The press rarely reports on book deals in the making, so the amount of blow-by-blow coverage of James Frey shopping a six-book YA series is amazing.

But then, this wasn’t a run-of-the mill book deal. The film rights to the first book in the sold for a “high six figures” to Transformers director Michael Bay. MTV, based on the synopsis alone, has already declared that Frey has a Twilight-type hit in the making. At first, the book was shopped anonymously, adding a touch of intrigue.

It still remained to be seen who the publisher would be. Today, the NYT reports that HarperCollins Children’s Books bought the rights to I Am Number Four.

No word on pub date.

As USA Today puts it in today’s Book Buzz column, “Teens rule,” with two new teen titles debuting in the top 20 of the paper’s bestseller list.

Sarah Dessen hits her highest spot to date on the list, with Along for the Ride at #11.

Along for the Ride Sarah Dessen Retail Price: $19.99 Hardcover: 383 pages Publisher: Viking Juvenile – (2009-06-16) ISBN / EAN: 0670011940 / 9780670011940

Also available in audio:

Publisher: Penguin Audio (June 16, 2009); $34.95
ISBN-10: 0143144669
ISBN-13: 978-0143144663

And, downloadable eBook and audio from OverDrive.

• Dessen outshines Hills star Lauren Conrad, whose first book L.A. Candy arrives at #17. Conrad’s book uses embeded codes on the book jacket for “mobile marketing,” but Dessen tells USA Today that “people still have a need for actual stories, especially teen girls who like to find themselves in a story.”

L.A. Candy Lauren Conrad Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: HarperCollins – (2009-06-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061767581 / 9780061767586

Also in audio:

Unabridged: $15
Publisher: HarperChildrensAudio; 6/16; $15
ISBN: 9780061803598
ISBN 10: 0061803596

And downloadable eBook and audio from OverDrive.

A lot of swooning is going on over the New Moon tie-in cover (E Online calls it the “Hottest. Book Cover. Ever.“)

The tie-in will be available in two formats, mass market and trade paperback, on September 15. The movie arrives in theaters two months later; Nov. 20 (check out the trailer in our “Books to Movies — Trailers” section at the right).

Trade paperback, with poster:

New Moon (The Twilight Saga) Stephenie Meyer Retail Price: $10.99 Paperback: 576 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers – (2009-09-15) ISBN / EAN: 0316075639 / 9780316075633

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Mass market paperback (sorry, no poster!):

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And, as we mentioned earlier, Little Brown YR will also publish a movie companion (the art shown here is still TK):

New Moon: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion (Twilight Saga) Mark Cotta Vaz Retail Price: $18.99 Paperback: 144 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers – (2009-10-06) ISBN / EAN: 0316075809 / 9780316075800

Just when the Twilight franchise seemed to be sagging slightly (meaning it no longer has a death grip on the top four spots of Amazon’s sales rankings), Little Brown YR unveils a tie-in edition to the upcoming movie of New Moon (scheduled for 11/20).

Entertainment Weekly (which has a Twilight Central site) was the first to get it. No bibliographic information yet, but we’ll keep our eyes out for it.

Little Brown YR will also publish a movie companion:

New Moon: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion (Twilight Saga) Mark Cotta Vaz Retail Price: $18.99 Paperback: 144 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers – (2009-10-06) ISBN / EAN: 0316075809 / 9780316075800

Wow, oh, wow.

That’s the immediate reaction I have to the Hate List. Thirty years out of high school and Jennifer Brown took me right back. I wasn’t going to read this book. Really, another book about school shootings, I don’t think so… Yet, I picked it off the pile this morning and couldn’t put it down.

Not giving anything away… sixteen-year-old Valerie’s boyfriend Nick came to school one day, armed and proceeded to begin shooting the students on their “hate list.” The bullying jock, the snotty perfect girl… Brown captures the guilt and confusion of the survivors as well as the casual cruelty of the in-crowd kids. Brown’s gift is that, as the story unfolds, we realize that the world is not black-and-white and we are as naïve as the narrator as we try to process the defining event.

In the first-person narrative from Valerie’s point of view, the events of that horrific day are interspersed with her recovery and return to school for her senior year. It is rare for a young adult novel to capture both the teen experience while also creating three-dimensional grown-ups. Brown succeeds in not only portraying Valerie’s complicated parents’ relationship but also her process of inching back to mental health with her therapist.

Who is this book for? Anyone who works with kids, anyone may have created their own “hate list” and anyone who has experienced 3rd period algebra as a social environment that would put Lord of the Flies to shame.

Ed. Note: Don’t want to wait until September to read The Hate List. Good news; Little Brown’s head of library marketing, Victoria Stapleton, is making a limited number of galleys available for EarlyWord readers.

To enter to win a copy, just send an email to EarlyWord, with “Hate List, please!” in the subject line, by 11:59 p.m, this Friday, June 26th. Don’t forget to include your UPS shipping address (no P.O. box numbers), so Victoria will know where to send your galley.

This offer is only available to librarians residing within the 50 United States.

Hate List Jennifer Brown Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 416 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers – (2009-09-01) ISBN / EAN: 0316041440 / 9780316041447

The following are new to the lists:

Picture Books, #2

Elephants Cannot Dance! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) Mo Willems Retail Price: $8.99 Hardcover: 64 pages Publisher: Hyperion Book CH – (2009-06-09) ISBN / EAN: 1423114108 / 9781423114109

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Chapter Books, #8

Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life Rachel Renee Russell Retail Price: $12.99 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Aladdin – (2009-06-02) ISBN / EAN: 1416980067 / 9781416980063

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Series Books, #6

Gallagher Girls goes on the list with the 3rd in the series

Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover (Gallagher Girls) Ally Carter Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: Hyperion Book CH – (2009-06-09) ISBN / EAN: 1423116380 / 9781423116387

Also in audio:

• Audio CD: $24.99; Unabridged
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio; (June 9, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 1423396839
• ISBN-13: 978-1423396833

Many of you wrote to thank Lisa Von Drasek, our own EarlyWord Kid, for her excellent rebuttal of Katie Roiphe’s recent piece in the Wall Street Journal on YA literature.

So, we thought you’d like to know that Lisa also sent a protest to the WSJ, which published it today — Grimm Stories for Youth Are Not New.

Go, Lisa!

Below are children’s titles new to the NYT and/or the USA Today best seller lists:

#11 USA Today, general 
#3 NYT Children’s Series Books (series has been on a total of 10 weeks)

The 39 Clues: Beyond the Grave Jude Watson Retail Price: $12.99 Hardcover: 192 pages Publisher: Scholastic Inc. – (2009-06-01) ISBN / EAN: 0545060443 / 9780545060448

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#138 USA Today, general
#10 NYT Children’s series (second week)

Carpe Corpus (Morganville Vampires, Book 6) Rachel Caine Retail Price: $6.99 Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Signet – (2009-06-02) ISBN / EAN: 0451227190 / 9780451227195

Tantor is releasing the entire Morganville series in audio. 

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#8 NYT Children’s Chapter Books

Hunger: A Gone Novel Michael Grant Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 608 pages Publisher: HarperTeen – (2009-05-26) ISBN / EAN: 0061449067 / 9780061449062

Okay, so I have read YA novels about  vampires, werewolfs and zombies.

But, now for something completely different…

…killer unicorns

Really. I can’t wait to read the supernatural romance Rampant, by Diana Peterfreund, making a departure from her “Ivy League” novels.

Rampant Diana Peterfreund Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 416 pages Publisher: HarperTeen – (2009-09-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061490008 / 9780061490002

Here’s what other YA authors are saying about it;

“As swift and sure-footed as a killer unicorn, Rampant weaves a vibrant new mythology from venerable threads.” – Scott Westerfeld, author of the Uglies series. 

“Rampant is a thrilling read, with strong girls, unusual and scary unicorns, and hidden dangers everywhere. I was on the edge of my seat from start to finish! Please, miss: might I have some more? — Tamora Pierce 

If you can’t wait to read it, either, we have good news.

As those of you who visited Harper’s BEA booth know, the publisher is experimenting with online galleys. They’ve agreed to share the e-galley of Rampant with EarlyWord readers.

Here’s how to get it:

1. Login at shop.harpercollins.com/bea
2. You’ll be asked to register
3. If you don’t have Adobe Digital Editions, you need to download it (it’s free, easy and takes just a few minutes)
4. Enter the 16-digit PIN number (all caps): BEA1-2009-RAMP-0024
5. Select your device and file format for download (have patience; it can take a while to download).

You can download to Windows or Mac computers, iPhone, Smartphones,  and Sony Reader (but not Kindle).

HarperCollins and I want to know what you think, both of the e-galley experience and of the book. Please email your comments to me, with “Rampant” in the subject line. Also, let me know if it’s OK to quote you in a future story.

In the Wall Street Journal on Saturday, Katie Roiphie looks at current YA bestsellers (”It Was, Like, All Dark and Stormy“). She points out that the subject matter is grim; the novels “include one suicide, one deadly car wreck, one life-threatening case of anorexia and one dystopian universe in which children fight to the death” and concludes that, “Somewhere along the line our teenagers have become connoisseurs of disaster.”

Although I was thrilled to see a full-page article on young adult books in the WSJ, I am sorry that Katie Roiphe has missed the point.  The waters of adolescence are indeed dark and stormy. Issues of eating disorders, cutting, depression and yes, even suicide can be beneath the surface of what appears to be the most normal, typical teen. The gift of literature is the ability of an author to let us into the thoughts and point-of-view of the characters. Roiphe has lost an opportunity to do a deeper reading.

If I Stay, is not just another dead girl book, it is about exploring who we are, how we define our family and how are we are connected to our community. 

Roiphe writes that Halse Anderson’s narrator in Speak is a “deeply miserable girl.”  Yes, after she was raped, but the book is about more than that. It contains laugh-out-loud, dark humor expressed through the snarky, witty observations of the narrator. The fact that the main character’s parents, teachers and former friends haven’t even noticed that she has stopped speaking heightens the effect of her mental monologue.

Anderson’s new book, Wintergirls is not a how-to manual on eating disorders but an examination of the downward spiral of addictive behavior as family and friends watch helplessly from the sidelines.

Hunger Games is not just a dystopic fantasy of teens battling each other to the death but an insight into materialism, celebrity culture and the world-wide gap in access to resources like food, health, and education.

Roiphe suggests that some librarians  “want to keep [these books] off the shelves.” In fact, librarians are on the forefront of buying these books, writing about them, booktalking and handing them to the teens in their libraries.  The shelves of the young adult section of the library are packed with a variety of materials; the supernatural romance of Twilight, and its comic response  in The Reformed Vampire Support Group, the thoughtful contemporary fiction of Sarah Dessen, and the award-winning coming-of-age novels of Sherman Alexie.

Contemporary YA literature deals with a wide range of issues; it deserves better than this shallow examination of the genre.

…Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series on her blog today.

It hardly needs her endorsement (99 weeks on the NYT Childrens Series Best Seller list, four more weeks than the Twilight series. However, Twilight  is at #1, with Percy trailing behind at #2).

She also announces that she is closing down her “My Space” page and her Web site will now be her only online presence.

She doesn’t “do” Twitter.

Like many of you, I’m just emerging from the whirlwind of BEA. Here’s my top-of-the-head impressions:

Leviathan Scott Westerfeld Retail Price: $19.99 Hardcover: 448 pages Publisher: Simon Pulse – (2009-10-06) ISBN / EAN: 1416971734 / 9781416971733

From the guy who brought us The Uglies, this one is a no-brainer. I can’t wait to read it.

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Fire Kristin Cashore Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 400 pages Publisher: Dial – (2009-10-05) ISBN / EAN: 0803734611 / 9780803734616

You’ve heard me rave about this before. A companion volume to Graceling and every bit a compelling. Some are saying it’s better than the first. I couldn’t put it down.

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Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) Suzanne Collins Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 400 pages Publisher: Scholastic Press – (2009-09-01) ISBN / EAN: 0439023491 / 9780439023498

The sequel to the mesmerizing Hunger Games, as page-turning as the original although not as fresh, kids will be clamoring for this one.

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The Magician’s Elephant Kate DiCamillo Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 208 pages Publisher: Candlewick – (2009-09-08) ISBN / EAN: 0763644102 / 9780763644109

An original fairy tale of a boy, a lost sister, a magician who wants to do something spectacular, and, of course, an elephant. Lyrically written story of hope. 

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Million-Dollar Throw Mike Lupica Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Philomel – (2009-11-03) ISBN / EAN: 0399246266 / 9780399246265

Despite loving Heat, Travel Team and The Big Field, my eyes were rolling at this title. Hasn’t Lupica heard of Dan Gutman? Million Dollar Shot, etc? Yet, Lupica has made this well-used theme his own, weaving the story of a 13-year-old quarterback and his best friend a sight impaired girl with an undercurrent of the economic hardships facing current middle class families.

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The Day of the Pelican Katherine Paterson Retail Price: $16.00 Hardcover: 160 pages Publisher: Clarion Books – (2009-10-19) ISBN / EAN: 0547181884 / 9780547181882

The moving story of a young teen girl and her family, Kosovar Muslims who are persecuted by the Serbs during the 1990’s. Although a familiar immigrant story, Paterson brings her gifts as a master story teller to life in the town, country and mountains, the suffering of relocation, the bitterness in loss, and the generosity of spirit.  Paterson takes us where we haven’t been before and we are grateful for the journey.

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The Amanda Project: Book 1: invisible I Stella Lennon Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: HarperTeen – (2009-10-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061742120 / 9780061742125

In this first title of a new teen series, charismatic genius Amanda is missing. Three friends from very different social cliques; the popular girl, the geek and the artist are forced to work together get to the bottom of Amanda’s machinations. A cross-platform book that will have an internet writing component (a site for The Amanda Project is coming soon). Might be a cool after-school activity for 12’s to 15’s.

Picture Books

Mystery Vine: A Pumpkin Surprise Cathryn Falwell Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: HarperCollins – (2009-09-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061771988 / 9780061771989

Rhyming text and bold collage illustrations make this garden tale perfect for preschool story time.

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The Lion & the Mouse Jerry Pinkney Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers – (2009-09-01) ISBN / EAN: 0316013560 / 9780316013567

This  version of Aesop’s fable from its magnificent cover, a watercolor painting of a full-faced lion, to the sweetly delicate pink washed nose of the mouse that adorns the back-cover, is a masterpiece.

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When Stella Was Very, Very Small   Retail Price: $16.95 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Groundwood Books – (2009-08-01) ISBN / EAN: 0888999062 / 9780888999061

Have you met Stella and her brother Sam? I am shocked that every one of the seven books hasn’t hit the bestseller lists. I love these books. They are age appropriate and exquisitely illustrated with witty, serene watercolor paintings. Here we witness Stella when she as a small child just discovering the world around her and exercising her robust imagination. These books are perennial story time favorites and I know that this latest in the series will be equally beloved.

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Harry and Horsie Katie Van Camp Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: HarperCollins – (2009-09-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061755982 / 9780061755989

A fabulous debut for both author and illustrator, a sweet imaginative bedtime story with retro Sunday-comic-like pictures.

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Wag! Patrick McDonnell Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers – (2009-10-01) ISBN / EAN: 0316045489 / 9780316045483

What makes little dog Earl’s tail wag?  I KNOW!!!!!

Reminiscent of  the first Willems’ Pigeon book , children will rejoice in the interactive playful text and everyone will ohh, and ahh over the cutest pup ever.

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Robot Zot! Jon Scieszka Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing – (2009-09-22) ISBN / EAN: 1416963944 / 9781416963943

Well, its about time Jon turned his comic genius to robots. Robot Zot is a courageous, tiny interstellar sentient mechanism who is out to conquer the inanimate residents of an ordinary suburban home until he falls in love with a toy mobile phone. 

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Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton, James McMullan Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 192 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers – (2009-10-01) ISBN / EAN: 0316040495 / 9780316040495

Wow, just wow. This is the family gift book of the year. Well-selected classic texts paired with McMullan’s masterful paintings. For every collection.

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The Longest Night Marion Dane Bauer and Ted Lewin Retail Price: $17.95 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Holiday House – (2009-08) ISBN / EAN: 082342054X / 9780823420544

Lewin’s dramatic paintings of winter forest creatures and landscape  are a perfect match to Bauer’s poetic text.

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Creature ABC

Andrew Zuckerman

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
• Hardcover: $19.99; 120 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 1, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0811869784
• ISBN-13: 978-0811869782

Spectacular wildlife photographs are paired with capitol and lower case letters in with an often obvious B is for bear, E is for elephant sequence. What is U? Not so obvious; it’s for porcupine fish, goldfish, arowana and koi who live Underwater.

Small Press Discoveries

Life-Size Zoo: From Tiny Rodents to Gigantic Elephants, An Actual Size Animal Encyclopedia   Retail Price: $17.95 Hardcover: 48 pages Publisher: Seven Footer Press – (2009-04-07) ISBN / EAN: 1934734209 / 9781934734209

Breathtaking oversized photographs of zoo animals with fold out pages and bite-sized facts. Seven Footer Press is distributed by PGW.

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Classical Comics Teaching Resource Pack: Romeo and Juliet: Making Shakespeare Accessible for Teachers and Students Ian McNeilly, James Offredi, David Roach Retail Price: $22.95 Spiral-bound: 100 pages Publisher: Classical Comics – (2009-12-01) ISBN / EAN: 1906332746 / 9781906332747

Graphic format version of the classic tragedy, available from Ingram, Follet and Baker and Taylor. For the complete list of titles, check the Classical Comics site.

The Pixar film UP is now an official hit (NYT; Pixar’s ‘Up’ Dominates Box Office). Random House/Disney has a slew of tie ins:

Up (Read-Aloud Storybook) RH Disney Retail Price: $9.99 Hardcover: 72 pages Publisher: RH/Disney – (2009-04-14) ISBN / EAN: 0736425721 / 9780736425728

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Bird’s Best Friend (Step into Reading) RH Disney Retail Price: $3.99 Paperback: 32 pages Publisher: RH/Disney – (2009-04-14) ISBN / EAN: 0736425799 / 9780736425797

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Spirit of Adventure (A Stepping Stone Book)  RH Disney Retail Price: $3.99 Paperback: 80 pages Publisher: RH/Disney – (2009-04-14) ISBN / EAN: 0736425780 / 9780736425780

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Up (Junior Novel) Jasmine Jones Retail Price: $4.99 Paperback: 128 pages Publisher: RH/Disney – (2009-04-14) ISBN / EAN: 0736425845 / 9780736425841

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UP moved the other big childrens movie success, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian from the top spot to #2.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: A Capital Adventure Jasmine Jones Retail Price: $4.99 Paperback: 64 pages Publisher: HarperFestival – (2009-04-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061715565 / 9780061715563

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Releasing today, are several tie-ins to the upcoming Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, including two I Can Read titles. The movie is scheduled to release July 4th.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: All in the Family (I Can Read Book 2) Sierra Harimann Retail Price: $3.99 Paperback: 32 pages Publisher: HarperCollins – (2009-06-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061689777 / 9780061689772

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: Momma Mix-Up (I Can Read Book 2) Sierra Harimann Retail Price: $3.99 Paperback: 32 pages Publisher: HarperCollins – (2009-06-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061689785 / 9780061689789

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Here’s the trailer:

The movie is scheduled for 11/20/09.

All Things Considered launched a new series last night. In “My Guilty Pleasure,” writers talk about books they’ve secretly loved.

It kicked off with Brad Meltzer, who loves. loves, loves…

Twilight

…and urges women to get the men in their lives to read it (including their teenage sons).

Phew! Silly us for worrying that the series had exhausted all its potential audiences.

By the way, on the new USA Today bestseller list, the series once again captures the top four spots. The longest-running title in the series is book 2, New Moon, which has been on the list for 141 weeks.