News - Arthur A. Levine Books

News

Five stars for Suburbia! Shaun Tan's collection of illustrated short stories, Tales from Outer Suburbia, is picking up more starred reviews. Here's what some of them are saying:

Publishers Weekly: "Tan does for the sprawling landscape what he did for the metropolis in The Arrival."

Booklist: "Tan combines spare words and weirdly dazzling images . . . to create a unity which holds complexities of emotion seldom found in even the most mature works."

Kirkus Reviews: "Graphic-novel and text enthusiasts alike will be drawn to this breathtaking combination of words and images."

School Library Journal: "In spirit, these stories are something akin to the wit and wisdom of Shel Silverstein. . . . [T]his book is a small treasure, or, rather, a collection of treasures."

BCCB: "[T]he craftsmanship is impeccable; here the combination of words and visuals creates a stunning overall effect, inviting lingering and many return visits."

To read more about Tales from Outer Suburbia, click here.

FOUR stars for The Snow Day! We're pleased to announce that Komako Sakai's The Snow Day has now received a whopping FOUR starred reviews!

School Library Journal writes: "Atmospheric, tender, full of anticipation and satisfaction, this one will charm young children."

Kirkus Reviews says it's "A reassuring story, perfect for a winter�s day."

Booklist calls it "as precisely crafted as a snowflake".

And Publishers Weekly praises Komako Sakai's depiction of "the intimacy and coziness of the hearth, the eerie but irresistible starkness of a landscape transformed by snow."

To read more about The Snow Day, please click here.

Two stars for Heartsinger! Our Spring list includes two books in translation, one of which is Heartsinger, written by Karlijn Stoffels and translated by Laura Watkinson. And we're delighted that it's already received two starred review!

From Kirkus Reviews: "Stoffels�s fresh Dutch voice, rendered fluidly and beautifully in Watkinson�s translation, weaves together traditional folktale elements to create an original, haunting story of love that is magical unto itself. Heartfelt through and through."

From Publishers Weekly: "Dutch author Stoffels makes an impressive American debut."

To read more about Heartsinger, please click here.

Celestine is a star! Celestine, Drama Queen has just received a lovely starred review from Booklist. Here's what they had to say:

"...This, like the best picture books, captures the essence of children, their emotions, and how they cope. Celestine, adorable, annoying, and utterly childlike, is appealingly portrayed in Ives� funny, sunny watercolors, along with friends, family, and the frenzy of life on the boards. Delightful!"

To read more about Celestine, Drama Queen, please click here.

A FIFTH star for Marcelo! We're delighted to share the news that Marcelo in the Real World, Francisco X. Stork's first novel with Arthur A. Levine Books, has received five starred reviews!

Publishers Weekly, says that it is "Not to be missed."

Kirkus Reviews calls it "a powerful tale populated by appealing (and decidedly unappealing) characters and rich in emotional nuance."

School Library Journal says "Stork does an amazing job of entering Marcelo�s consciousness and presenting him as a dynamic, sympathetic, and wholly believable character."

Horn Book notes that "It is the rare novel that reaffirms a belief in goodness; rarer still is one that does so this emphatically."

And Booklist says "Shot with spirtualism, laced with love, and fraught with conundrums, this book, like Marcelo himself, surprises."

To read an interview with the author in School Library Journal, please click here.

To read more about Marcelo in the Real World, click here.

Moribito at ALA!! We extremely proud to announce that Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, written by Nahoko Uehashi and translated by Cathy Hirano, has won the 2009 Mildred L. Batchelder Award for outstanding translation. This is the third time Arthur A. Levine Books has taken home the Batchelder, following Samir and Yonathan in 2001 and An Innocent Soldier in 2006. To read more about the award, click here.

To learn more about Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, click here.

Curse Dark as Gold wins! There was a new award at ALA this year, the William C. Morris Award for debut YA fiction, and the first ever winner is Elizabeth C. Bunce for A Curse Dark as Gold!! Congratulations to Elizabeth, and to her editor, Cheryl Klein! To read more about this award and others announced at the ALA Midwinter conference, please click here.

To read more about A Curse Dark as Gold, click here.

Summer can't come too soon... We're proud to introduce you to the AALB Summer 2009 list! We're welcoming some new faces to our list: novelists Martin Mordecai and Stephanie Tolan, as well as picture book author/illustrator Keith Baker. The second book in the Moribito series by Nahoko Uehashi will be available, and AALB veterans Jonah Winter and Richard Egielski have teamed up for the first time. We hope you enjoy our books, and that you have a wonderful summer!

To read more about our summer list, please click here.

Interview with Shaun Tan While visiting New York in May 2009, Shaun Tan was interviewed by School Library Journal about his latest book, Tales from Outer Suburbia. Click here to read the full interview at slj.com.

Click here to read more about Tales from Outer Suburbia.