Penguin Young Readers Partners with Smithsonian Institution

In Children's by Dennis Abrams

The Smithsonian Institution and Penguin Young Readers, are collaborating on a new series of narrative non-fiction books riffing on the Smithsonian experience.

By Dennis Abrams

Smithsonian InstitutionThis June, America’s “premier” museum, the Smithsonian Institution, and Penguin Young Readers, will publish “a groundbreaking new line of narrative non-fiction books created to bring the Smithsonian experience directly into the hands of readers.”

Viking Children’s Books and Grosset & Dunlap, two imprints of Penguin Young Readers, will jointly launch the new series on June 23, 2015, with the publication of five titles.

Using the collection of the world’s largest museum, this non-fiction program will be “where content meets cool.” Mae up of highly visual books from both Viking and Grosset, the series chronicles everything from the outer limits of space, the wonders of the human body, the marvels of the ocean, the “tumult” of natural disaster, to the birth of a brand-new panda cub.

For those who can’t make it to the Smithsonian in person, a wide range of formats, including hardcover nonfiction from bestselling author Simon Winchester, will give readers a little piece of the Smithsonian in their homes.

The titles, all to be released on June 23, include:

  • When the Earth Shakes: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis by Simon Winchester
  • Curious About Fishes by Elizabeth Bennet
  • Welcome, Bao Bao by Gina Shaw
  • Blast Off! Doodle Book by Karen Romano Young
  • No Way…Way! Road Trip by Tracey West

In a statement to Publishing Perspectives, Francesco Sedita, President & Publisher, Grosset & Dunlap, and Ken Wright, VP & Publisher, Viking Children’s Books, proudly noted, “We’re bringing readers a nonfiction program like no other — for when you can’t get to the Smithsonian, we bring the Smithsonian to you!”

About the Author

Dennis Abrams

Dennis Abrams is a contributing editor for Publishing Perspectives, responsible for news, children's publishing and media. He's also a restaurant critic, literary blogger, and the author of "The Play's The Thing," a complete YA guide to the plays of William Shakespeare published by Pentian, as well as more than 30 YA biographies and histories for Chelsea House publishers.