Longtime children's book editor and publisher Joanna Cotler is stepping down from her position at HarperCollins Children's Books. Cotler, who has spent the last 13 years as publisher of her eponymous imprint, Joanna Cotler Books, will become editor-at-large at the publisher as of May 13.

Cotler, whose current title is senior v-p and publisher, is leaving to focus on her sideline passion, painting. She will continue to edit select titles after her departure; moving forward these will be the only titles published under the Joanna Cotler Books banner. The imprint currently issues 15 titles a year; it has not yet been determined how many books Cotler will do once she transitions to editor-at-large.

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Over the years Cotler has worked with a distinguished list of authors, including William Steig, Art Spiegelman, Sharon Creech, Francesca Lia Block and Jamie Lee Curtis. In thanking her colleagues at HarperCollins, Cotler added that she was "most deeply honored by the authors and artists who chose to work with me. I love them all and have been so privileged to publish their books."

"I'm not sure why I did this. I don't know why an alphabet book popped into my head," Martin says of "The Alphabet From A to Y, With Bonus Letter Z," a collaboration with New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. "My idea was to write these rhyming couplets with the craziest images I could possibly think up, and then have Roz illustrate them."

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"From A to Y" is a nonsense ride across time and rhyme, with highlights including "H" ("Henrietta the hare wore a habit in heaven/Her hairdo hid hunchbacks: one hundred and seven") and "N" ("Needle-nosed Nigel won nine kinds of knockwurst/By winning a contest to see who could knock wurst"). Martin is a bookish man, but he wasn't thinking of any authors when writing "From A to Y." Not Thurber, White or Edward Lear. Not Dr. Seuss, whom he didn't read until his 20s. Maybe Ogden Nash. "I did grow up on Ogden Nash," he says in a recent telephone interview, "but I'm not sure if that fits here." Martin began working on "From A to Y" a couple of years ago. Like a good boy eating his vegetables first, he took on the hard letters, like "X" (if "Ambidextrous Alex was actually axed" counts as "X"), before digging in to such treats as "A" and "E."

Asked to name his favourite letter (an improvement over being asked his favourite colour), Martin pauses. "Gee." "Gee," as in "giraffe"? No, "Gee," as in "Gee, whiz." "I always liked 'Q.' ... It has that funny little do-dad at the bottom," he says, before remembering, a theme developing here, that his play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" includes a soliloquy by Albert Einstein on the alphabet, as it relates to pie. "Einstein compared the letter "O" to a pie, and said that the letter "Q" was like an "O" with a comma and that comma-shaped pie looks like a croissant," Martin explains.

"I am so pleased to have written my first children's book and to have my dear friend Wendell Minor illustrate it. I thought it would be a daunting project, but with six grandchildren and eleven step grandchildren, I've been telling stories to children for a long time," said Mary Higgins Clark.

"We are thrilled to reunite longtime friends Mary Higgins Clark and Wendell Minor in such a special collaboration," said Rubin Pfeffer, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster Children's. "Through his art, Wendell catches the spirit of Mary's brilliant writing and truly brings Ghost Ship to life for children. It's as if this pairing was always meant to be."

Set in Cape Cod, Ghost Ship is the story of a friendship between two boys, one visiting his grandmother on summer vacation in Cape Cod and another a cabin boy for a sea captain with stories to tell of his adventures on the high seas centuries before. Evoking the mystery and history of the high seas and the rich stories of Cape Cod, this is a book for children and for families to share and to make the world of long ago very near and real.

"Mary Higgins Clark is an amazing storyteller and in Ghost Ship she creates a story rich in character and adventure that will inspire young readers to imagine the stories of their own past," said Paula Wiseman, V.P. and Editorial Director, who will be editing the book.

More than 2,000 excited youngsters joined colourful characters from the nation's favourite story books to celebrate the Queen's 80th birthday. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Alice in Wonderland, Bob the Builder, Wallace and Gromit, Noddy and Tracy Beaker were among the famous fictional faces on show.

From cartoons to classic tales, around 80 costumed characters descended on the Queen's neatly trimmed lawns which stretched over 39 acres. The highlight of the surreal royal party was a live show, featuring more than 30 stars.

"The Queen's Handbag" centred around the search for the monarch's stolen bag which contained her "royal spectacles" and speech for the end of the show. It featured, among others, Jonathan Ross as a portly Fat Controller, Anthony Head as Captain Hook, Amanda Redman as Cruella de Vil, Jerry Hall as Queen of the Pirates, Dani Harmer who plays Tracy Beaker, Nicholas Lyndhurst as Cruella's chauffeur, Joe Pasquale as the White Rabbit and Ronnie Corbett as Mr Tibbs the butler.

The Queen herself played her own starring role in the pantomime. She took to the stage after the finale to be given the missing shiny black leather handbag which had been recovered using a magic Harry Potter spell. To cheers from the audience, she opened it, pulling her glasses from the bag, holding them aloft before putting them on. Then taking out her speech, she told the audience: "I am delighted to have my handbag back, I do like happy endings."

The time kids spend reading for fun declines sharply after age 8 and continues to drop off through the teen years, according to a new national study released today by Yankelovich, a leader in consumer trends tracking, and Scholastic, the global children’s publishing and media company. While 40% of kids between the ages of 5-8 years old are high frequency readers (reading for fun every day), only 29% of kids ages 9-11 years old are high frequency readers and the percentage continues to decline through age 17. The Kids and Family Reading Report, a national survey of children ages 5-17 and their parents, also found that parents can have a direct impact on their kids' reading attitudes and behaviors, especially by reading more frequently themselves and by helping kids find books they like.

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The importance of parents as reading role models is evidenced by the fact that children of high frequency readers are far more likely to read for fun every day than children whose parents are not high frequency readers. The study found that 53% of children whose parents are high frequency readers are reading books for fun every day; however, among children whose parents are low frequency readers (reading 2-3 times a month or less), only 15% read for fun daily. Parents who are high frequency readers are more likely to see themselves as primarily responsible for encouraging their children to read than parents who are low-frequency readers (60% vs. 46%).

It is no secret that today's picture book market presents one of the most challenging areas in children's sales. While the international co-editions market is enjoying something of a revival, the home market tells a different story. Away from the bestseller lists, the climate for picture books on the high street is best described as "challenging".

Both Ottakar's and Borders report a decline in picture book sales compared to last year. Waterstone's, which radically cut back its picture book range in 2005, claims to have maintained sales thanks to aggressive promotions and its focused range. Other booksellers have now followed its lead and reduced their range.

In response to retailers' smaller ranges, publishers have become more selective about what they put out. "It's good to see fewer titles that don't cut the mustard," Winstone says. "At Bologna, we saw a much stronger range of seasonal titles for the back end of the year."

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More emphasis is also being put on adding novelty elements to picture books such as glitter or flaps. Hopkin says: "We are also adding value—including attaching seeds or jigsaws to our books." An interesting development last summer was Waterstone's audio picture book promotion, which introduced a new format. Instead of shrink-wrapping CDs inside books or using blister packs, the bookseller asked publishers to use a new format, where the CD is secured inside the back flap, enabling customers to browse the book before buying it. Little Tiger's mass market picture books sold particularly well.

"We really want more publishers to provide books packaged in this way, so that we can establish a strong and full backlist range of titles in audio," Harrison says. Borders has also expressed an interest in this format.

Kids can play games involving their favorite book characters. Moms can pick out age-appropriate books for their kids. Teachers can find reading guides for books on their reading lists. Librarians can peruse the catalogue for upcoming books to add to the library. And it's all on the same website.

HarperCollins Children’s Books today announced the launch of a new website, aimed at kids, parents, teachers and librarians, which is the "cornerstone of our future marketing efforts," said Diane Naughton, vice president of marketing for HarperCollins Children’s Books.

With new technology and marketing techniques targeted to each audience, the website is another example of the shift of marketing toward online. Last year, HarperCollins used an online marketing campaign to promote its bestselling Lemony Snicket series.

"We realized that the most targeted means of speaking to kids, parents and teachers and librarians was through the website," Naughton said. "In order to do so effectively, we needed to upgrade our technology and re-focus our emphasis on capturing information and tailoring this information and content to each of these constituencies."