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What to read in 2017, part 3
Lisa Edwards, Publishing Director, Templar Publishing says: We can’t wait to publish Duncan Beedie’s The Lumberjack’s Beard – the tale of a forester whose beard plays home to the animals he’s uprooted. Anna Llenas will wow with a spectacular pop-up in I Love You Nearly Always – a story of love, friendship and acceptance between two very different bugs. Marc Martin’s show-stopping non-fiction title LOTS takes centre stage on our Big Picture Press imprint, along with H is for Hawk’s Chris Wormell who will illustrate Dinosaurium, the next title in the Welcome to the Museum series. Our big summer read is Sam Usher’s Sun, the next title in his seasonal quartet of picture-book stories featuring a boy and his granddad. And for Christmas, Marina Aromshtam and Victoria Antolini debut with The Real Boat – a glorious gift picture book about a paper boat with oceanic ambitions.’
Tiny Owl is continuing to publish exciting new titles. Co-founder Delaram Ghanimifard says: ‘Our first title in 2017 is The Elephant’s Umbrella, a colourful and funny story where a lost umbrella is the main character, looking for its owner. We follow the umbrella’s journey and find out why it wants to belong to the elephant!
We are also excited about Eli a wordless trilogy from Italy. Eli, the mosquito, tries, fails, but never stops. The three books are very imaginative and fun for all ages.
More news is that we are publishing paperback editions of our favourite titles such as The Little Black Fish, When I Coloured in the World, and A Bird Like Himself.’
‘Adventure and discovery are at the heart of all QED books publishing in 2017’ says Vicky Garrard, Editorial Director, QED Publishing. ‘Answering all the quirky questions inquisitive youngsters love to ask, Can you Tickle a Tiger’s Tummy? introduces the topic of animals using wonderfully humorous illustrations. Pirate Pierre and the Lost Treasure is part of a fun-packed code-your-own-adventure series that teaches children to draw characters, animate plotlines and create games using Scratch. What on Earth? Bees is packed full of hands-on activities encouraging children to discover the importance of bees for themselves, and while Maths Quest cleverly combines Key Stage 2 topics with gripping adventure stories, Invent It! provides all the tools and tips budding inventors will need to turn an inspired idea into the next great invention.’
‘I have always loved the way Sarah Matthias brings the past to life in vivid, page-turning stories’ says Martin West of Troika Books. ‘We will publish her new book A Berlin Love Song in April and are very excited about it. Set during World War Two and starring a young Romani girl this wonderful romance takes Sarah’s writing to a new level. Watch out for Hilda Offen’s new poetry collection Message from the Moon, and Jo Franklin’s comic new adventure Help I’m a Genius too.’
Rebecca Hill, Usborne Fiction Director has lots too to be excited about: ‘Mitch Johnson’s Kick heralds an astonishing new talent with the story of Budi, a young boy working in an exploitative sweatshop in Jakarta who dreams of becoming a superstar footballer. The only thing standing in Budi’s way is everything. A timely and thought provoking adventure which knocked us all sideways when we first read it.
Clues, codes and catastrophe abound for Lily, Robert and Malkin with the continuation of The Cogheart Adventures. Peter Bunzl was a bestseller in 2016 and his second adventure Moonlocket marks him out as a star on the rise.
Being Miss Nobody is a story about speaking up from a girl who can’t. Darkly comic with a timely examination of the double-edged power of social media, debut author Tamsin Winter’s voice is real and relevant: she’s a writer who just gets it.
We are also introducing the world to workhouse-girl-turned-plucky-heroine Rose Muddle, the world’s best-travelled stoat, Ermine, and supernatural crime-fighting duo Charley and Billy of S.C.R.E.A.M. 2017 is going to be a bumper year for fantastic fiction!’
‘In its third year of publishing, Wide Eyed Editions moves into a more narrative non-fiction’, says publisher Rachel Williams, ‘with beautifully-illustrated books that offer hours of slow reading around the printed page. Labyrinth (March, £12.99) by Theo Guignard is the ultimate maze book: an oversized journey through worlds filled with dragons; megacities and superhighways. This is visual acuity at its best, ideal for reluctant readers.
All Aboard the Discovery Express (Sept 17, £17.99) by Tom Adams and Emily Hawkins, illustrated by Tom Clohosy-Cole, is an action-packed adventure that combines the mystery of an Agatha Christie novel with real facts about transport throughout the ages. Aboard a magical, 1930s-era train, readers will be given the chance to unlock the mystery of a missing professor as they learn about planes, submarines, steam engines and more.
Pirates Magnified (Sept 17, £14.99) is a real-life history adventure with hundreds of things to spot. Illustrated by the amazing Harry Bloom, this book follows the adventures of 10 of history’s best-loved pirates, and comes packed with a magnifying glass, allowing readers 6+ to explore each cutaway scene in detail.
Matthew Morgan, Commissioning Editor, words & pictures says: ‘We are delighted to be publishing a number of books in translation, kicking off with the hilarious and heartwarming Hug me, please! from Polish picture book duo Przemysław Wechterowicz and Emilia Dziubak. Home-grown talent is represented with two beautifully illustrated non-fiction titles: a concertina book that takes the reader on a journey underground called Street Beneath my Feet, by Charlotte Guillain and Yuval Zommer; and Once Upon a Jungle, by Laura Knowlesand James Boast, which introduces the food chain concept through simple, poetic language. Finally, from the hugely talented illustrators Carles Ballesteros and Olivier Latyk comea range of innovative, fun board books, my favourites being Go to sleep Little Monkey and Go Rocket Go!’