Okay, I probably should’ve blogged about this a while ago, because it happened a while ago. But better late than never, right? Anyway, on April 25^th, Publishers Weekly ran an article by Shannon Maughan called “Children’s Publishers Embrace The Taylor Swift Factor.” As you might imagine, it was about the recent wave of children’s nonfiction titles about Taylor Swift. Now, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I wrote a book called 96 Facts About Taylor Swift, which was published by Penguin Random House in September of 2023. It was the inaugural title in a series of middle grade celebrity biographies I’ve been working on for quite some time, called the “96 Facts” series. Was my Taylor Swift book mentioned in this Publishers Weekly article? Yes. Yes, it was. And just in case you don’t have a subscription to Publishers Weekly and therefore cannot read the article, here’s what Shannon had to say about my book:

“Trivia and activity books are in the mix, too. A lead title in this pack is 96 Facts About Taylor Swift by Arie Kaplan, illustrated by Risa Rodil, which was released by Grosset & Dunlap last September, as part of its middle grade 96 Facts About… series highlighting figures in the entertainment world. In addition to biographical information and quizzes, the book contains extra pages with writing prompts inviting readers to share their thoughts on such themes as ‘The Soundtrack of Your Life’ and ‘Overcoming Your Fear.’ The book has sold 95,000 copies so far this year in outlets reporting to BookScan.”

Pretty cool, eh?

And if you DO have a subscription, here’s the whole “Children’s Publishers Embrace…” article.

And just yesterday, I found this other PW article which mentions one of my upcoming “96 Facts” books. The article is called “The On-Sale Calendar: November 2024 Children’s Books,” and the book it mentions is 96 Facts About MrBeast, which comes out on November 5, 2024. It’s a list of upcoming children’s books, so my book is just briefly name-checked. Again, if you’re shut out by the paywall, here’s the part where my book is referenced:

“96 Facts About MrBeast by Arie Kaplan, illus. by Risa Rodil (Grosset & Dunlap, $6.99 paper; ISBN 978-0-593-88899-5). 50,000 copies.”

See? Brief. Just like I told you it’d be. Not complaining, BTW. Just a statement of fact. Honestly, I’m just happy to be part of the conversation in articles like this.

And in case you DO have a PW subscription, here’s the whole “On-Sale Calendar” article.

Just FYI, 96 Facts About Taylor Swift and 96 Facts About MrBeast are both illustrated by the incomparable Risa Rodil.

If you’d like to see the cover art – and other pertinent info – for my other “96 Facts” books, click HERE.

And if you’d like to see some info on all of the books I’ve written for Penguin Random House (so far), click HERE.