News from Alanna Books!
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Celebrating 10 years this year, Alanna Books and Lulu are in the news:
Bookseller article is here
Ribbonfish article is here
Anna's blog about the Bologna Bookfair is here
Bookseller article is here
Ribbonfish article is here
Anna's blog about the Bologna Bookfair is here
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Alanna Books reaches sales of $1million
in the USA!
in the USA!
If you read The Bookseller last week, you'll know that sales of the Lulu series have reached $1 million in the USA. (Click here to read the article).
Librarians are, of course, huge fans since Lulu visits a library in the first title of the series. But as the series has grown, the book-loving little girl has garnered fans right across the spectrum - with Alanna Books' co-publishing partners in Boston, Charlesbridge, for example, selling 14,000 copies to Walmart!
Here in the UK, Alanna Books is a newer and much smaller company, so it's more of a challenge to gain visibility. However, the first title really struck a chord with librarians and Alanna Books sold out of the 3,000 hardback print-run in 10 months and had to go straight back on press for a reprint!
As Lulu's adventures grew, wider sales followed - Lulu's love of books (a theme that runs through all the stories) continues to draw praise from librarians and teachers, but with the arrival of new baby brother and Lulu's newest gardening project, parents, booksellers, gardeners and nature lovers have fallen under her spell.
To celebrate, Lulu Loves Flowers will be published for the first time in paperback this Spring. Shortlisted for the Green Earth Book Award 2015 and with fabulous reviews of the hardcover (here) we are ambitions for what we can achieve for the paperback.
Librarians are, of course, huge fans since Lulu visits a library in the first title of the series. But as the series has grown, the book-loving little girl has garnered fans right across the spectrum - with Alanna Books' co-publishing partners in Boston, Charlesbridge, for example, selling 14,000 copies to Walmart!
Here in the UK, Alanna Books is a newer and much smaller company, so it's more of a challenge to gain visibility. However, the first title really struck a chord with librarians and Alanna Books sold out of the 3,000 hardback print-run in 10 months and had to go straight back on press for a reprint!
As Lulu's adventures grew, wider sales followed - Lulu's love of books (a theme that runs through all the stories) continues to draw praise from librarians and teachers, but with the arrival of new baby brother and Lulu's newest gardening project, parents, booksellers, gardeners and nature lovers have fallen under her spell.
To celebrate, Lulu Loves Flowers will be published for the first time in paperback this Spring. Shortlisted for the Green Earth Book Award 2015 and with fabulous reviews of the hardcover (here) we are ambitions for what we can achieve for the paperback.
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We'll be supporting booksellers with a garden kit, seed packets and postcards (click here for details). Don't miss out!
You can order the books through Pub-Easy from Marsden/ORCA details here.
The Lulu books are written by Anna McQuinn and illustrated by the amazingly talented Rosalind Beardshaw.
2006-2016 Lulu and Alanna Books are 10!
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Lulu Loves the Library was published in Spring 2006, so will be 10 years in print in 2016! Over these 10 years everybody has fallen in love with this pint-size, book-loving hero – critics, journalists, teachers, librarians, booksellers, parents and especially young children. |
They like how she and her family love books and stories and the way they inspire Lulu’s play and imagination – whatever she does in life, Lulu consults a book!
Autumn 2015
It's been a really busy Autumn... attending the EQUIP Diversity workshop; YLG in Glasgow and the IBBY-NCRCL conference. I'll be blogging about all three very shortly - watch this space.
Lulu also made a brief appearance on The Apprentice courtesy of the Newham Bookshop.
Long-time fans of Lulu, John tells me they talked The Apprentice contestants through Lulu Loves Flowers as an example of a good picture book. That bit ended up on the cutting room floor, but Lulu was in shot on the counter throughout - evidenced by all the people who sent me shots of their TV screens!! Go Lulu!
It's been a really busy Autumn... attending the EQUIP Diversity workshop; YLG in Glasgow and the IBBY-NCRCL conference. I'll be blogging about all three very shortly - watch this space.
Lulu also made a brief appearance on The Apprentice courtesy of the Newham Bookshop.
Long-time fans of Lulu, John tells me they talked The Apprentice contestants through Lulu Loves Flowers as an example of a good picture book. That bit ended up on the cutting room floor, but Lulu was in shot on the counter throughout - evidenced by all the people who sent me shots of their TV screens!! Go Lulu!
The publishing process panel at the IBBY-NCRCL conference in Roehampton. Anna McQuinn, Alanna Books; David Maybury, Scholastic and Barry Cunningham, Chicken-house.
Summer?
It may only feel like Summer on alternate days (here in the UK anyway) but fans of Lulu Loves Flowers (in the USA Lola Plants a Garden) are not deterred. My chief spy, Starr Latronica spotted this in Everyone's Books window in Vermont:
It may only feel like Summer on alternate days (here in the UK anyway) but fans of Lulu Loves Flowers (in the USA Lola Plants a Garden) are not deterred. My chief spy, Starr Latronica spotted this in Everyone's Books window in Vermont:
Great to see Lola in Excellent company in with other strong feminist women Malala, Jacqueline Woodson, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Then fabulous book blogger, Library Mice, added to the growing collection of reviews:
Summer is a great time to get kids involved in helping out in the garden, might it be weeding, picking fruit or vegetables or anything else. In this gorgeous latest Lulu story, little Lulu decides she wants to grow flowers of her own and sets to do just what. In this series Anna McQuinn always puts book, libraries and reading aloud at the heart of what makes children tick; this is utterly wonderful, and especially here, with the reading of non-fiction is promoted.
With gorgeous heartwarming artwork by Rosalind Beardshaw, little readers will undoubtedly want to put their wellies on, and start working on their garden patch straight away.
Also reviewed in The Guardian by Katherine and Magus
Lulu loves Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary and decides to grow her own flowers next to her mummy’s vegetables. This lovely story describes how Lulu gets books out from the library to find out more about flowers, plants them and waits for them to grow. It’s a great inclusive book that shows children doing the everyday things they find wonder in and young readers can really relate to what’s happening. We also loved that Lulu uses her library to find out more about flowers. Highly recommended for all little gardeners!
Also on RIF's (Reading is Fundamental) 2015 Multicultural Book Selection
And she's top of the heap of PG Arts & Humanities #SummerReady pile (thanks TuTu Storybooks)
Summer is a great time to get kids involved in helping out in the garden, might it be weeding, picking fruit or vegetables or anything else. In this gorgeous latest Lulu story, little Lulu decides she wants to grow flowers of her own and sets to do just what. In this series Anna McQuinn always puts book, libraries and reading aloud at the heart of what makes children tick; this is utterly wonderful, and especially here, with the reading of non-fiction is promoted.
With gorgeous heartwarming artwork by Rosalind Beardshaw, little readers will undoubtedly want to put their wellies on, and start working on their garden patch straight away.
Also reviewed in The Guardian by Katherine and Magus
Lulu loves Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary and decides to grow her own flowers next to her mummy’s vegetables. This lovely story describes how Lulu gets books out from the library to find out more about flowers, plants them and waits for them to grow. It’s a great inclusive book that shows children doing the everyday things they find wonder in and young readers can really relate to what’s happening. We also loved that Lulu uses her library to find out more about flowers. Highly recommended for all little gardeners!
Also on RIF's (Reading is Fundamental) 2015 Multicultural Book Selection
And she's top of the heap of PG Arts & Humanities #SummerReady pile (thanks TuTu Storybooks)
Ten of the Best: Books to Introduce Children to their Human Rights
Preparing to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, Margaret Mallett chose ten books to start children thinking and talking about their human rights for Books for Keeps.
Here is a playful book that makes the point that your gender shouldn’t limit what you do. Each double spread has a large print statement, for example ‘Boys don’t play in kitchens’ and ‘Girls do not play with cars’ and then a large flap opens to show a picture that contradicts the statement: we see a male chef in the kitchen and a female driver in a crash helmet racing a car. This would be a good starting point for projects looking at the mismatch between toys and clothes assumed to be appropriate for each gender (often fed by marketing) and what individual children actually prefer.
Preparing to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, Margaret Mallett chose ten books to start children thinking and talking about their human rights for Books for Keeps.
Here is a playful book that makes the point that your gender shouldn’t limit what you do. Each double spread has a large print statement, for example ‘Boys don’t play in kitchens’ and ‘Girls do not play with cars’ and then a large flap opens to show a picture that contradicts the statement: we see a male chef in the kitchen and a female driver in a crash helmet racing a car. This would be a good starting point for projects looking at the mismatch between toys and clothes assumed to be appropriate for each gender (often fed by marketing) and what individual children actually prefer.
And finally - Lulu gets all the credit for Zoe Toft @playbythebook Jul 3 bumper crop of cherries which resulted from some wonderful silver bells inspired by Lulu Loves Flowers.
Zoe Toft @playbythebook Jul 3
FAB bonus of playing by the book - the best cherry harvest in years thanks to @AnnaMMcQuinn (bells=pigeon deterrent)
See Zoe's wonderful craft ideas here
"Where are the children's books with girls in trousers?"
asks The Guardian's Book Doctor, Julia Eccleshare today - well, there on the Alanna list!
Lulu always trousers when she has a job to do (and sometimes just when she feels like it). A perfect role model for the under fives! (All the illustrations are by the wonderful Ros Beardshaw - who also occasionally wears trousers).
Alanna's My Friend Amy also has two heroes (Amy and Monifa) who wear trousers.
See below...
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To find out more about My Friend Amy, click here.
Feisty book-lover is a winner on two continents!
Lulu Loves Flowers is Books for Keeps Book of the Week and gets a 5-star review in this month's magazine in the UK just as Lola Plants a Garden (published last fall in the US) is shortlisted for The NATURE Generation's Inspiring Environmental Awards - the 2015 Green Earth Book Award. What a big month for a little girl!
Independent Publishers Guild 2015 Awards
Alanna Books is shortlisted for
The Alison Morrison Diversity Award
We were SO thrilled and excited to find out this morning that Alanna Books is on the shortlist for the Independent Publishers Guild Awards 2015.
It is a particularly bitter-sweet honour to be shortlisted in the just renamed
Alison Morrison Diversity Award in memory of Alison Morrison, who died tragically last year. Former marketing director at Egmont and Walker Books, chair of the Booktrust Board of Trustees and co-founder of DipNet, Alison made an important and lasting impact on the important issue of diversity in publishing.
IPG chief executive Bridget Shine said:
“Competition for places on the shortlists in our ninth year was stronger than ever, and we thank every IPG member who made it so by submitting entries. Our judges have produced a dozen superb shortlists and we salute all the companies and individuals on them.”
The judges said
"Alanna Books receives its first ever shortlist place at the IPG Independent Publishing Awards this year. Set up in 2006, it is committed to diversity in the characters and storylines of its books for children and parents. Judges admired its efforts to make its books commercial as well as critical successes, and liked its imaginative partnerships and events. Alanna Books is small but perfectly formed, and committed to diversity in everything it does,”.
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If you would like to see just why the judges think we are committed to diversity while producing books that are commercial successes, you can leaf through any of the books
by clicking here or download our new Spring 2015 catalogue here. The books are even easier to order now that we are distributed by ORCA Book Services (see below). |
A Place at the Table
I was very excited to be invited to take part in A Place at the Table organised by Inclusive Minds in January. James Baldwin is FAR more organised than me and has already blogged about it. Check back later for a link to mine. Meantime you can have a peek at these.
James Dawson, Anna McQuinn, Susie Day, Ken Wilson Max, Beth Cox and Alex Strick (Pippa Goodhart and Jane Ray also facilitated 'tables')
I was listed as giving 'An Inspirational Keynote speech' - now there's a sentence in a programme which is guaranteed to make you nervous! Anyway, I tried...
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Best Books of 2014
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Delighted to see Zeki Loves Baby Club on Books for Keeps Books of the Year 2014 this week.
Also thrilled to see What Are You Playing at chosen by Ann Lazim at CLPE as one of her Top 10 Books of the Year.
And, Lulu Reads to Zeki made it on to the Guardian's Top 10 culturally diverse picture books for toddlers and infants - ever!
Author and illustrator Eileen Browne, whose book Handa’s Surprise is on the 50 greatest multicultural books for children list, gets together with Letterbox Library to choose her favourite fabulous multicultural picture books for younger children.
Fabulous books re-launched!
Drawing on traditional folktale themes, storyteller and writer, Margaret Bateson-Hill has written beautiful new stories, set in China & Russia. Available December - more later...
Delicate artwork provides a perfect backdrop for this beautiful story set in China. The old woman, Lao Lao, makes simple papercuts, but the greedy emperor hears about them and has her imprisoned in a tower, not realising there’s a dragon watching nearby...
• Features the full story in Chinese script alongside the English; • Lao Lao uses her craft to solve her problems – templates and instructions are included at the back to inspire children to try the craft for themselves. |
Magical artwork enhances this beautiful story set in Russia. The Firebird asks a little girl, Masha, to help hide her eggs from the witch, Baba Yaga. Masha paints them to match the four elements – but has to do even more when Baba Yaga gets her hands on the last one...
• Features poems in Russian Cyrillic script alongside the English; • Masha uses her craft to solve her problems – templates and instructions are included at the back to inspire children to try the craft for themselves. |