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News and Reviews for the Youth Librarian is pleased to present this piece from Marissa Moss, detailing the roots and vision for her new publishing company, Creston Books.
Creston Books – a New Children's Press is Born!
As a long-time successful author-illustrator, why start a new press? The same thing that sparked my career as a writer: a love of children's literature.
When I wrote Amelia's Notebook in 1995, the format was too quirky for traditional publishers. Where would libraries shelve it, with picture books or middle-grade fiction? How would booksellers respond to this odd handwritten book with its jumble of words and pictures? Not willing to take a risk on something so unfamiliar, every major publisher passed. But Tricycle, the children's imprint of small Ten Speed Press, took it on. Now with more than twenty titles in the series (published by Simon & Schuster after a stint with American Girl), it's hard to imagine that books like The Diary of a Wimpy Kid or The Dork Diaries would be around without Amelia.
When Tricycle Press died last year, the children's book community lost a vibrant voice willing to take creative risks. That absence became the genesis for Creston Books, a children's press dedicated to strong story-telling, whatever form it takes.
I started with authors I knew, asking for books they'd long wanted to write. It didn't take long for word to spread and submissions poured in. The first list, Fall 2013, includes two debut authors and two established ones, a mix I'd like for future lists. Authors who'd given up on New York (or felt New York had given up on them) are returning to print with Creston. New authors, daunted by the high gates of major houses, are finding a home. All four of the titles on our debut list have garnered glowing reviews, including a Kirkus star for Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices by David Schwartz and Dwight Kuhn. The title alone tells you clearly – this is not your average picture book.
Rotten Pumpkin is an after-Halloween story, the drama of a Jack-o-lantern after the holiday, ending with the growth of a seed into a new plant, a new pumpkin, and maybe even a new Jack-o-lantern. Through incredible photographs and vibrant text, readers are introduced to grossly delightful decomposition. As Betsy Bird, from New York Public Library, calls it: "Moldy splendor!"
In How to Be Human: Diary of an Autistic Girl, Florida Frenz chronicles her journey learning how to read faces and juggle the social cues that make school a complicated maze. Diagnosed with autism at two, Florida is an articulate 15-year-old whose explorations into how kids make friends and handle peer pressure will resonate with any pre-teen. For those wondering what it's like inside an autistic child's head, Florida's book provides insight. Reading how she learns to be human makes us all feel a little less alien. As one educator says, "It is amazing on so many levels: it's artistic, it's instructive to the general public about what autism does, it's instructive to children with autism who are trying to understand social dynamics, and it's just an easy and very interesting read."
Cozy Light, Cozy Night by beloved author-illustrator Elisa Kleven is a picture book feast, presenting a year of everyday wonders, giving children an opportunity to snuggle up with a parent and enter a warm world where even the planets are tucked cozily into bed with the shining stars. The Midwest Book Review writes: "The word 'cozy' is broadened in its definition by being presented in all four seasonal references, and many poetic images, helping children learn enriched word shadings. Cozy Light, Cozy Night presents a vibrant four season world, inhabited by friendly cats, charming children, nurturing adults, and a full rainbow of life experiences. Cozy Light, Cozy Night is recommended for children ages 3-9, but children and adults of all ages will enjoy it."
In Lola Goes to Work: a 9-5 Therapy Dog, readers meet Lola, a tiny terrier with a big job. Children will identify with feisty Lola as she struggles with school, tests, and finally achieving her Big Dog dream. If Lola can make it in a world of Great Danes and Labradors, so can anybody who's feeling like a runt. Kirkus Reviews says: "Not all working dogs are big and powerful, like police or rescue dogs. Some are tiny and gentle, like little Lola, a 5-pound Yorkshire terrier. The story and appealing photos will draw in preschoolers and children learning to read, including older new readers. Lola is definitely an endearing little character, with charming expressions captured in the illustrations and a tempting cover photo of Lola in her therapy-dog bandanna sitting next to her red plaid lunchbox…There are only a couple of children's books in print about therapy dogs, and this one has the broadest appeal to different age groups, tiny and gentle, but powerful just the same."
These days I feel a little like Lola, a small dog with a very big job. But I'm proud of each book and excited to work on the Spring 2014 list. Like Lola, I know I can do it.
—Marissa Moss |
