Shannon Maughan

2 weeks ago | publishersweekly.com | Shannon Maughan

Prolific children’s author Jean Van Leeuwen, known for a broad oeuvre including her beginning-reader stories following the adventures of Oliver Pig and his baby sister Amanda, died on March 3 at her home in Chappaqua, N.Y., of cancer. She was 87. Jean Van Leeuwen was born December 26, 1937, in Glen Ridge, N.J., to Cornelius, a minister, and Dorothy, a teacher. She grew up in Rutherford, N.J., experiencing a “book-filled childhood,” she wrote in an essay for Something About the Author.

1 month ago | publishersweekly.com | Shannon Maughan

In 2024, Union Square & Co. introduced its Everyone Can Be a Reader series, a line of books specially designed for struggling readers and using dyslexia-friendly tools including different paper tones and a proprietary font. The books are produced in partnership with Edinburgh, Scotland–based Barrington Stoke, a publisher founded in 1997 now operating as an editorially independent imprint of HarperCollins UK.

1 month ago | publishersweekly.com | Shannon Maughan

The results of the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation’s report card, were released on January 29, and reading scores for U.S. students have dropped to a worrying new low. In 2024, 31% of fourth graders scored above the NAEP’s proficient standard, compared with 33% of fourth graders in 2022 and 35% in 2019, the year prior to the Covid-19 disruptions.

1 month ago | publishersweekly.com | Shannon Maughan

Swiss-born literary and artists’ agent Annabeth Suter died of natural causes on February 14 at the Inselspital in Bern, Switzerland. She was 91. Anne Elisabeth Suter was born November 29, 1933, in Basel, Switzerland and grew up in a small village near Schaffhausen.

1 month ago | publishersweekly.com | Shannon Maughan

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos makes her children’s book debut with Tori and the Muses, a fanciful tale exploring the source of inspiration, illustrated by Demelsa Haughton. In the story, young Tori—a gifted pianist—reveals her bond with the 11 ethereal Muses who have mythically appeared to her since she was a baby, encouraging her to create her own style of music, and she then discovers how others in her life find their own Muses.