.)