And last but not least . . .

Rounding out our Fall '10 offerings, here's your report on the newest licensed books and graphic novels from Stone Arch Books!


Last season, we introduced our partnership with Sports Illustrated Kids and launched our first graphic novels under the SI Kids brand. This season, we take it a step further and add full-color chapter books to the mix. The kids at Victory School all have extraordinary athletic ability, but they face ordinary struggles, learning that teamwork and fair play are just as important to them as they are to normal kids. Check out the awesome Victory School Superstars trailer, too:







We've also got six brand-new graphic novels from Sports Illustrated Kids. These books have been getting some great reviews. School Library Journal said they were "sure to fly off shelves." Nice!




Did you know that some of our ever-popular Graphic Revolve retellings of classic tales are also available in Spanish! Es verdad! English-language learners, bilingual kids, and Spanish-language learners will all appreciate these editions of some of our coolest graphic novels.




And we're granting wishes to librarians and kids everywhere by adding classic Arabian Nights tales (with absolutely breathtaking illustrations) to the Graphic Revolve set.




Ever wonder what certain monsters were like as kids? Find out in our brand-new Mighty Mighty Monsters series, set in Transylmania. Horror fans and kids who just love graphic novels will love this new series by Sean O'Reilly.






And speaking of awesome kids, we've added a new graphic novel in the Monster and Me series and the Princess Candy series, and two new graphic novels in the Incredible Rockhead series. (This time, Rockhead battles Scissorlegz and Papercutz.)





And for the new readers who love graphic novels, My First Graphic Novel is back with four new books, all set at school.






Finally, we have four new Batman books, four new Wonder Woman books, and four new Superman books in our DC Super Heroes set.




And that's our list!

If you missed my rundown of our newest books from Picture Window Books and our new novels from Stone Arch, check out those posts.

Here's my question for you, readers: What are we missing? As readers, authors, illustrators, librarians, teachers, parents—what would you like to see on this list? What do you want more of? Please let me know in the comments!

And Thanks for All the Monsters!

Author Martin Powell reminds me that this week is the anniversary of Ray Harryhausen’s birthday (June 29, 1920). Harryhausen was the creator of some of Hollywood’s first, best, and oddest special effects. He made all those creepy, Claymation creatures in such Grade-B classics as Jason and the Argonauts, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Martin grew up on these movies, like I did, which partly explains his love of the horror genre, as well as his talent for fast-paced thrills and adventure. Martin was nominated for an Eisner Award for his Sherlock Holmes/Dracula page-turner, Scarlet in Gaslight. We were lucky enough to have him pen several graphic retellings for Stone Arch Books, including The Hound of the Baskervilles, Rumpelstiltskin, and Red Riding Hood. He knows scary! Thanks, Martin, for telling me about Harryhausen’s birthday. I remember watching his The 7th Voyage of Sinbad on TV as a kid. I always screamed for my mom to come and stand in front of the screen whenever the giant Cyclops came on. That monster scared the pudding out of me, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn off the TV. Boy, I haven’t thought about that movie for years. . .

Maybe I should call Mom.

From the silver screen to the library

Looking for a way to draw your movie-fan readers into the library? The (PG-rated) movie version of Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth opens this Friday, July 11, and our graphic novel version of the classic book is a perfect complement—and a great way to introduce movie lovers to classic fiction. Check out our version of Verne's novel, and the rest of our Graphic Revolve set, here.

Stone Arch Books's Fall '08 Catalog

Our new catalog is here! The marketing team finished working on it just two weeks ago, so it was a great surprise when finished copies showed up on our desks on Thursday afternoon.

This season, our catalog is full of tons of new books we’re really proud of. Our new series, Graphic Spin, does for fairy tales what Graphic Revolve did for classic stories—in each Graphic Spin book, a fairy tale is lavishly told in graphic-novel format. You’ve never seen fairy tales like this before!

In Graphic Sparks, we have new books in our Eek and Ack, School Zombies, Time Blasters, and Buzz Beaker series. We also have the first two books in a brand-new series, Zinc Alloy, written by our own Donald Lemke. Kids will love the escapades of Zack Allen, the world’s newest superhero.

Our Graphic Flash set has grown by four new books—all stories of war that will fit in wonderfully to American history classes. And Graphic Revolve contains four new classic stories.

Jake Maddox is back with twelve new books—four boy stories, four girl stories, and four new extreme outdoor adventure books. Our bestselling and well-reviewed Claudia Cristina Cortez set is back, too—with four more stories from Claudia’s point of view. We also have four new Vortex mysteries (including Curtains!: A High School Musical Mystery by our own Michael Dahl) and six new Shade Books, perfect for the kid who’s looking for a little bit of creepy suspense (that’s still safe!)

And we’ve mentioned the We Are Heroes series before on this blog. This new series contains six high-low books about ordinary kids making extraordinary changes in their communities. Whether it’s planting trees at school or painting a room in a house built by Habitat for Humanity, these books show real ways kids can make differences. (And, of course, proceeds from the book Kids Against Hunger will go to the nonprofit organization Kids Against Hunger™.)

These books aren’t available yet, but they will be on July 15. Keep your eye on this blog for more information about all of our new products over the next couple of months! Take a look at all of our books, or request a catalog of your own, at www.stonearchbooks.com.

Graphic Novels in New York City (and your library)

Are you still having trouble getting your administration behind your graphic novel purchases? We know that not everyone understands why and how graphic novels are revolutionizing reading. But here’s more ammunition if you need help convincing the powers-that-be: the New York City Department of Education has launched a new program focusing on graphic novels. (Check out the SLJ article here.)

Our graphic novels even have curriculum hooks, like our Graphic Flash books, fiction based on major events in American History, and our Graphic Revolve, which retell the world’s best stories in graphic novel form. Science classes will love Buzz Beaker (use any of the Buzz books to get kids fired up for science fairs), and units on outer space will be brightened up by a visit from Eek and Ack, two twins from the Great Goo Galaxy.

See? Graphic novels aren’t such a stretch after all. New York City knows it, and soon, your school will too.

More graphic novel news

We’ve been looking forward to March for a long time—and not just because the temperatures are finally starting to rise. This month is the first time one of our books is a Junior Library Guild pick. Frankenstein, one of the graphic-novel retellings in our Graphic Revolve set, was chosen as one of the March Junior Library Guild selections. It’s just the first of many of our books that the JLG has honored in this way (look for upcoming selections in the next few months), and we’re thrilled! The Junior Library Guild looks through more than 3,000 manuscripts each year before determining its 288 selections, so we feel very honored to have been chosen.

Great Graphic Novels

Two of our graphic novels are featured in an School Library Journal article this month. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, from our Graphic Revolve set, and Tiger Moth, Insect Ninja, from our Graphic Sparks set, are spotlighted in Michele Gorman’s list of 25 great graphic novels for young readers. The books are among some great company--our sister company Capstone Press's The Shocking World of Electricity with Max Axiom, Super Scientist! is listed, as are a bunch of other great books.

Check out our website to see the other graphic-novel retellings of classic books in our Graphic Revolve set, and other funny, goofy books in our Graphic Sparks set.