Come March, American audiences will finally get to see  a much-talked-about animated movie based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved story, The Little Prince. After it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, it went on to do well at the box office in France and several other countries and is now set to debut in a limited run in the US on March 18th, expanding to more theaters the following week. Directed by Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda), it features the voices of several big-name stars, including Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams and Marion Cotillard.

As the new trailer indicates, the movie presents the story of de Saint-Exupéry’s 1943 novel through the eyes of a modern-day girl who learns about the Little Prince from her neighbor, the Old Aviator (voiced by Jeff Bridges).

Tie-ins have just been released:

The Little Prince Family Storybook: Unabridged Original Text, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
HMH BYR,  11/17/15

The Little Prince Read-Aloud Storybook: Abridged Original Text, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
HMH BYR,  11/17/15

HMH released a new translation of the original book in hardcover in October as well as several Little Prince board books,

Published last year, The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antione de Saint-Exupery, written and illustrated by Peter Sis (Macmillan/FSG/Frances Foster) was on several best children’s books lists, including the New York Times 10 Best Illustrated.

We’ve written about backlist titles hitting the NYT E-Book and Combined Best Seller lists as a result of sudden discounts by retailers.

The NYT explores the impact of  such “flash sales” in a story that appeared yesterday. Sourcebooks was a recent beneficiary. Their 1994 title, The Oracle Glass, by Judith Merkle Riley, hit the list last week after being featured simultaneously as a Kindle Daily Deal and a Nook Daily Find.

While some of these books quickly return to their former level of sales, for others, it has helped readers discover authors raising the sales of all their titles.

Don’t discount old-fashioned marketing, however. It can still renew sales of print backlist titles. See, for instance, City of Women, by David R. Gillham (Penguin/Putnam/Einhorn), now on the trade paperback list.

After the publisher-supported site Bookish.com delayed its summer, 2011 launch date  and changed management several times, many in the book business wondered if it would ever arrive. Just as rumors had begun to die down, the site launched last night.

Aimed at consumers, it’s a Johnny-come-lately to online book merchandising. As Ron Charles of the Washington Post notes with tongue-in-cheek, “If you’re one of the countless people wondering, ‘Why isn’t there anywhere to buy books online?’ we’ve got good news: Bookish went live last night.” The press release offers details on what is billed as a “one-stop, comprehensive online destination designed to connect readers with books and authors.

The site is sponsored by publishers Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group and Penguin Group, with participation from 16 other publishers.

Users can buy books directly from Bookish, with B&T handling fulfillment. There are also links to online retailers, including ABA’s IndieBound.

The site will include author interviews (a conversation between Michael Koryta and Michael Connelly is currently featured), book excerpts and reviews.

It also aims to provide a “state- of-the-art recommendation tool…from a proprietary algorithm that factors in editorial themes, professional and consumer reviews, publishing house editor insights, awards and more.”

At this point, it’s not working that well. Entering The Power Trip by Jackie Collins brings up the following results. Hemingway might be pleased with the comparison.

Author Ann Patchett appeared on The Colbert Report on Monday night to talk about her new bookstore, Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN, and why independent bookstores are superior to online stores.

Colbert worried that she might suffer repercussions from Amazon head, Jeff Bezos, calling him a “vindictive man,” and saying he slashed  Barnes and Noble’s tires.

Ironically, Patchett’s most recent book, State of Wonder, which has been on the NYT best seller list since its publication, received a bump on Amazon as a result of the mention (from #367 to #197).

Maybe: