Candlewick Press Announces New Picture Book From Bestselling Creators Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen
SOMERVILLE, MA – New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen have teamed up for the new picture book, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, to be published October 14, 2014. With more than 115 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list between them, and awards including the Caldecott Medal, a Caldecott Honor, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Picture Book Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Prize, and many more, the most dynamic duo in children’s literature now offers a deadpan tale full of visual humor.
World rights to Sam and Dave Dig a Hole were acquired by Liz Bicknell, Candlewick’s Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, from Steven Malk of Writers House. It will be edited by Liz Bicknell and designed by Art Director Ann Stott. Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen previously worked together on Extra Yarn, a New York Times best seller, a Caldecott Honor Book, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner.
Of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, Liz Bicknell says, “If you need holes dug this fall—New compost site? Goldfish pond? Eradication of moles in the lawn?—buy this book. For less than $20, you will have an avid work crew at the ready.”
Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen say:
“It’s a book about the joy and adventure of digging a hole.”
-Mac Barnett, author of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole
“It’s a book about why digging a hole is a bad idea.”
-Jon Klassen, illustrator of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole
“Jon, we went over this.”
-Mac Barnett, author of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mac Barnett is the author of several award-winning books for children including Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, which won a Caldecott Honor, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Picture Book Award and the Charlotte Zolotow Prize. He also writes the Brixton Brothers series of mysteries and edited The Goods: Volume 1 by Sweeney’s.
In March 2014, Candlewick will release President Taft Is Stuck in the Bath, a larger-than-life tale of a presidential mishap inspired by a true anecdote, written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. Of President Taft Is Stuck in the Bath, Kirkus wrote, “Barnett spins a probably apocryphal but nonetheless hilarious incident into a Cabinet-level crisis. … The soapiest, splashiest frolic featuring a head of state since Audrey and Don Wood’s ‘King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub’ (1985).” Mac Barnett lives in Berkeley, California.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Jon Klassen is the creator of the Caldecott Medal winner This Is Not My Hat, a New York Times bestseller and a Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year that received six starred reviews. He is also the creator of the #1 New York Times bestseller I Want My Hat Back, which was named a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year, and a Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year. Combined, these books have spent more than 90 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
Jon Klassen is the illustrator of House Held Up By Trees by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ted Kooser (published by Candlewick Press), as well as Cats’ Night Out by Caroline Stutson, which won the Governor General’s Award; Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett; The Dark by Lemony Snicket, and The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series by Maryrose Wood. Jon Klassen has also worked as an illustrator for feature animated films, music videos, and editorial pieces. Originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Jon Klassen now lives in Los Angeles.
ABOUT CANDLEWICK PRESS
Candlewick Press is an independent, employee-owned publisher based in Somerville, Massachusetts. For over twenty years, Candlewick has published outstanding children’s books for readers of all ages, including books by award-winning authors and illustrators such as the National Ambassador for Children’s Literature, Kate DiCamillo, M. T. Anderson, Jon Klassen, Laura Amy Schlitz, and David Ezra Stein; the widely acclaimed Judy Moody, Mercy Watson, and ’Ology series; and favorites such as Guess How Much I Love You, Where’s Waldo?, and Maisy. Candlewick is part of the Walker Books Group, together with Walker Books UK in London and Walker Books Australia, based in Sydney and Auckland. Visit Candlewick online at www.candlewick.com.
