BOXCAR CHILDREN GO GRAPHIC

The Boxcar Children were first created more than eighty years ago, but their stories continue today. A graphic novel series based on the characters will now attract a new group of readers.

Gertrude Chandler Warner, a first grade teacher, wrote The Boxcar Children in 1924. The original novel was about four orphaned siblings who created a home in a boxcar rather than live with their grandfather, whom they thought would be unkind to them. The children later meet their grandfather, who is kind and wealthy, and move in with him. He moves the boxcar onto his property so the children can use it as a playhouse. In subsequent novels, the children solve mysteries with little help from grown-ups.

Since 1942, Albert Whitman has published Warner's nineteen original Boxcar Children novels, in addition to more than 110 mysteries written by other authors. The list is continually growing as more Boxcar Children mysteries and special editions are being written. This year, Albert Whitman has begun a series of graphic novels for early readers based on the stories of the Boxcar Children.

"The Boxcar Children have always been for beginning or reluctant readers, and the graphic novels are another way to reach them," said Wendy McClure, senior editor at Albert Whitman.

The graphic novels are co-published with Abdo Consulting Group, a library publisher that originally approached Albert Whitman with the idea.

"We had been thinking about getting into graphic novels for a while," McClure said, "and the Boxcar Children seemed like a good choice. The story really lends itself to the graphic format, I think."

McClure and Michelle Bayuk, marketing manager, explained that the original novel written by Warner was for an older audience, but the Boxcar Children as they are known today are an easier reading edition that she wrote later. Bayuk believes that the graphic novels are an extension of the author's mission to bring the story to younger readers.

The first six novels have been made into graphic novels for the spring season, including The Boxcar Children, which tells the story of how Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden first found their boxcar and subsequently met their grandfather.

Surprise Island is Book Two, and it tells the story of the children's summer on an island that their grandfather owns. On the island they uncover Indian artifacts and meet a long-lost cousin. The kids live in a barn and spend their time with little adult supervision. McClure said this is a feature of all the Boxcar Children stories.

"The kids are always on their own and they're independent," she said. "That's one thing we always remember as we continue the series. The kids are surrounded by their grandfather and other grown-ups, but they have these adventures on their own. That has always been the appeal."

Gertrude Chandler Warner herself said that librarians once protested the series because they thought the children had too little parental control to be having such a good time. "That is exactly why children like it!" she said.

In Book Three, The Yellow House Mystery, the kids solve a real mystery when they hear the story of their grandfather's old friend who disappeared from Surprise Island many years before. Using just a few clues, they locate Bill and find the missing money that led to his brother's murder.

The illustrations for all the books in the series are provided by Mike Dubisch, who has given the kids animated expressions and a timeless look.

"We liked the way his work evoked an earlier era in some of the details but has a nice kid-friendly look, too," McClure said.

The other books currently available are Blue Bay Mystery (978-0-8075-2872-3), Mike's Mystery (978-0-8075-2871-6), and Mystery Ranch (978-0-8075-2870-9).

Bayuk said that as long as the graphic novels remain popular, they would love to continue the series indefinitely.

by Whitney Hallberg, Managing Editor

PUB EXPO EXPLORES
INDUSTRY'S BUSINESS OUTLOOK

At this year's two-and-a-half-day Publishing Business Conference and Expo, held March 23-25 in New York, two keynote addresses bit the bullet for the book industry and tackled the shrinking overall economic outlook and the expanding digital horizons for an industry still largely grounded in print.

Blumberg, Steinberger, Pazour, Davidson

The only such industry event that is focused on the management of operations, work flow, marketing, manufacturing and distribution, it is also marked by the presentation of coveted recognition awards. This year, Harlequin and Hearst/Esquire were honored as Publishing Innovators of the Year. The SustainPrint Awards for achievements in environmental sustainability went to the University of California Press and Ogden Publications in the "Longtime Leaders" category, and Melcher Media and Boho, as "Newcomers of the Year."

The first segment of the two-part opening keynote was anchored by a team of well-spoken and informed "radio-genic" NPR business and economic commentators, Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson. In their presentation, "Where is the Global Economy Headed?" Blumberg and Davidson said, "The problem is way beyond mortgages and toxic assets--we over-borrowed on a massive scale."

The second part, "Leading a Publishing Company Today Through Uncertain Times," featured an interview with Blumberg and Davidson conducted by David Steinberger, president and CEO of the Perseus Books Group ("Companies that are nimble and can be responsive to the market will thrive," he said) , and Don Pazour, business information publishing veteran and CEO of Access Intelligence, who observed that "if you are listening, there are new opportunities you will find."

Keynote address audience

The promise and challenge of the Google Book Search settlement formed the theme of the second day's keynote panel from which a spirited discussion emerged between Pat Schroeder, retiring president of the Association of American Publishers; Peter Brantley, executive director of the Digital Library Federation; Tom Turvey, Google's director of content partnerships; and Peter Osnos, founder of PublicAffairs. Schroeder described the settlement as "phenomenal - the world's biggest book deal";

While Turvey emphasized that the settlement removed huge copyright uncertainties from the market, Brantley called the settlement, "a covenant to commercialize a large body of work--with Google released from potential liability." Osnos referred to the discrepancy between "fair use, fair compensation, and fair conduct--a tug of war that has gone on from time immemorial." The scope and nature of the settlement, yet to be approved by the court, and its formation of a trailblazing Book Rights Registry were presented by the panel's moderator, Bill Rosenblatt, founder and president of GiantSteps Media Technologies.

The conference was smartly planned by Conference Director Noel Skodzinski, editor of Napco-operated Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines, its sponsors, and by Napco group publisher Mark Herzog. Conference Program Editor Matt Steinmetz coordinated a clearly focused theme aimed at the business and economic interests of the industry. Sessions dealt with topics including content management, work-flow, distribution, manufacturing, and market trends. They addressed the continuing tension between the legacy of print (98% of sales) and the future promise of eBooks and the Internet that is upsetting all conventional marketing and consumer-behavior models.

Several thousand industry professionals attended some fifty presentations and panels, browsed more than one hundred vendor exhibits, and enrolled in special events such as the first eBook Forum presented in conjunction with the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), the Interquest sponsored Digital Book Printing Forum, and the Idea-Alliance Proofing Summit.

Serving the industry for more than fifty years, Philadelphia-based Napco has kept alive the expo space for what used to be known as Book Tech, while industry professionals and vendors have become more dispersed due to consolidation and global outsourcing. It remains an ongoing challenge for the Publishing Business Conference and Expo to redefine this space and build participation so that more professionals may enjoy the benefits of business-to-business exchange in the new multimedia and global environment.

(Full disclosure: I am on the advisory committee for the event, and I also write a column for Book Business magazine).

by Eugene G. Schwartz, Editor at Large

Book Expo America BookExpo America (BEA) returns to New York City, May 28-31! See 1,500+ exhibitors showcasing upcoming titles covering virtually every book category; learn trend information during the new "Big Ideas at BEA" Conference and Global Market Forum: Books & Publishing in the Arab World; meet 500+ authors; and SAVE BIG with Early Bird Discounts. www.bookexpoamerica.com/Foreword

AUTHOR PAGES: JOHN KISER

The Author Pages feature nearly 100 interviews with authors whose work has been reviewed in ForeWord magazine. John Kiser, author of Commander of the Faithful (Monkfish Publishing, 978-0-9798828-3-8) writes:

"Advice to young writers? Don't try to write (books) unless you have some strong inner drive to do so, and don't expect to make much money. Be disciplined. The main thing is to write about something that you feel drawn to strongly and have some kind of personal connection to. Also read widely and read classics."

Visit ForeWord’s Author Pages to read more about the authors reviewed in the pages of ForeWord.

BOOK CLUB:
"AMONG THE WRECKAGE" BY PAUL YOON

Ann Patchett says that Paul Yoon writes stories the way Fabergé made eggs--"with untold craftmanship, artistry, and delicacy." ForeWord's Book Club selection for this week is Yoon's short story, "Among the Wreckage," from his first book, Once the Shore (Sarabande, 978-1-932511-70-3). The story of an old marriage, the sea, a war, and a lost son lends itself perfectly to Yoon's exquisite sense of timing, his perfect sentences. Up against his character's panic, Yoon's stylistic restraint creates a perfect storm.

"Among the Wreckage" is available for free download all week at the ForeWord Book Club.

FAST FOREWORD

'Fromage Frais' Beats out 'Large Sieve'

The Bookseller has named the winner of the 2009 Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year. The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-miligram Containers of Fromage Frais, published by Icon Group International has taken the prize, beating out contenders like Baboon Metaphysics (University of Chicago Press), The Large Sieve and its Applications (Cambridge University Press), and Strip and Knit with Style (C&T).

"I'd like to think that in this increasingly environmentally-aware world in which we live, the public were deeply concerned with what the future holds for fromage frais storage," Prize Custodian Horace Bent said. "Let's be honest, we are all guilty of ignoring the plight of dairy product packaging as we roll our trolleys down the aisles."

Future of Presidential Libraries Up for Debate

According to the Dallas Morning News, Congress is looking for ways to reduce the expense of housing presidential documents. Typical bricks-and-mortal libraries may be an outdated method.

Federal archivists are asking the public for suggestions about ways to run the library system at less cost but with better access to presidential papers.

"We really want to hear from people who care about the libraries or who use the libraries and have suggestions," said Sharon Fawcett, the assistant archivist for presidential libraries.

Congress will accept suggestions until April 17. Ideas currently being discussed include digitizing the archives, creating a central location for all presidential archives, and putting a nonprofit foundation in charge of the library's museum and exhibits.

Former Librarian Quits the Internet

The Grayslake Review reports that Jack Hicks, a 69-year-old retiree, has cancelled the Internet. Hicks was the director of Illinois' Glenview Public Library, one of the first libraries in the Chicago area to offer free Internet access.

"Mainly, it's a time-waster. And there's so little time. Why waste it?" Hicks said. "In retirement, I'm interested in real life, not an imitation of life."

Web-habits researcher Sydney Jones of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, said according to a 2007 survey, only four percent of Americans had dropped the Internet. Most of the people who cancelled their Internet did so because of an illness or the cost.

Hicks says being off-line hasn't isolated him, but some of his friends say he is a little harder to reach.

From staff reports. Share your news and information with Whitney Hallberg, Managing Editor.

This week at Editor’s Notes, Editor-in-Chief Heather Shaw introduces ForeWordMagazine.com's Poem-A-Day plan for National Poetry Month.

At Publishing Insider, C.M. Mayo discusses what works and what doesn't in writer's blogs.

At Publishing Matters, Eugene Schwartz discusses the Google settlement and intellectual property.

At Shelf Space, Elizabeth Burns says ARCs are just like the hardcover, only free -- Part Two.

Visit www.forewordmagazine.com for publishing news, book reviews, and the ForeWord Book Club.

FOREWORD FOOTNOTES

Body, Mind & Spirit. REINCARNATION BELIEFS OF NORTHERN AMERICAN INDIANS; SOUL JOURNEYS, METAMORPHOSIS, AND NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE by Warren Jefferson (Native Voices, 45 b/w photographs, 208 pages, softcover, $16.95, 978-1-57067-212-5): reincarnation historian and author of The World of Chief Seattle: How Can One Sell the Air? discusses spiritual experiences from anthropological records and spiritual beliefs from world religions; story subjects include Sedna the female animal master, Acoma church bell children, and the skeleton house where bad skeletons carry mealing stones as punishment.

Education. HOW PROFESSORS THINK: INSIDE THE CURIOUS WORLD OF ACADEMIC JUDGMENT by Michèle Lamont (Harvard University Press, 336 pages, hardcover, $27.95, 978-0-674-03266-8): Professor of Sociology and African and American Studies at Harvard University, and author of Money, Morals, and Manners examines the evaluative cultures of six disciplines concerning academic excellence: chapters include "Opening the Black Box of Peer Review," "On Disciplinary Cultures," and "Recognizing Various Kinds of Excellence," which takes in to consideration personal tastes and areas of expertise.

Family & Relationships. PARENTING IS A CONTACT SPORT: 8 WAYS TO STAY CONNECTED TO YOUR KIDS FOR LIFE by Joanne Stern (Greenleaf Book, b/w illustrations, 238 pages, softcover, $14.95, 978-1-929774-22-7): holder of a double Master's in counseling and theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a PhD in human and organizational systems from Fielding Graduate University teaches how to build "permanent and powerful relationships" using verbal and non-verbal communication; topics include developing a relationship with children, providing a sense of belonging, and approaching discipline through relationship such as providing an environment that made it safe for Matthew to tell his father the truth about painting the neighbor's white fence with blue paint.

Law. THE ARTICULATE ADVOCATE: NEW TECHNIQUES OF PERSUASION FOR TRIAL LAWYERS by Brian K. Johnson and Marsha Hunter (Crown King Books, 206 pages, softcover, $19.95, 978-0-9796895-0-5): courtroom communication consultant and communication skills teacher for the Department of Justice presents how to improve personal style and persuasive skills; topics include "the impulse to gesture," "articulators and articulation," and "the mechanics of phrasing" such as emphasizing key words with a slow and deliberate pace.

Nature. ANIMAL MIGRATION: REMARKABLE JOURNEYS IN THE WORLD by Ben Hoare (University of California Press, 10 x 11, 200 color photographs, 176 pages, hardcover, $34.95, 978-0-520-25823-5): contributor to more than 40 reference books and to BBC Wildlife magazine explores the mysteries of migration and describes animal navigation and feeding "strategies"; some of the 100 species are the red land crabs on Christmas Island, the Mexican free-tailed bats that fly to southwest U.S.A., and African elephants that need 650 pounds of food everyday and whose "life is one long migration" governed by the availability of water.

Nature. THE ARMCHAIR BIRDER: DISCOVERING THE SECRET LIVES OF FAMILIAR BIRDS by John Yow (University of North Carolina Press, 41 b/w illustrations, 264 pages, hardcover, $25.00, 978-0-8078-3279-0): freelance writer and former senior editor at Longstreet Press presents 35 of his own humorous and anecdotal essays about common birds; included are the ruby-throated hummingbird, white-breasted nuthatch, and the yellow-bellied cedar waxwing, which sometimes flies drunk from dining on overripe, fermented fruit such as cherries.

Nature. DEEP TRAVEL: IN THOREAU'S WAKE ON THE CONCORD AND MERRIMACK by David K. Leff (University of Iowa Press, 230 pages, hardcover, $32.00, 978-1-58729-789-2): former commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and author of The Last Undiscovered Place traces the famous environmentalist's 1839 excursion in an atmosphere of contemplative awareness; thoughts include "we are shaped by the places we live," "we find things by getting lost in them - both the bane and joy of deep travel," and of Concord's Great Meadows that nurtured the Indian with fish and deer.

Reference. HARLEM RENAISSANCE LIVES: FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (Oxford University Press, 7 x 10, 75 halftones, 608 pages, hardcover, $50.00, 978-0-19538795-7): Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University, and Chair of Harvard's Department of African American Studies presents 300 key biographical entries of the best known African Americans in 20^th century intellectual and cultural life (1920s and 1930s); included are poet Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Du Bois, who was the first African American to earn a doctoral degree from Harvard, and dancer Josephine Baker, who had both an "erotic yet comic stage persona" and was called the "Bronze Venus."

Transportation. CADILLAC AT 100: LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP, 1902-1945, VOLUME ONE by Maurice D. Hendry (Automobile Heritage Publishing & Communications / Automobile Quarterly; 12 x 10, color and b/w photographs, 258 pages, hardcover, $99.95 [vols. 1 & 2), 978-1-59613-001-2): automobile historian and author of Cadillac: Standard of the World chronicles the history of the luxury automobile that had its beginning in Detroit; references include explorer Antoine de la Cadillac, co-founder Henry Leland, and the 1929 Cadillac Series 341-B eight cylinder, seven passenger touring car with the "new Syncro-Mesh" transmission.

Transportation. CADILLAC AT 100: LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP, 1946-2006, VOLUME TWO by Maurice D. Hendry (Automobile Heritage Publishing & Communications / Automobile Quarterly; 12 x 10, color and b/w photographs, 300 pages, hardcover, $99.95 [vols. 1 & 2], 978-1-59613-001-9): Cadillac-LaSalle Club member and author of Lincoln as well as Pierce-Arrow continues with post WW II history; references include the automobile tail fin era inspired by the Lockheed P-38 fighter jet, Italian coach builder Pininfarina, and hood ornaments such as the Cadillac "goddess," which changed over the years from classic winged sculpture to Art Deco design.

by Alex Moore, Book Review Editor

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