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Hilary Duff has signed a multi-book deal with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 

The first novel, Elixir, will be published in October of this year. 

There is also a nonfiction title in the deal which will be about divorce.  It is due to be published in 2012.

Once again we can hope that a celebrity can actually write.

Loving this glimpse of a designer at work on the cover of Blameless, the new book by Gail Carriger, due out in September 2010.  The design is done by Lauren Panepinto.

Penguin Young Readers will be publishing a new series for children by John Grisham.  The series is entitled Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer and features a 13-year-old protagonist who is the son of two attorneys.  The new series is for ages 8-12.

This first book in the series is due out in June.

Grisham has a forthcoming legal thriller for adults due out in October.

Scholastic has revealed the title and cover of the final Hunger Games novel.  It is due to be released August 24, 2010.

Thanks to EW’s Shelf Life for the info.

Welcome to the next dimension of the Twilight juggernaut.  Graphic novels.

Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive (including an inside spread so you can see Edward himself) of the new offering by Yen Press.  The graphic novel will be released on March 16th with a large first printing of 350,000 copies. 

Libraries need to stock up.  The merger of the manga craze and the Twilight craze – this could be huge!

Faith by Maya Ajmera, Magda Nakassis, and Cynthia Pon

Through photographs, this book tells the story of many faiths, allowing glimpses into each of them.  The book celebrates the many faiths, tying them together through similarities but also revealing their differences too.  Cultures and religions are highlighted here in a book that children will see themselves in and also learn about others too. 

The photographs here are clear, vivid and capture moments of prayer and devotion with grace.  Each photograph is accompanied by at least the name of the religion and the country the photo was taken in.  Other photographs have a brief sentence that explain the image a bit further.  This brevity makes the book read simply and easily.  Larger text on each page carries the flow of the book, giving each set of pages a theme where we can see our commonalities and differences and celebrate both side by side.

Highly recommended, this is a book about religion that children will innately understand.  It is ideal to start discussions or quietly examine on your own.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Google Books offers a preview of the entire book, so you can see the photographs yourself!

Get a small taste of the next book in Melissa Marr’s series that started with Wicked Lovely.  Marr has the prologue and first chapter up on her blog.  You can also enter a contest to create a teaser or trailer for the new novel! 

Thanks to Bookshelves of Doom for the link.

Premiering Saturday at the National Book Festival is a great collaboration by a whole group of children’s authors.  Exquisite Corpse is an online serial story that is available on the Library of Congress website Read.gov.

Jon Scieszka has written the first cliffhanger episode of the book.  Every two weeks another episode and illustration will be released.  The story will conclude one year from now.  Follow the story by RSS feed or visit the site itself.

Episode two will be written by Katherine Paterson.

I get less excited about the big name books that garner a lot of attention and much more excited about beloved gems. 

Crow-Girl by Bodil Bredsdorff was my favorite book of 2004.  A Danish import, the book was lyrical, quiet and simply lovely.

And what has me dancing around today is my discovery that it will have a sequel!  Coming out very soon! 

Eidi is the first book of three sequels that follows one of the other Children of Crow Cove.  I am so looking forward to this title!  Let’s hope the writing is as excellent and that it keeps the unique beauty of the first.  It will be released on October 13th. 

I love paging through glossy sheets of paper filled with tantalizing glimpses of upcoming titles!  Kirkus has a nice fall preview filled with debut authors and lots of adult fiction and nonfiction.  Head towards the end and you will find debut authors in children’s and YA along with some featured reads. 

I’m looking forward to Siobhan Dowd’s Solace of the Road, Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, and The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson.