EarlyWord

On the heels of the announcement that Ottessa Moshfegh’s literary thriller Eileen (PRH/Penguin) is a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, comes the news that screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson has been hired to adapt the novel for producer Scott Rudin.

The Hollywood Reporter writes that Wilson has “become a go-to writer for adapting book-to-screen thrillers with provocative female heroines who are not always likable” ( the WSJ profiled her last year under the headline “Hollywood’s Go-To Scribe for Thrillers“). Having written the screenplay for The Girl on the Train, she was hired last year to adapt Maestra by L.S. Hilton (PRH/Putnam; BOT), another title that was sometimes compared to The Girl on the Train (Note: the cover for the latter, above, is the newly-released art for the tie-in).

Maestra is still in development. No stars or director have yet been named.

Rising on Amazon is The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race, edited by Jesmyn Ward (S&S/Scribner). The jump coincides with a featured interview on NPR’s All Things Considered yesterday.

National Book Award–winner Ward talks with host Audie Cornish about her new essay collection and how she and her fellow essayists included in the book respond to the current state of race in America. The collection brings James Baldwin’s 1963 seminal book, The Fire Next Time to the present day. Contributors include Edwidge Danticat, Claudia Rankine, Natasha Trethewey, Isabel Wilkerson, and Kevin Young.

Ward says that few of the essays address the future “because this moment can feel so overwhelming” and discusses what it means, “as Claudia Rankine says, to be in a perpetual state of mourning.”

She also talks about the importance of the Presidency of Barack Obama and his statements “that he could be a victim of the kind of senseless, random, state-sanctioned violence that many black Americans have been victim to in the past couple of years … those statements were a revelation … I think it’s really important for us to hear someone in position of power, like the position of power, to say that.”

Reviews and listings are piling up. Bustle includes it on their list of “17 Nonfiction Books Coming in August 2016,” writing “the book explores the progress we’ve made and the work left to be done.”

USA Today is also featuring the collection, giving it 4.5 stars out of 5 and saying, “The perils of walking, driving — indeed living — while black have become tragically apparent in recent months … At a time of such tension, The Fire This Time … might seem too much to bear. But ultimately, the prose and poetry contained in this concise volume … is illuminating and even cathartic.”

Vogue says the book affirms “the power of literature and its capacity for reflection and imagination, to collectively acknowledge the need for a much larger conversation, to understand these split-second actions in present, past, and future tense, the way that stories impel us to do. This is a book that seeks to place the shock of our own times into historical context and, most importantly, to move these times forward.”

The New York Post‘s gossip columnist, Cindy Adams focused on a book yesterday, Give Please a Chance (Hachette/jimmy patterson; Nov. 21), a joint project from James Patterson and Bill O’Reilly, illustrated by a variety of artists, with all proceeds going to charity.

She writes, “O’Reilly, whose shy retiring lips have possibly been shut for minutes, says  … ‘The message for children is that ‘please’ is a magical word. Like if you need a cookie or if you need a bedtime story, you also need to use the word ‘please.’ ”

While both authors have written titles for kids, this will be their first picture book and first collaboration. O’Reilly tweeted about it in May.

Excited to announce I’m writing a kid's book with James Patterson @JP_Books. GIVE PLEASE A CHANCE out 11/21! https://t.co/EVfux6uLOk -BO'R

— Bill O'Reilly (@BillOReilly) May 9, 2016

“Nobody could wait for Colson Whitehead’s new book — including Oprah, so here it is, a month early,” writes Ron Charles in The Washington Post.

Today, Winfrey announced that The Underground Railroad (PRH/Doubleday; RH Audio; BOT) is the latest title in her Book Club 2.0. Originally scheduled for release on Sept. 13, it is available now, says Charles, as “the result of an extraordinary plan to start shipping 200,000 copies out to booksellers in secret.”

Oprah enthuses about the novel, below, saying it’s kept her up at night, her heart in her throat.

Calling it “Far and away the most anticipated literary novel of the year,” Charles says the novel “reanimates the slave narrative, disrupts our settled sense of the past and stretches the ligaments of history right into our own era … The canon of essential novels about America’s peculiar institution just grew by one.”

It received stars from the trades (Boolist, Kirkus, LJ, and PW) and was on a bevy of “most anticipated lists.”

Announcing the selection today on CBS This Morning, Oprah admits that, despite his literary reputation, she had never read a book by Whitehead before.

It was also a hit of BEA. Whitehead was one of Library Journal’s Day of Dialog speakers and was on the panel for the Adult Book and Author Breakfast. As we reported in our GalleyChat BEA review, Jessica Woodbury, blogger and Book Riot contributor, called the novel “spectacular,” and said, “The beauty of this book is that while it has that deep communal feel of folk tale, it also lives vibrantly through its characters. I cannot remember another book about this era that so completely brought the world to life in my mind. Just do yourself a favor and get this book.”

Oprah interviews the author, in a video on the CBS site as well as on Oprah.com.

For those thinking ahead to displays, The New York Times offered a host of possibilities in their review of Ben H. Winters’s Underground Airlines, connecting it to Whitehead as well as Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and Natashia Deon’s debut novel, Grace. And of course there is Octavia Butler’s modern classic, Kindred.

Premiering tomorrow night, August 2,  on PBS American Experience is a documentary titled The Boys of ’36, based on the bestseller The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown (Penguin/Viking; Penguin Audio; Thorndike).

A feature film based on the book’s proposal was announced in 2011, with Kenneth Branagh attached to direct. In 2014, a new director was announced, Peter Berg (Lone Survivor), but there’s been no further news since.

After midnight release parties and a bit of flashback nostalgia for readers now all grown up, the reviews for the newest take on the wizarding world of Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine), are flooding in.

While the play itself is a hit in London, the BBC reports in a round up of reviews of the book that “critics complained reading the script was an ‘incomplete experience’ as the story ‘demands to be seen’ [and that it was] ‘lacking the richness that acting and staging would add.'”

One review that arrived after that roundup, from the often critical Michiko Kakutani in the  daily NYT‘, disagrees, calling it  “absorbing and ingenious” and saying “even though it lacks the play’s much-talked-about special effects, it turns out to be a compelling, stay-up-all-night read.”

Finding the story well crafted (“the suspense here is electric and nonstop, and it has been cleverly constructed around developments recalling events in the original Potter novels”) Kakutani continues that author Jack Thorne “has a visceral understanding of the dynamics and themes at work in those novels … a dynamic, many readers can appreciate, with a particular resonance today.”

People acknowledges that  “Reading 300 pages of dialogue is not the same immersive experience as settling into one of Rowling’s massive tomes, but for fans of the series? It’s a must. ”

USA Today says the print book is “almost ‘Harry Potter’ enough” adding, “reading the script (three out of four stars) is an incomplete experience — noticeably lacking the richness that acting and staging would add to a realized production and the familiar Rowling prose a novel would have contained — it may capture just enough of the old Potter magic to please even the most skeptical of fans.”

The two films opening this week could not be more different. One is a beloved, gentle children’s tale and the other is the other is the next DC comic-based film extravaganza.

The Little Prince, after a long stretch of turbulence, is finally landing safely on the small screen.

As we wrote earlier, Paramount decided not to distribute the film on the eve of its March 18th release date, quickly followed by the news that Netflix would provide landing space.

The animated film will now premiere on Aug. 5, both on the streaming service and in some theaters. Below is the newly cut Netflix trailer:

The film features the voices of Jeff Bridges, Mackenzie Foy, Rachel McAdams, James Franco, Marion Cotillard, Benicio del Toro, Paul Giamatti, Paul Rudd, Budd Cort, Ricky Gervais, and Albert Brooks.
It is directed by Mark Osborn (Kung Fu Panda).

Tie-ins come out months ago:

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

The Little Prince Family Storybook: Unabridged 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.

Suicide Squad smashes onto the big screen on the 5th as well. As we noted in an earlier Titles to Know post, the film follows the action a super villain strike team who serve as covert agents on specialized black op missions.

It boasts a large ensemble cast including Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, and Cara Delevingne.

The movie was featured on the cover of the July 15 issue of Entertainment Weekly and more recently dominated Comic-Con, “winning” the online buzz sweepstakes reports Screenrant and Variety (Game of Thrones did the best for small screen hits).

Collected editions:

Suicide Squad Vol. 4: The Janus Directive, John Ostrander (PRH/DC Comics) is the next collected edition.

Three other were released earlier:

Vol 1: Trial by Fire (Sept. 2015 — 9781401258313)

Vol. 2: The Nightshade Odyssey (Dec, 2015– 9781401258337)

Vol. 3: Rouges (April, 2016 — 9781401260910)

Requests are soaring for a memoir that details a key touchstone in the race for President, the feelings of alienation and loss among the white working class, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, J. D. Vance (Harper; HarperAudio; OverDrive Sample).

Demand is being generated by strong media coverage. The Wall Street Journal writes about it in a feature, The Washington Post printed an excerpt, and David Brooks recommends the book in his NYT‘s column “Revolt of the Masses,” writing “Vance’s family is from Kentucky and Ohio, and his description of the culture he grew up in is essential reading for this moment in history.”

In the WSJ Vance says his memoir seeks to address why he felt “culturally foreign” at Yale Law School and “started out as a quest to answer questions about his own upbringing but developed into a broader conversation about social divisions in the U.S. and feelings of disenfranchisement among the white working class.”

In the excerpted passage in the WP he writes, “economic cynicism brought with it a feeling that the country we believed in could no longer be trusted.”

His solution to a problem that spans multiple states is decidedly local, telling WSJ: “Concretely, I want pastors and church leaders to think about how to build community churches, to keep people engaged, and to worry less about politics and more about how the people in their communities are doing … I want parents to fight and scream less, and to recognize how destructive chaos is to their children’s future.”

His memoir is currently the 4th bestselling book on Amazon and holds have reached 8:1 ratios. A fact that one library patron shares with other readers of WSJ, writing in the comments section: “I tried to obtain Hillbilly Elegy from the library…I’m 95th in line for 12 copies.”

Interest in the subject has already proven high, as White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, Nancy Isenberg (PRH/Viking; Tantor Audio; OverDrive Sample) attests.

It’s the beginning of a new month, which means several new James Patterson titles are set to arrive. In addition to the hardcover Bullseye (Michael Bennett #9), there is also the paperback original Chase (Hachette/BookShots; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample), which is also a Michael Bennett story.

So far, there are no signs of over saturation. The hardcover is showing a holds queue as long as the one that awaited the publication of the previous title in the series. The BookShot title, however, shows many fewer holds.

The third Patterson title being released, also in the BookShot series, Let’s Play Make-Believe, (Hachette/BookShots; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample), features new collaborator James O. Born. Although Born is known, as is Patterson, for thrillers, the plot summary for this one indicates that they are exploring new territory:

Both survivors of the divorce wars, Christy and Martin don’t believe in love at first sight and certainly not on a first date. But from the instant they lock eyes, life becomes a sexy, romantic dream come true. That is, until they start playing a strangely intense game of make-believe-a game that’s about to go too far.

Close on Patterson’s heels in holds is Debbie Macomber, with her most recent, Rose Harbor romance, Sweet Tomorrows (PRH/Ballantine Books; RH/BOT audio; Random House Large Print; OverDrive Sample).

The titles covered here, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Aug. 1, 2916

Advance Attention

Presto! : How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear and Other Magical Tales, Penn Jillette (S&S; OverDrive Sample).

Penn and his magician partner Teller appeared  on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this week (with a brief mention of the book). He is booked for HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher tonight. Next week, he is scheduled for several shows, including ABC’s Good Morning America and ABC’s The View.

March: Book Three, John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions).

It’s good timing for the release of Congressman John Lewis’s third and final graphic novel about the civil rights movement. As we wrote earlier, Lewis was a very happy man when he won an Eisner for the second in the series, March: Book Two. The first in the series, March: Book One is a Coretta Scott King Honor Book.  Lewis attended Comic-Con this year and, as he did last year,  led a commemorative march with children through the convention hall, wearing a coat and backpack similar to those he wore as he crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the Selma March in 1965.

The Making of Donald Trump, David Cay Johnston, (Melville House; OverDrive Sample).

The first new book about Trump since he became the official Republican candidate is from Brooklyn-based indie publisher Melville House, coming weeks ahead of the The Washington Post ‘s investigative Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power (S&S; S&S Audio; Aug 23).

Johnston appeared on PBS NewsHour a couple of weeks ago, along with Michael D’Antonio, author of Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success, now in paperback as The Truth About Trump (Macmillan/Thomas Dunne).

Consumer Media Picks

Harmony, Carolyn Parkhurst (PRH/Pamela Dorman; Penguin Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample) is the People “Pick of the Week” — “At a breaking point with their autistic daughter Tilly, 13, the Hammond family moves to a remote camp whose charismatic leader posits back-to-nature living as a solution. The propulsive plot … is driven by multiple voices, most compellingly Tilly’s little sister’s.”

The second People pick is This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell (PRH/Knopf; OverDrive Sample; July 19) — “paints a portrait of two eccentric people struggling to transcend life’s messy mistakes” — also recently reviewed on NPR.

The third is You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample) — “Taut and raw, this is a mesmerizing story from a master of suspense.” The new issue of the NYT Book Review, expresses admiration for it under the headline, “In Megan Abbott’s New Murder Mystery, a Teenage Gymnast Sharp as a Knife.”

Peer Picks

Two August LibraryReads come out this week:

Die Like an Eagle, Donna Andrews (Macmillan/Minotaur; Dreamscape Media; OverDrive Sample).

“Meg and her family embrace America’s favorite past time. It’s the opening weekend for the Caerphilly is driven by multiple voices.” baseball league and Meg finds a body in the porta-potty. Meg, her friends and family must catch a killer and figure out how to oust the petty league president before everyone’s weekend is ruined. Reading Andrews’ books are like a visit home to your favorite relatives, plus she weaves humor and fun while still penning an enjoyable mystery.” — Karen Emery, Johnson County Public Library, Franklin, IN

Watching Edie, Camilla Way (PRH/NAL; Penguin Audio; OverDrive Sample).

“Twisty psychological banter makes this book a thrill ride. Edie was the girl in high school who had it all. Heather was the awkward girl who wanted so badly to be accepted. That was high school and now Edie is a single mom caught in a dead end job. She is about to lose it when Heather comes to her rescue. While Edie loves being able to get her life back, the hold that Heather has on her and the baby is disconcerting. The story jumps back and forth between past and present and you will change your mind about their friendship right up to the last page.” — Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin, TX

Four August Indie Next selections also debut:

Christodora, Tim Murphy (Perseus/PGW/Legato/Grove Press; Blackstone Audio).

“Murphy uses Christodora House, an historic apartment building in the East Village of New York City, as the namesake and backdrop of his compelling debut novel. The story follows the lives of several residents over the course of four decades, expertly detailing the intersections of art and ambition, activism and loss, and the consequences of addiction and the devastation of the AIDS epidemic. I can think of no novel in recent memory in which I felt so drawn to its characters and so emotionally invested in the outcome of their lives.” —Shawn Donley, Powell’s Books, Portland, OR

Carousel Court, Joe McGinniss (S&S; S&S Audio; OverDrive Audio).

“Carousel Court begins with the decline of a marriage as members of the Maguire family find themselves in the suburbs of Los Angeles, struggling to hold onto their last vestiges of power to control what feels like the free fall of their lives. Examining the paradox of both our over-connected and disconnected world, McGinniss’ clear voice is beautifully balanced with the dark desperation he reveals as the all-too-common silent partner of our lives. This is a powerful book that should not be missed!” —Luisa Smith, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA

The Bones of Paradise, Jonis Agee (HC/William Morrow; Harper Audio; OverDrive Sample).

“Agee presents the saga of the Bennett family in the years following the massacre at Wounded Knee. Formed and altered by the unforgiving Nebraska Sandhills, the Bennetts are a rough, conflicted lot, and their story is filled with secrets, lies, betrayals, vengeance, and murder. Agee evokes a lost world and time without sentiment, but with a beautiful subtlety interrupted only by the true horrors of well-researched fact. A must-read for lovers of Western literature, family sagas, and historical fiction.” —Amanda Hurley, Inkwood Books, Tampa, FL

Half Wild: Stories, Robin MacArthur (HC/Ecco; OverDrive Sample).

“MacArthur’s debut story collection is set in the hilly backcountry of southern Vermont — a rural landscape of half-abandoned farms and double-wide trailers, but also one of immense natural beauty and wildness. Her characters hew close to this land — even those who have left cannot help but return. These are beautifully drawn portraits of people who, despite poverty and decay, remain vibrantly alive to their world and to the power of memory. I cannot wait to read more from this author!” —Peter Sherman, Wellesley Books, Wellesley, MA

It is also an Indies Introduce title.

Tie-ins

Children’s fantasy dominates the tie-ins this week with two titles forthcoming.

Tim Burton’s adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is finally nearing its air date, opening on Sept. 30 and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Asa Butterfield, Eva Green, Chris O’Dowd, Ella Purnell, Allison Janney, Rupert Everett, Terence Stamp and Judi Dench.

A tie-in comes out this week. Several others will follow.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Movie Tie-In Edition), Ransom Riggs (PRH/Quirk Books; RH Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample).

The Art of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: The Art of the Film, Leah Gallo (PRH/Quirk; Aug. 30, 2016).

Tales of the Peculiar, Ransom Riggs and illustrated by Andrew Davidson (PRH/Dutton Books for Young Readers; RH Audio/Listening Library; Sept. 3, 2016).

USA Today says this contains “10 fairy tales, each illustrated by Andrew Davidson, who also designed the cover. The original stories include tales of wealthy (but very hungry) cannibals who dine on the discarded limbs of peculiars … and the origins of the first ymbryne (a time manipulator that takes the form of a bird) … The book’s publication is similar to J.K. Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard.”

A Monster Calls is based on Patrick Ness’s novel about a story-telling monster and a troubled teen whose mother has cancer. It opens October 21st and stars Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Liam Neeson, and Lewis Macdougall.

There is a tie-in: A Monster Calls: A Novel (Movie Tie-in): Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd, Patrick Ness (Candlewick; OverDrive Sample).

For our full list of upcoming adaptations, download our Books to Movies and TV and link to our listing of tie-ins.

In a rare move, The New York Times Book Review devotes a full issue to a single genre.  Summer Thrills, offers 19 reviews, some covering multiple titles, that highlight buzzy books (reviewed by buzzy authors) and titles new to the scene.

Sophie Hannah (Woman with a Secret) reviews Megan Abbott’s You Will Know Me (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample), a novel about murder and an Olympic hopeful. Hannah says that Abbott “sticks the landing,'”admiring the “glittering carapace of [her] lush, skillful, subtle writing,” praising some of the novel’s “radical and satisfying” elements, and calling it “brilliant” and “excellent.”

Lee Child, whose Jack Reacher thrillers are reliable best sellers, reviews The Death of Rex , by  C.B. George (Hachette/Lee Boudreaux Books; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample), set in contemporary Zimbabwe and focused on three married couples.

Part of the buzz around the novel is the author. George is a pseudonym for a writer Child doubts is new at the game, writing that it is unlikely the novel is a debut, in fact “it would be astonishing if it were — like being able to play the Moonlight Sonata with no prior experience of the piano. Therefore ‘C.B. George’ must be a pen name, and speculating about who — or, more accurately, what kind of established writer — lies behind it became a matter of ongoing interest, illuminated by what I took to be clues scattered throughout the text.” In the end Child decides “C.B. George is a screenwriter — and now also a novelist of great quality.”

Another best-selling author, Joseph Finder, reviews two books by insiders. The first is the latest by Stella Rimington (the former director general of MI5 said to be the model for 007’s M). Breaking Cover (Macmillan/Bloomsbury USA; OverDrive Sample) is the ninth Liz Carlyle thriller and Finder says Rimington writes it with “crisp authority.”

Matthew Palmer works in the US State Department, with stints on the National Security Council, and has written two novels previous to The Wolf of Sarajevo (PRH/Putnam; OverDrive Sample). This one Finder says contains “some
truly exciting scenes … And its conclusion is thrilling … The aura of authenticity on the smaller scale helps lend gravity to plot twists that, in other hands, might have seemed outlandish.”

A debut, the historical thriller The Devils of Cardona, Matthew Carr (PRH/Riverhead; Penguin Audio; OverDrive Sample), is the first crack at fiction by a nonfiction author. It is set in 1584, Spain and involves the Inquisition and the murder of a priest. Reviewer/author Esmeralda Santiago says that it advances through “well-structured chapters and harrowing scenes” and that it “is as exciting as it is enlightening from its first pages to its satisfying end.”

Titles we have covered such as Missing, Presumed, Dark Matter, and Crow Girl also get attention.

In addition to  the news that Oprah Winfrey will star in Ava DuVernay’s movie for Disney,  A Wrinkle in Time, the first full-length trailer for another of their collaborations, Queen Sugar was recently released.

The series is based on the novel Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile (Penguin/Pamela Dorman; Thorndike; 2014; see our chat with the author just prior to the book’s publication). As we wrote earlier, the story takes place in Southern Louisiana and features three sibling who inherit their father’s sugar cane plantation. It was selected as a book of the week by Oprah’s O magazine, saying, “In Queen Sugar, two bulwarks of American literature—Southern fiction and the transformational journey—are given a fresh take by talented first-time novelist Natalie Baszile.”

The TV show will start with a two-night premiere on Sept. 6 and 7. Entertainment Weekly reports that each of the 13 episodes will be directed by a different female director “as part of DuVernay’s efforts to bring up other female voices as she gains additional notoriety. Should the show perform well, she will try to recruit another group of women to direct a second season.”

Oprah herself will have a recurring role. In the press release announcing the production, she said, “I loved this book and immediately saw it as a series for OWN. The story’s themes of reinventing your life, parenting alone, family connections and conflicts, and building new relationships are what I believe will connect our viewers to this show.”

The first star has been announced for the forthcoming Disney adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s 1963 Newbery Award winning novel A Wrinkle in Time  and it’s a big one.

Variety reports Oprah Winfrey will play Mrs. Which, one of the three celestial guides who helps the Murry children and Calvin O’Keefe on their quest through time and space to find the Murry’s missing father.

As we noted earlier, Ava DuVernay (Selma) will direct. Jennifer Lee (Frozen) will write the adaptation.

Oprah worked with DuVernay on Selma and is currently working with her on the forthcoming OWN series Queen Sugar, set to begin on September 6th.

IndieWire reports that DuVernay plans a diverse cast for L’Engle’s novel and Variety notes that Oprah was always going to be one of the three Mrs. W characters (the others are Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who).

The novel got a bit of a boost last night when Chelsea Clinton mentioned it as she introduced her mother during the Democratic National Convention. She also name checked Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis – both are rising on Amazon.

Jan Berenstain, famous as the co-author and illustrator of the Berenstain Bears books has died at age 88. With her husband, who died in 2005, she created over 300 titles, featuring Mama, Papa, Brother, and Sister Bear. The books highlighted family life, learning from each other, being brave, and the everyday life lessons of early childhood.

In an obituary, the NYT reports that Dr. Seuss, Theodor Geisel, served as their first editor and that the couple credited him “with helping them achieve their trademark simplicity in language and illustrations. That style made their books popular as reading primers, by helping toddlers see connections between stories and words on a page.”

Their first book came out in 1962, a story written in rhyme titled The Big Honey Hunt. It is still in print but the series itself has developed into animated TV shows, video games, and an iPhone app. After her husband’s death, Jan Berenstain worked on the books with their son Mike, who will take over the series with his brother.

Nineteen new Berenstain books are expected this year.

Movie fan sites are reacting to the latest trailer for Kubo and the Two Strings by Oregon’s stop-motion animation house Laika as  “the studio’s most epic and visually stunning project yet.”

That’s a lot to live up to for the studio that produced Coraline (based on the book by Neil Gaiman,  ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls (based on Alan Snow’s Here Be Monsters!).

Set in Japan, the fantasy-adventure features the voices of  Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, George Takei and Art Parkinson (Game of Thrones). It debuts in theaters on 8/19/16.

The week before the movie’s release, Universal Studios Hollywood will showcase the studio in a display titled  “From Coraline to Kubo: A Magical LAIKA Experience.”

Tie-ins are available for Kubo.

Kubo and the Two Strings: Meet Kubo, R. R. Busse
Hachette/ Little, Brown YR. Paperback, July 19, 2016
Passport to Reading, Level 2, Ages 4 to 8

Kubo and the Two Strings: The Junior Novel, Sadie Chesterfield,
Hachette/ Little, Brown YR. Paperback, July 19, 2016
Ages 4 to 8

The Art of Kubo and the Two Strings, Emily Haynes, Travis Knight,
Chronicle Books, Hardcover, July 19, 2016

Heading into its publication week, Ruth Ware’s second novel, The Woman in Cabin 10 (S&S; S&S Audio; OverDrive Sample) was a library holds leader.

It debuts this week at #15 on the USA Today best seller list. As the fifth hardcover fiction title on the list, it’s likely that tomorrow it will debut on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list in the top 5 (although the list hasn’t been released yet, an early online release of the “Inside the List” column reveals that it lands at #4).

Readers are going back to Ware’s previous title, In A Dark, Dark Wood(S&S/Gallery/Scout Press; S&S Audio; OverDrive Sample). It rises to #61 on the USA Today list, its highest spot to date. It was on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list for 2 weeks. Released in paperback in April, it has been steadily moving up the NYT Trade Paperback Fiction list and was at #8 last week. It was recently optioned for a movie.

Both were LibraryReads picks.

Expect that her next book to feature her name above the title.