[PRESS RELEASE] New York, NY (November 29, 2012) Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, today announced the publication of Year of the Jungle (September 10, 2013), an autobiographical picture book by Suzanne Collins, author of the worldwide bestselling The Hunger Games trilogy, with illustrations by James Proimos. Scholastic also announced plans to publish the trade paperback edition of
Catching Fire (June 4, 2013, ISBN: 978-0-545-58617-7, $12.99), as well as re-packaged paperback editions of Collins’s bestselling The Underland Chronicles, a five-book series about
Gregor the Overlander, featuring all new cover art (Summer 2013). Scholastic will publish and deliver the books through all of its distribution channels.
Year of the Jungle ($17.99, ISBN: 978-0-545-42516-2), to be published on September 10, 2013, is an autobiographical picture book for ages 4 and up, based on the year Suzanne Collins’s father served in Viet Nam. The book is illustrated by James Proimos, an acclaimed picture book author-artist and television writer/animator. Longtime friends, Collins credits Proimos for initially suggesting she write books for children while they were working in children’s television together.
In Year of the Jungle, when young Suzy’s father leaves for Viet Nam, she struggles to deal with his absence. What is the jungle like? Will her father be safe? When will he return? The months slip by, marked by the passing of the familiar holidays and the postcards that her father sends. With each one, he feels more and more distant, and when he returns, Suzy must learn that even though war has changed him, he still loves her just the same.
“The Underland Chronicles, with its fantasy world and eleven-year old protagonist, Gregor, was designed for middle readers,” said Suzanne Collins. “The Hunger Games Trilogy features a teen narrator, Katniss Everdeen, and a stark dystopian backdrop for the YA audience. Year of the Jungle attempts to reach the picture book readers by delving into my own experience as a first grader with a father deployed in Viet Nam.”
“One of the things Suzanne has done so masterfully in The Hunger Games and The Underland Chronicles is to give readers an honest portrayal of the effects of war,” said David Levithan, VP, Publisher & Editorial Director, Scholastic. “Now she has done it for a younger age group, in a way that is sympathetic rather than scary, relatable rather than raw. This is something that Suzanne, as a military child, lived with for many years, and it’s something that all families will be able to share, whether they have a personal connection to the military or not.”
