“We’ve successfully extended the Wonder brand into new product categories including apparel, accessories, stationery and classroom materials,” said Rachel Bader, director of licensing for Random House Children’s Books. “These products help grow Wonder’s equity beyond books—by introducing the brand to new audiences and reaching existing fans through new retail channels.” A new stationery line developed by Clarkson Potter supports a cross-divisional collaboration within Penguin Random House and offers our sales team fresh opportunities to approach retail with an array of new Wonder-branded merchandise. Potter’s line includes a set of four Wonder notebooks (Draw, Dream, Doodle and Write), a Choose Kind Journal: Do One Wonderful Thing Every Day, and a Wonder Note Cube. Next summer, the publisher will be launching a Wonder School Planner just in time for back-to-school.     More high profile brand exposure is tied to the eagerly awaited film adaption of WONDER starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay. The film was produced by Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman and debuts in theaters on November 17, 2017. Lionsgate has also been an enthusiastic partner supporting a number of #ChooseKind activities as well as becoming part of the curriculum in many schools across the country in advance of the film’s premiere. On September 26, 2017, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers published the special movie tie-in edition of WONDER which shares fun anecdotes from the cast and crew and features an eight-page full-color insert with photos from the film. The book also has a foreword by the director Stephen Chbosky, an afterword by R.J. Palacio and a family discussion guide. In addition, Hot Topic, a retail outlet that specializes in pop culture-inspired fashion, is selling WONDER t-shirts in-store and online in the run-up to the expected blockbuster box office opening of the movie nationwide.   To stay up-to-date on US publishing news, visit: www.global.penguinrandomhouse.com

provide new perspectives to educators and to parents, allowing for discussions on empathy, fairness, and understanding. FEATURED TITLES WONDER by R.J. Palacio; ages 8-12 SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING JULIA ROBERTS, OWEN WILSON, AND JACOB TREMBLAY! Over 6 million people have read the #1 New York Times bestseller WONDER and have fallen in love with Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face, it’s also the book that inspired the Choose Kind movement. Take the pledge to Choose Kind here! Learn about the Wonder Certified Kind Classroom Program here.   CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER BULLY by Trudy Ludwig; ages 8-12 After Katie gets caught teasing a schoolmate, she’s told to meet with Mrs. Petrowski, the school counselor, so she can make right her wrong and learn to be a better friend. Bothered at first, it doesn’t take long before Katie realizes that bullying has hurt not only the people around her, but her, too. Told from the unusual point of view of the bullier rather than the bullied, Confessions of a Former Bully provides kids with real life tools they can use to identify and stop relational aggression.   LLAMA LLAMA AND THE BULLY GOAT by Anna Dewdney; ages 2-5 Llama Llama is learning lots of new things at school and making many friends. But when Gilroy Goat starts teasing him and some of their classmates, Llama Llama isn’t sure what to do. And then he remembers what his teacher told him—walk away and tell someone. It works! But then Llama Llama feels badly. Can he and Gilroy try to be friends again?   ALL’S FAIRE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL by Victoria Jamieson; ages 8-12 Available September 5, 2017! Calling all Raina Telgemeier fans! The Newbery Honor-winning author of Roller Girl is back with a heartwarming graphic novel about starting middle school, surviving your embarrassing family, and the Renaissance Faire.   A FRIEND FOR LAKOTA by Jim Dutcher and Jamie Dutcher; ages 4-8 The sweet tale of Lakota, the shy wolf pup, is sure to touch the heart of any animal lover. Readers will marvel at Lakota’s strength growing up as the lowest-ranking and frequently picked-on member of a wolf pack until he finally finds that supportive and nurturing friend he’s always wanted. The book also introduces young readers to the need for conservation awareness: through Lakota’s life story, readers will come to understand the many challenges wolves in the wild face today.   THEY DON’T LIKE ME: LESSONS ON BULLYING AND TEASING FROM A PRESCHOOL CLASSROOM by Jane Katch  With her acute eye and deft pen, Katch watches her class of four- and five-year-olds begin to form exclusionary groups and tells us what happens as she tries to intervene. Talking with her brother, who teased her as a child; with high school kids; and, as always, with her class, Katch comes to new understandings of why some kids bully and scapegoat, how other kids get through the experience, and how she as a teacher might intervene. They Don’t Like Me is at once a fascinating, absorbing look into the social lives of children and a book for teachers and parents who are trying to understand how to prevent exclusion and how to support children who are being teased and bullied.   YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS by Meg Medina; ages 14 & up Winner of the 2014 Pura Belpré Author Award In Meg Medina’s compelling new novel, a Latina teen is targeted by a bully at her new school — and must discover resources she never knew she had. Also available in a Spanish Edition here.   Find more books on bullying and bullying prevention at the collection on Edelweiss

   Watch the new trailer from Lionsgate for #WonderTheMovie, starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and Jacob Tremblay, coming to theaters nationwide on November 17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngiK1gQKgK8&feature=youtu.be

With over five million copies sold around the world, Palacio’s WONDER, with its message to Choose Kind, has inspired global kindness and anti-bullying campaigns and has become part curricula in schools across the country. WONDER has demonstrated the power of a book to spark a cultural dialogue, and to inspire children and adults to think differently about the world around them. Random House Children’s Books encourages everyone at Penguin Random House to take part in this initiative by spreading kindness around your own community beginning this Valentine’s Day. It can be as simple as:

• Write a friend or family member a nice note to tell them something you love about them.

 

• Treat a stranger in the coffee line to a free beverage.

 

• Shovel a neighbor’s snow, clear their car, or leave a basket of treats at their door.

 

• Leave a nice note or gift for your mail carrier as a token of gratitude.

  Then post your act of kindness on social media with #ChooseKindValentine. Tag someone, and continue the kindness chain. Happy Valentine’s Day! Yours in Wonder, Random House Children’s Books