Willodeen by Katherine Applegate; illus. by Charles Santoso Intermediate Feiwel 272 pp. g 9/21 978-1-250-14740-0 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-250-14741-7 $9.99 Applegate’s (Wishtree, rev. 11/17; The One and Only Bob, rev. 7/20) latest novel is set in a town that is home to two creatures unfamiliar to us but affected by...
This interview originally appeared in the September/October 2021 Horn Book Magazine as part of the Publishers’ Previews: Fall 2021, an advertising supplement that allows participating publishers a chance to each highlight a book from its current list. They choose the books; we ask the questions. Sponsored by Migratory visits of...
The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate; illus. by Patricia Castelao Intermediate Harper/HarperCollins 338 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-299131-7 $18.99 Applegate revisits the beloved cast of characters from her Newbery Medal–winning The One and Only Ivan (rev. 1/12), but this time from a different viewpoint. Bob, the tenacious mutt (“some...
Recently, as Siân tore her eyes away from Patrick Ness’s Twitter feed to tell us, a whole bunch of people, many of them children’s and YA authors, got together and raised a skyrocketing sum for Save the Children to aid Syrian refugees. Astounding as this example was, it’s not the...
In our September/October issue, HB editorial assistant Shoshana Flax asked Katherine Applegate about the impetus for her touching new novel Crenshaw. Read the full starred review of Crenshaw here.Shoshana Flax: Which came first: the idea of writing about an imaginary friend or about a boy and his family dealing with...
Crenshawby Katherine ApplegateIntermediate Feiwel 243 pp.9/15 978-1-250-04323-8 $16.99 ge-book ed. 978-1-250-08022-6 $9.99Jackson is a scientist, a skeptic, and nobody’s fool. He’s the resilient fifth-grader (the “most grown-up one in the house”) in a dreamy, overwhelmed family that has fallen on hard times. But sometimes even the hyper-competent need help, and...
Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorillaby Katherine Applegate; illus. by G. Brian KarasPrimary, Intermediate Clarion 40 pp.10/14 978-0-544-25230-1 $17.99 gApplegate introduces young readers to the true story that inspired her Newbery Medal–winning novel The One and Only Ivan (rev. 1/12). “In leafy calm, / in gentle...
Katherine Applegate and Michael GrantKatherine Applegate was born a very long time ago in Michigan. She grew up in the suburbs, suffered no major traumas, was not shaped by great historical events, and never learned storytelling at the feet of a wise and wonderful grandmother.She attended school where she practiced...
Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant coauthored (pseudonymously) the Animorphs series back in the 1990s; both husband and wife went onto successful solo careers, with Grant authoring the popular Gone series and the recent BZRK, and Applegate most recently winning the Newbery Medal for The One and Only Ivan. Eve &...
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate; illus. by Patricia CastelaoIntermediate Harper/HarperCollins 305 pp.1/12 978-0-06-199225-4 $16.99 ge-book ed. 978-0-06-210198-3 $9.99“I am Ivan. I am a gorilla. / It’s not as easy as it looks.” In short chapters (the book has an open layout and frequent illustrations) that have the...