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Hachette Children’s Group bags ‘striking’ new middle-grade adventure from award-winning Johnson
Hachette Children’s Group (HCG) has acquired new middle-grade adventure fiction from Mitch Johnson, a Norwich-based Waterstones bookseller and the award-winning author of Kick (Usborne), Pop! and Spark (Orion Children’s Books).
Tig Wallace, previously senior commissioning editor at HCG, acquired world all-language rights to Toxic from Caroline Sheldon at the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency. The lead editor at HCG will be Aliyana Hirji, commissioning editor. The book will be published in paperback and e-book on 1st February, 2024.
Toxic addresses themes of deforestation and wildlife habitat destruction in an “action-packed and accessible” way for readers aged nine plus. Its synopsis reads: “Billionaire beauty mogul Anura Hegarty has pledged to acquire as much of the rainforest as possible to preserve it. But when loggers arrive with armed guards, Jessica and her friend Renata realise something much more sinister is going on.
“Deep in the rainforest is a frog which holds the secret to staying young forever, and Jessica and Renata know they must find and save it first! Danger and betrayal lurk around every corner, and soon they’re running for their lives, dodging blow darts, poachers and giant snakes. Will the children make it out alive?”
Hirji said: “Mitch has written a thrilling adventure that sweeps you through a landscape that’s as beautiful as it is deadly, while tackling timely themes of deforestation and the price of beauty. I’m excited for readers to enjoy this jaw-dropping journey.”
Johnson, whose novel Kick was endorsed by Amnesty International UK for its portrayal of children’s rights and received the 2018 Branford Boase Award, said: “I can’t wait for readers to step into the rainforest with Jessica and Renata. Inspired by fairy tales and folklore, Toxic is a contemporary story about beauty, ambition and what we are doing to the world’s most precious ecosystems. And frogs, of course: the weirdest dudes in the rainforest.”
