Scholastic to Publish Celebrated Humorist Calvin Trillin’s First Book of Children’s Poetry, With Illustrations by Award-Winning Artist Roz Chast
New York, NY — Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education and media company, has acquired North American rights to the first book of poems for children by bestselling poet and novelist Calvin Trillin, with illustrations by award-winning and bestselling artist Roz Chast. No Fair! No Fair! And Other Jolly Poems of Childhood will be published in October 2016 by Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic. The deal was negotiated by Eric Simonoff of WME Entertainment for Calvin Trillin, Jin Auh of the Wylie Agency for Roz Chast, and Ken Geist, VP, Publisher, Orchard Books, Scholastic.
Inspired by some of Calvin Trillin’s real-life experiences from his children, grandchildren, and his own childhood, this picture book features poems that celebrate the humor of familiar everyday topics. Child readers (and nearby grown-ups) will laugh out loud and delight at Roz Chast’s signature whimsical illustrations, as they find out if Justin is “the awfulest kid in the class,” if there’s anything that Matt won’t eat, and if you really can send back a new baby brother.
“My father, who had a restaurant in Kansas City for a while, used to put a rhyming couplet on the menu at lunch every day, mostly about pie. (His shortest was “Don’t sigh/Eat pie.”),” said Calvin Trillin. “So you might say that I’m a second generation poet, since I’ve published verse about the events of the day for twenty-five years. When I acquired enough grandchildren to describe myself as ‘a grandfather who writes on the side,’ it was inevitable that I’d turn my hand to writing verse for children—thus No Fair! No Fair!”
“A person might only be nine years old, but believe me, they can be just as exasperated as anyone else: with parents, older siblings, younger siblings, weird foods, homework, having to go to bed when one is not tired, etc.,” said Roz Chast. “These poems are hilarious and appealed to me immediately.”
“I am delighted to welcome Calvin Trillin and Roz Chast to the Scholastic family,” said Ken Geist. “When I read Calvin’s humorous poems, I could not stop laughing and knew they were perfect for a children’s book. As an added bonus, I was thrilled when Roz Chast agreed to illustrate the collection.”
About Calvin Trillin
Calvin Trillin is a journalist, humorist, poet, novelist, memoirist, and food writer. A long-time staff writer at The New Yorker, he is also The Nation’s “deadline poet.” He has published thirty books, many of them bestsellers. His books include Remembering Denny, About Alice, Tepper Isn’t Going Out, and Dogfight: The 2012 Presidential Campaign in Verse. In 2012, he won the Thurber Prize for American Humor. He lives in New York.
About Roz Chast
Roz Chast has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker since 1978. She has illustrated many books, including the New York Times bestseller 101 Two-Letter Words, by Stephin Merritt and The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z!, by Steve Martin. She is the author and illustrator of Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, a bestselling memoir about her parents, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. She lives in Connecticut.
About Scholastic
For more information about Scholastic, visit our media room at http://mediaroom.scholastic.com
