Candlewick Press Announces Publication of New Book by Newbery and Caldecott Award–Winning Team Laura Amy Schlitz and Brian Floca
SOMERVILLE, MA – Leading independent children’s book publisher Candlewick Press is announcing the publication of Princess Cora and the Crocodile, a gorgeous and original storybook collaboration from Newbery Award–winning author Laura Amy Schlitz and Caldecott Award–winning illustrator Brian Floca.
Set for release in March 2017, the comical story traces the plight of poor Princess Cora, who is sick of boring lessons. She’s sick of running in circles around the dungeon gym. She’s sick, sick, sick of taking three baths a day. And her parents won’t let her have a dog. But when she writes to her fairy godmother for help, she doesn’t expect that help to come in the form of a crocodile — a crocodile who does not behave properly.
With perfectly paced dry comedy, children’s book luminaries Schlitz and Floca send Princess Cora on a delightful outdoor adventure — climbing trees! getting dirty! having fun! — while her alter ego wreaks utter havoc inside the castle, obliging one pair of royal helicopter parents to reconsider their ways.
Candlewick Press Executive Editorial Director and Associate Publisher Liz Bicknell said: “It’s rare in my experience that everything turns out better than you could have hoped, but this book is sheer perfection! I almost wish I were five again — it’s such an empowering story for the child reader, poking gentle fun at adults, and that was absolutely my favorite kind of story back then. I guess it still is today.”
Laura Amy Schlitz, who has spent most of her life working as a librarian and professional storyteller, is the author of numerous award-winning books for children, including The Hired Girl, winner of a Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction and a National Jewish Book Award; Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, illustrated by Robert Byrd, winner of the Newbery Medal; Splendors and Glooms, a Newbery Honor book and New York Times bestseller; and A Drowned Maiden’s Hair: A Melodrama, the recipient of the inaugural Cybils Award for Middle Grade Fiction. Lauded as a “master of children’s literature” by The New York Times Book Review, her other works include The Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer Who Dug for Troy, illustrated by Robert Byrd; The Bearskinner, illustrated by Max Grafe; and The Night Fairy, illustrated by Angela Barrett. She lives in Baltimore, where she is currently lower-school librarian at the Park School.
Brian Floca is the author and illustrator of Locomotive, winner of the Caldecott Medal, a Sibert Honor Book, an Orbis Pictus Honor Book, a New York Times Best Illustrated Books of the Year selection, and a New York Times bestseller; Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, a Sibert Honor Book, New York Times Best Illustrated Books of the Year selection, and Society of Illustrators silver medal winner; and Lightship, a Sibert Honor Book. Brian has illustrated Avi’s Poppy, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring, by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, a Sibert Honor Book, winner of the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, and an IBBY Honor Book; and The Hinky-Pink, by Megan McDonald, an ALA Notable Book and Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List selection. Born and raised in Temple, Texas, Brian now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Princess Cora and the Crocodile * On sale March 28, 2017 * 978-0-7636-4822-0 * Ages 4–8 * 80 Pages
ABOUT CANDLEWICK PRESS Candlewick Press is an independent publisher based in Somerville, Massachusetts. For over twenty years, Candlewick has published outstanding children’s books for readers of all ages, including books by award-winning authors and illustrators such as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature emeritus Kate DiCamillo, M. T. Anderson, Jon Klassen, and Laura Amy Schlitz; the widely acclaimed Judy Moody, Mercy Watson, and ’Ology series; and favorites such as Guess How Much I Love You, Where’s Waldo?, and Maisy. Candlewick is part of the Walker Books Group, together with Walker Books UK in London and Walker Books Australia. The Walker Books Group has a unique ownership structure that includes all of its employees worldwide. Visit Candlewick online at www.candlewick.com.
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