EARLY SPRING 2020 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT Young Readers This edition of the catalogue was printed on August 26, 2019. To view updates, please see the Early Spring 2020 Raincoast eCatalogue or visit www.raincoast.com HMH Young Readers Early Spring 2020 The Babies and Kitties Book by John Schindel and Molly Woodward Jam-packed with colorful photos of adorable kittens and sweet babies, this rhyming board book celebrates all of the ways kids and cats are alike. A companion to The Babies and Doggies Book. When you stop and think about it, babies and kitties do many of the same things: They nap, climb, and hide. They play and cuddle. Lots of things babies do kitties do too! With its brief rhyming text and full-color photographs, The Babies and Kitties Book is engaging for infants, a fun read-aloud for parents, and a treat for baby- and kitty-lovers alike. Author Bio John Schindel got his start in children's media in film production, and has gone on to write more than twenty books for young people. Among them is the fourteen-book BUSY series of photo-illustrated board books about busy animals, which he created with Tricycle Press. He lives in Oakland, California. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Molly Woodward has always beelined for the kids' section of the bookstore, On Sale: Apr 28/20 never abandoning her favorite books from childhood. She pursued this love at 7.5 x 6.75 • 26 pages children's publisher Tricycle Press before beginning her own freelance Full-color photographs editorial business. Now, as an editor at Heyday, she works on books for both 9780358164050 • $11.99 • BD - Board book kids and grown-ups while writing her own in her free time. Molly grew up in Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Baby Animals • Ages 0-3 Philly and lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area. years Notes Promotion Sales Rep Page 1 of 40 HMH Young Readers Early Spring 2020 Barks and Beeps (novelty board book) by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, illustrated by Zoe Waring Toddlers love dogs and trucks-and in this rhyming, interactive board book they get both! Pull the tabs and spin the wheel to play all day with funny puppies and busy trucks. Dogs and trucks work and play. They love to bark and beep all day! Pugs in a pickup, corgis selling ice cream cones, dalmatians spraying fire hoses . there are so many cute dogs and hardworking trucks in this interactive board book for little hands! Author Bio Zoe Waring is the illustrator of Truck, Truck Goose by Tammi Sauer (HarperCollins) and Twinkle, Twinkle Unicorn(Little Simon, 2019). She loves the warmth and humor in picture books and is a little obsessed with drawing Houghton Mifflin Harcourt cute animals. On Sale: Mar 31/20 When Zoe isn't beavering away in her sunny studio, she can be found 7 x 7 • 10 pages gathering inspiration in the beautiful British countryside with her husband Neil full-color illustration and daughter Freja. www.zoewaring.co.uk 9780358156574 • $12.99 • BK - Novelty book Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Dogs • Ages 0-3 years Notes Promotion Sales Rep Page 2 of 40 HMH Young Readers Early Spring 2020 LEAD Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her. But the ghosts that haunt Aurelia refuse to abandon her, and she finds herself succumbing to their call as they expose a nefarious plot that only she can defeat. Will she be forced to choose between the weight of the crown and the freedom of her new life? [R]omance, danger, and magic make for a winning combination that will keep readers glued to the pages long after bedtime." - School Library Journal "A multifaceted scheme, mistaken identity, and a simmering romance will keep Houghton Mifflin Harcourt readers riveted and dying to know how it all unfolds. The exploration of the On Sale: Feb 4/20 land's religion and people's conflicting understandings of it seems to be a 5.5 x 8.25 • 400 pages reflection of the real world, lending the story a deeper commentary without 9780358242253 • $15.99 • pb sidelining the main plot. An excellent choice for fans of smart, independent YA Fic / Fantasy / Epic • Ages 14 years and up female leads, intriguing fantasy worlds, and a race against the clock to defeat Series: Bloodleaf Trilogy evil." - Booklist Notes "The plot is breathlessly fast, complete with creepy spirits, a satisfying romance, and complex but clear political twists and turns. .Political, romantic, magical, timely, yet also traditionally appealing."- Kirkus Promotion <BR> * Prepublication buzz campaign targeting key "[A] riveting read. .rife with surprising twists. .This novel is a well- media, booksellers, librarians, educators, and teens developed page-turner that will have fans of both the fantasy and mystery * Deluxe ARC box mailing genres rushing to finish." - Bulletin of the (...) * National advertising campaign via trade, school and library, and consumer markets Author Bio * National media campaign targeting national and teen media Crystal Smith is a writer, photographer, and artist who developed an early * Sampler pack and merchandising kit offer to love of storytelling in a family of voracious readers. She resides in Utah with retailers her high school sweetheart husband and two lively sons. When she isn't * Conference and festival promotions writing or creating, she can be found re-watching Jane Eyre or reading ghost * Dedicated series website stories with all the lights on. @crysrensmith. * Book trailer * Select author appearances at festivals and consumer shows * Preorder campaign * Discussion guide * Extensive outreach to YA book bloggers * Social media content, promotion, and giveaways * Targeted social media advertising campaign Sales Rep Page 3 of 40 HMH Young Readers Early Spring 2020 Brave by Jennifer Li Shotz From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Max comes a heartwarming, middle grade adventure story about a rescue dog, Brave, who befriends a troubled boy in the heart of Texas. Brave is a dog without a home. After surviving a hurricane in San Antonio, Texas, stray dog Brave is hungry and afraid. When twelve-year-old Dylan finds Brave, he's feeling lost himself. Dylan can't help but think they were brought together for a reason. But Dylan knows it'll take hard work and training in order to convince his parents that he can keep this skittish pup. As Dylan and Brave's friendship grows, they learn to rescue each other in more ways than one. Can Dylan give Brave a forever home Author Bio Jennifer Li Shotz is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Max: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Best Friend. Hero. Marine., about the coolest war dog ever. She is also the On Sale: Apr 7/20 author of the Hero and Scout series. Among other things, Jen has written 5.5 x 8.25 • 240 pages about sugar addiction, stinky shoes, and sports-related concussions. A Los none Angeles native, she graduated from Vassar and has an MFA in nonfiction from 9780358108672 • $18.99 • cl Columbia. A senior editor for Scholastic Action Magazine, she lives with her Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Dogs • Ages 7-10 years family and Puerto Rican rescue dog, Vida, in Brooklyn. Series: American Dog Twitter: @jenshotz Notes Promotion Sales Rep Page 4 of 40 HMH Young Readers Early Spring 2020 Brave by Jennifer Li Shotz From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Max comes a heartwarming, middle grade adventure story about a rescue dog, Brave, who befriends a troubled boy in the heart of Texas. Brave is a dog without a home. After surviving a hurricane in San Antonio, Texas, stray dog Brave is hungry and afraid. When twelve-year-old Dylan finds Brave, he's feeling lost himself. Dylan can't help but think they were brought together for a reason. But Dylan knows it'll take hard work and training in order to convince his parents that he can keep this skittish pup. As Dylan and Brave's friendship grows, they learn to rescue each other in more ways than one. Can Dylan give Brave a forever home? Author Bio Jennifer Li Shotz is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Max: Best Friend. Hero. Marine., about the coolest war dog ever. She is also the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt author of the Hero and Scout series. Among other things, Jen has written On Sale: Apr 7/20 about sugar addiction, stinky shoes, and sports-related concussions. A Los 5.13 x 7.63 • 240 pages Angeles native, she graduated from Vassar and has an MFA in nonfiction from none Columbia. A senior editor for Scholastic Action Magazine, she lives with her 9780358108726 • $11.99 • pb family and Puerto Rican rescue dog, Vida, in Brooklyn. Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Dogs • Ages 7-10 years Twitter: @jenshotz Series: American Dog Notes Promotion Sales Rep Page 5 of 40 HMH Young Readers Early Spring 2020 Brown Girl Ghosted by Mintie Das We Were Liars meets Riverdale with a supernatural twist in this timely #metoo thriller about mean girls, murder, and race in a quiet Midwestern suburb. Violet Choudry may be part of the popular clique at school, but as one of a handful of brown girls in a small Illinois town, all she really wants to do is blend in and disappear.