NEW YORK, NY (3/18/2019) – JY, the middle grade imprint of Yen Press, LLC, announced today the latest
installment in Svetlana Chmakova’s BERRYBROOK MIDDLE SCHOOL series. DIARY, the
fourth volume of the award-winning graphic novel franchise, represents an
exciting variation that, in addition to exclusive short stories featuring
familiar faces from Berrybrook, doubles as a real journal featuring a “One
Sketch a Day” section, stickers, and free note pages with fun journal entries from
one of the main characters.
Simultaneous to the standalone release of DIARY, the latest book will also be included in the BERRYBROOK MIDDLE SCHOOL BOX SET, a collection of all four of the Berrybrook stories, including AWKWARD, BRAVE, and CRUSH. Perfect for the holiday gift season, the BERRYBROOK MIDDLE SCHOOL BOX SET is the ideal introduction of these books to new readers.
From its initial release with AWKWARD in 2015, Berrybrook Middle School
has garnered critical acclaim, earning an Eisner nomination and winning the 2nd Annual
Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids’ Comics. The subsequent books, BRAVE and CRUSH,
have also been well received, securing spots on YALSA’s Top Ten Great Graphic
Novels for Teens list. The series has sold almost a million copies to date.
Creator Svetlana Chmakova is an
internationally published, award-winning manga/comics author, with more than 10
published books and her work translated in over 13 languages. Born and raised
in Russia, she moved to Canada at sixteen-years-old to finish high school and
received a Classical Animation diploma from Sheridan College. Her full-length
manga and comics series include the fan-favorite romantic comedy DRAMACON, the
award-winning urban fantasy NIGHTSCHOOL: THE WEIRN BOOKS and the manga
adaptation of The New York Times bestselling WITCH & WIZARD
by James Patterson.
Both DIARY and the BERRYBROOK MIDDLE
SCHOOL BOX SET are slated for an October 2019 release.
We’re honored to have the Berrybrook Middle School series included in the 2019 Out of the Box: The Graphic Novel Comes of Age exhibit at the The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Massachusetts! Now open through May 26, 2019!
Are you ready to add a touch of magic, love, and…zombies to your holiday?! We’re here to provide all that and more to our very FIRST JY for Kids Holiday Gift Guide! JY for Kids is still growing, but we have several stellar series that are sure to knock the socks of your kid’s feet. Help them escape to a new world filled with magic, or share some plain ol’ good fun with some charming friends at Berrybrook Middle School! Check out our entire list below:
Middleschool *shutters*! It can be a tough time! But if you stay true to yourself and maintain trustworthy friendships, it can be so much better. Our award-winning Berrybrook Middleschool is about just that — following the everyday lives of future art virtuosos, scientific geniuses, athletic talent, and everyone in between — who blend friendships no matter what “clique” they’re associated with. With Awkward, Brave, and Crush, it’s OK to be you! And it’s even cooler to support those around you.
Our biggest category yet — we’re so thrilled to have a huge catalog dedicated to girl power! One of our best-selling series, W.I.T.C.H.: The Graphic Novel, comes all the way from Italy. Released in the early 2000’s, W.I.T.C.H. aired as a cartoon show shortly after and was widely beloved by fans everywhere. When we first announced our plan to re-release the series in 2017, fans around the world rejoiced! W.I.T.C.H. is a touch of Disney magic perfect for a whole new generation of readers looking to discover both the W.I.T.C.H. franchise and the medium of graphic novels for the first time! Vol. 1-12 are in stores now.
School’s in with Little Witch Academia! Join the fantastic girls of Luna Nova Magical Academy in this manga adaptation of the hit anime show as they start their adventure as novice witches. In a world of magic, your strongest power is believing — so all you have to do is reach out your hand and your story will begin! Vol 1 & 2 available now!
Whoever said popularity is the key to life has it all wrong! While it is
nice, nothing beats true friendship. We believe that friendships can happen anywhere, even with *gasp* a zombie! While Zombie boy may appear to have more differences than similarities to his human friend, he’s really just a kid who likes to have some fun. In the first volume of this comedy, kids will tag along with Zombie boy and his many interesting adventures — like his quest for tomato juice! Crah! Zo Zo Zombie, Volume 1 is out now, and pre-orders for Volume 2 are available today!
That’s a wrap for our JY for Kids holiday gift guide! If you enjoyed this selection, please share this with family, librarians, or teachers who might want to introduce some great graphic novels or manga for middle grade readers! For more updates, follow us on any of our social media handles at Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. We hope you’ll enjoy your holidays — and have a wonderful new year! See you in 2019 🙂
#PSA! The one and only Svetlana Chmakova is coming to Barnes and Noble Santa Rosa, this Saturday, December 1st at 1PM for her signing of CRUSH! Come by with family and friends to help give a warm welcome!
We have a winner for the CRUSH contest-hand picked by Svetlana herself! Congratulations to Kaitlyn K. for her stellar sketch and thorough submission. As promised, she will be receiving a signed copy of the book and another special gift…an exclusive signed print of Jaime and Peppi from Awkward!
But that’s not all! Svetlana is ALSO giving these prints away to each participant of the contest! We would like to extend an extra big thank you to everyone who submitted their art and for making this contest a success. Stay tuned for more cool campaigns and activities for JY for Kids, and follow us on our social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
