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In the Spotlight
 Blending History and Mystery for Young Readers Former middle school teacher Taryn Souders is the author of the Edgar Award-nominated Coop Knows the Scoop and other mysteries for young readers. Here, she reflects on incorporating lesser-known history in her books, including her forthcoming novel, Secrets of the Broken House. more  In the News
 SCOTUS Denies Petition to Hear Texas Book Banning Case After the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed free speech claims in Little v. Llano County last May, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to hear the case, in which a Texas library removed books on ideological grounds. PRH, PEN America, ALA, and NCAC were among the organizations urging SCOTUS to take the case. more  HBG Invests $200K in Raising Readers Campaign Hachette Book Group has announced a $200,000 investment to its Raising Readers campaign, in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of parent company Hachette Livre. HBG’s 2026 philanthropic initiatives include providing curated classroom libraries to 200 underfunded schools and education programs; mobilizing at least 200 volunteers to deliver reading and literacy support; launching a minimum of 200 Little Free Libraries; and 200 author visits to classrooms. MORE   Happy Birthday
 Jane Austen at 250: A YA Book List As the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth on December 16 draws near, we’ve compiled a list of new and forthcoming YA novels that pay homage to the author’s wise and witty works. more Licensing News
 Licensing Hotline: December 2025 HarperPop and its U.K. counterpart, Farshore, have joined forces to release a line of licensed books tied to Toca Boca, a safe, interactive world for kids that attracts close to 60 million players every month. Read on for news about Teacher Created Materials’ first-ever licensed titles, in collaboration with Mattel; the tie-in program for Zootopia 2, with books from Random House and other publishers; and more. more  Reading Roundup
 Noteworthy Picture Book and Novel Sequels: December 2025 Young readers can close out the year with new stories featuring their favorite characters, including a picture book about rival holiday mascots, a graphic novel about a tween baker, a graphic novel series closer following a scientist with a devious alter ego, and more. more Four Questions
 Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price Author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (l.) teamed up with science journalist Catherine Price to speak directly to tweens in The Amazing Generation: A Guide to Freedom and Fun in a Screen-Filled World, drawing on Haidt’s adult bestseller The Anxious Generation. We asked the duo why they believe kids can lead the charge toward less tech-dependent lives. Q: What made you want to address kids in this book? Haidt: Young people are the ones who have been most impacted by the negative effects of smartphones. They’re the targets, and it’s important for them to have the facts about screens, social media, and the tech companies that manipulate them for profit. Kids should also know how much power they hold! They can make their own choices about technology and how and when they allow it into their lives. more
Rights Report
 Janine O'Malley at FSG has acquired Like the Moon We Rise by Annabelle Cormack, a debut YA fantasy following Auriel, an indentured servant-witch who is offered a bargain by the haughty Prince Ambrose: pretend to be the enchantress prophesied to liberate his people from the cruel Empress, and live a life of freedom, luxury and power. But the more Auriel learns about the Empress, the less sure she is that she's the enemy. And the more she learns about Ambrose, the less sure she is that she can trust him. The first book in the trilogy is set for winter 2027; Molly Ker Hawn at David Higham Associates did the three-book, six-figure deal for North American rights.  Wendy Loggia at Delacorte Press has bought Kiersten White's Wilde and Wicked along with a sequel, in which a girl reluctantly accepts a boarding school scholarship, only to discover she's the heir to a notorious magical bloodline everyone thought was destroyed. As she unravels her dark legacy and a generations-spanning mystery, she's caught between the school's golden boy and his dangerously magnetic twin. Publication is slated for spring 2027; Michelle Wolfson at Wolfson Literary sold world English rights.  Holly West at Feiwel and Friends has acquired Aiden Thomas's Stray Gods, a YA fantasy in which a trio of cursed teens navigate the gang-ruled streets of a neon-drenched city, while battling their own monstrous powers. Publication is scheduled for fall 2029; Jennifer March Soloway at Starling Literary + Media brokered the six-figure deal for world rights.  Jenny Lopez at Sourcebooks Fire has bought, in a two-book deal, world rights to Kaitlin Reilly's debut novel, Look What You Did, a YA thriller about a teen who must confront her own buried trauma to clear her friend's name of murder and expose the dark secrets of her small town. Publication is planned for fall 2026; Jillian Davis at Kaplan Stahler Literary negotiated the deal.  Amy Fitzgerald at Lerner/Carolrhoda has acquired North American English rights to Annabelle Steele's YA novel Being Amani, originally published in the U.K. The protagonist's abusive estranged father resurfaces, asking for a second chance to be part of her life, just as she's embarking on her first romantic relationship—and noticing some troubling similarities between her dad and her new boyfriend. Publication is set for fall 2026; Petula Chaplin at Petula Chaplin Rights Agency did the deal on behalf of Hashtag Press and MMS Sales Agency.  Polo Orozco at Putnam has bought Deadly Little Lessons, a YA thriller by Danielle Valentine (How to Survive Your Murder). Pitched as Squid Game meets boarding school, the story is set at an academy where students are put through a twisted test of human resilience, and in order to graduate, they first need to survive. Publication is scheduled for fall 2026; Hillary Jacobson at CAA sold world English rights.  Rose Pleuler at HarperAlley has acquired world rights to Body Count, a YA graphic novel by Andy Schlebecker (l.) and David Chippendale (c.), illustrated by V. Vireak (r.). The story follows Noah and Kevin, a new college couple whose spring break road trip is derailed by a zombie apocalypse—leading the pair to find romance and revenge confronting their homophobic hometown and their fears about being gay. Publication is tentatively slated for spring 2028; Elise Howard at DeFiore & Company represented the authors and illustrator.  David Levithan and Talia Seidenfeld at Scholastic have bought two novels by Barbara Dee (Maybe He Just Likes You); Sam Palazzi will edit. Nothing to See Here follows four eighth graders who team up and start posting fake rumors as an experiment to show everyone the dangers of online gossip after an online incident forces a student to leave their middle school. Your Eyes Are Like Two Clouds is the story of a non-literary seventh grader who uses AI to compose love poems which he sends anonymously to his crush, who mistakenly believes they're written by her own crush. Publication is planned for fall 2026 and fall 2027 respectively; Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management did the two-book deal for North American rights.  Kate Fletcher at Candlewick Press has acquired author-illustrator Lisa Anchin's Maud and the Very Eventful Week, a quirky, slightly gothic early reader featuring little vampire Maud and her busy week, during which she operates a spider-and-juice stand, discovers a giant tooth, encounters a haunted teapot, and hosts a yard sale. Publication is set for summer 2026; Andrea Morrison at Writers House brokered the deal for world rights.  Ryan G. Van Cleave at Bushel & Peck has bought world English rights to Unsinkable by Fred Koehler, an illustrated middle grade novel following a boy adrift on a storm-damaged boat, a story of survival, courage, and the quiet power of hope. Publication is scheduled for 2028; the author represented himself.  Sally Morgridge at Holiday House has acquired world rights to chapter book series Orion & Cosmo by Stephanie Ward (l.), illustrated by Jessica Goecke. The dual POV series stars a space-obsessed boy who needs to find his missing astronaut mother, and the Martian who arrives on Earth just in time to help. Books one and two will publish in fall 2027, and book three will publish in spring 2028; Erzsi Deak at Hen&ink Literary represented the author, and Christie Megill at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.  Ann Kelley at Random House Studio has bought Andrea Zuill's picture book, Not a Kitty, a humorous story about Fig the possum, whose act of playing dead goes awry when she gets mistaken as a cat by an enthusiastic girl. Publication is slated for spring 2027; Erzsi Deak at Hen&ink Literary sold world rights.  Meredith Mundy at Abrams Appleseed has acquired world rights to When Is NOW?, a picture book written and illustrated by Maryann Cocca-Leffler (Marabella's Moment), in which a little pig, worn out by life's hectic pace, learns to live in the moment and notice the NOW. Publication is planned for spring 2027; the author-illustrator represented herself.  Kate O'Sullivan at Clarion has bought world rights to What Is the Wind? by Gideon Sterer (l.) (If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone), illustrated by Guojing (The House That Floated), a picture book ode in alliverative verse to the wonder of the wind that explores its many forms—from a welcome breeze to its whines and whistles. Publication is scheduled for fall 2026; Stephen Barr at Writers House represented the author, and Isabel Atherton at Creative Authors represented the artist.  Cheryl Klein while at Algonquin Young Readers acquired world rights to a nonfiction picture book by Kate Messner (l.) and co-author Ruth Rappaport-Kristal (c.), illustrated by Kelly Wu (r.), titled Ice Cream for Breakfast, the true story of the origins of Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, a global day of sweet celebration, to be edited by Samantha Gentry at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Publication is set for winter 2028; Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary represented the authors, and Wendi Gu at Hannigan Getzler Literary represented the artist.  Elizabeth Schleisman at Beaming Books has bought world English rights to Not Again, Dragon Chen! by Amanda Adams (l.), illustrated by Wazza Pink, a picture book about a boy and his imaginary dragon's tantrums, and their journeys to learning how to navigate big emotions. Publication is slated for fall 2027; Eve Adler at Red Fox Literary represented the author, and Christina Doffing at Astound US represented the illustrator. IN THE MEDIA
FEATURED REVIEWS
  LoopsJashar Awan. Simon & Schuster, $19.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-6659-7494-3 A determined child navigates the pride and peril of wearing their first pair of “big-kid shoes”—red sneakers with laces. Trouble is, those laces keep coming undone, and bought with “room to grow,” the untied kicks are inclined to slip off. But the young narrator refuses to dwell on frustration, breaking the fourth wall with indomitable enthusiasm to demonstrate lace-tying and offer steadiness in the face of setbacks. more  The Vanishing Sea: The Tale of How the Aral Sea Became the Aral DesertDinara Mirtalipova. Chronicle, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-79722-459-6 A series of seven opening maps chronologically establishes the dramatic shrinkage of the Aral Sea since 1960, when the lake was still broad and fish-filled. When the local community was “small and HUNGRY,” the Aral Sea, “like a caring mother,” supplies fish and water. But when the nearby population grows and seeks riches, the lake offers the entirety of its resources until nothing is left. more  The Queen’s GranddaughterDiane Zahler. Roaring Brook, $18.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-250-36311-4 As the youngest of Castile’s two princesses, Blanca knows that all aristocratic duties will fall to her beloved sister, but overhears that Queen Eleanor of Aquitane will chaperone a princess of Castile to France, where she will enter a political marriage. To Blanca’s shock, the queen chooses her and the pair embark on an arduous journey from Spain into France. Along the way, she must reconcile her royal privilege and navigate life-or-death situations that force her to reexamine her values. more  Heiress of NowhereStacey Lee. S&S/Barley, $19.99 (400p) ISBN 978-1-66597-896-5 As a baby, Lucy Nowhere washes ashore on Orcas Island, Wash., where shipbuilder and estate owner Darkon Sanders takes her in. Now 18, Lucy yearns to see more of the world. After Sanders’s decapitated head appears on the shoreline, islanders worry that sea wolves are responsible for his death. But when Lucy is named heiress of the estate instead of Sanders’s nephew, she finds herself under suspicion as well. more  One Word, Six LettersAdib Khorram. Holt, $19.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-250-40555-5 Egged on by a friend, Kansas City high school freshman Dayton shouts a homophobic slur during an assembly. While serving subsequent in-school suspension, Dayton connects with classmate Brody. The pair’s friendship becomes strained, however, when Brody’s off-color commentary repeatedly sabotages Dayton’s attempts to woo his crush. Meanwhile, student Farshid struggles to reconcile thoughts about his own sexuality with worries surrounding his self-image. more |
December 9, 2025
 
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People There are several changes at Stimola Literary Studio. Founder Rosemary Stimola has moved into the role of CEO, while senior agent Adriana Stimola has been named president. VP Peter Ryan has been promoted to chief financial officer. Senior agent Erica Rand Silverman has been promoted to VP of children’s publishing, And agent Allison Hellegers has been promoted to senior agent, while continuing as rights director. MARK YOUR CALENDAR  The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Mass., will host Click! Photographers Make Picture Books, from January 17–June 7, 2026. The exhibit will feature 80 archival photo prints and a selection of rare children’s books by photographer-illustrators including Tana Hoban, Charles R. Smith Jr., Edward Steichen, William Wegman, Walter Wick, Mo Willems, and Dare Wright. For more information, click here. Bestsellers  Children's Frontlist Fiction#1 Big Jim Believes (Dog Man #14) by Dav Pilkey. Click here  Picture BooksThe Elf on the Shelf (blue-eyed girl) by Carol V. Aebersold et al. Click here Best Books  Best Children's Books 2025Our selections for the top 50 books of the year, for readers of all ages. MORE Follow Us  Follow us on Bluesky and Instagram! | ||
