Latest NEWS:
There's always a lot going on at EMLA! Please check back regularly, or use our RSS feed.
![]()
|
Fresh off a terrific launch day at none other than the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY (watch her blog for a recap and photos), coming off of reviews in the New York Times and USA Today and with three starred reviews already in place, it seemed things could not get much better for Audrey Vernick's Brothers at Bat (no jinx!)—and yet here we are with the news that Shelf Awareness has bestowed star number four for this wonderful book! This funny, often moving picture book about an actual family of 12 baseball-playing brothers proves that fact can be stranger than fiction. Audrey Vernick (She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story) tells the story of the Acerra brothers, who played semi-pro baseball longer than any of the other 29 baseball teams made up entirely of brothers. Steve Salerno (Bebé Goes Shopping) re-creates the past with panache and casts a nostalgic spell. In a brilliant stroke, he portrays the dozen brothers in birth order, a handy reference as Vernick tells their larger story. The author enumerates the boys' nicknames and unique talents. The oldest, Anthony, earns the name "Poser" because he'd stand at the plate "as if his baseball-card photo were being taken." Brother number six, Jimmy, "had a knuckleball people still talk about." They banded together at a low point, when the fourth brother, Alfred, lost an eye at the plate, and the other 11 helped him practice enough to reclaim his Acerra uniform. Six of the brothers fought in World War II, and all six returned to play the game. One of the most moving images shows Mrs. Acerra standing on the front porch to welcome one of her sons home. In the space of 40 brief pages, Vernick and Salerno tell a tale of brotherhood and teamwork, both on and off the baseball field. And although they played for passion and not accolades, they got one from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. For those who love baseball, history and family stories, this book hits a home run.--Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness Discover: A stranger-than-fiction true story of 12 baseball-playing brothers who embody the concept of teamwork both on and off the field. Huge congratulations, Audrey! —Erin |
![]()
|
It seems to be a week for second-book deals around here! —Joan |
![]()
|
The word is out! It is so satisfying when a debut author moves on to book number two, and so our own Lynda Mullaly Hunt embarks on her next adventure even as her first book, ONE FOR THE MURPHYS, is getting ready to hit shelves next month! Lynda's second middle-grade novel, ALPHABET SOUP, is set in 1974, and it focuses on fifth grader Lucy, who hides the fact that she can't read by acting out in class. Then a new teacher sees through her bluster right into her heart. Lurking in Lucy's worried mind is the fact that her older brother is missing in action in Vietnam. The acquiring editor of world rights is again Nancy Paulsen at Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin. Woohoo, Lynda! —Erin |
![]()
|
The Indie Choice Awards were announced late last week, and we are so pleased that Mary Lyn Ray's STARS, illustrated by Marla Frazee, is an honor book recipient of the E.B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book Award! Books are nominated for this award by independent booksellers and chosen by a committee representing their bookselling peers. The award recognizes books that are a "pleasure" to read aloud and hear read aloud—which of course we believe describes STARS to a T! Huge, huge congratulations, Mary Lyn! —Erin |
![]()
|
What a week last week was at EMLA! On top of all the other great news, we learned that two fortunate and deserving titles, GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers (Houghton) and THE FALSE PRINCE by Jennifer Nielsen (Scholastic), both have received the best kinds of indicators that they are strongly supported in all of the major bookselling channels. First came word that they were being singled out by the nation's independent booksellers for the spring Kids' Next list's Top Ten. Then, this week B&N's weekly mailing, "This Week's Best New Reads," featured both books as two of the four teen novels included. And finally, with the start of April, Amazon put up its new Best of the Month lists—and in YA, again, two of the books were GRAVE MERCY and THE FALSE PRINCE. We are so incredibly pleased for and proud of Robin and Jen. May more great things come their way, and the way of all EMLA authors and all those writers who toil hard at their craft! —Erin and Joan |
![]()
|
It's a banner Sunday at EMLA--not just one, not two, but THREE books get nods in today's NEW YORK TIMES book review! First up in a roundup of baseball books for children is CLORINDA PLAYS BASEBALL!, by Robert Kinerk (illustrated by Steven Kellogg), in which the paper praises Bob's "rollicking, inventive rhymes" and says the book "will have children laughing." In the same roundup, Audrey Vernick's BROTHERS AT BAT (illustrated by Steven Salerno) is called "a captivating story" and "an unqualified winner." Awfully nice NYT quotes there! And BROTHERS AT BAT was also featured in Thursday's USA TODAY, and in the WALL STREET JOURNAL a week ago. A huge few days for Audrey! And finally, under the headline "Nuns Behaving Badly," GRAVE MERCY, by Robin LaFevers, gets a meaty write-up that unfortunately includes a couple of huge spoilers—so if you haven't read the book, just skim the review for the golden-nugget comparisons to "Game of Thrones," Katniss of "Hunger Games," and Katsa of "Graceling," plus the phrase "darkly funny." "Humor and crisp writing keep 'Grave Mercy," which stretches past 500 pages, from dragging," the paper says, and calls the romance "adventuresome." Congratulations to all! —Erin |
![]()
|
Now and then we get a lovely and loving review for a client's book and, greedy people that we are sometimes, we wonder why such a good review isn't a starred one. That's what happened one day when we received the SLJ review for Audrey Vernick's BROTHERS AT BAT. Here's the review; you'll see why we wondered where that star was! Here’s a fun and true story to start out the baseball season. Vernick relates the history of the Acerra family’s 16 children, consisting of 12 boys who formed their own semiprofessional baseball team in Long Branch, NJ, during the 1930s. Their dad was their coach and biggest fan. The team is honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame for being the all-time longest-playing all-brother team in baseball history. The author exhibits good humor by pointing out individual boys’ distinguishing characteristics such as Charlie, the slow runner who “hit a ball nearly out of the park, but only made it to second.” There is a retro feel to Salerno’s illustrations done in black crayon, gouache, watercolor, and pastel, with digital color added. Shades of green, blue, and turquoise augment the outdoor scenes. Readers will laugh out loud as they spot one brother out the bedroom window at night running with toilet paper in hand to their three-seater outhouse. This story sends out positive vibes of a family who sticks together, yet couples the tale with sorrowful times as well. A delight not to miss. We found out about the missing star, when later that very same day, Audrey's editor Jennifer Greene emailed a review from Booklist, indicating it was BROTHERS AT BAT's "third" star. We knew about one in PW a couple of weeks earlier; but what was the second one? Ah-ha! There really had been a star on that SLJ review after all! What a wonderful surprise! Here's the Booklist review. In a 1930s New Jersey town, one family liked baseball so much that they made their own team. It wasn’t that difficult. The Acerras had 16 children—12 of them boys. For 22 years straight, an Acerara played baseball in the local high school. In 1938, the oldest nine formed their own semi-pro team. With an age range of more than 20 years among the boys, there was always another Acerra coming up. Vernick, who interviewed the surviving members of the family, incorporates their remembrances into this very special exhibition of family loyalty and love of sports. The narrative takes them through their time on the field, the dissolution of the team when six of the guys went off to WW II (and all came home safely), and a team resurgence after the war. With plenty of highs (winning seasons) and a couple of lows (one brother lost an eye when a bunt went bad), the story rolls along easily. Best of all, though, is Salerno’s fantastic art. Using a retro style that combines the look of 1950s TV advertising (think “speedy Alka Seltzer”) and the exuberance of comic-book art, the pictures are full of vitality. The author’s and illustrator’s end note provides interesting context for this story of brotherly—and baseball—love. Three stars and three hurrahs for Audrey! —Erin |
This is definitely shaping up to be a good news sort of week! I’m thrilled to announce another debut author sale: this one is for Sumayyah Daud, who has written an amazing, mind-bending YA science fiction novel. I can’t share too many plot details without giving away vital story-clues, so I’m going to confine myself to sharing the official announcement which is going on Publishers Marketplace today:
Sumayyah’s writing is sharp and vivid and her story utterly impossible to put down. I couldn’t be more excited to announce this deal—and I guarantee that you all cannot wait to read it in print. |
![]()
|
If All of the Animals Came Inside is Eric Pinder’s delightful rollicking picture book celebration of madcap animal antics, which has been joyously illustrated by celebrated Arthur creator Marc Brown. I’m thrilled to say that this month, Animals received a starred review from School Library Journal. Here’s the review in full:
Congrats, Eric! |
It wasn’t long ago that we welcomed new arrival and recent round-the-world honeymooner extraordinaire Tara Dairman into the EMLA family. Today, I’m overjoyed to announce that Tara has accepted an offer for her debut middle-grade novel: THE DELICIOUS DOUBLE LIFE OF GLADYS GATSBY. —Joan |
![]()
|
Congrats to Robin LaFevers for her fifth star from Shelf Awareness!
—Erin |
![]()
|
We're so excited to share that ONE FOR THE MURPHYS, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt has earned a star from Kirkus!
Congratulations, Lynda! —Erin |
It’s a special sort of delight to open a review and discover that the reader really got everything the author had hoped they would. In that vein, we are thrilled to share this lovely STARRED review from Kirkus for Erin Moulton’s second middle-grade novel, TRACING STARS, which will be out from Philomel in May:
Congratulations, Erin! —Joan |