Gallop in Publishers Weekly

The highly-anticipated, revolutionary new book Gallop is already turning heads. Read an excerpt from Publishers Weekly

THE BOOK THAT TAKES OFF RUNNING

Over the years, innovative advances in children's book publishing—books that light up, books that talk, books for the bathtub—have become almost commonplace. But this December, Workman will offer a new twist on how to show and tell with Gallop! by Rufus Butler Seder, a paper-over-board children's title that utilizes a trademarked, patented technology called Scanimation to seemingly animate the movements of an array of animals with each turn of the page. And booksellers are galloping to sell it.

"We think this is going to be one of the coolest books [of the season]," said Mary Yockey, a buyer for Anderson's Bookshops in Naperville, Ill. "At BEA five of us were just spellbound by it and we're not children—though we might have children inside of us. It appears so simple yet it's so fascinating."

Gallop! was the first acquisition—ever—for Raquel Jaramillo, director of children's books at Workman. She came to the company in 2006 after 17 years at Henry Holt, where she had been v-p and creative director of its adult trade division. Though Jaramillo had written and/or illustrated a few picture books, coming to Workman marked her first foray into children's book editorial.

Jaramillo first encountered the technology at a gift fair in August 2006, only a few weeks after starting at Workman. Seder's Boston-based EyeThink company was displaying a line of greeting cards that featured Scanimation. "I didn't even have a business card printed yet," she recalled. "I met with his sales guy and told him, 'I think this would make a great children's book.' " Jaramillo put together a proposal, which met with Seder's approval, and a contract was signed. Jaramillo both designed the book and wrote the spare prose ("Can you flutter like a butterfly? Flittery-float-float") that accompanies Seder's animations.

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