Beyond Words re-launched its children's and teen line in January 2012 after a hiatus of several years. As it does with Atria Publishing Group for its adult titles, the publisher has partnered with Simon & Schuster's children's imprint, Aladdin, and its teen imprint, Simon Pulse.
Creating a strong identity for the line, which focuses primarily on inspirational nonfiction books for middle grade readers and teens, included crafting a slogan: Find Yourself. Know Yourself. Be Yourself. "That's the foundation from which we function," said Whitney Quon, marketing and event coordinator. "All our titles tie into that idea."
Publications include brand-new books as well as updated and expanded editions of backlist titles, such as New Yorker writer and Yale graduate Sarah Stillman's Soul Searching: A Girl's Guide to Finding Herself, written when the author was 16. Also for teens is a series of beautifully illustrated oracle decks like Lucy Cavendish's Oracle of Shadows and Light and Oracle of the Shapeshifters (April).
Debut novelist Jody Casella's Thin Space (September) has the distinction of being the first young adult novel published by Beyond Words. Guilt-ridden over his twin brother's death, Marshall Windsor has one chance to seek out his sibling and make amends. He must find a "thin space," a mythical point where the barrier between this world and the next is thin enough for a person to step through to the other side.
"The story has a quiet brilliance to it," said production editor Emmalisa Sparrow. "It's very much a journey that deals with a lot of the themes we address in our nonfiction, both children's and adult, including grief and identity."
In the popular "Be What You Want" series, revised editions of So, You Want to Be a Writer? and So, You Want to Be a Comic Book Artist? not only enlighten children about those particular vocational paths, they offer guidance on how to get started immediately and where readers might sell their work. Next in the series is So, You Want to Be a Chef? (October), which was inspired by the avid interest in television cooking shows.
Beyond Words was "a pioneer in giving kids a voice to communicate with their peers," said managing editor Lindsay Brown. One such title was Better Than a Lemonade Stand!: Small Business Ideas for Kids. Originally published in 1991 by then 15-year-old Daryl Bernstein, who is now a father himself, it was recently updated and reissued. "We pride ourselves in continuing that tradition. Our books are about kids' experiences, publishing their stories and giving them a voice," Brown said. "We respect them and their intelligence and abilities."
Another objective is to encourage children and teens to be forward-thinking. Quon explained: "These books are asking them to live bigger than the day to day, to really reach for something beyond what they think is possible; and here's how we can help you do that."