DBG Heads To Texas For TLA 2017!

We’re back on the road this week and heading to San Antonio Texas for the 2017 Texas Library Association’s annual conference. Starting Wednesday April 19th and continuing through Saturday April 22nd you can catch us in the middle of the Exhibit Hall floor at the Disney-Hyperion Booth #2708. We’ll have loads of free swag to giveaway and plenty of great galleys we can’t wait to load you up with. With several DBG authors on hand throughout the weekend including Ashley Elston (This is Our Story), Bob Shea (Ballet Cat, The Happiest Book Ever), Ryan T. Higgins (Mother Bruce, Hotel Bruce, Be Quiet), Robin Roe (A List of Cages) Shannon and Dean Hale (Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World) as well as Liz Garton Scanlon & Audrey Vernick (Bob, Not Bob) for panels, signings, and plenty of good cheer all around.

If you’re TLA bound we can’t wait to see you! If you’re spending the weekend at home, be sure keep an eye on @DisneyBooks on Twitter for tweets live from the show floor!

Our full TLA Schedule is below including signing times, panel locations, and exhibit hall hours. Remember to stop by booth #2708 to say hello, and we’ll see you in Texas!

 

Wednesday, April 19th

5:30pm – 7:30pm

Exhibit Hall Preview Night

LOCATION: Disney-Hyperion Booth #2708

Come be among the first to load up on great DBG Galleys and other free goodies for show attendees!

Thursday, April 20th

Exhibit Hours: 10:15am – 5:00pm

11:00am – 12:00pm

Author Signing: Shannon Hale (JT signing with Macmillan & Candlewick)

LOCATION: Authors’ Signing Area #5

Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World

11:15am – 12:15pm

Author Program: Ashley Elston

Panel: Investigate the Art of the Clue: Mystery Fiction for Young Adults

LOCATION: Convention Center Room 217AB, Meeting Level

1:00 – 2:00pm

Author Signing: Ashley Elston

LOCATION: Authors’ Signing Area #8

This is Our Story

2:30 – 3:30pm

Author Signing: Ryan T. Higgins

LOCATION: Authors’ Signing Area #11

Be Quiet!

4:15 – 5:15pm

Author Program: Ryan T. Higgins

Panel: Children’s Book Illustrators Ultimate Sketch-Off

LOCATION: Convention Center Room 303ABC, Ballroom level

Friday, April 21st

Exhibit Hours: 9:00am – 4:00pm, Disney

10:00 – 11:00am

Author Signing: Robin Roe

LOCATION: Authors’ Signing Area #5

A List of Cages

11:00am – 12:00pm

Author Program: Bob Shea

Panel: Catching Readers from the Beginning

LOCATION: Convention Center Room 221CD, Meeting Level

12:00 – 1:00pm

Author Signing: Liz Garton Scanlon & Audrey Vernick

LOCATION: Authors’ Signing Area #5

Bob, Not Bob!

1:00 – 2:00pm

Author Signing: Bob Shea

LOCATION: Authors’ Signing Area #5

What’s Your Favorite, Favorite?

1:30 – 3:30pm

Author Program: Robin Roe

Panel: Texas Tea

LOCATION: Grand Hyatt Hotel (600 E. Market Street), Texas Ballroom

Download Free Ellie In Concert Activities Ahead of Next Week’s Release

 

We can’t wait to experience the next wonderful Ellie outing from author/illustrator Mike Wu. To help celebrate the release of Ellie in Concert next week, we’ve got some free activity sheets you can download for your school or library right here. Just click on the images below for more fun-filled pages featuring one of our favorite Elephants.

Since Ellie saved her home with her wonderful paintings, the zoo is back in business and the animals are more energetic than ever. All except for Lucy the giraffe, who hasn’t been able to sleep with all the noise. Determined to help her friend, Ellie tries to tone down the ruckus and organizes the animals into an orchestra. But is it possible to conduct the cacophony of the zoo into beautiful music?

Praise for Ellie

“[Wu’s] visual storytelling, rendered in sweet, throwback-style watercolors, shows creativity and poise. . . . [E]very vignette is expertly framed for a chuckle, an “Awww,” or both.”  —Publishers Weekly

“In his first picture book, Pixar animator Wu creates watercolor illustrations that are reminiscent of classics like Harry the Dirty Dog and Curious George.”    —Kirkus Reviews

“Wu’s dynamic watercolor illustrations enliven the story, their retro/classic feel possessing a distinctive animation quality.”  —School Library Journal

 

 

Disney-Hyperion Earns Three Spots Among YALSA’S 2017 Teens’ Top Ten Nominees

Earlier today The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association, officially announced the nominees for this year’s Teens Top Ten List. An annual reading list voted on by teens across the country beginning on August 15  and running through ALA’s Teen Read Week (October 8-14). This year’s list features 26 nominees published between January 1st and December 31st, 2016.

Click here to see the full list of books that have been nominated along with more info on how to vote for your favorite YA title and on how you can win a full set of all 26 books.

Disney Book Group is thrilled to share that three of our own 2016 titles were included among the list of nominees. They are:

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken – The #1 New York Times Bestselling story of Etta Spencer and Nicholas Carter and the first book in Bracken’s breathtaking series of time travel adventure that continues in 2017’s Wayfarer.

Once Upon a Dream: A Twisted Tale by Liz Braswell – The second book in a new YA line that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways. It should be simple–a dragon defeated, a slumbering princess in a castle, a prince poised to wake her. But when the prince falls asleep as his lips touch the fair maiden’s, it is clear that this fairy tale is far from over.

Starflight by Melissa Landers – A romantic sci-fi adventure set in a far off future of space travel and intergalactic conspiracy, where enemies Solara Brooks and Doran Spaulding must team up when they find themselves aboard a renegade spaceship.

Congratulations to all the nominated authors. We look forward to seeing the final Teens Top Ten List when it’s revealed at a later date.