WaldenFans » Walden Pond Press

Check out this trailer for Chris Rylander’s The Fourth Stall Part II, which will be published by Walden Pond Press in February 2012.

The latest book from Walden Pond Press is Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, with illustrations by Erin Mcguire.  Here’s the description from Amazon.com: Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. But that was before he stopped talking to her and disappeared into a forest with a mysterious woman made of ice. Now it’s up to Hazel to go in after him. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” Breadcrumbs is a story of the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind.

Reviews
Like a fairy-tale heroine, Hazel traverses the woods without a breadcrumb trail to save a boy who may not want to be saved in this multi-layered, artfully crafted, transforming testament to the power of friendship. (Kirkus Reviews)

The evocative magical landscape, superbly developed characters (particularly dreamy, self-doubting, determined Hazel and lost Jack), and the piercing sadness of a faltering childhood friendship give this delicately written fantasy wide and lingering appeal. (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)

The creepy fantasyland that Hazel traverses uses bits from other Andersen tales to create a story that…is beautifully written and wholly original. It’s certainly the only children’s fantasy around where Minnesota Twins All-Star catcher Joe Mauer figures into the plot. (Publishers Weekly)

“Devastatingly brilliant and beautiful…Ursu has sculpted a rich and poignant adventure that brings readers deep into the mysterious, magical, and sometimes frightening forests of childhood and change. Breadcrumbs is one of those rare novels that turned me on my head then sat on my heart and refused to budge.” (Ingrid Law, Newbery Honor-winning author of Savvy)

“This is a lyrical book, a lovely book, and a smart book; it dares us to see stories as spreading more widely, and running more deeply, than we had imagined.” (Gary Schmidt, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Wednesday Wars)

This week sees the release of a new book from Walden Pond Press: Guys Read – Thriller. Here’s the synopsis from Amazon.com:

A body on the tracks

A teenage terrorist

A mysterious wish-granting machine

The world’s worst private detective

The second volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading is chock-full of mystery, intrigue, and nefarious activity. Featuring some of the best writers around, and compiled by certified guy Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: Thriller is a pulse-pounding collection of brand-new short stories, each one guaranteed to keep you riveted until the final page.

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Walden Pond Press has just acquired a new middle-grade series by debut author Christopher Healy. The first book is called The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom.  The series is set in a fantasy world where multiple Prince Charmings are having relationship issues with their respective girlfriends: Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, and Sleeping Beauty. The first book in the series is scheduled to be a lead title on Walden’s 2012 list.

We had the chance to interview Ingrid Law about her books Savvy and Scumble as well as where she might take the series with a potential third book in the series.  We hope that you enjoy it!

WaldenFans.com: Tell us a bit about yourself, for our readers that might not know much about you.

Ingrid: I was born in New York, but my family moved to Colorado when I was six years old. I still live in Colorado with my daughter, who is sixteen now. We both love movies and books and writing.

My first book, Savvy, came out in 2008 and was published by Dial Books, in partnership with Walden Media. Among Savvy’s accolades and awards, it has received a Newbery Honor and a Boston Globe – Horn Book Honor; it became a New York Times bestseller, and was selected by Oprah Winfrey and Al Roker for their reading lists and book clubs. Savvy was also optioned for a feature film by Walden Media. I followed up Savvy with a companion book, titled Scumble, which came out in 2010 and immediately became a New York Times bestseller. I never expected such an amazing response to my books. I feel very blessed, not only because of the success of the books, but because of the wonderful people I’ve had a chance to meet and work with because of them.

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Having unveiled its first list this past spring, HarperCollins’s Walden Pond Press imprint is making a push into Wimpy Kid territory with the acquisition of four books in a heavily illustrated middle-grade series from author/illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Scheduled to launch in summer 2012, Platypus Police Squad riffs on classic legal dramas and police procedurals—with animals in the starring roles. “We pitched the book as Frog and Toad meets Law and Order,” said Krosoczka. “It’s definitely inspired by the classic buddy cop movies from the ’80s and the hour-long dramas on TV.”
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Walden Media’s going “Cosmic,” signing Frank Cottrell Boyce to adapt his children’s novel for the bigscreen.

Liam has always felt a bit like he’s stuck between two worlds. This is primarily because he’s a twelve-year-old kid who looks like he’s about thirty. Sometimes it’s not so bad, like when his new principal mistakes him for a teacher on the first day of school or when he convinces a car dealer to let him take a Porsche out on a test drive. But mostly it’s just frustrating, being a kid trapped in an adult world. And so he decides to flip things around. Liam cons his way onto the first spaceship to take civilians into space, a special flight for a group of kids and an adult chaperone, and he is going as the adult chaperone. It’s not long before Liam, along with his friends, is stuck between two worlds again—only this time he’s 239,000 miles from home.

Frank Cottrell Boyce, author of Millions and Framed, brings us a funny and touching story of the many ways in which grown-upness is truly wasted on grown-ups.

“Cosmic” is on the shortlist for the U.K. Carnegie Award and is the latest release from Walden Pond Press, a joint venture of Walden Media and HarperCollins.

Besides publishing books for young readers, Walden Pond is set up to pair book properties with filmmakers and actors. It also collaborates on development and production of features.

“In short, the story is ‘Apollo 13′ meets ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ so it makes sense that ‘Cosmic’s’ out-of-this-world adventure would include a journey to the movie theater,” said Francis X. Flaherty Jr., publisher of Walden Pond.

Walden’s Evan Turner will oversee the project with Walden topper Michael Bostick.

We’re going to be running a contest to win a copy of Cosmic very soon.  Keep your eye’s on us, as we’re working on how the contest will work.  We have five copies to give away, and are very excited about this book.

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Liam has always felt a bit like he’s stuck between two worlds. This is primarily because he’s a twelve-year-old kid who looks like he’s about thirty. Sometimes it’s not so bad, like when his new principal mistakes him for a teacher on the first day of school or when he convinces a car dealer to let him take a Porsche out on a test drive. But mostly it’s just frustrating, being a kid trapped in an adult world. And so he decides to flip things around. Liam cons his way onto the first spaceship to take civilians into space, a special flight for a group of kids and an adult chaperone, and he is going as the adult chaperone. It’s not long before Liam, along with his friends, is stuck between two worlds again—only this time he’s 239,000 miles from home.

Frank Cottrell Boyce, author of Millions and Framed, brings us a funny and touching story of the many ways in which grown-upness is truly wasted on grown-ups.

A one-of-a-kind, two-day immersive behind the scenes tour of NASA Celebrates the launch of COSMIC, an out-of-this-world adventure novel by best-selling author Frank Cottrell Boyce, who wrote award-winning book MILLIONS.

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A family of four is about to get a rare look into America’s space-exploration HQ, NASA Space Center Houston.

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