Saturday, January 10, 2009

Good news flash: New Pooh book due in October

I like to wear my Eeyore tie with my blue suit in front of important people.

It makes some people smile. Others aren't looking out for such detail. But it is my signal to everyone -- especially myself -- not to take ourselves so seriously.

As long as there is a little honey, everything will be all right. And amid our ongoing economic crisis, a little honey can go a long way.

So can a new Pooh book, reports The Wall Street Journal:


Even Eeyore might crack a smile about this.

The troubled book industry, in need of titles that will pull readers into the stores, will get a much-needed jolt this fall when the first authorized sequel to A.A. Milne's "Winnie-the-Pooh" and "The House at Pooh Corner" is published Oct. 5 under the title "Return to the Hundred Acre Wood."

Mr. Milne died in 1956. The author of the new book is David Benedictus, who produced two successful audiobooks based on Mr. Milne's famous children's titles. Mr. Benedictus, who lives in London, said that after an earlier offer to write a sequel was rebuffed, he heard back from the Milne estate about 2½ years ago. "People will be highly suspicious, but I hope they'll think I didn't do a bad job," said Mr. Benedictus.

Barnes & Noble Had Weak HolidayMore Media & Marketing newsThe work, illustrated by Mark Burgess, is being published in the U.S. by Dutton Children's Books, an imprint of Pearson PLC's Penguin Young Readers Group (USA). Don Weisberg, president of Penguin Young Readers Group, said he expects the title to be a "huge seller for a long, long time." The initial print run will be in excess of 100,000.

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