Next to last was Jennifer Hunt, who is just about the bubbliest editor you’d ever want to meet. She presented Crocs by David Greenberg and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger (but it was actually edited by Alvina). The rhymes, about an urban family that goes on vacation, are funny and silly. Alvina read some pages aloud and the text had wonderful rhythm – this will be a hit at storytime, I assure you.
She also presented a clever-looking little book called Billy Bones by Christopher Lincoln (but it was actually edited by Nancy). It’s about a family of skeletons who lives in a closet and they keep the secrets of the family that lives in the house (funny, right?). According to Jennifer, there is a boy and girl protagonist who get equal page-time; however, the marketing people very smartly featured the boy on the cover and the title is boy-specific. I predict the boys will like this one.
Lastly, Jennifer presented Sara Zarr’s upcoming title, Sweethearts. If you’ll remember, Ms. Zarr is on the shortlist for that little token of recognition, the National Book Award for Story of a Girl. Sweethearts isn’t a sequel. I hadn’t grabbed a galley of this at the beginning of the preview but, following Jennifer’s presentation, I snatched this baby right up. It’s about two friends – Jennifer described it as one of those early-in-life friendships, where the relationship is the first one where you let someone into your life beyond your family. One of the friends moves away but then returns years later when they’re now in high school. Obviously, they’ve grown up completely different, one is now in the popular crowd and the other one has stayed in that nerdy group. I’m not describing the book as eloquently as Jennifer, of course, but nevertheless it appears that Sara Zarr is officially a rock star of YA literature.
PUB DATES: Crocs – 5.08, Billy Bones – 8.08, Sweethearts – 2.08
2 comments:
Nancy's last name is Conescu.
Thank you! That is a huge relief to me - I felt awful that I didn't remember it!
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