Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia (1977) and the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, has written a new middle-grade novel called The Flint Heart. The 304-page book has been “freely abridged” from Eden Phillpotts‘ 1910 fantasy.
It will be released on September 27th. John Paterson Sr. worked on this title with his wife. The two have collaborated on several book projects in the past including Blueberries for the Queen (2004).
The trailer embedded above offers a glimpse into the book’s illustrations. John Rocco, known for creating the covers of Rick Riordan‘s Percy Jackson series, illustrated the book. According to the release, Bedrock Studios and Arcady Bay Entertainment have already snatched up The Flint Heart for a feature film adaptation.
Rocco explained his artistic process in the release: “My process for creating the illustrations for The Flint Heart was very similar to my process for illustrating book jackets and picture books. First I read the entire text several times to get a general feel for the story and its characters. Then I begin a series of sketches, trying to work out what some of the characters and environments look like. Once I have a feel for what the illustrations are going to look like, I begin sketching out all the different scenes in the book I would like to illustrate.”